You know it's going to be a 'good' one when the video's got 1.9k likes/reactions (many of which are the angry face one) and 2.1k comments. If only people cared about important things in life as much as irrelevant videos of cyclists doing nowt wrong on Facebook. Anyway, load the clip...
The caption it was shared with set the tone early... Rochdale Crime Facebook page saying: "Build a bike lane they said. It'll ease traffic they said. £13.5 million later… and here we are, stuck behind Dave on his Tour de Castleton."
Yep, this is the Greater Manchester cycle lane that attracted complaints from businesses who claimed it would "kill" the village due to nobody being able to park any more... that despite the initial scheme seeing 80 off-street spaces added nearby.
Work on the next stage of the project is set to continue, but this video causing much rage on Facebook is one of the first clips we've seen of it in action.
In short, one of the top comments (with more than 500 likes) is someone saying the cyclist not using the bike lane and riding in the road instead "should be a fineable offence".
Another one with almost 600 likes adds: "This is why everyone hates cyclists." A third says it's evidence for why cyclists "should have reg plates". So, yes, basically a whole lot of angry people enraged by a video of a fellow citizen causing no harm, travelling about the area in a perfectly legal and safe manner. I'm sure they're just as outraged at all the other road users who don't.
Amid the red-faced frothing there were also those who took to the comments in defence of the cyclist, pointing out their riding is perfectly legal and trying to explain to the enraged why they might have chosen to ride in the road on this section.
"You forgot to mention that there were walkers in the bike lane and further down a car was parked across it," one person pointed out.
Another said: "And the driver was delayed by a massive 14 seconds. That’s just outrageous and all because of a cyclist."
We're hoping that's sarcasm...
As a third comment explained, "The problem is the intermittent bike lanes".
"Think of it this way," the continued. "If VW implement VIP lanes but to use them, it meant getting off and back on the main road multiple times during a journey, would you use the VIP lane or just stay on the main road? The cyclist is doing nothing wrong by choosing the easier route and staying on the main road."
As per the Highway Code:
Use facilities such as cycle lanes and tracks, advanced stop lines and toucan crossings (see Rules 62 and 73) where they make your journey safer and easier. This will depend on your experience and skills and the situation at the time. While such facilities are provided for reasons of safety, cyclists may exercise their judgement and are not obliged to use them.
Maybe there should be a mandatory tick-box requirement to have read that before commenting on Facebook videos about cycle lanes?
We're 13 stages into this Giro d'Italia now and Mads Pedersen has won four of them. His Lidl-Trek team have five, Dan Hoole having won the time trial on Tuesday. This one was more like Pedersen's incredibly impressive success up in Matera last week than the two super controlled sprint wins in Albania. In fact, this might have been the best of the lot, the Dane grinding it out in an uphill head-to-head against Wout van Aert. Maglia rosa Isaac del Toro briefly looked like challenging before the two best classics riders at this Giro powered away from everyone else, thrashing watts at each other seeing who'd break first.
In truth, neither broke, Pedersen and Van Aert looking close to a standstill by the finish but still well clear of the peloton of GC favourites. Del Toro was third, the Mexican claiming more bonus seconds in his hunt for pink. At the Red Bull Kilometre, teammate and closest rival Juan Ayuso made his first effort for bonus seconds for a while, the pair extending their advantage of Antonio Tiberi in third. Despite Ayuso's attention at the Red Bull-sponsored intermediate sprint, Del Toro heads into the weekend with an even bigger lead than he started the day, the 21-year-old consistently chipping his advantage wider with these punchy sprint efforts.
Tomorrow the race heads into Slovenia, a day for Primož Roglič to enjoy, even if the stage profile looks far more suited to a sprint or breakaway (or just Mads Pedersen again) before Sunday sees one of the race's first major mountain days and the ascent of Monte Grappa.
Del Toro heads into stage 14 with 38 seconds' lead on Ayuso, Tiberi in third at 1:18. Adam Yates and Thymen Arensman slipped down the standings a little today, Egan Bernal, Derek Gee and Damiano Caruso hopping up the leaderboard.
