I mean, at least we haven't completely lost our minds. That's the main thing. https://t.co/5rqLids1TD
— Gareth Icke 🚜🇳🇱 (@garethicke) September 12, 2022
@NorwichCC@MarinaPurkiss@robbiewest
Discovered reason for closing the bike racks outside city hall is to make space for the queues to sign book of condolence.
BORINGLY SENSIBLE.
but that shouldn't limit possibility of a story next door. Can you @BBCLookEast send Robbie West— John Esling (@JohnEsling) September 11, 2022
It’s a chain reaction.
— Seán Ó Domhnaill (@SeanMODomhnaill) September 12, 2022
Well since this morning we've found out from our spotter Terry that it's actually multiple bike racks with signs on around Norwich City Hall, and interestingly the wording appears to be slightly different on each one.
Even though, as some have pointed out, there is something of a reasonable explanation for the closure of the racks, in the court of public opinion the council are still taking a fair bit of flak for closing them for such a lengthy period of time.
I was there, saw it and parked my bike regardless… #NotMyKing#AbolishTheMonachypic.twitter.com/bxiZgb51NM
— Andrew (@Andrew719236601) September 11, 2022
Someone proudly proclaiming to be an anti-monarchist has now even parked their bike in front of the sign in protest.
Remember, as a cyclist it's important to make eye-contact with drivers. pic.twitter.com/86LsVeCR4l
— Entitled Cyclist🚲 (@EntitledCycling) September 11, 2022
Unless you're Shaquille O'Neal, that might be difficult in some parts of the USA where these very, very large pickup trucks appear to be gaining popularity amongst sections of the population that, we suspect, are not using them for logging....
Police rushed to Great Dover Street outside Borough Underground Station in London at 7.35am this morning following the collision between a cyclist and a flat-bed lorry driver. The Evening Standard reports that the male cyclist was taken to hospital for treatment, and he is in a critical condition.
The driver of the flat-bed lorry stopped at the scene, and there have been no arrests made at the time of writing.
As Remco Evenepoel crossed the line yesterday in the Spanish capital of Madrid he became the first Belgian to win a Grand Tour in 44 years. He also took the first Grand Tour win for his team, Quick-Step AlphaVinyl, and boy did we know about it!
Along with multiple posts to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram they also posted 79 Instagram stories throughout the day, granted one of two were from the GP Montreal, but mostly it was Remco in Red. Here are a few social media posts after the final stage...
Our first Grand Tour 🤩#LaVuelta22pic.twitter.com/uK3xpOnhkZ
— Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (@qst_alphavinyl) September 11, 2022
All hail the first Belgian Grand Tour Champion in 44 years!#LaVuelta22
Photo: @GettySportpic.twitter.com/dikaM9DucJ
— Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (@qst_alphavinyl) September 11, 2022
Red suits you, Remco! 🔴 pic.twitter.com/12s39qgstH
— Royal Belgian FA (@RoyalBelgianFA) September 10, 2022
Surely the cars could stay at home as a show of respect to the death of the Queen?
— patrickwillcocks (@patrickwillcock) September 11, 2022
The right call. I shall join this touching tribute and needlessly rev a gas guzzler in her honour.
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) September 11, 2022
A beautiful tribute. I’m watching the traffic jam between TK Maxx and the William Morris with a patriotic tear running down my cheek.
— Kyrill Potapov (@KyrillPotapov) September 11, 2022
As we've already mentioned, a number of events have been simmered down or cancelled altogether following the death of Queen Elizabeth last Thursday, and some of the decisions have left people scratching their heads... with the one to cancel Car Free Day in Hammersmith yesterday standing out as one of the most puzzling.
Is it more respectful to drive round Hammersmith than to walk, cycle or catch the bus? With what we suspect is a hint of sarcasm, Sue and John added: "She would really really have appreciated this gesture - stopping local people celebrating a lovely and community-focused idea was the reason she got up in the morning."
While we still await further comment from Norwich City Council (though as EnjoyTheRide points out in the comments, it's probably not its top priority right now) we've heard from an intrepid reader who happens to be in Norwich today for some eyewitness reporting.
Terry Gilbert tells road.cc that four cycle racks around City Hall have the notices on:
"The excuse seems to be to allow people to leave flowers, but I took a photo showing that currently the flowers are not at the point where they encroach near the bike racks," said Terry.
"If it's for presentation reasons, I for one think the notices are rather more distracting from the aesthetic of the City Hall frontage than a bike!"
He added: "On the other side of the main steps to the building, the racks have been closed to enable them to rope off the footway for the vast queues waiting to sign the condolence book."
"Here's the floral tribute notice, close up"
Do we still think this heavy-handed approach is appropriate? According to our live analytics a lot of people are pondering this very question right now...
Thanks to Terry for supplying the photos and info
This one might take up most of your lunch break to watch in its entirely, and I'm not sure you'll learn much from doing so... essentially the driver is really, really not happy that he has ben caught using a phone at the wheel, and repeatedly says the person who caught him doing so is "disgusting", as well as calling his bike "cheap" (for the record, it's most likely not a cheap bike at all).
After a lot of shouting and the de-escalation of what nearly turned into a physical altercation, the offender himself called the police, the officers appear puzzled and CyclingMikey, real name Mike Van Erp, left the scene after chatting to one of the attending officers.
Van Erp said in the video description: "I was too late to report this driver as I was busy at work at the time, so he got off completely scott-free. Interestingly, TfL have recently changed their policies on what offences will result in a green badge being revoked. It takes at least 12 points, or two mobile phone convictions, to be considered for driver licence disqualification. TfL will, however, revoke a green badge or PHV licence for a single mobile phone conviction.
