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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but not in a good way: French officials slammed for sticking Christmas tree in the middle of trans-European bike route; Leknessund shows off icicles on eyelashes in -24C training ride + more on the live blog

It’s a fresh start to the week, Adwitiya on duty for Monday’s roundup of everything going on the world of cycling

SUMMARY

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04 December 2023, 13:46
“There are behaviours they allow for cyclists, but they would never accept these things for cars”: Cyclists slam French city council for putting a Christmas tree in the middle of a bike path

I'm sure enchanté wasn't the word on most French cyclists' lips in Cabourg after seeing this quite extraordinaire sight, a giant Christmas tree sitting smack in the middle of a cycle lane, in front of a resort's casino in the seaside city in the department of Calvados.

And this is not the first time cyclists have had to deal with the presence of a Christmas tree not really where they'd want it. France Bleu reports that the officials were guilty of the same act last year as well. The city officials said that there was no other solution than, *checks notes* placing the giant, estranged tree in the middle of the road, um sorry, no the cycle path because of wiring issues.

Dérailleurs du Calvados, a cycling group from the department said mockingly: "In Cabourg, they decided not to change last year's "good" practices: they put the Christmas tree back on the bike path!"

Christmas tree in the middle of cycle lane in Cabourg, France (image credit: Dérailleurs du Calvados)

As expected, cyclists are raging. Fransescu Garoby, president of Dérailleurs du Calvados raised the question that would a spruce have been pitched up in the middle of a road instead? He answered his question himself: "A priori, no."

He added: "There are behaviours that local authorities allow for cyclists, but they would never accept that for cars, or motorised vehicles in general. This shows that cycling as a means of everyday transport has still not become a serious solution in the eyes of the elected officials. They continue to consider it a hobby."

To put the cherry (or, star) on top, the route on which the tree was placed is on La Vélomaritime, the EuroVelo 4 cycle route which goes through Normandy in France. Garoby said: "It is a major route which crosses all of Europe, from Roscoff in Brittany to Poland. This track therefore runs along the entire coast of Calvados. And in general, it is a local route, used by local residents."

04 December 2023, 17:12
Egan Bernal accidentally leaks new Ineos Grenadiers kit

This is the moment where your live blog uploads a pixelated picture of a leaked new kit and asks for your thoughts on it, so please let me know how do you find this picture shared, and then also swiftly deleted by Egan Bernal on Instagram.

Ineos Grenadiers new kit (Instagram: @eganbernal)

My two cents? I think it looks rather neat!

04 December 2023, 16:24
Drunk driver charged with killing world Masters champion Ethan Boyes while speeding in a cycle lane
Ethan Boyes (credit - USA Cycling)

In April this year, world Masters track champion Ethan Boyes was killed after being struck head-on by an allegedly speeding motorist while riding in one of the park’s cycle lanes. Now, prosecutors in northern California have charged an elderly man of striking and killing Boyes while drunk behind the wheel.

81-year-old San Francisco resident Arnold Kinman Low was indicted last week with involuntary manslaughter and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement.

Earlier, it had been reported based on the accounts of several eyewitnesses online that the cyclist was riding in the non-segregated cycle lane on Arguello Boulevard in the Presidio, near what Biking in LA described  as a “treacherous” junction, when a “speeding” motorist heading northbound “swerved” across the road and into the bike lane.

A 10-time US national champion throughout his career, the late North Carolina-born sprinter holds the World’s Best Performance record for men aged 35-39 in the Kilo, set in 2015, as well as a number of national records.

Following the tragic collision, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition – a non-profit public-benefit organisation created to transform the city’s streets and neighbourhoods into “more liveable and safe places by promoting the bicycle for everyday transportation” – had called for immediate changes to be made to better protect people riding their bikes in Presidio national park.

Cycling activists in San Francisco have long campaigned for changes to be made to Arguello Boulevard in Presidio, an area which falls under the jurisdiction of the park’s governing body and not the city authorities.

The coalition had said in a statement: "One traffic fatality is one too many. Last year, we experienced the most traffic fatalities on SF streets in a decade. This is unacceptable considering the city’s Vision Zero goal of ending traffic-related death and serious injuries by 2024 is just a year away. More action must be taken by the City to address safety on our streets."

04 December 2023, 14:49
A new Strava feature without subscription?! Strava introduces messaging - you can now communicate with your friends on the app
strava hero

Strava has launched a new in-app messaging feature saying it is an "efficient avenue for athletes to coordinate adventures, connect for inspiration or tips, share their journey, and more – all within a unified platform".

We've been testing the beta version of the messaging at the office for the last couple of weeks and have enjoyed how easy it makes sharing routes with others. This feature might just be the best way for clubs and cycling groups to communicate ride plans and chat with each other without having to add everyone based on their phone numbers.

The new messaging feature offers direct (one-on-one) and group messages. This feature is available for all Strava users, not only those with the app's paid Subscription. Users can also customise the messaging feature based on their desires – for example, they can set their preferences on who can invite them to a group message or who can message them directly. 

> Strava introduces messaging - you can now communicate with your friends on the app

04 December 2023, 13:18
But who would use all the bike racks on a cold, wet day in December?

The kids are alright...

What a joyous sight and feeling to know that the future generation is making the right decisions and choosing to pedal their way to the school, so here's me doing my part, hopefully doing enough to encourage you all to get on the bike for a spin along with your little ones this week!

