On 12 September 2022 we'll be adding e-bikes to Santander Cycles for the first time. Bike hire prices will change at the same time to help secure continued investment in cycle hire in London.https://t.co/bNo9BTyIKo
You can see how our e-bike offer represents good value: pic.twitter.com/ArhJncjiS9
— Will Norman (@willnorman) August 26, 2022
Our first reaction was £3.30 seems steep...BUT in comparison with other schemes, for longer dockless journeys, £3.30 comes out looking pretty decent...
Clik here to view.
A cyclist who went missing while out for a bike ride with his wife in the New Forest has now been found, Hampshire Police confirmed.
72-year-old Charles Pugh got separated from his wife at around 12.30pm on Tuesday near Beechen Lane in Lyndhurst, prompting a search. The pensioner was found overnight and Hampshire Constabulary thanked those who helped with the appeal.
While riding across Utrecht’s Wittevrouwenbrug today, we spotted what at first glance seemed to be some kind of cool new art installation.
Then we suddenly realized it was simply that time of year when the municipality fishes the weesfietsen (“orphaned bikes”) out of the canals. pic.twitter.com/DbEqGvr4TP
— Melissa & Chris Bruntlett (@modacitylife) October 5, 2022
Clik here to view.
More bad news coming out of Peloton today...
On the slide since gyms reopened following Covid-related lockdowns, Peloton cut the cost of its exercise bike by 20 per cent last year after posting worsening losses. The bad news kept coming in 2022 too – in July, the company announced it would stop making bikes in the US as its share price hit an all-time low (and has dropped further since).
In August, Peloton reported a $1.2 billion fourth quarter loss... and now is set to sack 500 staff. The Evening Standard reports the move represents 12 per cent of the fitness brand's workforce, and is the second major round of job cuts in the last few months (adding to an August statement that 784 people would lose their jobs).
A spokesperson said: "A key aspect of Peloton's transformation journey is optimising efficiencies and implementing cost savings to simplify our business and achieve break-even cash flow by the end of our fiscal year."
Here's a niche one for the select group of readers familiar with Richmond Park. Shout out to the Twitter follower who forwarded it to us (apologies, it was way back this morning and I can't find it now)... this video game clip appeared on the Nature in Richmond Borough Facebook page by someone "currently developing a Richmond Park video game". "Crazy cyclists and drivers are next to be added as enemies"... apparently.
Each to their own, I guess...
😍
🥰 https://t.co/nHi6HAKJkIpic.twitter.com/HF7YTmi2MA
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) October 6, 2022
How's that for an aero machine? Pretty darned good, we'd say...
> Pinarello unveils "the first high-performance 3D-printed bike" for Ganna’s UCI Hour Record attempt
Pinarello unveiled Filippo Ganna's ride, "the first high-performance 3D-printed bike", a Bolide F HR 3D, earlier this week. It was developed with the help of Ineos Grenadiers' performance engineer, and current Hour Record holder, Dan Bigham, who rode a prototype in his record-breaking ride back in August.
Clik here to view.
"The frame was only five parts, with the front triangle made in three pieces and the seatstays/chainstays as two more pieces," says Pinarello. "These pieces were made individually and after meticulous cleaning and support removal, the parts were bonded together using an aerospace-grade epoxy."
The bike's elite, so is Ganna... the only question now is: how far he'll go?
The Italian will take on the UCI Hour Record in Grenchen, Switzerland, on Saturday 8 October at 8pm CEST (7pm BST). The attempt will be broadcast free on Ineos Grenadiers' YouTube channel.
Broke off work for 15 minutes earlier to catch start of @GranPiemonte, great atmosphere in Omegna, little town at Northern end of Lago d'Orta pic.twitter.com/5LAS7eQep6
— Simon MacMichael 🏴🇮🇹🇪🇺❤️💙🚲 (@simonmacmichael) October 6, 2022
Who's that lad in the white?
And a certain someone was looking both very relaxed and very focused at the start ... lethal combination 👍 pic.twitter.com/zAEZxuIOKj
— Simon MacMichael 🏴🇮🇹🇪🇺❤️💙🚲 (@simonmacmichael) October 6, 2022
The news I know we've all been on tenterhooks for. Dave B is back on Strava...
> Sir Dave Brailsford reveals his personal diet and training regime on Strava
Does backlash to THINK! advice highlight issues with the Highway Code?
Road safety campaign advises parents to "be aware of people driving and allow them to overtake (by moving into single file or stopping) when safe to do so" during Cycle To School Weekhttps://t.co/zVx68tyDaEpic.twitter.com/byLpuBs61h— road.cc (@roadcc) October 6, 2022
Big suggestion from Jetmans Dad in the comments this lunchtime... can we boil most road safety advice down to, quite simply, don't be a knob?
The suggestion came after Patrick9-32's comment: "If you look at these things from where a lot of people are coming from which is: 'My convenience is roughly equivalent in importance to anyone else's safety' the arguments start to make a lot more sense. So many of those 'but what if I have to stay behind a cyclist for a mile???' comments that seem insane suddenly make sense, they are just coming from a person who is broken.
What THINK! and other organisations need to push isn't: 'Cyclists, improve the convenience of motorists where you can please...' That builds up that equivalence further, but instead: 'drivers, your convenience is less important than a human life, slow down, wait, don't be a knob'."
HoarseMann suggested the way the advice was edited caused a problem: "The problem with that THINK! tweet is they've done what most drivers do when reading that sentence from the Highway Code; they've missed out the YOU FEEL.
