It's great to see more people cycling these days... but I'm not sure this is the best place for it. from r/melbourne
Another from Melbourne, this time it's a cyclist with a deathwish as they appear to be riding against the flow of traffic on the inside lane of a motorway.
The road is reportedly the M1 motorway, and while the backpack does appear to belong to Deliveroo, the food delivery company told Yahoo News that they didn't believe the cyclist was working for them.
A spokesperson said: “Our data does not show a rider making a delivery at that time on that road, and therefore assume that while the pack looks to be a Deliveroo bag, the person was undertaking a delivery for another platform.
“Deliveroo riders, like many other couriers, are self employed. We therefore only have information about riders’ GPS location and movements when they are logged into our platform and actively completing a delivery.
“We communicate regularly with riders to remind them of their obligations to abide by the road rules at all times and will soon be launching an online Safety Hub."
The Superstrata, touted as "the world’s first custom 3D-printed unibody carbon-fibre bike", has had a wildly successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, raising over £2 million from backers already. In answer to a demand for a premium version of the bike, a special edition called the Superstrata Oxford will be available exclusively at the Smartech's store within Selfridge's on Oxford Street, London. It has the same unique frame design as the version shown above, but with carbon wheels and an upgraded groupset. An unveiling will take place on Thursday 23rd July, showcased next to a Penny Farthing "to show just how far we’ve come in bike design and usage over the last 100+ years", say Superstrata.
It is pretty warm out there at the moment, so you can never be too hydrated...
Thanks Karen... #CovidVic#COVID19au#Brighton#StayHomepic.twitter.com/Bok5y82M9U
— Leon Sjogren (@Leonsjogren) July 18, 2020
The clip first appeared on Australian news programme Nine News last week, with the woman being interviewed complaining about local lockdown rules in Melbourne:
“Well, you get sick of walking the same streets,” she said. “You know, I’ve done all of Brighton.”
The clip went viral, and now it's immortalised on Strava after cyclist Aaron Groot decided to go out and cycle every street in Brighton (a suburb of Melbourne, not the city in England) in tribute, naming it "The Karen". Mr Groot's upload shows that this amounted to 97.19km (just over 60 miles), which he completed at an average speed of 32.5km/h.
For those not familiar, the name 'Karen' has recently took on a new meaning to refer to someone, usually a middle-aged woman of Caucasian descent, who has a tendency to complain persistently about trivial matters, and has a general demeanour that could be considered rude or obnoxious. Some say 'Karen' is no one in particular, more a state of mind...
Unfortunately for Movistar it's not because they have any world champions in their ranks (not at the moment anyway)... but this new jersey design is for a good cause, and it will be used by the team at the rearranged Strade Bianche in August. It was born out of a competition for fans to design their own jersey, which was won by Italian artist Loris Gobbi who gets to see his creation come to life.
One of the jerseys will be auctioned too, with all proceeds going to the Spanish Red Cross.
Right that's it from me. Far too much politics for today and we haven't even mentioned Russia...oops.
Liam
After Sir Iain Duncan Smith's comments (scroll down), Hunt's approach to cycling is far more encouraging.
Hunt, writing in the Farnham Herald, says that he has always been a "keen cyclist", using two wheels to get to "parliament from my base in Pimlico." In the article, Hunt is asking for feedback on a proposed cycle lane in Farnham town centre which he describes has having "been blighted for too long by pollution and traffic."
Speaking of his experiences of cycling in London for over a decade, the Tory MP for South West Surrey says he believes "that the more people cycle, the easier and safer it is."
He also suggests that figures showing "as many as 6,000 people per day" using certain cycle lanes in London has contributed to "making London cleaner, greener and much more pleasant."
The London borough has released an interactive website where you can highlight spots that could do with cycling and walking improvements, joining other councils in asking residents to highlight problem areas.
Is this the right way to improve cycling and walking infrastructure? Surely asking those that use the roads and footpaths daily is a good approach.
You can see if your local area has a similar feature here
🚶🏾♀️🚴🏽♀️ Today, we’re excited to launch a new interactive website where we’re asking you to nominate locations for walking and cycling improvements.
