Went to a cycling cafe last week, happened to mention I wasn’t all that keen on coffee. Not sure I’m allowed back. Probably ended up on some list.
— Quicklink Podcast (@QuicklinkPod) March 21, 2022
Coffee stops are synonymous with cycling – but is there anyone out there who can’t stand a cappuccino or a flat white?
As a teenager on club runs, I was one of the few who ordered a cup of tea – but over the years they slowly ground me down (geddit?) and now coffee is a prerequisite on a long ride.
Has anyone stronger than me held out against the ever-increasing pressure to bow down to the omnipresent cycling-coffee culture of the 2020s?
With half of the cycling world taking to Google to figure out what exactly a dropper post does after Matej Mohorič’s death-defying descent of the Poggio to win a thrilling edition of Milan-San Remo on Saturday, we all assumed we were witnessing the birth of some new ground-breaking technology, set to revolutionise the sport.
> UCI confirms Matej Mohorič’s Milan-San Remo-winning dropper post is within rules
Mohorič even described dropper posts as “the future of cycling” in his post-race press conference.
But, as with all great leaps forward in road cycling, the dropper post of course stems from another branch of the sport, and was first tested in mountain biking a decade before the Slovenian was born:
Roadies, always at the cutting edge of technology. pic.twitter.com/uWQIFPLcep
— Daniel Lloyd (@daniellloyd1) March 21, 2022
I imagine I wasn’t the only one who spent the weekend listening to their brother claiming: ‘I knew they’d bring dropper posts in. After they banned riding on the top tube, I knew it…’
In any case, as Sam Bennett predicted over the weekend, just like LeMond’s tri-bars in 1989 the market for dropper posts has surely ballooned after Mohorič’s monument-winning antics on Saturday:
🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈
— Matej Mohoric (@matmohoric) March 20, 2022
Following Cycling UK’s call for Derbyshire County Council to publish a risk assessment justifying why it closed Snake Pass to walkers and cyclists, a bunch of two-wheeled trespassers took to the Peak District climb on Saturday for the second week in a row.
Despite the brutal headwind, everyone seemed to enjoy a sunny and rather pleasant spin on the car-free A57:
Sun out ☀️
No cars 🚗Snake Pass Mass ride! pic.twitter.com/NCEGtAwwKT
— Harry Gray (@HarryHamishGray) March 19, 2022
Great to see so many new faces this week up Snake Pass
Everyone made it to the top, even if some had to walk with the headwind! pic.twitter.com/aWuU2RNKIs
— Harry Gray (@HarryHamishGray) March 19, 2022
What an experience - here’s the #snakepasstresspassers#snakepass@HarryHamishGray plus others…. I’d never EVER ride that road with cars …. The bluest skies EVER … wow! #glossop#incredibleexperience#cyclingpic.twitter.com/plV6ZazYLs
— Deb Todd (@DebTodd21) March 19, 2022
Snake pass trespass - what a day! Best day I’ve had on a bike on UK roads. Cheers for organising @HarryHamishGray👌🏻 #SnakePass#SnakePassTrespasspic.twitter.com/zVguv7AUwN
— Rhianna Parkinson (@Rhianna1991) March 19, 2022
Not sure what's going on outside my window, but I do love to see it 🚲💚 pic.twitter.com/AWE5QcYIfg
— Patrick McAllister🌱 (@PatDBMcAllister) March 20, 2022
The founder of ‘Drum and Bass on the Bike’, DJ Dom Whiting, is using his popular pedalling rave to call for improved cycling infrastructure in Bristol.
Around a thousand people joined Whiting as he went for a spin around the city yesterday, spinning some tunes from his handlebar-mounted decks.
It’s the second time the DJ has taken his mobile disco to Bristol, filling the streets with cyclists, scooters, walkers and positive vibes – not to mention bemused onlookers and frustrated motorists…
And back again. Lots of annoyed motorists pic.twitter.com/jAPOBNgarT
— Patrick McAllister🌱 (@PatDBMcAllister) March 20, 2022
Last month he celebrated the one-year anniversary of Drum and Bass on the Bike with a tour around his hometown of Southampton.