Forget Ineos, he's a couple of bad hires away from getting the Man United job. I'd say he couldn't do a worse job, but as an Arsenal fan I'm sure he could (even if Brexit Jim was putting a fat cheque in his back pocket every month).
According to Escape Collective, Thomas is expected to stay with the Ineos Grenadiers after his retirement at the end of this season and is lined up for a senior management role with the team.
It's an important time for the team who have been firmly knocked off their perch by UAE Team Emirates and Visma Lease a Bike in recent years, the days of the Grand Tour dominance of the previous decade now a distant memory. Ineos are said to be seeking new investment for the team, Total Energies rumoured to be trying to get involved, while on the road the team have impressed viewers with their more proactive approach to racing this season, but still can't pull off as many big victories as they'd like in the era of Pog, Vingegaard, Remco, Van der Poel and Co.
Maybe G will be part of the management that turns things back in their favour? Before then he's got some final dances at the Tour de France and Tour of Britain to enjoy.
In Lucca to sign some copies of your new murder mystery? Make sure you visit the roadside to watch to watch the time trial...
The BBC has revealed that Surrey, East and West Sussex, Brighton and Kent councils paid out £4.1m in compensation to road users over the past five years. Duncan Dollimore from Cycling UK said the crumbling state of British roads can lead to "potentially life-changing" injuries or worse for cyclists and urged councils to do more to fix defects.
"It puts people off cycling which has massive health, environmental and wellbeing benefits so we should be doing more to make sure this isn't a problem," he said, adding that every year 40 cyclists are seriously injured in pothole crashes and between two and three die.
Almost as many comments and reactions to our post about Zipp's new wheels as that video from Rochdale.
Fair to say it's not all positive...
Not all bad, Scott Kahler is "waiting for anti-lock brakes, cruise control, and a handlebar-mounted airbag before I spend 20k+ on my next bicycle... if the credit union loan gets approved."
Harold Franco isn't impressed, saying his pump already has a gauge so he doesn't "need a pressure monitor on my wheel to tell me I have a flat".
Robert Tracey is looking at the positives... "This is great news it means all the other Zipp wheels are now old meaning that I'll finally be able to afford some Zipp 303 rim brake ones".
Hereford-based Mastercraft Cycles is shutting its doors after 25 years of business. The couple who run it Lynette and Nigel Quinton are retiring and say "the time is right" for some well-earned off.
"We have been a very humble bike shop, but the time is right to retire and it will be nice to put our feet up," they told the Hereford Times. "We would like to say a massive thank you to our wonderful customers who have supported us when they could have got their bike parts from the internet.
"Retail is a tricky business. The High Street can survive but it is very reliant on support from people. We will always remember that we preferred to speak to people rather than go all online."
The good news for any readers local to Hereford is that Mastercraft Cycles is having a closing down sale... get involved!
Ouch.
A cyclist in New Jersey ended up in hospital after being bitten by a venomous snake as he tried to get it off a cycle path. Writer Dan Geiger was riding along the Palisades Cliffs bike path when he saw a snake lying on the route, 4 New York reported. He wanted to help it off the path so it didn't get hurt and tried to nudge it with a water bottle. When it didn't move he reached out with his hand and, well... ended up in hospital.
The snake was a copperhead, a species whose bites are rarely deadly, but enough to make your finger look like that. You can apparently expect significant damage to the bitten area, including intense pain, internal bleeding, swelling and blistering. Looks like Geiger got the full house.
Thankfully he's being treated by doctors and anti-venom was administered via an IV, the hospital saying the quick reaction from bystanders, paramedics and doctors has likely helped him avoid suffering permanent damage.
Today could be a day for Wout, the Giro's 13th stage an intriguing 180km test to Vicenza that has just 1,200m of climbing all day but several seriously testing ramps in the final 30km, including a double ascent of the climb that the finish line will be perched atop. That one is 800m at nine per cent. If it's a tough enough day we might even see the punchier GC guys like Isaac del Toro and Primož Roglič battle it out. Dare I say Tom Pidcock too?
According to Velon, Van Aert averaged 760w for his 54-second leadout yesterday, maxing out at 1,320w for the punch that fired Olav Kooij to stage victory. Will we see those watts deployed to his own gain today?
