I know it’s not something that often needs proving, but one quick and easy way to gauge the extent to which the Netherlands’ cycling culture is much more advanced than the UK’s is to post a photo on Twitter of an everyday Dutch cyclist and their family going about their business… and sit back and enjoy (or gaze in horror) at the replies.
Well, for some reason, that’s exactly what former Hackney councillor and transport chief Jon Burke did yesterday:
Please enjoy this People Carrier…😍 pic.twitter.com/CXcB5pfvF7
— Jon Burke 🌍 (@jonburkeUK) March 25, 2024
And the response?
“Needlessly putting your family in danger,” wrote on blue-ticked Twitter user.
“Clearly not safe,” said another.
“No helmets too, how safe.”
“Looks very dangerous.”
“No helmets on the kids, an f-ing disgrace.”
“Five kids, no helmets. That person should be arrested.”
“Deathtrap.”
“Imagine going out with a bloke like this. Wet flannel comes to mind,” UKIP WAG Jo Marney helpfully added.
And finally… “No helmets and instant death if hit by anything. I’ll stick with my extremely safe SUV thanks. Which also works in the rain…”
Gammon baiting par excellence pic.twitter.com/7OL5H8JBCg
— Real Gaz on a proper bike: gazza_d [at] toot.bike (@gazza_d) March 25, 2024
Of course, away from ‘super safe’ SUV-land, others longed for a world (or country) in which that kind of photo is viewed as normal.
“Beautiful photo in a proper city,” wrote American Fietser. “Having said that, my condolences on your comment section from all the nitwit reply-guys.”
Same.
“By reading the comments I get that not many knows how cycling works in the Netherlands,” added Xorin. “This picture is not something out of the ordinary there, is the norm.”
“All cities should be safe to ride like this,” wrote CGrift.
“Meanwhile I’m dressed in high vis with flashing lights, hoping to make it home every day to my family.”
I was in the Netherlands last fall, the number of bicycles astounded me. But one thing I did notice is that almost all of them, including every child I saw, were wearing a helmet.
— Steve (@PatheticPutter) March 25, 2024
Oh, Steve.
It’s one thing to argue – like Twitter user Steve did on this morning’s live blog story – that our Dutch ‘cycling people carrier friend’ should be arrested for failing to put helmets on his five children, it’s another thing entirely to make a claim that even someone with only a passing knowledge of the Netherlands’ cycling culture would know is demonstrably, and ludicrously, false.
After Glasgow Fietser responded to Steve that he would be forced to “arrest almost the entire population of the Netherlands” for failing to wear a helmet, our determined, and seemingly reality challenged, social media user replied:
I was in the Netherlands last fall, the number of bicycles astounded me. But one thing I did notice is that almost all of them, including every child I saw, were wearing a helmet.
Hmmm…
Unsurprisingly, that head scratching claim earned Steve an always fun context note under his tweet, alerting readers that “87 per cent of cyclists in the Netherlands do not wear a helmet”.
Along with quite a few hilarious retorts from baffled cyclists...
“Were you in a velodrome? We’ve cycled around major parts if the Netherlands and only racing cyclists wear helmets,” wrote Jon.
Nah, you’ve made that up. Why lie?https://t.co/BOh3E4nmHT
— Jon Burke 🌍 (@jonburkeUK) March 25, 2024
“I live in the Netherlands and can honestly say that nobody wears a helmet, except racing cyclists and maybe some toddlers that are learning,” added Aernout. “I personally and none of my friends have ever worn one.”
(Rather brilliantly, stubborn Steve replied to Aernout with “I saw what I saw”.)
“I have toured by cycle in the Netherlands for 60 years and the only time I’ve seen helmets worn was in road races and a group of tourists getting off the Schoonhoven ferry once,” said Bill.
I don’t think so, I go there most months and I have yet to see anyone, other than serious cyclists riding at pace, with a helmet on. For example the chap riding this rocked up in jeans, tee shirt and flip flops for a few beers with his friends. pic.twitter.com/uMmOwC5Gd4
— Jonathan Roberts🇺🇦🌻🚴♂️ (@jono_pce) March 26, 2024
“Steve, that’s amazing. How did all the helmet-wearing cycling people in the whole of Nederland happen to follow you around on your trip?” asked Tim. “Most visitors to NL note the absence of helmet wearing, so it’s quite astounding that you experienced the very opposite.”
