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“Safe cycling, illegal and dangerous driving”: Motorist lambasts cyclists for riding two abreast – while filming them on his phone; Police accused of victimising cyclists and spreading “misinformation” over “dark clothing” post + more on the live blog

Brrr… The Aussie champs have been raced, the FA Cup’s on, and it’s freezing. Yes folks, we’re now firmly into January and, armed with all the latest cycling news and two woolly jumpers, Ryan Mallon’s here for a chilly Monday edition of the live blog

SUMMARY

08 January 2024, 10:28
“Safe cycling, illegal and dangerous driving”: Motorist lambasts cyclists for riding two abreast – while filming them on his phone (which he claimed was a self-adjusting, portrait dash cam)

Now, here on the live blog we know all too well that certain corners of the internet suffer from severe irony deficiency.

But never, perhaps, has that truth been more apparent than in the following video, posted on Twitter by “occasional cyclist” Darren, who – despite holding “nothing against cyclists” – was none too happy at the prospect of having to legally overtake two cyclists legally riding two abreast ahead of him…

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of legality, more than a few social media users were quick to question Darren’s method of filming the two abreast cyclists: 

Though, as we’ve already gathered this morning, Garda Traffic may be more interested in Darren’s choice of clothing. 

Anyway, Ol’ Dazza was quick to defend himself, repeatedly claiming (with an increasing use of the Caps Lock) that the easily-moved, portrait-filming device was, in fact, a dash cam. Yes, really.

“Don’t worry Darren I have one of these self-adjusting dash cams too,” a disbelieving Niall responded.

“Nothing illegal about that,” added Phil. “However, using your mobile at the wheel is. You’ve just grassed yourself up. And no, it’s not a dashcam.”

“Two cyclists, riding safely and legally. Darren whips out his phone, films himself tailgating, and vents a whinge. There’s summat needing sorted there, Darren – and it's NOT the cyclists,” said Gavin.

And finally, since we’re talking about cyclists and phone drivers, it’s only fair that we leave the parting words to the expert himself, Cycling Mikey: “If you want to pass even a single cyclist safely, then you need to change lanes. They’re not affecting your journey, and you’re a hypocrite because you’re in your car alone with five lounge seats, and three abreast at your rear seats.”

But, but, something, dashcam, something, occasional cyclist…

08 January 2024, 09:08
Police in Ireland stop cyclist for not having front or rear lights (Garda Traffic, Twitter)
“Making reference to clothing creates confusion about the law and leads to victimisation of cyclists”: Police accused of spreading “misinformation” over “dark clothing” cyclist post, after fining rider with no lights on bike

Ah, looks like Brendan Gleeson has been left in charge of the police social media account again…

Because – less than a year after they were forced to retract a tweet wrongfully claiming that high visibility clothing was mandatory for pedestrians and cyclists – An Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police force, has once again found itself embroiled in an online row over the clothing choices of vulnerable road users.

The row stems from a tweet posted by the Garda’s traffic and road safety account yesterday, informing us that “while on patrol, Naas Roads Policing observed this pedal cyclist in dark clothing with no front or rear lights”.

Of course, having a front and rear light on your bike while riding on public roads during ‘lighting up hours’ – between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise – is a legal requirement in Ireland, with those found not using lights in that time period slapped with a €40 Fixed Charge Penalty Notice (the one our Grafton Street cyclist from the weekend got slapped with, before he indulged in some kicking).

> Cyclist in court for kicking out at police officer who stopped him riding bike on city centre shopping street

However, as many – including politicians and cycling campaigners – noted on Twitter soon after the police’s post, wearing “dark clothing” is not against the law, as noted by the police itself when it responded “Oops, we got that wrong” following last year’s ill-advised hi-vis tweet.

“Disappointing to see Garda Traffic make reference to clothing here,” Ciaran Cannon, a Fine Gael TD for Galway East, wrote.

“There is no legal requirement to wear any particular kind of clothing when cycling. Making reference to clothing creates confusion about the law and leads to victimisation of cyclists, often in court.”

Referring to a careless driving case from 2018, when a judge and police officer in Kildare claimed that a cyclist was not wearing the “proper” or “correct gear” at the time a taxi driver hit them, Cannon continued: “Such confusion and misinformation allows judges to make [such] erroneous statements.”

> Ireland’s transport minister backs compulsory hi-visibility gear for cyclists

“When you observe cars and issue FCPNs, why don’t you comment on the colour of the car?” asked the Cycling in Kilkenny account.

