Hooray, everyone's favourite (former) GBNews producer and anti-cycling bingo enthusiast Charlotte Gill is back at it, this time with something a bit more flamboyant and swashbuckling than what her previous attempts have been, some might say.
Her hall of fame highlights include the article in the eye-openingly conservative magazine The Critic, criticising a new study on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, despite failing to address any of the study’s findings, as well as the elite, deluxe edition of the anti-cycling bingo with a top of the shop entering, ticking off every single uninspired checkbox: from "a war is being waged against car drivers", "a ‘Lycra Lobby’ of cycling activists and eco wonks", "I don’t drive, enjoy cycling and probably have a relatively low carbon footprint", "an assault on democracy"…
Oh before I forget, she was also behind bringing up an argument on Twitter in March that it’s mums who should stand up and oppose the dreaded Lycra lobby – because they can’t “cart around children” by bike, apparently – a claim swiftly shut down by loads of women posting pictures of them doing exactly the same activity, including Bath's bicycle mayor Saskia Heijltjes.
Gill, who last month left her role as producer at GB News, was most recently under fire for comparing the 20mph speed limit in Wales to cyclists needing stabilisers. I know the list is long...
What happened when I turned the camera on cyclists 🚴♀️ 🎥 https://t.co/8iPa4N8FDnpic.twitter.com/H0j9bwsyOC
— Charlotte Gill (@CharlotteCGill) November 28, 2023
Well now, Gill has been on an expedition on the streets of London, and for once, she couldn't stop herself from applauding a cyclist, albeit only for a tiny bit of inspiration. Following in the footsteps of one "lycra-loving" Jeremy Vine, she strapped on a body cam (her iPhone) and took to the streets, becoming the "pedestrian version" of the Channel 5 presenter and "play cyclists at their own game, filming their transgressions".
Lo and behold, the inception of the one and only 'Chaz Cam', as christened by her.
She wrote on her blog: "It goes without saying that cyclists aren’t as dangerous as cars on average, and of course, not everyone cycles badly. But too often you hear “it’s only a few bad eggs giving others a bad name” to minimise the number of naughty cyclists - when the issue is actually quite pronounced, as I have found. I would guess it’s more like half of cyclists behaving badly on the road, not a minority."
Chaz Cam Investigates: Taking my research pretending to be Jeremy Vine (to cyclists) extremely seriously pic.twitter.com/qE1bQ6hBC9
— Charlotte Gill (@CharlotteCGill) October 25, 2023
And in case you didn't feel like clicking on the link above this very fine day, worry not! Your live blog host has done his homework and read through Gill's handiwork, laying down all the horrible, spiteful and malicious deeds cyclists are responsible for.
It begins with probably the most common one — one which we at road.cc have also brought up in our discussions on the live blog: Going through red lights. "I lost count of the number of cyclists doing this on my day out with the Chaz Cam," she wrote.
"Although you might say I was being pedantic (well, I was pretending to be the pedestrian version of Jeremy Vine) and that cyclists may as well go through the light if no pedestrians are waiting, I found they do even when a pedestrian is there. One female cyclist dashed out at me as soon as the pedestrian light went green (see below).
> Are red-light jumping cyclists "great adverts" for cycling? Jeremy Vine seems to think so...
Alright, next up, cyclists on phones. She said: "It wasn’t unusual to see cyclists riding with one hand or none on their handlebars, as if thinking they looked extremely cool while doing so.
"One cyclist, who a van white beeped at, due to his being dangerously close in front, sped away, only to look at something other than the road (my guess being his phone)."
Also in the findings of the investigation were the age-old "lighting issues" and "riding on the pavement" (cough, yesterday's live blog comes to mind, cough). And finally, she took aim at another easy target, delivery riders, claiming that they were just "bad cyclists" rushing through people for "tiny sums of money".
In conclusion? She said that the "Chaz Cam investigations" have hardly convinced her that "the UK is ready for a cycling revolution".
"The reality, in my opinion, is that half of cyclists behave well, and half of cyclists don’t. It’s definitely not the case that 'most cyclists follow the rules'," she said. "They don’t - because they perceive themselves as "the green and the good" of British society. It’s also generally my experience that most cyclists are male (and young), and the most aggressive ones almost always so, countering councils’ propaganda of inclusive transport."
So if not all cyclists are bad, and the ones which are do not cause nowhere nearly as harm or damage as a bad motorists, shouldn't by the same benchmark we all should be in agreement that the UK is also not ready for a driving revolution? Ah well.
That was quite a way to start my Wednesday, is this all a painstakingly wonderful and detailed attempt at parody or just a lousy attempt with poor arguments for cheap clicks? I feel I'm losing my mind here, help me figure this out...