04 December 2023, 12:35
16-24s rely less on cars and use range of travel options, including cycling – but miss out on work, study and social opportunities
Cycle parking - Cyclehoop big bike © Simon MacMichael.jpeg

New research from Sustrans and the University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol says that young people will be left behind and denied access to work and educational opportunities, as well as social events, unless their needs are taken into account when planning transport policy.

The findings come at a time when there has been a sharp fall in the number of young people obtaining a full driving licence, with just one in four of those aged 17-20 currently doing so, compared to half of the same age group around 30 years ago.

The Sustrans and UWE Bristol research, which was funded by the Health Foundation, focused on people aged 16-24 and found that they make 21 per cent fewer trips than other working age adults, ie 25-64s, and that the gap has widened during the past two decades.

Read more: > Young will be left behind unless their transport needs are met, says new report from Sustrans and UWE

04 December 2023, 11:51
Transport Action Network gets green light for active travel fundraiser (image: Chris Todd)
Campaign group seeking more donations to fight Government's active travel funding cuts

Transport Action Network, a campaign group helping to press for more sustainable transport in England and Wales, has launched a fundraiser titled "Stop the cuts to walking and cycling" aiming to raise £40,000 to challenge the UK Government's decision to slash the active travel budget for England in March.

The camapaign says: "We believe that by making ad hoc announcements, ministers have tried to unlawfully bypass the framework set by Parliament. By cutting funding, there is now a stark and inevitable inconsistency between the active travel objectives and the funding to achieve them.

"Ministers appear to have failed to take into account the impacts on climate and air pollution targets. Also, their legal duties to make facilities more accessible for people with disabilities and cycling more inclusive for children, older people and women."

> "Depressing" decrease in cycling traffic due to government's "flawed" decision to slash active travel budget, says Cycling UK

If Transport Action Network (TAN) wins the case, they say that the government's decision to cut the funding by two-thirds over the next two years, which was recently labelled "flawed" by Cycling UK, would be rescinded, setting an important precedent about the transparency needed for funding as well as they adequacy to meet the cycling and walking objectives.

"MPs have done their best to ask Parliamentary questions about the exact funding position but ministers have been evasive in their answers. So bringing a legal case is really our only option," said TAN.

TAN's legal team is led by David Forsdick KC, a highly ranked environmental lawyer, instructed by Leigh Day solicitors. The campaign has so far raised just over £28,000, with the fundraiser going on for 4 more weeks. A full hearing is due in early 2024.

04 December 2023, 11:18
Best and worst London cycling lanes? A story in two parts...

Embankment cycle lane vs Westminster bridge cycle lane. Which one would you ride on?

04 December 2023, 10:51
🎄🚲 It's Tree By Bike time!

It's December, snow's here (at least for some), the carols (I mean, Mariah Carey) are abound, it could only mean one thing... it's Tree By Bike time again!

04 December 2023, 10:21
Have Spesh truly knocked it out of the park and built the supreme race bike for 2024?
04 December 2023, 10:03
Here's your weekend round-up, just how you requested
04 December 2023, 09:18
Andreas Leknessund with icicles on eyelashes
“-24C and still smiling”: Andreas Leknessund shows off icicles on eyelashes during an extreme weather training ride

Brrrr....

I know it's getting really cold here in the UK (your live blog host has now also been blessed with Cardiff rains), but at least we don't have to go out for rides in -24 degrees Celsius!

Spare a thought for Andreas Leknessund, a holder of the maglia rosa jersey at this year's Giro d'Italia and a stage winner at Tour de Suisse, who's not just battling the usual demons on his bike, but also the frigid weather.

The 24-year-old Norwegian who'll have a bit of a homecoming next season as he dons on the yellow and red of Uno-X, his country's newly-qualified World Tour status team for which he has ridden before as a youth, seemed to be completely unfazed by the chill and grinned from ear to ear as he showed off the temperature first, and then the icicles formed on his eyelashes.

I'll be honest, I've been finding it difficult these last few days to build up the courage and head out on the saddle, but I think still faring quite well (better than I thought I would). But out in -24? I'll gladly stay indoors sipping my whisky.

But surprisingly, after seeing multiple races being abandoned due to treacherous weather conditions this year, fans went ahead and asked if riders could train for weather conditions like this, what's stopping them from racing in 7 degrees and rain (calling this year's Giro weather as just rain seems like quite the euphemism in my opinion...)

> Why pro cycling needs to ditch its ‘hardness’ obsession

Rain lashing down at Giro d'Italia stage 10

It does call for concern at whether this sort of riding is even beneficial or not? I don't know, I'll let the pros (or the readers of this live blog) decide...

Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after graduating with a masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Wales, and also likes to writes about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.

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63 comments

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giff77 replied to chrisonabike | 12 months ago
1 like

Growing up some of the schools in my region required a Cycing Proficiency to bring the bike to school. Those of us in the sticks it wasn't much of an issue as a bike was the fastest form of transport to get in. Our school did though encourage P6 & 7 to get it under their belt. 

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Bungle_52 replied to essexian | 12 months ago
3 likes

I've heard it said many times that if you failed your test once you turn out to be a better driver. This has been bourne out by experience over the years.

Imagine how good this driver will be.

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Hirsute | 12 months ago
1 like

"Oh ok I’ll buy a car then. That’ll fix my diabetes."

https://twitter.com/MikeyCycling/status/1731455131953054014

"I hope Steve can get some regular time on a bike to stave off that type 2 diabetes he might have incoming in the future. "

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