Here's the best bit of Trump's big day in court... (from the perspective of a cycling website, at least)...
Easy rider. pic.twitter.com/KKsWXRhNcm
— Grant Stern (@grantstern) April 5, 2023
The extended cut shows the offending item was a skateboard rolled into the path, prompting a chase on foot...
— tCb 🗣🛹🛹🛹💸💸💸 (@thomas__barker) April 5, 2023
One amused viewer wondered if it was the deep skate's doing...
The outfit, admittedly not seen in our how to dress for spring cycling guide, was made famous by the Capitol rioter Jacob Chansley, who was by chance this week released from prison to a federal halfway house in Arizona. This road-rashed imitator was not Chansley, however, just a fan (apparently)...
No word if the headwear had Mips... not sure any of our reviewers are particularly up for finding out either...
Anyway, get stuck into as much cycling-related Trump content as you want...
> Toe strap-gate: Trump mocks Biden bike fall with spoof golf video
> Cyclist sacked after giving Trump the finger now building bike lanes after winning election
> "Racism is unacceptable" – Trek-Segafredo reacts to rider's pro-Trump tweet
Northamptonshire councillors have spoken out about the state of the roads in the county, arguing the government's grant is not even half of what would be needed to keep the roads well maintained, Northants Live reports.
At a meeting of North Northamptonshire Council, Cllr Martyn Reuby said it is one of his "greatest fears" he will be knocked from his bike by hitting on of the area's many road defects.
"It is one of my greatest fears that I hit a pothole, lose control of my bike and end up under the wheels of a vehicle. I literally would stand no chance and the likelihood of this seems more possible with the terrible state of the roads," he said.
Another councillor, Graham Lawman, said their budget was "limited" and "not enough to catch up, let alone improve the position", the £3.8 million government grant well short of the £8.1 million estimated needed to keep the roads in a "steady state".
It's a sprinty day at Scheldeprijs. Barely any wind and lovely spring sunshine making it almost certainly two races for the sprinters, a prediction that came true in the women's race this lunchtime as Lorena Wiebes continued SD Worx's all-conquering classics campaign...
That's three in a row for Lorena Wiebes in #SPwomen! 👑 #SP23pic.twitter.com/JROeZvVIKU
— Scheldeprijs (@Scheldeprijs) April 5, 2023
A hat-trick at the race for Wiebes and yet another victory for her team. Just the Tour of Flanders, Dwars door Vlaanderen, Gent-Wevelgem, Nokere Koerse, Ronde van Drenthe, Strade Bianche and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for them this spring, is a first Paris-Roubaix and a near perfect set next?
Mountain bikers and hikers have been asked to check themselves for ticks after returning from outdoor activity as health officials confirmed a potentially deadly virus is present in the UK.
A 50-year-old man from Yorkshire, who was mountain biking when he was bitten, is the first domestically acquired case of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). It has also been detected in Hampshire, Dorset and Norfolk.
Common in many parts of the world, TBEV causes a range of disease, some are completely asymptomatic while others might experience mild flu-like illness to severe infection in the central nervous system, such as meningitis or encephalitis.
"Although the risk to the general public is very low, it is important for people to take precautions to protect themselves from tick bites, such as covering their ankles and legs, applying insect repellent and checking clothes and your body for ticks, particularly when visiting areas with long grass such as woods, moorlands and parks," Dr Heln Callaby of the UK Health Security Agency said.
More politics from across the pond...
After the reintroduction of a tax credit of up to $1,500 for those purchasing a new electric bike, US senator Mitt Romney told Business Insider "removing automobile lanes to put in bike lanes is, in my opinion, the height of stupidity, it means more cars backing up, creating more emissions".
"I'm not going to spend money on buying e-bikes for people like me who have bought them — they're expensive," he said. "I don't want to add to the unfairness of the current system where electric cars are free riders and don't pay to help maintain our roads and bridges through a gas tax or any kind of surcharge. We're over-subsidising electric vehicles as it is now."
Bureau of Transportation Statistics suggest that 52 per cent of US journeys are shorter than three miles, with nearly 60 per cent less than six miles away from drivers' homes. The group estimates that if 15 per cent of these driven journeys were made by e-bike, carbon emissions could drop by 12 per cent.
The proposed scheme, expected to be implemented by 2028, would see drivers who enter the zone between 07:00 and 19:00 on weekdays have to pay a daily charge of at least £5. Funds raised will go towards an improved bus network expansion, expected to cost £50 million, and improving infrastructure for cycling and walking.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership says it wants to see 20,000 extra journeys taken by bus, a 50 per cent reduction in car trips, a five per cent reduction in carbon emissions and 10,000 extra park and ride spaces.
Daniel Zeichner, Labour MP for Cambridge, told a BBC debate in February, he wants a "transformed transport system for this city".
"People are spending 65 hours a year stuck in traffic jams in Cambridge. What a waste of time and damage to the environment, damage to people trying to get to work and small businesses," he said.
"We have a chance to have a transport system fit for this city. We all know that for so long this city has struggled with transport. We need a new bus system that is cheap, reliable and that people can believe in. I think it is worth having a try."
Some live blog gold for you to kick off today... cheers to the reader who dropped this into our inbox after spotting a Cambridge resident making the case for their child needing to be driven around town... because "have you ever tried to carry a longbow on a bus?"
A question I'm sure we've all been asked at some point or other...
Putting the facetiousness to the side for a second, the mother created a challenge for anyone to take two children to school on transport advocated by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (a body including three local councils, businesses and the University of Cambridge that has proposed the zone), pick up groceries, get to work, pick up the kids, take one to swimming and the other to archery, feed them both and get home. Could you do all that without driving?
One reply, from Nick Flynn reckons so... "There are probably plenty of people in Cambridge who have two children who need to go to different places, then work elsewhere, and manage to buy groceries, all without a car. I'm one of them."
So... how did that go down? "If you read the challenge, you would note the older child has archery. Have you ever tried to carry a longbow on a bus? Will the school allow the teenager to bring a weapon to school? An archer can string, knock and loose an arrow in minutes. #getreal"
"Right kids, get in the Volvo"pic.twitter.com/E7JxcoyWKl
— Alan Gore (@amcgore) April 3, 2023