Welcome to Tuesday on the road.cc live blog with Simon MacMichael and the rest of the team.
26/02/2019, 13:46
Canyon Pure Cycling Weekend Forest of Dean
Canyon has announced its first ever UK Pure Cycling Weekend which will take place over two days at Forest of Dean on the 11th & 12th May 2019. Modelled on the annual Pure Cycling Festival which takes place at Canyon’s HQ in Koblenz each Spring, there will be a wide selection of road, mountain and gravel bikes to demo alongside various ride-outs, competitions and athletes and partner brands in attendance.
Over the past couple of years, the Canyon UK team have run a number of demos and expos around the UK (including at our own BikeLive Demo Days), offering consumers the opportunity to see and try the German-engineered, award-winning bikes.
The event will be ticketed at £5 per head and will be available to purchase from 15th March, 100% of the ticket sales proceeds will be donated to the Dean Trail Volunteers who work in partnership with the Forestry Commission to develop and maintain the mountainbike trails in the Forest of Dean and are raising money to build a new Downhill track. The complete program, demo bike list & partners will be announced soon on Canyon's website.
This is definitely one to watch if you're interested in buying a Canyon.
26/02/2019, 13:26
Arrest made after cyclist killed in Surrey hit and run on Sunday
Surrey Police have arrested a 49-year-old man after a cyclist was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Lingfield on Sunday evening.
As we reported yesterday, the fatal crash happened at 5pm on Lingfield Common Road at the junction with Cobham Close. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers have now confirmed that a man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by careless driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs and failing to stop at the scene of the collision.
Police have repeated an appeal for anyone with information to contact them on 101 or online quoting reference PR/P19044029.
26/02/2019, 13:01
The Col Collective - Albulapass
Mike Cotty takes us to the Swiss Alps for some dreamy scenery.
Sunshine, perfect tarmac and incredible views, what's not to love?
26/02/2019, 09:33
Top Gear host throws cycling question out on Twitter
Still on the issue of BBC presenters, Chris Harris, co-host of Top Gear - a show that Alan Partridge would dearly love to work on and of that there can be no doubt - has got a bit of a convo going on Twitter with this tweet. The replies - including from pro cyclists such as Alex Dowsett and Rob Hayles - are worth a browse.
Question: Driving a car and overtaken by a cyclist in a 20mph zone do you a) congratulate them, or b) scowl?
— chris harris (@harrismonkey) February 25, 2019
26/02/2019, 09:00
Aha! Move over, Ainsley – Alan Partridge is the new face of safe cycling in Bournemouth
Remember last year when someone doctored placards near Bournemouth University urging drivers to give cyclists at least 1.5 metres of space when overtaking cyclists by slapping stickers of TV chef Ainsley Harriott’s face on the image of a bike rider?
Well, the TV personality-loving japester is back – and this time round, it’s none other than the man of the moment, back on our screens as of last night in his new BBC One series This Time With Alan Partridge, who fronts the spoof campaign.
Aha! someone has stuck pictures of Alan Partridge on signs urging drivers to keep their distance when passing cyclists in #Bournemouthhttps://t.co/ZuxidqZzoh We wonder what Alan would make of it pic.twitter.com/EC4dhaOrFh
— Bournemouth Echo (@Bournemouthecho) February 25, 2019
The Ainsley Harriott unofficial iteration of the campaign got taken down very quickly, with a council official saying: “We are aware that the cycle safety signs near the university have been defaced with stickers and they will be removed as soon as possible.”
The point is though, that the guerrilla campaign last year got way more people talking about the posters – and hopefully, taking note of the message – than would otherwise have been the case, and hopefully the new, albeit unofficial endorsement from the UK's best-loved TV show host will push awareness even higher.
And on that bombshell …