The Daily Echo reports that police in Bournemouth recovered eight bicycles and one e-scooter, worth an estimated £8,400, during a 'day of action' along with Beryl bikes in the town centre last week.
> Three quarters of Brits don't expect police to bother investigating bike thefts
The 'mobile technology' the force and Beryl deployed has not been reported, but constable Chris Lee said they had been able to "work with a partner in the private sector to utilise the latest technology and resulted in a significant number of suspected stolen items being recovered. I am grateful to Beryl for the assistance they have provided." Mysterious.
Three teenagers are assisting officers with their enquiries as the investigation into the stolen bikes continues.
[📷: Sam Saunders cc-sa-2.0]
The BBC reports that councillors in Bristol are to debate how to make cyclists safer in the city following a petition signed by thousands calling for more bike lanes and secure storage.
> "Omnishambles" cycle lane fenced off just one week after opening
A full council meeting on 8 November will be the scene of the discussions, with campaigners calling for a comprehensive network of safe cycling routes, rather than "piecemeal" lanes.
"We feel there seems to be a retrograde step in the approach towards cycling," chair of the Bristol Cycling Campaign Ian Pond said. "We have seen progress in Bristol with short sections of cycleways but they don't join up very well."
road.cc and our parent company F-At Digital is hiring again, and this time we're looking for a knowledgeable and enthusiastic tech writer. If you love bikes and want to write about them for a living, this is the job for you...
Let's do some more of your reviews and thoughts...
— Percy Vere (@Cer_Velo) November 3, 2022
Cartoon by TwistedDoodles...
peted76: "Watched it last night and my resounding thoughts are that it felt like a missed opportunity' and 'it could have been worse'...
"I was miffed that there wasn't any mention of the economic benefits to cycling mentioned (less pressure on the NHS being a headline) and no focus on pollution as I could determine either.
"It was a bit fluffy for what 'should' have been a more hard-hitting programme."
Bungle_52 commented on Anna Holligan's Tweet... "From the article: 'Watching from the Netherlands, the UK looks like a different universe. What causes this aggression? Here in NL drivers are all cyclists too, tomorrow it could be you in the saddle — but surely it's more complex than that?'
"I don't think it is, it really is that simple."
exilegareth was even more critical of the programme: "Just about everything about the programme was wrong [...] If this was on Gbeebies, or Channel 5, you'd dismiss it out of hand as just another example of lowest common denominator TV, but this was publicly funded by a channel and programme strand that are supposed to exemplars of quality."
BalladOfStruth: "I haven't watched it (I doubt it'll be good for my blood pressure), but it does seem that they've missed a very good opportunity to dispel some long-standing cycling myths.
"Seeing as the 'trailer' points out that 28 per cent of motorists don't view cyclists as equal partners on the road, that 33 per cent don't think cyclists should be on the road at all, and most of the replies on Twitter seem to start with some form of "iF cYclIsTS aCTuAllY PaID RoAD tAx!", I can't help but think that the BBC could have devoted at least some of the runtime setting the record straight on some topics."
FIFA tournaments, route reveals and bike sponsor switches aside it's the time of year for pro cycling transfers. Today's big news is double Vuelta stage winner Jay Vine is off to be teammates with Tadej Pogačar next year at UAE Team Emirates...
✍️ We're delighted to announce the signing of @JayVine3🇦🇺 on a two-year deal.
Welcome Jay!
Full story👇https://t.co/geBmd6HmZc#UAETeamEmirates#WeAreUAEpic.twitter.com/Rw3TRI3lnv
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) November 3, 2022
No sign yet if Vine will be given the João Almeida treatment and sent to the Giro/Vuelta to chase his own ambitions or if he'll slot into Pogačar's ever-improving GC line up...
Vine: "I'm really excited to be joining UAE Team Emirates. With their strong combination of riders and their GC experience, this was the next logical step in my career.
"I'm really grateful for the opportunities Alpecin has given me, and how they’ve helped me find my place in the peloton. I'm motivated for the new season with UAE, and eager to further refine my GC ambitions whilst helping the boys kick some goals."
[📷: Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
Nairo Quintana has lost his Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) appeal against his disqualification from this year's Tour de France for an infringement of the in-competition ban on tramadol.