Better luck next time Steve…
The bad luck keeps piling up for Wout van Aert ahead of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, after key Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Dylan van Baarle was ruled out of tomorrow’s Dwars door Vlaanderen – the final warm up race before De Ronde on Sunday – with illness.
Van Baarle is the latest rider added to Visma’s increasingly long classics injury and illness list, with Christophe Laporte facing a race against time to be fit for Paris-Roubaix due to a saddle sore, Tiesj Benoot injuring his ribs during the E3 Saxo Classic, Jan Tratnik crashing at Gent-Wevelgem, and Per Strand Hagenes breaking his nose in a crash at E3.
Van Aert, meanwhile, will be hoping his bad luck is confined to his untimely crash on the Paterberg at E3, which ripped up fans’ pre-race hopes of a head-to-head duel with perennial rival Mathieu van der Poel.
And with Van der Poel and Gent-Wevelgem winner Mads Pedersen in stunning form, Van Aert certainly can’t afford any more misfortune, to say the least.
Ah, brilliant, more online cycling culture war discourse, just what we all need on a sodden March Tuesday…
Well, as we all digest the somewhat baffling replies to an image of a Dutch cyclist nonchalantly going about his business, the very nature of the anti-cycling agenda has been taken to task in the Guardian by columnist Zoe Williams.
In a rather refreshing national newspaper column focusing on cycling, pointedly titled “Why is the right at war with cyclists? We’re not ‘wokerati’ – we’re just trying to get around”, Williams points out that cycling is far from a “political act” perpetrated by a coherent and unified ideological group, despite the remonstrations of the likes of Farage, Barton, and the anti-LTN and ULEZ crowd.
Instead, Williams notes, “anti-cyclists are easy to categorise: they find the concept of the do-gooder infuriating and the idea of minding their own business untenable”.
“Cyclists, on the other hand, are impossible to categorise; you might just as well try to build a theory of mind for pedestrians,” she writes. “It’s not a political act; it’s fun.
“So, the polarisation is asymmetric. While one side is building an anti-green, anti-woke, anti-liberal architecture around transport initiatives, the other side doesn’t even cohere.
“Yet, this picture is turned on its head for the purposes of the ‘debate’, wherever it takes place, so that cyclists are the warriors, the lunatic fringe, the people who are coming for your way of life. In truth, I am medium-sure that most of us are just ambling about, wondering whether or not to invest in waterproof shoe covers.”
“Should we be paying more attention?” Williams concluded by asking. “Is there a lesson here about the concept of the wokerati, illustrating that it doesn’t exist, except in the imagination of the right, and that maybe the self-styled centrists of our wider culture should push back a bit harder, rather than getting popcorn and enjoying the show?
“I think so, yes. But what do I know? I am a bloody cyclist.”
Brilliant. And nice to see a positive spin on cycling within the context of the so-called culture wars in a newspaper for a change.
Meanwhile, as if to prove Williams’ point, GB News’ poll of the day yesterday asked its members: “Are cyclists making Britain’s roads a nightmare?”
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your personal stance), you have to be a GB News member to find out the results of that particular, extremely balanced, survey. But I’m sure another one will come along sometime next week…
Paris saw bicycle usage double in the last 4 years. This follows a decade of investments in a safe, comfortable, cycling network & the announcement of an additional 180km of cycle paths & 130,000 bike parking spaces by 2026.
📍 Paris 🇫🇷
🎥 @EmmanuelSPV
pic.twitter.com/qd2x4xEKAj— Jonathan Berk (@berkie1) March 25, 2024
A silent vigil was held today in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, in memory of Una Brandreth, a cyclist killed in a collision with a lorry driver last week, as residents called on the local authority to make the roads safer for vulnerable road users, branding its failure to do so a “dereliction of duty”.
56-year-old mum Brandreth was riding her bike on Manse Road at around 8.10am last Tuesday when she was struck by a lorry driver, killing her.
“In the span of ten days there have been three serious traffic accidents in Bearsden involving pedestrians or cyclists being knocked down,” Angela Bellmooney, a Bearsden local who has launched a petition urging East Dunbartonshire Council to introduce increased safety measures in the wake of Una’s death, told Glasgow Live.
“On Boxing Day 2019, a family of six were mowed down on Manse Road with one person being killed. There will have no doubt been many more near misses.”
Bellmooney says that the one piece of safety infrastructure on Manse Road, a flashing warning sign instructing motorists that they are driving too fast, is covered by hedges and has not worked for two years.