“We definitely shut down Bristol, that is for sure”, Whiting announced to the impressive crowd during yesterday’s ride.
But as they went around the Bearpit roundabout and headed down Haymarket, the DJ had a message for the local council, declaring that “Bristol cycle infrastructure needs reinventing ASAP”.
Now it may not be my cup of tea musically (as regular readers will know from my punk and classic rock-based puns), but if it leads to more cycle lanes I’m all for the occasional drum and bass…
Ah, Twitter. Widely renowned as a place for thoughtful, considerate debate (isn’t it?), the social media platform can also – surprisingly – provide a largely anonymous refuge for the more toxic opinions of certain groups.
And so it proved, when over the weekend Jeremy Vine posted another video of his commute in London, which showed a van driver mounting the footpath to get past a taxi on what used to be the cycle lane on Kensington High Street:
Yesterday, Kensington. 😡@Trafficwmp@SurreyRoadCops@roaddangers@Lord_nikon0131@London_Cycling@KensingtonVan@kensington@KensingtonRoyal@kensingtonband@betterstreetskc@BetterChiswick@AracerRacer@rant_rate@ormondroyd@danbamb@jonburkeUK@RailtonLTN@LoveFor2Wheelspic.twitter.com/H8LzO2TD9G
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) March 19, 2022
One particularly unpleasant taxi driver’s response to the broadcaster’s video was, let’s say, rather blunt:
@theJeremyVine… u are a sad twat
— Tom (@tjab1425) March 19, 2022
In fairness, Vine didn’t hold back either:
So sad that you have a licence to embarrass London. Please find a different job.
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) March 20, 2022
You don't understand do you? The more people cycle, the clearer the roads are for you to pick up passengers. But you have a strange loathing for cyclists instead of loving us.
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) March 20, 2022
After a few more childish and largely meme-based taunts (I would probably avoid visiting Tom the cabbie’s profile, as it’s pretty unsavoury), one user came up with handy idea for cyclists to avoid any anti-bike taxi drivers:
Wish toxic Twitter taxi drivers would put their Twitter handles on the side of their taxis so you could avoid them. There are so many lovely taxi drivers, but there is the concern you could end up with someone who has all this hate.
— Railton LTN (@RailtonLTN) March 20, 2022
This prompted some cyclists, including road.cc’s very own Simon MacMichael, to share their favourite bike-related taxi stories:
My fave London taxi story? Cutting it fine for Eurostar, grab cab from Paddington.
Driver: "Effin' cyclists, think they're in Tour de France. Anyway, where you off to guv?"
"Paris. Presentation of route of next year's Tour de France. Don't worry, don't think Euston Road's on it."https://t.co/a6rLsbb2aP— Simon MacMichael (@simonmacmichael) March 20, 2022
Some of the Edinburgh ones not much better! https://t.co/Ok9d8cec1X
— Deacon Thurston 🚴♂️ (@DeaconThurston) March 20, 2022
And my personal favourite, from cycling author Chris Sidwells:
Mine is. Irish female taxi driver. “What do you do?”. Me, “I write about cycling” Her, “I hate fuckin’ cyclists.” Then, “do you know Sean and Stephen?” Me, “Yes I do” Her, “Ah, they’re lovely fellas.”
— Chris Sidwells (@ChrisSidwells) March 20, 2022
Others, however, were keen to point out that Tom the cabbie certainly doesn’t represent all taxi drivers:
Tubes were playing up one morning so I got a cab to Euston. Said I cycle to work and he asked which club I rode for ‘Catford’ (at the time). ‘Oh, I’m West Kent RC’. Lovely trip.
— Rob Bullyment (@RobBully) March 20, 2022
But so many lovely drivers who have been a great deal of comfort at dark and sad times.
— Railton LTN (@RailtonLTN) March 20, 2022
The last time I was in a taxi, a few weeks ago in the coastal town of Bray, just outside Dublin, we spent almost an hour chatting to our driver, a retired café owner who used to race mountain bikes, reminiscing about local cycling legends like Peter Crinnion. Thankfully he didn’t keep the meter running…