"Marin Eldridge Grade Bike. Rare classic 1990s collector's item. Very original, good condition."
Cool, let me take a look... erm, what?!
To avoid being scammed or disappointed Gumtree advises buyers to "ask lots of questions about the items you are buying" but to be completely honest, I'm not sure I want to.
"If an ad sounds too good to be true then it probably is," they also warn. Not an issue here...
It's collection only from Axminster in Devon if anyone's interested in this ultra-inefficient set-up. Keep your oval chainrings, Froomey, it's all about rusty trianglular chain routing these days...
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention. £190?! Go make 'em an offer if you dare...
Astana Qazaqstan team boss Alexander Vinokourov has outlined a possible timeline for Mark Cavendish's route to the Tour de France, suggesting a Giro d'Italia appearance could be on the cards.
"We'll try to win races before and then concentrate on the Giro and Tour," he told Cyclingnews at the Tour of Oman, Cav's first race for the team.
"I don't know about going to the finish, but for preparation, winning stages is always a good motivation and it helps to arrive relaxed to the Tour. We'll see later, but in any case, it’s an idea and Mark is open to it. I think the more races you do, the better it is.
"After UAE, it's Tirreno and I think Milan-San Remo too. Then he'll do some races in Belgium. He'll rest a little bit and then race the Tour of Turkey and maybe the Giro. There are four or five days between them."
It's just too easy for this lad...
🇪🇸 #69RdS6: Great work by Alex Martín with 145km in the breakaway of a hard stage with +4.000m
🥇 Tadej Pogacar (UAD) wins the first stage after attacking on Despiernacaballos climb and takes the lead in the overall classification of the Andalusian race pic.twitter.com/xPV9YHcyzZ— EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team (@EoloKometaTeam) February 15, 2023
Second race day of the year and Tadej's got his second win. It was a typically dominant win too, smashing clear of the peloton on the final climb of the day, shelling the brave Santiago Buitrago, who had been clinging on for dear life, a few hundred metres later and soloing to the line.
#69RdS🇪🇸 / L’attaque décisive de 🇸🇮 Tadej Pogacar (UAD) sur l’étape du jour. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hjradHPDa7
— Renaud Breban (@RenaudB31) February 15, 2023
Two more pro wins this year than we had in our whole careers too Dan
— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) February 15, 2023
Remember this from yesterday's live blog?
This just happened.
He did say "sorry I didn't see you."
An apology is always accepted.
But this gent needs a refresher driving course. pic.twitter.com/9WV6H067ob— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) February 14, 2023
Well, here's the Mail's coverage...
Jeremy Vine sparks debate after sharing video showing him nearly ploughing into car on a cycle lane https://t.co/DAGelTjeDA
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) February 14, 2023
Another classic for the 'who was in the right?' folder. Thankfully, DCS Andy Cox was on hand to respond to the reporting...
If @theJeremyVine was a bus in a bus lane would the car have turned and who would be in the right? Do we expect the bus to give way? Well… It's exactly the same principle for a bike in a cycle lane. ‘The turning vehicle gives way’… There really should be no need to debate this. https://t.co/Fxbghg8fWW
— Andy Cox (@AndyCoxDCS) February 15, 2023
IPSO (the Independent Press Standards Organisation) has ruled there was no breach of the editor's code in a Mail on Sunday piece of 20 August 2022, titled "Red light rats!", about cyclists jumping red lights outside Buckingham Palace.
IPSO deemed there was no breach of Clause 1, relating to accuracy, which states:
The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not supported by the text.
The complaint related to the idea, shared on Twitter, that the road had been closed to motor vehicles at the time and police had been present telling riders to continue. They also questioned the use of a composite photo which meant it may unable to confirm if any cyclists pictured had jumped a red light. The complainant also suggested the article was an attempt to create "road rage" towards cyclists, compounded by calling them "rats".
However, IPSO's committee deemed:
The newspaper had demonstrated that its journalist and photographer had been present at the scene, and taken the photographs used to create the composite picture. The photos showed that cars and vans in both directions were stopped at the traffic lights while the green man was on or while the adjacent digital display showed a countdown, indicating that they were stopped at a red light. The photos also showed a number of cyclists passing through the crossing while the green man was on, while pedestrians were crossing and while the cars remained stationary.