She also stated that “mangled barriers” at nearby Bearsden Cross were “another reminder of dangerous driving and poor traffic management”.
“The first duty of a local council is community safety,” she says. “Parents and residents have repeatedly called on the council to take action but to date the response has been dismissive and inadequate.
“We pay our council taxes expecting better than this for our community but at the moment, our council’s inaction is simply a dereliction of duty.
“We urge East Dunbartonshire Council to take action and fully commit to making our streets and roads safer.”
Having to get the attention of a driver on their phone so they don’t drive into me on the new King’s Road one-way system outside Richmond Park. Absolutely zero awareness.
This is not safe cycling infrastructure.@KingstonCyclingpic.twitter.com/bi7eNtFOx5
— Ollie (@ohbee07) March 20, 2024
An Irish police officer who was suspended for three years, and later cleared of wrongdoing, for giving an unclaimed €50 bike to a pensioner is intending to sue An Garda Síochána for damages, according to the Irish Independent.
The Independent also reports that Assistant Garda Commissioner Jonathan Roberts is currently studying a 1,000 page transcript from the recent disciplinary inquiry which eventually cleared the officer of wrongdoing, in a bid to ascertain the extent to which some members of police management changed their testimony during the investigation.
As we reported earlier this month, the unnamed Garda was cleared of five disciplinary charges, which led to a three-year suspension, at an inquiry after giving one of many unclaimed bicycles at his police station to a “vulnerable and isolated” elderly man who was struggling for transport during the Covid pandemic.
The unnamed garda faced a number of possible sanctions including reprimand, a fine, a caution, or even dismissal from the force, but received “significant support” from his colleagues, with his suspension pending investigation arising as he had not completed the necessary paperwork having given the bike to an “isolated” resident living in a rural area as a means of travelling to the shops during the pandemic.
Welcoming the decision, Garda Representative Association (GRA) General Secretary Ronan Slevin said the case had seen “good, decent community policing blown apart and relationships destroyed”.
“In essence I believe a sledgehammer of discipline was used to crack a nut and the reputation of a long serving member was damaged, his honesty questioned, and his livelihood threatened,” Slevin said.
While in London certain politicians are dismissing active travel plans as “ridiculous virtue signalling”, up in Auld Reekie, one SNP MSP has praised the positive impact cycling and walking makes on the economy and the environment, as well as on the health of his constituents.
Describing Sustrans’ recent findings that active travel generates almost £263 million for Edinburgh and its surrounding regions as “quite astounding”, Edinburgh Central MSP, and former SNP House of Commons leader, Angus Robertson also noted that “1,314 serious long-term health conditions are prevented thanks to the health benefits of walking and cycling”.
Writing in the Edinburgh Evening News, Robertson praised Edinburgh City Council’s Net Zero targets for 2030, pointing out that 160,000 cars have been taken off the road every day by people instead choosing to travel by bike or on foot.
“I fully support these efforts, which align with the legacy commitments of the Scottish Government following the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow, which also added £205m to the Scottish economy,” Robertson said.
“Indeed, through the Scottish Government’s million-pound Community Cycling Fund, we are already supporting sustainable cycling projects and local events to ensure as many communities across Scotland get involved.”
The Conservative Party’s London mayoral candidate Susan Hall – you know, from the backlash to the five-year-old cyclist almost being clipped by a driver video– has (shock) committed to reviewing cycling infrastructure if elected, and lashed out at cycle lanes that she claims are “virtue signalling” and cause “havoc” and gridlock for motorists.
Having launched her campaign in a cafe in Uxbridge on Sunday, Hall has again set her stall out as the candidate to end the so-called “war on motorists”, and despite claiming she is “pro any form of transport” questioned why “damn ridiculous” cycle lanes had been built when “we must remember there’s only two to three per cent of the population that are cyclists”.
Read more: > Conservative London mayoral candidate claims “virtue signalling” cycle lanes are causing “gridlock” and “havoc”, would review cycling infrastructure if elected to end “war on motorists”
After completely decimating the field at the Volta a Catalunya last week, winning four of the race’s seven stages and beating second-placed Mikel Landa by almost four minutes, Tadej Pogačar is ready to knuckle down for some hard altitude training in Sierra Nevada, in a bid to boost the already ludicrous form he’s shown in 2024.
Even by his extremely lofty standards, this season has been a jaw-dropping one so far for the UAE Team Emirates leader.