As you may have noticed, the internet has been set alight today, Jeremy Vine has been dethroned, for there is a new Jeremy Vine, albeit on foot, filming all sorts of malicious cyclists out to terrorise everyone, from motorists to pedestrians. Let's see what road.cc readers had to say about all the kerfuffle...
First off, setting the record straight, long-time reader Rendel Harris: "The pedestrian Jeremy Vine? Come off it, not a single inset meme, migraine-inducing flashing arrows or throbbing texts and no confusing 360° revolving spins of the environment from above, not a patch on our Jeremy!"
An interesting question from HoldingOn: "Do we think Charlotte Gill would have felt safe enough to run into the road waving her arms if she had just witnessed a car going through a red light?"
A couple more detailed, in-depth and passionate responses below.
Patrick9-32: "I would suggest that the iPhone Jezza take a better look at the footage she is saying is evidence of danger and ask herself, who is in danger? If a cyclist runs a red light or isnt paying attention to the road who is at risk? And if a car driver does the same, who do they endanger?
The cyclists should be obeying the traffic lights and the highway code and should not be using their phones, we should all be safe and careful, especially around pedestrians but, if things go wrong the most likely outcome is that they themselves get injured possibly with an "and...". In the case of drivers doing those same things (which they do with just as high a frequency) the likely outcome of it causing a collision is they will be completely fine and only someone else will be injured.
If we lived in a world where car drivers were 100% safe and cyclists were still riding as they do now this would be a reasonable complaint but its completely unhinged to act like there is anything a cyclist could do that is even on the same order of magnitude of danger as a speeding driver."
OnYerBike:"I think that Gill has actually demonstrated why we do need a "cycling revolution" - because everything she captured simply demonstrates that we need proper infrastructure that meets the (separate) needs of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. At the moment, cyclists are mostly expected to use infrastructure designed for motorists, or occassionally use infrastructure designed for pedestrians.
For example, take the cyclist who "dashed out at me as soon as the pedestrian light went green". It seems pretty clear that the cyclist was waiting until the pedestrian phase in order to cross the junction, presumably because she didn't feel safe sharing the junction with moving motor vehicles. (Let's ignore the fact that the cyclist hardly "dashed" out and certainly not "at" Gill).
Similarly, if "most cyclists are male (and young)" that's precisely why we need better infrastructure. If it's young males at the moment, its because you need to be brave and fit to feel (relatively) comfortable sharing the road with motorists. Other groups don't cycle because they don't feel safe doing so."
Meanwhile, some reactions also from Facebook. James Thorpe said: "Much as it pains me, she probably has a point with lights and delivery app cyclists who do have a collective habit of riding like dingbats. But the rest is down to London being the (all types of) traffic Wild West and badly designed car-centric infrastructure."
Rob Wagner also commented: "I just don't get what this proves. Do cyclists do dumb things? Yes. Do they kill 100s every year, harm the environment, the local population, and contribute to the poor health of their users? No."
In September, Wahoo introduced the new Kickr Bike Shift indoor smart bike, which at £2,699.99 represented a much more affordable alternative to the existing, original Kickr Bike, priced at £3,499.99.
Wahoo has said that “confusion” around its Black Friday deals, particularly around the inclusion of a year-long membership to Zwift, was due to a “simple human error”, after one customer complained that the ‘reduced’ pricing of the fitness company’s new Kickr Bike Shift was “misleading” and a “violation of marketing laws”.
Read more: > “Misleading” Wahoo Kickr Black Friday deal result of “simple human error”, company says
With Decathlon announcing a return to the world's pro peloton, along with becoming the title sponsors for Team AG2R (oh and the much bemoaned loss of brown shorts too), it was only fair that the latest edition in the Bike@Bedtime series on road.cc feature one of the last few times that the French sports retailers marked its presence on the world stage, not just being ridden by none other than Team AG2R (surprise surprise), but also by Jaan Kirsipuu, becoming the first Estonian rider to win a stage in the Tour de France with his Decathlon Penta Pro.
> Fancy racing the Tour on this? Check out AG2R’s 2001 Decathlon Penta Pro
Sorry, allow me a second to just pause and admire this beautiful piece of machinery. They just don't make them how they used to, do they?
But besides Kirsipuu, it was brought to our attention on Twitter by James Payne, that Scottish cycling star with Tour, Giro and Vuelta stage wins under his belt, also used to be sat atop a Decathlon bike in the early noughties.
Back in the day David Millar used to ride a Decathlon that looked awesome. @100Climbs@millarmind@Decathlonpic.twitter.com/9l7aIoXG2c
— James Payne (@JamesPayne1986) November 29, 2023
Just looook at this beauty! What a sad turn of events that Millar has now instead soured his own palette and developed an affinity for big, ugly, metal tanks.
Well, the Conservative MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, Nickie Aiken has just had her oopsie moment.