In a brief statement the UCI commented:
This decision reinforces the validity of the tramadol ban in the UCI Medical Regulations in order to protect the health and safety of riders.
Quintana returned blood samples from two stages of the Tour de France which showed the presence of tramadol and its two main metabolites.
> World Anti-Doping Agency set to ban painkiller tramadol
Infringements of the in-competition ban on using tramadol are offences under the UCI Medical Rules. They do not constitute anti-doping rule violations and are instead seen as necessary to protect riders' health. Consequently Quintana was not suspended from competition, but did lose his sixth place and stage results.
[📷: Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, the new generation dominating the Tour de France, could be about to lock horns once again. Their latest competition won't be a bike race across France, however, but instead quite possibly a FIFA World Championship for pro cyclists.
The popular football video game is seemingly played by more than a few of the men's peloton, with Marc Hirschi, Alessandro Covi, Felix Großschartner, Diego Ulissi, Samuele Battistella, Vincenzo Nibali, Domenico Pozzovivo and Biniam Girmay amongst the riders who have already paid their €50 entry fee to the gaming showdown. The winner will take home a cool £1,000...
The tournament will be streamed on Twitch on 15 December and VeloNews is reporting Vingegaard's agent has been approached to see if the Tour champ wants to put his FIFA reputation on the line...
After a day of interest from mainly the cycling community, Panorama's 'Road Rage: Cars v Bikes' went live on air at 8pm last night on BBC One, shooting it into the homes of many more viewers...
Perhaps painfully predictably the episode has attracted the usual reaction from those without Highway Code knowledge spouting falsehoods, and those who — whatever was broadcast — would still rant and rave about number plates, insurance, licences, red light jumping, two abreast riding and just about any other tediously boring anti-cycling buzzword.
Now, I should probably be more Chris Boardman about the whole thing...
But part of the criticism of the episode from many is that it, not helped by that dreadfully culture-warring title, might legitimise people's idea that cyclists are something to be against, and to dislike, and to spew about online or down the pub (rather than just another person, friend, colleague, family member). For that reason it seems important to mention that some people are saying stupid, things about cycling this morning...
*Feel free to skip this bit*
Cyclists who ride their bikes and obey the rules of the road are fine - but many seem to think that stopping at red traffic lights and stopping at a pedestrian crossing doesn’t apply to them, then complain when they get injured or injure someone else!! 😡😡😡😡😡
— AliHarrowell 💙 (@AlisonHarrowell) November 2, 2022
Just watched tonights show where the presenter was advocating for more cycle lanes and more considerate drivers.…….and promptly chose to ignore the cycle lane and cycle down the middle of the road!! pic.twitter.com/HJdtaqcmRO
— beefy (@beefy63) November 2, 2022
Those are the take-home messages some took from an investigation into why, in an admittedly questionable survey, one-in-three said cyclists should not be on the road and a quarter admit deliberately driving too close. In true Rod Liddle style... yeah, but what about that one who jumped a red light in town on Tuesday? They need to be registered...
The tide wave of stupidity has started. #Panoramahttps://t.co/ZyIVduF83y
— MBTom (@MBTom_co_uk) November 2, 2022
Cycling should be encouraged but at the same time needs to be properly regulated #cycling#roadsafety#Panoramahttps://t.co/DFbQOwV2BK
— Nick Freeman (@TheMrLoophole) November 2, 2022
Watching from the Netherlands, the UK looks like a different universe.
What causes this aggression?
Here in NL drivers are all cyclists too, tomorrow it could be you in the saddle - but surely it's more complex than that? https://t.co/wwXJtUq3GK
— anna holligan 🎙 (@annaholligan) November 3, 2022
Here's Dutch news from the cycle path's Anna Holligan with her snapshot of how different cycling is in the Netherlands...
Sooo you watched @BBCPanorama - curious how life on a bike feels in the Netherlands…?
Here’s a taster, discreetly delivered during your Dutch news from the cycle path 😋#dnftcp
🚲🚲🚲🚲 🦎⚖️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/H9rQI18V8w
— anna holligan 🎙 (@annaholligan) November 3, 2022
The final tally #BBCPanoramapic.twitter.com/T7aHOM59Lm
— Elisabeth Anderson 🐺🌱 (@velobetty) November 2, 2022
Someone had to do it...
I would suggest you could fill that board pretty quickly with some of the reaction going around this morning...