"I hope this taxi driver doesn't use his phone any more. I also hope that this incident gave him a big shock."
As mentioned in our post further down the page, numerous people have defended Norwich City Council for the closing of the bike rack outside City Hall due to the events taking place in the area. As you can see above, the proclamation for King Charles III took place yesterday afternoon, and it's expected that high volumes of people will visit to leave flowers during the national period of mourning.
We're quite certain this is the cycle rack in question, which is indeed right outside City Hall, and could in theory become tricky to access if large crowds formed around it.
So, is it possible that long queues to pay respects will last for 12 days, thus rendering the rack unusable? This is almost too much for a Monday morning...
Hardly the main issue, not least for those queuing 11 hours, but I'm going to need a new bike route into work this week. pic.twitter.com/uM09R14gny
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) September 11, 2022
As we also noted in our news story after the death of Elizabeth II last week, a number of road closures and diversions will be in force during preparations for the funeral in London. We predicted some of the roads in the map above could be closed for several weeks, including Cycleway 3, which passes both Buckingham Palace and Parliament Square, plus Wellington Barracks where many of the troops who provide ceremonial duties in London are based.
We're still waiting for all the exact details from TfL, and will update when we know more. At the moment, TfL's page on travel advice for the mourning period regarding cycling says: "Avoid the roads that are closed to motor traffic and use alternatives if possible. Central London will be very busy. It may be too crowded to cycle in some areas.
"Follow the instructions of stewards and police - you may need to dismount and walk at times."
Britain seeing Thailand levels of royal mourning and then raising https://t.co/4FG6KsAxrp
— Jerome Taylor (@JeromeTaylor) September 12, 2022
If your bike is locked up safe and sound, are you really even mourning? That appears to be the message Norwich City Council are trying to hammer home, after a local spotted this bike rack outside City Hall had been closed... for 12 whole days, in what some people are suggesting is a bizarre mark of respect to our late monarch.
Although, is there a reasonable explanation? One road.cc reader from Norwich got in touch to say that as the cycle rack is outside City Hall it could be justifiable to put it out of use during the proclamation for King Charles III, but they were puzzled as to why it needed to be shut for the entire mourning period.
Jeremy, who took the photo, also told us: "There were a few people commentating on it and saying that because there’s people leaving flowers outside and going into the city hall building to sign the book of condolences that there might be a queue to get in which would get in the way of the cycle racks.
"The flowers weren’t really near them, and I’m not sure that people would be queueing for all of the days it’s out of action, so seemed a bit of overkill."
So the cycle rack can't be used, but the council have the time to remove anything attached to it? Explanation welcome @NorwichCChttps://t.co/M4JhnM2mRf
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) September 11, 2022
FFS imagine seeing this bullshit when you want to park your bike after a little cycle ride on your new Bank Holiday day off.
Outrageous. https://t.co/0onbqzIxMM
— Jason Kneen (@jasonkneen) September 11, 2022
TBF the closing of cycle racks following the death of the monarch has been established protocol since the death of Edward III in 1377. The practice was suspended during the Interregnum but revived by Charles II who famously hated cyclists.
— feralghoul steve pemberton 🌟 (@feralghoul1) September 11, 2022
Of course social media has gone into overdrive about this seemingly OTT mark of 'respect', with Jeremy Vine and many others chiming in to wonder just why locking your bike up over the next week or so is disrespectful.
It's not the only unusual bit of meddling from authorities and event organisers that has taken place since the passing of Elizabeth II aged 96, with a number of children's events targeted for cancellation during the period of mourning such as Ironkids at Ironman Wales, the children's fun run at the Great North Run and this fair on Wimbledon Common...
And the kids fair on Wimbledon Common was cancelled today. Four miles away the test match is on and it's packed. Bonkers. pic.twitter.com/h6WzWeHd6M
— mick dore (@14thefrog) September 11, 2022
Of course, we've put a question in to Norwich City Council to get their side of the story on that now infamous bike rack...
...because he now has a ProCyclingStats page! Liam will be looking to add to his other stellar results such as 36th at the Category 2 National Trophy Series Round 5 in Pembrey over this year's cyclocross season, do stay tuned...
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Unbelievable as it is, it really is true that Evenepoel is the first Belgian for almost half a century to win one of cycling's Grand Tours. After some wobbles in the mountains the 22-year-old managed to hold on in style and finished over two minutes ahead of Enric Mas in second place.
In love with this bike 😍#LaVuelta22pic.twitter.com/tCpXpzJKTB
— Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (@qst_alphavinyl) September 11, 2022
Of course Evenepoel had a lovely red Specialized Tarmac to mark the occasion, and did some classic poses with his teammates before rolling across the line...
Congrats, guys!
You’ve made it!#LaVuelta22
Photo: @GettySportpic.twitter.com/9cDMsMgQwE
— Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team (@qst_alphavinyl) September 11, 2022
Can this lad win the Tour de France one day? We're still just glad he picked cycling over football...
Taken a road.cc hiatus this weekend? Can't say I agree with that but you're here now and that's what matters, so here's what you've missed...
> Cycling ‘Viking’ told not to bring axe and sword into London
> Tech of the Week from Rapha, MAAP, Bolle, Leopard Lync and Islabikes + more
> Review: Tifosi Auriga Disc Chorus 2022
> Five things we loved about the Italian Bike Festival
> Win! Mason Definition OR Bokeh frameset worth up to £1,375!
> NMOTD 790 updated: Cyclist gets ANOTHER close pass from same taxi the day after punishment pass