Kicking off the season with that 80km solo raid for the history books at Strade Bianche, Pogačar then put on a typically attacking ride at Milan-Sanremo – foiled somewhat by his team’s poor positioning at the foot of the Poggio – before nabbing third in the sprint.
His week in Catalunya, meanwhile, was utterly devastating, turning the Volta’s tough mountain stages into glorified training rides and even bagging that iconic final stage in Barcelona in the sprint (while sparking a wave of social media debates on whether such domination is boring for fans).
Of the nine race days he’s started in 2024, the Slovenian’s results have been: 1, 3, 2, 1, 1, 25, 31, 1, 1 (and you can throw in the Volta’s GC and points and mountains classifications too).
And now, rather frighteningly for his rivals, Pogačar is belatedly joining the altitude party – one already attended by Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, and Primož Roglič this season – for some intensive training high in the mountains ahead of his next big goals: a bid to regain his crown at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and a first ever crack at the Giro d’Italia, the first phase of his Giro-Tour double attempt.
“I’m going to Sierra Nevada today. I stay there for almost three weeks, and then to Belgium, one week of a little rest, and then after, the preparations for Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the last preparations for the Giro d’Italia itself,” the 25-year-old told RTV SLO.
“This start to the season and the performance shows that I am in great shape and on track for the Giro-Tour. I already confirmed my good form at Strade Bianche and Sanremo, but this was a very different course [in Catalunya]. Lots of climbs and descents. The whole week was extraordinary, not only for me but for the whole team.
“I’m in better shape, at least when it comes to feeling good on the bike. I’ve taken another step forward to enjoy my bike even more, and I go out every day with a smile on my face. I don't mind doing intervals. It’s not all about the numbers, it’s also about feeling really good.”
Be afraid, be very afraid…
Here on the live blog, I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve featured cycle lanes – often located right beside pristine roads – filled with branches, dirt, and debris (oh, and plenty of potholes and parked cars too), as part of our ongoing, never-ending series, ‘Why don’t cyclists use the cycle lanes?’
But one of the many reasons used for the often depressing state of protected bike lanes – that sweeper vehicles are too wide to clear them properly – may soon be a thing of the past, in the US and Canada at least, after cyclists Pierre Lermant and Cedric Eveleigh worked together to create the Bike Lane Sweeper, a device towed by a bike sweeping up and collecting debris.
“Although we are lucky in the Bay Area, and many streets/roads have bike lanes, they tend to accumulate debris pushed to the side by the main car/truck traffic, making them unpleasant to ride and puncture-prone,” California-based co-creator Lermant told New Atlas.
“I thought to myself one day during Covid, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we could come up with a sweeper attached to a bicycle to clear the bike lanes’, and the project was born, about three years ago.”
After building a prototype, Lermant was soon contacted by Canadian mechanical engineer and mountain bike drivetrain expert Cedric Eveleigh, who had recently joined a local group sweeping up bike lanes in protest at the lack of government interest in keeping cycling infrastructure clear.
“It was at these events that I started thinking about the idea of a bike lane sweeper, with a powered brush, pulled by bike,” Eveleigh says.
“I then Googled the idea and discovered Pierre, who had built proof-of-concept bike lane sweepers. I contacted him to offer help with engineering and manufacturing, and Pierre was keen to work together.”
The pair have since developed two versions of the e-bike battery-powered sweeper, one which sweeps debris off to the side and is intended for rural use, and a more urban-focused machine which collects rubbish in a bin.
The motor is wirelessly activated by a handlebar-mounted remote, while both sweepers feature a standard trailer hitch compatible with almost every bike. They are currently being tested by cycling campaign groups across the US and Canada at the moment.
“There are several possible business models that we’re exploring, including selling bike lane sweepers to non-profit volunteer-based groups (there have been three successful crowdfunding campaigns), selling them to municipalities, and offering sweeping as a service,” Eveleigh says.
“Debris often forces cyclists into car traffic, causes flat tires, or is simply unpleasant. This bike lane sweeper project was born out of a desire to remove debris from bike lanes to make cycling safe and enjoyable, getting more folks to ride bikes.”
Unfortunately, I’m not sure how well it would cope with parked cars blocking the bike lane…
After their brief holding page hiatus last week, Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles’ websites are back open for business this morning – and it turns out that Frasers wasn’t too impressed with Wiggle’s controversial green rebrand last year either…