And...
In addition, the publication had said that there had been no police present and the road had been functioning as normal – which again was supported by the pictures it had provided. The Committee also noted that the complainant had not been present at the scene and was speculating that the road had been closed based on information from social media. Taking all this into consideration, it was the Committee’s view that the publication had taken sufficient care not to publish inaccurate or misleading information, and it was not inaccurate or misleading to claim that the cyclists had "ignored the traffic signal" and "jump[ed] a red light".
On the "rats" front...
The Committee also noted the complainant’s concerns regarding the phrase "rats" and that he considered this was an attempt to create anger towards cyclists. The Committee noted that the Editors' Code of Practice makes clear the press has the right to be partisan, to give its own opinion and to publish individuals’ views, as long as it takes care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, and to distinguish between comment, conjecture and fact. In this instance, the description of the cyclists as "rats" was clearly the opinion of the newspaper, and clearly attributed to it. Further, this was a subjective characterisation, and while the Committee noted the complainant disagreed with this description, this did not in itself mean that the article was inaccurate or misleading to include it.
Atop the Green Mountain, Soudal Quick-Step's Mauri Vansevenant came past Matteo Jorgenson in the final hundred metres to claim stage victory...
🏆 @MVansevenant99 wins stage 5! 👏 pic.twitter.com/GDzVL40lbY
— Tour of Oman (@tourofoman) February 15, 2023
Jorgenson had looked in control, easily following Vansevenant's earlier accelerations, but kicked too soon and was passed with the finish line in sight. Fortunately for the young American, Vansevenant could not open a big enough gap to also take the race overall, Jorgenson taking the crown by one second.
But you can't accuse Mauri of not trying...
🥵 @MVansevenant99 gave everything in the last climb to win the final stage!💦 He was happy to see his mom take care of him once he crossed the line. 🥰 pic.twitter.com/KbllJqubQK
— Tour of Oman (@tourofoman) February 15, 2023
Good morning London ☀️ 🚲 pic.twitter.com/P7W3vqwpJN
— Rory McCarron (@CyclingLawLDN) February 14, 2023
Sorry, no answer for you, I don't have a clue...
You've probably heard about 15-minute cities by now but if not, in a nutshell: they are schemes promoting active travel, much like low-traffic neighbourhoods, to create urban areas where local amenities can be easily and safely accessed on foot or by bike within 15 minutes.
Some feature planters and bollards, others ANPR number plate recognition cameras to make sure drivers don't go where they shouldn't. Anyway, the idea that you can walk to the shops in 15 minutes is highly controversial, of course, and has attracted the shouty right wing types on Twitter (plus some non-right wing types, probably). Think, Katie Hopkins, Laurence Fox, Nigel Farage and you're pretty much there...
> Tory MP attacks 15-minute city concept with known conspiracy theory
And while some would ask how you could possibly object to the convenience of walking to the shops in 15 minutes, the figures above and others on Twitter and Facebook like to shout about a threat to freedom, surveillance states, climate lockdowns etc. etc.
> GB News presenter claims 15-minute cities and LTNs are "un-British" and "illiberal"
And while Conservative MP Nick Fletcher even brought up the issue in Parliament last week, one political party you won't be hearing anything from on the matter is the Monster Raving Loony Party...
The satire-heavy creation of Screaming Lord Sutch, behind such policy proposals as half the grey squirrels being painted red to increase the red squirrel population and national debt being cleared by putting it on a credit card, admitted to the Guardian's Peter Walker that the idea that 15-minute cities are a plot to imprison people in their own homes is "even too loony for us"...
- 2030 seems a tad optimistic to us.
- No, but we will fix air conditioning units to the outside of buildings to prevent it further.
- That's even too loony for us.
- Only on the 29th of February.— 📢 oFFiCiaL mONsTEr rAvINg lOOnY PArTy 🎩 (@Official_MRLP) February 14, 2023
Happy Wednesday...
“Now we’re afraid of reasonable walking distances?!?”
Well, some folks really want you to be.
HT @CriticalMassAKLpic.twitter.com/YV0AkM7qIe
— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) February 13, 2023