The latest sighting of Florida's "armed cyclist" has gone viral again...
We first covered the "armed cyclist" last year... his real name is James Whelan, by the way... a resident of Florida who has built up something of a cult following on his "Armed Cyclist" Instagram page and YouTube channel where he posts images from his cycling trips across America and, sometimes, run-ins with local law enforcement officers.
Whelan told road.cc that he runs 28 lights on his rear rack and eight on the front handlebars. "I don't get people turning left or right in front of me at all because they pay attention when they see a bright burst of light coming towards them", says Whelan.
"For the tail light I came up with that idea because I got tired of people not seeing me. Now people typically change lanes a half mile behind me when they see my lights.
"In South Florida there is a lot of road rage against cyclists just for being on the road. Most people can read what it says. When they see my jersey it has a huge calming effect on the people that don't like cyclists."
Just the safety paddle doing the job I designed it for. 99% certain this driver would have close-passed me through the pinch point. pic.twitter.com/44w0uELpkc
— Bicycle-Riding Motorist (@MrHappyCyclist) October 17, 2024
"Just the safety paddle doing the job I designed it for," Dr Grahame Cooper reported. "99 per cent certain this driver would have close-passed me through the pinch point.
Of course, the accepted wisdom says we should move to the centre of the lane to prevent dangerous overtakes, which I do if I don't have the safety paddle. Like this, perhaps? pic.twitter.com/UMRzgPDjtA
— Bicycle-Riding Motorist (@MrHappyCyclist) October 18, 2024
He's penned the full story of the paddle here if you want to find out more...
You might have heard about the up-and-coming 15-year-old Belgian cyclist with a very famous namesake...
Naturally, the Belgian press has tracked Wout Van Aert down (note the slight difference with Wout van Aert, who has a smaller 'v' when named in full), Sporza speaking to the 15-year-old aspiring racer about the amusing tale.
"I liked it at first," the young Van Aert says. "But when I sign up for a race, they often remind me that I have the same name as the great Wout van Aert. That's a bit annoying, but not really bad. In the meantime, they know that there is someone else racing with that name.
"And we're not distant relatives either. My family name is written with a capital "V", not with a smaller "v" like professional cyclist Wout van Aert (whose grandparents are Dutch). I don't think Wout van Aert knows that there is another Wout Van Aert racing. It would be fantastic to meet my namesake and idol in real life."
And of course, who does Van Aert prefer? Wout van Aert or Mathieu van der Poel?
"I'm not a fan of Mathieu van der Poel. I'm not against Van der Poel, I'm just for Van Aert."
Simon Lightwood, the Labour MP for Wakefield and Rothwell who is also Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, has championed giving children "confidence" to cycle from a young age, saying it is "so important to instil those behaviours and values to be able to use active travel".
Speaking to the Metro while visiting a community transport provider in north-west London, Lightwood also said he would feel safe letting his children, aged seven and eight, cycle in London.
> Labour government to invest "unprecedented levels of funding" in cycling
"I would be with them obviously and like any parent and be guarded of them, but it's no particular reflection on roads in London or Wakefield," he said. "Obviously, one of the things we invest in is bike-ability, so that people from a young age are given the skills and confidence to then go out and cycle. I think it's a really important stage for young people to instil those behaviours and values to be able to use active travel."
The comments come at the end of a week when research by Swapfiets revealed that 90 per cent of Brits fear cycling in UK cities, with concerns about collisions, road rage and theft putting people off.
While we're all trying to make turbo training more bearable...
Maybe we should really be aspiring to make it more unbearable... no Zwift, no fan, no music, no Netflix... just watts...
Speaking to the BBC TV cameras after last night's rainbow jersey-winning ride, Katie Archibald called the victory "very special", the team pursuit success the culmination of months of rehab from horrific leg injuries sustained in a freak garden fall when she tripped on a step just weeks before the Olympics.
Archibald broke two bones in her lower leg, ripped ligaments, and dislocated her ankle and missed the Paris Games.
"It is a deep breath, it is feeling where you are meant to be and a team you are meant to be part of and what a treat to be part of this squad. It is very special," Archibald said following last night's victory, her fifth world title.
The British women's team pursuit squad, spearheaded by Katie Archibald's return from a horrendous injury that saw her miss the Olympics, won the event at the 2024 UCI Tissot Track World Championships last night. Archibald, Jess Roberts, Josie Knight and Anna Morris qualified fastest and caught the Chinese team just past the halfway mark to reach the gold medal final, Meg Barker replacing Roberts in the line-up as the Germans were defeated.
The men's team pursuit line-up of Ollie Wood, Ethan Hayter, Charlie Tanfield and Josh Charlton also won a medal, taking silver in the men's event. Defeated in the final by host nation Denmark, Tanfield said the group could be satisfied "we got the most out of ourselves".
World Championships debutants Noah Hobbs and Harry Ledingham-Horn also deserve a shout-out, finishing sixth in the men's scratch and fourth in the men's keirin respectively.
The floating bus stop conversation has picked up pace in recent times. A quick explainer for anyone not aware of the infrastructure design... it's essentially those bus stops that are built out into the road with a cycle lane passing on the pavement side, pedestrians using a zebra crossing or other crossing across the cycling infrastructure to access the bus stop. I could just show you what we mean, I guess...
In design terms they have been used to allow for protected cycleway routes on busy urban roads punctuated by bus stops, removing cyclists from the potential conflict and danger that a part of the road with bus drivers pulling in and out may cause a vulnerable road user. The bus has to be able to access the roadside to collect/drop off passengers, the cycle lane still needs to be protected to keep users safe, how are these two points factored in?
What's been heard in response is criticism from some, notably some campaigners for blind people, who say the design puts pedestrians in danger...
> "Like playing Russian roulette": Blind people raise concerns about 'floating' cycle lane bus stops
In May, we reported that the former Transport Secretary Mark Harper was considering a ban on floating bus stops, something London's Walking & Cycling Commissioner Will Norman said "could stop new protected cycle lanes" and risked "putting lives at risk across the country".
That came a year after Mayor of London Sadiq Khan had promised to conduct a review of floating bus stops and assured that he's committed to reducing danger on cycling lanes, after 164 campaign groups raised safety concerns for visually impaired pedestrians.
No evidence of any incident was raised in those concerns and, in January, leaked Transport for London documents suggested that floating bus stops might "feel dangerous" but there is a "low risk" of a collision.
Back to the present day, Jeremy Vine, pro-cycling voice and BBC/Channel 5 broadcaster, took to social media to make the case for supporting the infrastructure design, telling his 780,000 Twitter followers... "Floating bus stops protect vulnerable road users — chiefly, cyclists. Making it safer to cycle gets more people riding bicycles. The more cycle, the fewer drive. The fewer drive, the fewer die. So floating bus stops make the roads safer for EVERYONE."
Naturally, the concerns for blind people were raised, to which Vine's stock reply was: "Every year 1,700 killed by drivers. Every year six people killed by cows. Every year three killed by cyclists. Look at where you're focusing your rage, have a think, and then we can talk."
Thoughts?