Hear more from Cllr @ShamaTatler, and visit the website at https://t.co/IZ5JxwSRANpic.twitter.com/RbgOkRIk12
— Brent Council (@Brent_Council) July 1, 2020
Apidura, among the biggest names in bikepacking, has launched a new City Messenger bag that's available in two different sizes.
The City Messenger comes in both 11-inch and 13-inch versions, each featuring an internal sleeve for your laptop or tablet.
"The City Series is not a ruggedised, adventure-inspired range, but rather takes influence from the ‘less is more’ design philosophies [we have] developed through creating lightweight, technical bikepacking gear," says Apidura.
"The result is a technical, lightweight and waterproof carry solution for seamlessly transitioning through the city. Both messengers have a stable, anatomical fit on and off the bike, with an easy one-handed zipless opening and are fully waterproof."
The bags are made from Apidura's bespoke CT420 Marle fabric – a nylon core with TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) coatings – with welded seams. They're low profile and feature reflective elements that are intended to be subtle when you're off the bike, but eye-catching when caught by headlights. You also get slits for attaching a rear LED.
To us, extending the range from bikepacking bags to city bags seems like a natural progression for the London-based brand.
"[We have] a great deal of experience creating technically advanced, lightweight gear for riders in some of the planet’s most challenging environments and events," says Apidura. "Now, [we have] applied this precision-crafted, adventure-proven expertise to the urban environment to offer a simple, durable and versatile carry solution for city life."
The 11-inch City Messenger is £129 while the 13-inch version is £144.
They're available now over at www.apidura.com
"If you're under forty you're more likely to die by getting on a bicycle than you are by having Covid, so we need to get the balance of risks right."
Former Tory Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith made the comment when reflecting on Boris Johnson's statement regarding the UK not returning to a national lockdown should Covid-19 cases rise again in the UK.
Speaking on Andrew Castle's LBC radio show, the former Tory leader claimed that there has been a "general hysteria" surrounding the Covid-19 mortality figures. As of today, 45,318 Covid-19 deaths have been recorded, though the government is disputing this figure.
We spotted this one on the forum and it got us thinking; could the confused look on other rider's face simply be down to being new to cycling?
It might even be a positive sign of an influx of new riders! Best keep waving at people...
Not content with beating sprinters in flat finishes, winning hilly classics, dominating cyclocross and being good at mountain biking too, Dutch pro cyclist has added HC mountains to the places that he can drop you (and me, and just about anyone).
During a training ride on Alpecin-Fenix's altitude camp, Van der Poel took the 23.8km Col de Petit St Bernard, ascending 1,090m in 51:19 at an average speed of 27.9km/h. To do this he averaged 379W at 164bpm. If his weight on Strava is to be believed, this was a 5.1w/kg effort. Impressive stuff.
Let's just fire up the rumour mill for fun. Could we see Van der Poel going for yellow at the Tour any time soon?
Met this guy with panniers this morning in Stockbridge, he was cycling home to Cornwall from Greece, made our day out seem a bit tame. pic.twitter.com/z9rYJVMRZR
— Binstedman 🚴 (@binstedman) July 20, 2020
Just your casual Greece to Cornwall commute home.
It's only about 3,000km. With the Alps in the way. And a bit of water. Best put an extra pannier on.
Contador: “Froome's move [to Israel] makes sense. He won 4 Tours, the Giro and the Vuelta and still feels strong enough to fight. Bernal will be dominant for a long time and will progress quickly. If Froome stayed with INEOS, he would have to adjust his goals or work for Bernal."
— Gregor Brown (@gregorbrown) July 21, 2020
Cycling journalist Gregor Brown quotes the Spanish GC specialist as saying that "if Froome stayed with INEOS, he would have to adjust his goals or work for Bernal."
It's what many have been saying after Bernal, Froome's teammate at Team Ineos, looked so dominant in last year's Tour de France. What do you think? Is it the right move for Froome?
Getting back to enjoying how it all started! Riding with mates and the boy x pic.twitter.com/Gj32qq9q9P
— Brad Wiggins (@SirWiggo) July 20, 2020
...Sir Wiggo was spotted out for a pedal looking summery in a British Champion's Motorola jersey and Le Col bibshorts.
He's certainly setting a style trend with the sleeveless look, leg warmers with no arm warmers and lack of socks. Will this be the hot new style for summer 2020?
We jest, it's nice to see him back on the bike.