“After all, black cars at night are harder to see. There's no legal requirement in relation to clothing colour, only lights. FCPN is justified but the mention of clothing is not.”

Meanwhile, Phil Skelton, founder of the Stayin’ Alive at 1.5 campaign, added: “Just so that we are clear here, the FCPN was issued for not using lights during lighting up hours – and not for the colour of the clothing?”

“No issue with the FCPN being issued here but let’s not cause further confusion. Will you issue a clarification post, Garda Traffic?”

Can’t wait for another “Oops, sorry about that” post, only for the same thing to be repeated next year…

(Oh, and for those who didn’t get the reference in the first line of this story, go watch The Guard. It’s brilliant.)

08 January 2024, 16:55
Motorist lambasts cyclists for riding two abreast – while filming them on his phone (Darren Gilligan, Twitter)
road.cc readers react to Darren, the “occasional cyclist”

It’s no surprise that the fantastical story of Darren the Occasional Cyclist and his Floating Dashcam has tickled the funny bone – and struck the anger nerve – of quite a few of our readers in the comments.

“Darren is clearly a liar.  The phone seems a bit bouncy to start, and then somehow the phone manages to swing down to the instruments and back again?” wrote Daveyraveygravey.

“I’m not saying ALL motorists do this... but it sure seems like they do. And does anyone else think he is too close to the riders doing 21kph according to his speedo?”

“’Nothing against cyclists, I’m actually an occasional cyclist’, which of course means, there was an occasion when I used a bicycle... once... a very long time ago... I didn't like it,” said wycombewheeler.

“And it had stabilisers,” added eburtthebike.

Meanwhile, IanMSpencer provided us with an update: “Darren eventually claimed it was someone else's dashcam – to substantial chortling from Twitter.”

Of course, over on Twitter itself, the reaction was somewhat different.

“Are you sure he was on his phone and not using some sort of body cam, or someone else in the vehicle was recording?” asked The Complainer.

Bless…

08 January 2024, 17:33
Villagers claim planned cycleway will have a "detrimental aesthetic impact" as local authority sides with majority and moves forward with proposal
08 January 2024, 16:23
Richard Plugge, Jumbo-Visma CEO (ASO/Charly Lopez)
Visma-Lease a Bike manager Richard Plugge reveals plans for F1-style race calendar as part of new ‘super league’ – and says pro cyclists should be more like Jake Paul (yes, really)

Visma-Lease a Bike (still not used to that) manager Richard Plugge has revealed fresh details about the plans in place for a new cycling ‘super league’, which aims to come into existence in 2026 and bring together teams, race organisers, and the UCI to create “new revenue streams” for the sport.

Of course, the idea of a revamped cycling league – designed to counter the sport’s “flawed” business model – is nothing new, and no one can accuse Plugge (a divisive figure among other team bosses for his approach to rider contracts) of possessing too much originality when it comes to his plan for the ‘ONE Cycling’ venture.

These plans include more circuit-based races and the creation of a “better-defined” racing calendar based on Formula One (ah yes, that sport strikingly identical to cycling, with its peloton of 20 or so riders that take part in every single race. Oh wait…).

Jumbo-Visma Tour de France (Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

“Everyone now congratulates us as team of the year, even the diehard cycling fans. But it was Team UAE that finished first in the WorldTour,” Plugge told De Tijd.

“We need to have a clear calendar with a limited number of races in which the best riders compete against each other.

“Currently, major media companies are laughing at the disorganised way in which race organisations and teams negotiate over rights. It explains the peanuts we earn compared to football.”

On the sport’s financial growth, Plugge argued that “far too little has happened in this regard in the last ten years” and that “we don’t capitalise on our potential enough”, neglecting to “realise clearly enough that our rivals are not the other teams or organizers but all other forms of [sporting] entertainment.”

2023 Vingegaard yellow Tour de France bike pic A.S.O Pauline Ballet

Jonas-mania (ASO/Pauline Ballett)

With that in mind, Plugge negatively compared cycling’s stars – such as his own, very demure figurehead Jonas Vingegaard – to the flamboyant and divisive YouTuber/boxer guy Jake Paul.

No, I’m not joking.

“He gets surrounded by screaming young fans, those young people do not rush towards Jonas Vingegaard or other top riders. I want to change that,” Plugge said.

Errr… I don’t know where to begin with that one.

