Once again highlighting the need to be careful with telling the world where you're running or riding, author Peter James has revealed that his new crime novel 'I Follow You' was inspired by his wife's use of Strava.
Mrs James told the Sunday Times that a man she waved at briefly on a run in Brighton had started running the same route as her; and then again following a brief chat with another male runner in Jersey a year later, that runner then found her profile and followed her on the app.
Perfectly innocent as that may seem, Mrs James said: “I thought this could be really dangerous if that guy was awful or a stalker"... and Mr James' imagination did the rest for the novel, which tells the story of a doctor who becomes infatuated with a female runner he almost knocks down while driving in Jersey, using a fictional running app called Run Master to track her.
It should be noted that it's possible to enable the 'privacy zone' feature on Strava to stop anyone finding out exactly where you live. Thieves have been known to take advantage of location data in the past, allegedly searching for 'fast times' on the app to lead them to potentially expensive bikes. Back in 2018 a cyclist said he had £12,500 worth of bikes stolen, and he claims the thieve(s) job was made easier due to information he shared online. Our article regarding the theft includes our top online security tips, to help prevent incidents such as this one or unwanted stalking...
Happy 142nd Birthday to Cycling UK! 🥳
This year we're delighted to have seen more people on bikes than ever and are looking forward to what the future holds - here's to many more years of cycling advocacy for a better world!
👉 https://t.co/ybcYXdCGDBpic.twitter.com/kYe6RrcyvY
— Cycling UK (@WeAreCyclingUK) August 5, 2020
Britain's foremost cycling charity was founded on this day in 1878 as The Bicycle Touring Club, and on their birthday they've also announced a new chief executive in Sarah Mitchell.
Mitchell, a keen cyclist who is the former chief executive of Carers Network and head of housing at Crisis, will take over from interim chief executive Pete Fitzboydon, commenting: "'I am thrilled to be joining the Cycling UK team at this really important time for cycling. We have a massive opportunity to support more people from communities all over the UK to get out on their bikes and I look forward to being part of the movement to make that happen.”
I don’t foresee any problems with the Giro going over this in October. None. https://t.co/mCNUJDDAnJ
— Anthony Pope (@Plastic_Peloton) August 4, 2020
Translation: it might well be a massive problem, as this is the current scene on the Stelvio in the middle of summer. Italy's Grand Tour has been blighted by snow and storms in the past, but an October Giro could bring with it a whole new level of disruption to proceedings.
Is this a wind up?
— Linda Smith (@LabLinda75) August 4, 2020
That's not "amazing cycling infrastructure".
That's white paint.
A white line on a narrow bike lane shown is actually WORSE than nothing as some drivers focus on the line and don't give enough room when passing.pic.twitter.com/upYFBQpYcm
— shamrocksoup🇪🇺🦔 (@ShamrockSoup) August 5, 2020
Is that paint supposed to be cycling 'infrastructure'?
Save your money next time and go on a fact-finding trip to Amsterdam.— Col du Boremalet (@2wheels2dex) August 5, 2020
Oxon Travel - the Twitter account for Oxfordshire Council's travel centre team - is encouraging people to get on their bikes ahead of Cycle to Work Day tomorrow... and that's about where the good stuff ends, as many people have pointed out that the photo they've used appears to show a cycle lane that is far from adequate.
In the government's recent Gear Shift document protected cycling infrastructure is recommended as the gold standard, and councils bidding for funding who aren't planning to meet these designed standards will invariably be turned down; painted lanes like the one in the photo will almost certainly fall into the 'try harder' category.
We certainly do!
— Oxfordshire County (@OxfordshireCC) August 4, 2020
Oxfordshire County Council appear unrepentant, replying that they "certainly do" have amazing cycling infrastructure in answer to the above question. Oxon Travel also report that new cycle racks will be fitted across the county plus upgrades to the cycle network - hopefully some "world-class cycling infrastructure" will indeed follow.
