Highway Code changes, riding two abreast, road tax & all the greatest anti-cycling hits — "depressing" reaction to "vile" Countryfile section on cycle safety; Van der Poel's pizza; TT wheelies; Bike lane car park; Post-Giro blues + more on the live blog

Not unnoticed, but I like to leave a few for other people to pick up.

mdavidford wrote:

Not unnoticed, but I like to leave a few for other people to pick up.

Surely un-noticed?

Un-likely

Sustrans lady didn't even wear it properly.

More Than a Cyclist does not seek to represent cyclists, rather their aim is a simple one, to persuade road users that cyclists are not anonymous obstacles but human beings. It was set up as a result of the death of a friend of hers who was driven through by a Range Rover with no plausible excuse.

They are hoping to get organisations running large numbers of vehicles to carry posters reminding drivers that cyclists are first and foremost human beings.

tbf Dame Sarah has been active travel commissioner for South Yorkshire for the past 3 years, and is now active travel commisioner for Greater Manchester, Chris Bs old job,so shes not just a racing cyclist even if thats how they presented her.

and I wasnt as annoyed about the segment, but maybe the Suffolk Punch bit afterwards lightened my mood, as I thought Id be watching it.

but it was still the same nonsense we see all the time from MSM coverage of cycling the checkbox list of lycra, othering "serious cyclists", the weird drivers anectdotes left unchallenged, incorrect stats, why cant we just all get along, presenter guy clearly not getting it and almost wipes out in the group ride I wouldnt be comfortable riding alongside him like that and hmm I wonder what Mr safe driver who slowed down with a cheery wave,actual view ahead of the cyclists was, maybe a big sign say "slow filming in progress" perhaps...cynical arent I, I guess I just expect to be disappointed now so cant really get that angry about it anymore.

Yep I did think that was a poor representation of Sarah by Eburt although was that his impression because of the programme? She has even been on Op close Pass rides with Inspector Kev so like Boardman, seems to have developed more into a safety spokesman then some other ex-racers. 

well the average Countryfile viewer probably doesnt know any of that and if you are only going to be introduced as a 17 time gold medal winning paralympian, whilst wearing you world champion rainbow jersey, and Im sure there are sponsor reasons for that, but it doesnt exactly shout active travel commissioner being interviewed here.

Awavey wrote:

tbf Dame Sarah has been active travel commissioner for South Yorkshire for the past 3 years, and is now active travel commisioner for Greater Manchester, Chris Bs old job,so shes not just a racing cyclist even if thats how they presented her.

and I wasnt as annoyed about the segment, but maybe the Suffolk Punch bit afterwards lightened my mood, as I thought Id be watching it.

but it was still the same nonsense we see all the time from MSM coverage of cycling the checkbox list of lycra, othering "serious cyclists", the weird drivers anectdotes left unchallenged, incorrect stats, why cant we just all get along, presenter guy clearly not getting it and almost wipes out in the group ride I wouldnt be comfortable riding alongside him like that and hmm I wonder what Mr safe driver who slowed down with a cheery wave,actual view ahead of the cyclists was, maybe a big sign say "slow filming in progress" perhaps...cynical arent I, I guess I just expect to be disappointed now so cant really get that angry about it anymore.

I think I agreed with that, well, as much as I could decipher, anyway.

https://www.grammarly.com/?q=punctuation&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cp...

Now who's doing the snarky backhandedest of all backhanded compliments ever

eburtthebike wrote:

Then, about a new cycle route, there was "At a cost of £5m, it hasn't come cheap."  Just wait until they find out the cost of a motorway junction.

30 million per mile according to this article. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-13924687

That smirk sent a shiver down my spine when Tom said "let's face it, some cyclists can be dangerous and full of themselves". Well done Dame Sarah for calmly rebuffing it.

He might have a point if hundreds of drivers were being killed by cyclists, flaunting them to death with their entitlement.

HoarseMann wrote:

flaunting them to death with their entitlement.

That's a thing? I can't wait to cause total carnage on my ride to work tomorrow!

I think I need to practice that in the mirror a bit more because it isn't working for me at the moment

HoarseMann wrote:

That smirk sent a shiver down my spine when Tom said "let's face it, some cyclists can be dangerous and full of themselves". Well done Dame Sarah for calmly rebuffing it.

He might have a point if hundreds of drivers were being killed by cyclists, flaunting them to death with their entitlement.

I have to admit, the interviewer came across as a bit of an @rse.

Let's run a piece about the dangers to cyclists on rural roads, illustrated with an interview with the widow of someone who died through the actions of a speeding motorist and through nothing he could have controlled, but every time we talk to an actual cyclist we'll smirk (practically a wink to camera) and go on about how cyclists are all entitled, red light jumping, danger-magnets.

Nothing about how rural roads are bad because so many people using them are locals who feel they're safe to go a bit faster because they know the roads.

I think Sarah Storey had been asked not to start a fight, because there were all sorts of ways she could have replied rather than just take a deep breath and not bite on his bait.

I found the whole programme very frustrating.

Yep, it was a cringe fest. The opening gambit from a couple of wobbly riders on borrowed bikes, "how can we accommodate cyclists without destroying nature?", really set the tone.

To be fair to Countryfile, they just surfaced views about cyclists that I'm sure many country (and city!) dwellers harbour. Can't hold them to the same journalistic rigour than, say, Panorama.

But the bit about rural roads being dangerous because they're narrow and twisty; if that was the case, then all those narrow and twisty bike paths must be lethal! Best stick to the motorway!

Indeed. You couldn't win. As Mark Twain once said "Don't argue with an idiot, they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." 

PRSboy wrote:

Indeed. You couldn't win. As Mark Twain once said "Don't argue with an idiot, they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." 

Oh yes we will.

I haven't watched the show but I like to imagine the presenter was riding a Segway(tm) around the locations of the incidents discussed whilst narrating the piece, perhaps to illustrate some of the dangers faced by vulnerable road users.

That would be illegal unless on private land. They were on bikes though.

bobbinogs wrote:

Just gotta love Rapha with their shameless virtue-signalling.

That's somewhat unfair. What the item above doesn't show is that they were simply responding to someone who had specifically tagged them in to the thread.

bobbinogs wrote:

• We support all atheletes...blah, blah, blah. 
• Know how to get ex-blokes racing fairly against women without being unfair to the women? 
• Err, nope! 
• Thanks for your input

Well it seems like a more honest and well-considered contribution than 99.99% of the 'debate' around this issue.

To be fair to Rapha they just say they are standing by their athletes and just saying they should be able to compete. How they are able to compete they don't say.
As long as that means it doesn't impact womens sports then I agree with that. Emily should have the right to compete, how that can be done fairly to everyone is still to be decided.