08 January 2024, 15:14
Police say they can’t identify youths who threw golf ball at female cyclist from CCTV footage

Update: Police have informed a 57-year-old female cyclist, who was recently hit by a golf ball thrown by two boys at her as she rode past, that they have viewed the relevant CCTV footage but it was not clear enough to identify the culprits.

Boy throwing golf ball at cyclist, Belfast (Twitter: @anneramsey)

Read more: > “Who would want to hurt an older lady cyclist?”: Two boys injure cyclist by throwing golf ball at her

08 January 2024, 14:30
When you meticulously plan your long, drawn-out 2024 kit reveal – only for one of your riders to spoil everything by racing in it

It seems that Team DSM–Firmenich PostNL’s long-winded attempt to build up some social media anticipation by teasing the release of their 2024 kit – including moody, darkly lit videos and countdowns – failed to take into account that one of their riders, Chris Hamilton, would in fact be debuting the new blue, white, and orange colours at yesterday’s Australian road race champs, a full day and a half before this afternoon’s official team presentation…

Oops.

Anyway, all that unnecessary and poorly planned build-up eventually culminated in a dramatic 3pm reveal of this, ahem, busy new look, along with the announcement that Romain Bardet and Warren Barguil will party like it’s the mid-2010s at this year’s Tour de France:

08 January 2024, 14:07
It’s finally awards season! And no, I’m not talking about that Golden Globes nonsense…

Put your best suit on and get that red carpet dry cleaned, it’s road.cc awards season time… 

roadcc recommends awards 2023-24 - Accessories of the Year

> Check out the road.cc Recommends Accessories of the Year 2023/24: the very best helmets, glasses, tools, bags & more

08 January 2024, 13:28
The return of AVV: Annemiek van Vleuten makes her comeback (well, for one day anyway)

Nope, the former world champion and Tour de France winner hasn’t decided to postpone her well-earned retirement – Van Vleuten was instead simply interrupting her most relaxing winter in years by lining up at a national-level cyclocross race in her hometown of Vorden.

Clad in all-black kit, the 41-year-old finished 17th as Mirre Knaven took the win. I suppose it’s comforting to know she is human after all…

08 January 2024, 12:56
Leaked documents suggest “low risk” of cyclist collisions at “floating bus stops”, as blindness campaigners urge safety action on design

A Transport for London (TfL) figure has maintained that protected cycle infrastructure remains “key to reducing” risk amid renewed calls for safety action on floating bus stops from blindness campaigners.

The comments come after leaked contents of a meeting suggested that while being “low risk” TfL is aware of concerns about the infrastructure, which requires bus users to cross a cycle lane to get to their stop, specifically that they can “feel dangerous” to some pedestrians, with research suggesting that up to 60 per cent of cyclists may not give way to pedestrians at the crossings.

Floating bus stop (Stephen Craven/Geograph/CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED)

> Leaked documents suggest “low risk” of cyclist collisions at “floating bus stops”, as blindness campaigners urge safety action on design

08 January 2024, 12:03
More ‘Surely you can’t do that by bike’ content (and no, this one doesn’t involve CGI)
08 January 2024, 11:31
Meanwhile, in Copenhagen…
08 January 2024, 11:18
Questionable cycling infrastructure of the day

This morning on the live blog, we’ve already featured irony-deficient, two abreast-bashing phone drivers and questionable police social media posts from across the Irish Sea (or ‘down south’, if you’re this live blogger).

So I thought we should complete the Unholy Trinity of Irish cycling by featuring some shoddily-designed, accident-waiting-to-happen, Dublin-based infrastructure, courtesy of bike-loving comedian David O’Doherty:

08 January 2024, 10:56
Scenes at the cyclocross

While the racing may not have been the most enthralling – with the brilliant Puck Pieterse and the irrepressible, unfathomably strong Mathieu van der Poel sailing to comfortable solo wins (though Pieterse was certainly aided by then-race leader Lucinda Brand’s nasty, race-ending faceplant on lap three) – the atmosphere at yesterday’s Cyclocross World Cup at Zonhoven more than made up for the predictable results on the famous sandy course.

The raucous Zonhoven roar may, naturally, have been helped by, according to Nieuwsblad, the 10,000 litres of beer (that’s around 17,600 pints) consumed by the masses who flocked to yesterday’s race, with some even coming from as far afield as Thailand and Afghanistan.

Now that’s proper dedication to beer, frites, sand, and gawping at Van der Poel’s latest imperious display…

Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.

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24 comments

Avatar
Hirsute | 2 weeks ago
7 likes
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ktache replied to Hirsute | 2 weeks ago
3 likes

Except that if the cyclelane really did need gritting he'd be wearing big gloves...