"The rule is not 'when safe to do so', it's when YOU the cyclist FEELS it's safe (which might be never if you're riding with a child)."
LeadenSkies added: "They have tried to take a snippet from the overall rule and ended up taking bits out of context and changing the overall meaning/ emphasis. The first sentence in the Highway Code paragraph itself is general advice about being considerate to other road users, the second sentence adds clarification that you can ride two abreast and indeed they give two scenarios where it is safer.
"The third sentence returns to general advice and doesn't build on sentence two at all. By only paraphrasing sentences two and three in their tweet THINK! have changed the emphasis and meaning. Poor on their part."
Looks like they're playing it safe and uncontentious today!https://t.co/sSjaQzaqxk
— Peter Clinch (@pj_clinch) October 6, 2022
No such drama today...
Here we go...
Question: What is the UCI doing about 'sportswashing', where countries with poor human rights records host major sporting events?
David Lappartient: "That's of course a potential danger. The money involved in cycling is not very high compared to, say, football, even if we are one of the biggest sports when it comes to the number of fans.
"If you aggregate budgets for the teams and the race organisers, we have not so much more than €800 million, which is not so high. When you are in a closed stadium you sell tickets, but when you are on the road and the road is completely free, you can't sell tickets to have people there.
"This means we have to combine potential markets wich are key for us and the passion for the sport, but of course we have to balance that with human rights, which is also something key for the UCI and sport globally."
I've summarised this response to save time for everyone.
*Not a lot* pic.twitter.com/UQrzp0ZXhm
— Andy Noble (@andy24noble) October 6, 2022
At least that's cleared up... right, where was I? Oh yes... checking UAE Team Emirates, Bahrain Victorious and Israel-Premier Tech's Il Lombardia line ups...
Clik here to view.
Transport for London and Santander Cycles have expanded their fleet of hire bikes in the capital to include 500 e-bikes. They can be used for up to 60 minutes, have been distributed across central London, and can be docked as normal at any of the 800 docking stations.
> E-bikes finally coming to London's Santander Cycles Hire Scheme
The rollout had been due to happen last month, but was postponed due to the Queen's funeral. TfL's chair, Sadiq Khan, said it was a "momentous" day, and he is "determined to make cycling as accessible as possible as we continue building a safer, greener, more prosperous London for everyone."
Santander Cycles now joins Lime, HumanForest, TIER and Dott in offering Londoners e-bike hire.
Forgive the clunky TikTok embed, guess it serves me right for sharing something from the godawful favourite of the youth...
@danny_macaskill Putting a slight twist on the usual iphone drop test! @Mous keeping things nice and safe… #livewithoutlimits#iphone14#droptest#edinburgh#royalmile♬ original sound - Danny Macaskill
Turns out this one's a few months old, and yes, it did survive...thanks to its Mous case...yes, it was an ad...
— Jacob Vaughan (@JacobVaughan14) October 6, 2022
Coming to you from Veneto, north-east Italy, first on Saturday afternoon for the women's race, then on Sunday for the men, the 2022 UCI Gravel World Championships has attracted some startlist...
THINK! road safety's third day of Cycle To School Week started with the following advice for parents cycling with their kids...
#CycleToSchoolWeek Day 3 🚲
Cycling 2 abreast (side by side) with children/inexperienced riders can help keep them safer on the roads.
Remember to be aware of people driving and allow them to overtake (for example, by moving into single file or stopping) when safe to do so. pic.twitter.com/7sMTScVqG6
— THINK! Road Safety (@THINKgovuk) October 5, 2022
Followed by a full pile-in over the second paragraph, which many suggested was inappropriate and unsafe advice...
— Lockdown Cyclist (@LockdownCyclist) October 5, 2022
If I'm riding two abreast to protect a child from traffic, why would I move to single file every time a car appears? Drivers can wait until it's safe. Or just wait.
— Katy (@TheBlueUlysses) October 5, 2022
If I'm riding two abreast to protect a child from traffic, why would I move to single file every time a car appears? Drivers can wait until it's safe. Or just wait.
— Katy (@TheBlueUlysses) October 5, 2022
Please focus on the real problempic.twitter.com/A4weE6zMfI
— cycle guy- strays off topic (@thecycleguy3) October 5, 2022
So where did this advice come from? THINK!? Nope, this heavily-criticised advice came directly from... well... the Highway Code...
Be considerate of the needs of other road users when riding in groups. You can ride two abreast and it can be safer to do so, particularly in larger groups or when accompanying children or less experienced riders. Be aware of drivers behind you and allow them to overtake (for example, by moving into single file or stopping) when you feel it is safe to let them do so.
This revelation made it a smidge more understandable (to some) why THINK! had used that wording, but others pointed out protecting children cycling on the road should probably come slightly higher on the ol' priorities hierarchy than abiding perfectly to the code.
Is the key point "if you feel safe to do so" and/or do parts of the Highway Code still need updating?
This is not a great piece of comms because, whilst the second sentence is straight from the Highway Code, when I'm riding on the road with children/inexperienced riders, I pretty much always judge it to be safest to be a little further out than they are. https://t.co/W8MNC9fTjK
— Jon Owen (@anotherJon) October 5, 2022
No. You go in the next lane to overtake even a single cyclist. Singling out doesn’t help overtaking. It only encourages dangerous squeezing past cyclists. pic.twitter.com/oLwtjdBy8t
— CyclingMikey (@MikeyCycling) October 5, 2022
These Think! tweets aren’t terribly real-life useful but they’re compliant with current Highway Code (which remains duff in many respects and needs further revisions.)
— Carlton Reid (@carltonreid) October 5, 2022