We are fitting a series of new #cycle racks all across the county in places we know you want them. This comes as part of our commitment to our world-class #cycling infrastructure in #Oxfordshire. pic.twitter.com/4zi7i2etXv
— OxonTravel (@OxonTravel) August 4, 2020
I missed the uci news the last 4 months. Is the sockrule still valid or not? pic.twitter.com/VBJtH4Wdi8
— Thomas De Gendt (@DeGendtThomas) August 5, 2020
Thomas de Gendt claims to have been away for so long that he's unsure of the rules nowadays. We're pretty confident that when it comes to over-zealous policing of sock heights, the UCI are unlikely to have changed their tune...
The records (pending ratification) fell last weekend when Craig rode from the Western border of England, over to the East coast and then back again, all in one day, four hours and ten seconds.
The effort was enough to break the West to East, East to West and West-East-West World Ultracycling Association Cross England records with Craig smashing the there and back record by over 24 hours.
Craig says that "setting off at 10am Saturday just outside Kington in Hereford I rode to Lowestoft in 12:47 where the previous record was 15:44." A quick 30-minute break was all that was needed before Craig was on his way back, riding the return leg in 14:50. Craig says that his slower time on the return leg wasn't due to fatigue, but caused by "headwinds and a lot more climbing than on the way out." The previous record was 1d:18h:22.
You can see Craig's ride here. The key question, though; Is it on Strava?
We might have to find you some road.cc socks, Craig!
Apparently, the Friends actress was given the $12,000 Chanel town bike like the one above, by a co-star. The bike features a suspension saddle, a frame-mounted pump, mudguards and a pannier rack too.
On that pannier rack, you'll find a collection of Channel bags which we're guessing is where most of the $12,000 is going. For that, you could have the new S-Works SL7, the new Trek Emonda, or even a properly good eBike.
Trump has signed the Great American Outdoors act into law, meaning that $900million will go to the Land and Water Conservation Fund annually. American cyclists are set to benefit from more trail maintenance along with the creation of new trails.
Despite pulling out of the Paris Agreement and vocally denouncing climate change evidence, Trump said that "from an environmental standpoint and from just the beauty of our country standpoint, there hasn’t been anything like this since Teddy Roosevelt, I suspect.”
So at least he was humble about it.
One coffee company to spot the addiction that cyclists have to their products is Pact Coffee, an ethical producer of speciality coffee. They've signed up the Tour de France winner as an ambassador and he's put his name against a dark roast profile coffee, presumably being a fan of a strong cuppa.
The limited-edition Geraint Thomas ‘Gran Fondo Espresso’ blend is now available in select UK coffee shops and cycle cafes. Pact customers will be able to buy Gran Fondo Espresso direct from pactcoffee.com from 17th August. A 250g bag of Gran Fondo Espresso costs £11.95.
Pact says that the "Gran Fondo Espresso has a zesty profile, which is balanced with a dark chocolate flavour that gives it a stronger roast. The beans for the blend are grown at the Buenos Aires farm in Colombia, and the Remera Washing Station farm in Rwanda and the blend is best served as a classic Italian 5oz cappuccino."
Geraint Thomas commented: “Coffee and caffeine play such a pivotal role in how I train for events, on race days, and how I like to kick back and recover, so becoming a brand ambassador for Pact is a natural fit. Pact isn’t just a leading speciality coffee provider, the work it does with farmers and growers really resonated with me and being able to create my own coffee blend with the company’s experts gave me great insight into just how impactful a single cup of coffee can be.”
Thanks, Geraint, I'll take one now and keep them coming, please!
Oooh la la 🧐 pic.twitter.com/jGZjiiZrKh
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) August 4, 2020
We're guessing that Ineos has gone for the menacing look with their new TdF kit to replicate the Grenadier 4x4 that gives them their name change.
Geraint Thomas gave us a peek at the new kit yesterday. I'm getting tasting notes of Aqua Blue Sports, Sky 2010 and a faint aftertaste of Alpecin Fenix. It's certainly a return to the mostly black design that the Sky/Ineos team has favoured over the years.
You can't go wrong with a little black number, after all.