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andystow replied to ktache | 2 weeks ago
0 likes

ktache wrote:

Except that if the cyclelane really did need gritting he'd be wearing big gloves...

I was out at just below freezing yesterday, and had my gloves off for a bit of the ride. No problem with enough layers and heat output if you don't suffer from Raynaud's.

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mitsky | 2 weeks ago
4 likes

Regarding the golf ball throwing criminals (yes, that is what they are)...

The police should make the footage public to the local area stating they are looking to press charges.
Someone in the public will recognise them.

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Ryan Mallon replied to mitsky | 2 weeks ago
1 like

About 200 comedians in Belfast would have a field day with this kind of comment (considering for most of them, it’s their only joke).

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Oldfatgit replied to mitsky | 2 weeks ago
2 likes

I have full HD footage of a bottle being thrown out of a car window and in to the group i was a member of.

Car number plate is readable, no mistaken id as it's the only vehicle on the road other than us, and the bottle can be clearly traced in the video coming from the car.

Police Scotland did not make any prosecution as "the driver couldn't remember the incident".

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mitsky replied to Oldfatgit | 2 weeks ago
2 likes

I'd have put in an official complaint asking if the same "defence" could be used for any other crime up to and including murder.  2

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OnYerBike replied to mitsky | 2 weeks ago
0 likes

Police Scotland's response is no doubt disappointing, but I can see where they are coming from legally. 

Whilst the number plate might be clearly legible, that only identifies the vehicle/registered keeper, and potentially the registered keeper could be compelled to identify the driver (although it does depend on the offence under investigation).

However, I'm assuming the bottle was thrown by a passenger as is normally the case in these sorts of incidents? Unfortunately, the police would struggle to bring a prosecution against the driver (possibly there could be an argument for joint enterprise, but unless it is obvious that the driver deliberately aided the passenger I don't think that's likely to go anywhere). The police also have no power to compel the driver (or registered keeper) to provide any further information or the name of the passenger.

"I can't remember" is therefore, for all intents and purposes, the same as "no comment" (which unfortunately is often a sufficient defence against all sorts of crime). 

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Daveyraveygravey | 2 weeks ago
13 likes

Darren is clearly a liar.  The phone seems a bit bouncy to start, and then somehow the phone manages to swing down to the instruments and back again? 

I'm not saying ALL motorists do this...but it sure seems like they do.

And does anyone else think he is too close to the riders doing 21 kmh according to his speedo?

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IanMSpencer replied to Daveyraveygravey | 2 weeks ago
6 likes

No problem with the driver getting close to commence an overtake, (it minimises overtaking time and is actually considered good practice under Roadcraft), but it is not a sensible follow distance where no overtake is possible - the "always beware of cyclists attempting to throw themselves under your vehicle" rule.

The issue really is that I don't think there was any point on that video where the driver could have overtaken safely - junctions, traffic calming, oncoming traffic, unsighted by the bend in the road, and the big issue is that even if singled out, the driver would still have to wait for a section of road without junctions, oncoming traffic (because the road width is insufficient) and traffic calming and decent forward view.

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mattw replied to IanMSpencer | 2 weeks ago
3 likes

Overtakes should not be commenced from close, and acceleration should be in the nearside lane so that the time in the oncoming lane is minismised.

As it happens, Ashley Neal has an excellent video on this one. 

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IanMSpencer replied to mattw | 2 weeks ago
7 likes

That is not the Roadcraft method where you are following another road user. Basically they have two scenarios, approaching another veicle when the road is clear and you can pass immediately, where they allow for acceleration before overtaking. However, if you end up following due to hazards, there is a different approach they recommend.

The principle is:

1) Establish the potential to overtake.

2) Draw forward, within the 2 second rule gap because you have established the road is safe ahead and there not going to be any unexpected surprises. (This should not be intimidatingly close, and you still have to allow for unexpected events but as you have established the road is suitable for overtaking you have minimised that risk). Make sure you are in best overtaking gear.

3) If clear, pull out without accelerating.

4) Assess the road again. If clear, accelerate and overtake. If not clear, draw back in and back off. As you have drawn close behind another vehicle, you cannot abort without braking, which has potential for all sorts of nonsense with following vehicles, but if you are simply maintaining speed, aborting is boring and uncontroversial!