Using a Daily Mail article as evidence that the famous palm tree, sitting in the middle of a roundabout on the north side of Lambeth Bridge near Westminster, was going to be felled to make space for new cycle lanes.
Only that wasn't to be the case, and the Walking and Cycling Commissioner of London was quick to shut her down.
As you know Nickie, the tree isn’t being chopped down it is being relocated to make London’s most dangerous junction safer for road users. We do not want any more fatal collisions at this location.
— Will Norman (@willnorman) November 29, 2023
"As you know Nickie, the tree isn’t being chopped down it is being relocated to make London’s most dangerous junction safer for road users. We do not want any more fatal collisions at this location," wrote Norman, adding: "As the sign says, the [tree] is being moved not chopped down."
As the sign says, the 🌴is being moved not chopped down. pic.twitter.com/AJ0iu59kEZ
— Will Norman (@willnorman) November 29, 2023
We all have our off days, I guess this was just one of those days for Ms Aiken.
“We need to find the right balance between creating a modern-day city centre and one that has strong environmental credentials,” the council says, arguing that moving the trees is a “vital part” of the lane’s design and will be carried out successfully.
Plans to install a new city centre cycle path on Plymouth’s Armada Way – where over 100 trees were felled by the local authority in March this year, prompting a High Court injunction and widespread protests – have been opposed by local campaigners, who have described the council’s proposal to relocate six trees that survived the so-called “midnight massacre”, to make way for the lane and a new drainage system, as a “shame”, claiming that they are unlikely to survive the relocation attempt.
Featuring our very own Santa, you may know him as Dave... Well worth a watch I'd say, just for the shenanigans and gags!
Hmm, now I wonder when does the hard-working news team at road.cc get their gifts? Surely we're not on Father Christmas' naughty list? Surely?!!
"Can you take a look at my bike, the gears are making a tinselly noise"
A Christmas tree with some 250 sprockets? I see we've got some very different interpretation of what a Christmas tree is...
250 Sprockets and a few hours work and we have a shop Christmas tree!#christmas#upcycling#pashley#moultonpic.twitter.com/VaETJxc4Vy
— Traditional Cycle Shop (@Trad_Cycle_Shop) November 29, 2023
Tom Pidcock's winter calendar is out, and it crushes my heart to see that the mercurial young Brit will be giving the UCI Cyclocross World Championships, to be held in Tábor in February a pass.
CX season is here! 🙌
Check out @tompidcock's 2023-24 winter racing schedule, including six #CXWorldCup events.
It all kicks off on December 16 🗓️🔜 pic.twitter.com/6GxGobJakl
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) November 29, 2023
But Pidcock will at least try to keep us entertained in road racing's off-season by taking part in at least six of the CX World Cup events, starting with the race in Namur, Belgium on December 17, before saying adiós in Benidorm, Spain (or as some may call it, the natural hunting ground for Brits seeking warmth), and preparing for hopefully another spectacular road season.
And if you're really in need of all the races that the Big Three (MvdP, WvA, TP) will be showing up for, we've got you covered.
A race-by-race comparison of the races of the Big 3 this cyclocross season
We look set for a 3 horse race between Van Aert, Van der Poel and Pidcock at Antwerp, Gavere, Hulst, Koksijde, Zonhoven and Benidorm pic.twitter.com/v1MDoSgqdF— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) November 29, 2023
An absolutely hilarious product found by Ryan on the Zwift Riders' group. You can rest assured we wouldn't peddle any such non-sense on our Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Deals November/Deavember blogs.
A very meta-Wednesday with this post on the live blog; road.cc reporting on the live blog about the reaction to London Cycling Campaign reporting about Simon’s cargo bike blog on road.cc.
🚪🚲🧐 Can you carry a chest of drawers by bike? We help @roadcc find out. (Obviously it's a yes.) https://t.co/SRgzX9OBwopic.twitter.com/BS8XsKc2xC
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) November 28, 2023
There were, as usual, a few naysayers and disbelievers in the power of the cargo bike, but LCC wasn't going to let them have their way.
But is it really safe? No is the answer https://t.co/tRPGf4JAXL
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) November 28, 2023
Safer for everyone, apart from all those people outside the van.
One more time for those at the back:
Drivers. Kill. 5. People. Every. Day. On. UK. Roads.
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) November 28, 2023
"The load was very well-secured – at no point did I have to stop and readjust the straps – & equally well-balanced, with no problems with the various potholes, speed humps & occasional cobbles".
Don't worry, he's fully insured by our £5 million 3rd party liability insurance 😇
— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) November 28, 2023
I mean if I had free access to as many shiny new bikes with shiny new tech, I won't mind dipping into this stretch of the NCN with my teammate and cousin...
> National Cycle Network or the world’s hardest cyclocross course?
The real question now is, when do we see the Swift cousins trace their way through a treacherous, watery, muddy CX course? Hold on, I'll send an email to Ineos and ask them...