The point is that if you accelerate behind a vehicle before you overtake, you then have to account for the braking distance if you abort. The classic 100 metres back dive bomb overtake that people think is safe because you pass quickly actually has a very long period where your excess speed means you cannot abort without risk of collision with the vehicle you are trying to pass. You can only do this when you have got a well established safe overtaking zoen. In our example above, our friend is faced with a rapidly changing street scene and while there may be opportunities, it requires a conservative approach.

I can copy the pages of Roadcraft if you'd like, and having done the training and had the chance to apply it over a number of years, it really is quite surprising how calm, quick and uncontroverisial overtaking in this manner is.  

Edit: to editorialise, the point is not to maximise the possibilities of overtaking, but to maximise the safety of overtaking.

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IanMSpencer | 2 weeks ago
17 likes

Darren eventually claimed it was someone else's dashcam - to substantial chortling from Twitter.

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wycombewheeler | 2 weeks ago
15 likes

"Nothing against cyclists, I’m actually an occasional cyclist"

which of course means, there was an occasion when I used a bicycle.......once........a very long time ago............I didn't like it.

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eburtthebike replied to wycombewheeler | 2 weeks ago
14 likes

wycombewheeler wrote:

"Nothing against cyclists, I’m actually an occasional cyclist"

which of course means, there was an occasion when I used a bicycle.......once........a very long time ago............I didn't like it.

And it had stabilisers.

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Rendel Harris replied to wycombewheeler | 2 weeks ago
7 likes

Well, if our new American acquaintance on the other thread can claim that an acceptable definition of "cyclist" is "somebody who rides a bicycle at least once a year…"

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marmotte27 replied to Rendel Harris | 2 weeks ago
5 likes

Well same thing in respect to teachers. Everyone has been a pupil once, which makes the experts in learning, teaching, educational policies and what not...

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mctrials23 replied to wycombewheeler | 2 weeks ago
0 likes

It does seem to make people think that they are an expert on cyclists and considering the absolutely apalling standards of driving on our roads from people who are drivers I would suggest that being a cyclist doesn't make your opinion any more correct on cycling that being a driver makes your opinon on driving correct. 

To be fair, there are plenty of cyclists I do know who don't seem to identify as a vulnerable road user and seem to think that any cyclists not behaving how they would deserves to be around bad driving. 

Personally I would have gone single file in that situation to allow traffic to pass easily but thats just what I would do. I have absolutely zero issues if those cyclists don't want to do that though. They are entirely within their rights not to and there is no issue with that. 

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wycombewheeler replied to mctrials23 | 2 weeks ago
4 likes

mctrials23 wrote:

It does seem to make people think that they are an expert on cyclists and considering the absolutely apalling standards of driving on our roads from people who are drivers I would suggest that being a cyclist doesn't make your opinion any more correct on cycling that being a driver makes your opinon on driving correct. 

To be fair, there are plenty of cyclists I do know who don't seem to identify as a vulnerable road user and seem to think that any cyclists not behaving how they would deserves to be around bad driving. 

Personally I would have gone single file in that situation to allow traffic to pass easily but thats just what I would do. I have absolutely zero issues if those cyclists don't want to do that though. They are entirely within their rights not to and there is no issue with that. 

road looks quite narrow, so bike plus two cars does not fit. at start of clip there is a speed hump (so no overtaking), then they are too close to the bend, then there was an onccoming car. I didn't see anywhere that enable a safe pass. Plenty that would accomodate a squeeze pass though, if only the cyclists would single out.

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levestane replied to wycombewheeler | 2 weeks ago
1 like

I wonder if the speed limit is 20?

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Smoggysteve replied to wycombewheeler | 2 weeks ago
1 like

Agree. Considering the clip shows them riding in a part of the road with a solid white line, when would he have overtaken single file cyclist anyway? The flash to the dash confirm they were going faster than 10mph. Just a total knob cheese tbh. 

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giff77 replied to wycombewheeler | 2 weeks ago
6 likes

His annual jaunt to Central Parcs and a half hour spin on the forest trail with a hire bike. 

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wycombewheeler replied to giff77 | 2 weeks ago
0 likes

giff77 wrote:

His annual jaunt to Central Parcs and a half hour spin on the forest trail with a hire bike. 

has center parcs opened up a new place in New York?

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belugabob replied to wycombewheeler | 2 weeks ago
0 likes
wycombewheeler wrote:

giff77 wrote:

His annual jaunt to Central Parcs and a half hour spin on the forest trail with a hire bike. 

has center parcs opened up a new place in New York?

Central Parcs?

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