Deterrence for stupid/risky acts is probably needed, since obviously it's happening. I got pulled over for drunk bicycling in my college years (this was the 80's) even though I was only swerving lightly... Cops had less to deal with then.
There is honour in cycling safely, considerately and making progress in that order. It's best for you to do that for its own sake rather than for fear of the rozzers. I'm glad police are thinking about dangerous cycling but i think we should do more introspection and have 'a word' with someone who is being a knob.
I'm all for stopping und citing people on bicycles for breaking the traffic laws the same as people driving motor vehicles. But the cops need to be properly educated as to what is und isn't illegal behavior.
Regarding the 20 mph speed limit interfering with a race: I feel like on a closed route, during a race, you could go faster than the speed limit. I don't see F1 cars going 20 mph in Monte Carlo during the annual race.
What you feel isn’t impacting the law. Roads can be closed and allow speeding, as is the case with closed road rallies (Rali Ceredigion this weekend), but it needs concurrence by Parliament and also a full road closure which may be the issue as road races are a rolling road closure.
My understanding is that bikes don't legally have to follow the speed limit anyway, so they're probably avoiding 20 mph speed limits to avoid controversy.
As a society we have been conditioned to just accept when motorists break road rules. Everyday I see cars speeding, running red lights, changing lanes without signalling,, and there is nowhere near the level of vitriol towards this compared to when a cyclist does it.
@@AlbionSupreme So how come in the UK drivers kill 5 people and seriously injure 80 every day, but people who ride cycles at worst kill 5 in a bad year? The vast majority of death and serious injury on our roads is down to drivers because if you hit someone with 2 tons of metail it does damage. We have a massive problem with speeding, drug and drink driving and people driving who have never passed the driving test.
Dan is right, illegally modified eBikes are incredibly dangerous. They travel at motorbike speeds on pavements and through parks as well as on the road. The riders have no helmets, probably no insurance and definitely don’t have motorbike licenses yes they are essentially riding a highly powerful and dangerous motorbike.
Add to that that they are really quiet due to the electric engine making no noise. The police are trying to tackle those with localised operations, but from what I can see this has no effect on the numbers of them. If anything the number I see daily have increased. The only way of sorting this out would be to ban the sales and private ownership completely, but that won't happen.
Well the problem also lies in infrastructures not being adapted to cyclist. In my area in Germany lots of traffic lights have "weight detectors" to turn green only if a car is detected, usually when you are coming from a small road crossing a bigger one. As a cyclist the red light never detects you, therefore you can end up waiting basically forever, which can be frustrating... Also for instance when on a cycling lane, turning right at a red light into another cycling lane, you never cross the path of any car, therefore it represents no danger turning, even though not authorized by law. So the conclusion would be to adapt the infrastructure and a lot of infractions could be avoided!
Same in the UK. We call those vehicle detector loops. Usually there will always be a car approaching the junction at the same time I need to cross, but I have had a few cases when I simply had to make the crossing at a red, otherwise I would have been waiting there forever, or would have had to use the pedestrian crossing which is daft.
Fully agree. I also live in Germany and the bike paths are mostly in very bad shape and thus dangerous to ride with a road bike (I had a crash only a week ago when I hit a root). Nevertheless you get pulled over by the police when you do not use them. If the cycling infrastructure would be similar to what you see in the Netherlands or Belgium, rule breaking by cyclists would be a much smaller issue.
I've figured out with magnetic loop detectors, sometimes if you pedal slowly while coasting up to the stop line through the magnetic sensor, sometimes (certainly not every time) the motion of the metal is enough to "disturb the force"and trigger the light. obviously this probably isn't going to happen with a carbon fiber or titanium frame. I've often wondered if it will trip if you put a copper coil
The problem is that the police are largely ignorant about the law as it applies to cyclists. I had a cop pull me over to warn me (no ticket fortunately) claiming that I was breaking the law when I wasn't.
Personally I have had more near misses with light jumping fellow cyclists that then accused me of being careless for not looking out for them. Dah selfish and stupid
Lots of talking points this week! I grew up in the 1950s and '60s in the Channel Island of Jersey. At that time it was compulsory for cyclists to display a licence/number plate. This was a small rectangular metal frame approximately 7x10cm (portrait orientation) into which a pink paper licence card was slid. A new licence card had to be purchased each year (it cost 6d in pre-decimal currency). At some time in the early '60s the requirement to display this was abandoned because it cost the government more to manufacture these than they received in income.
Klein bikes had rear-facing dropouts and internally routed cables; I think that hack/bodge was something else. I've still got my old Klein. It's pretty sweet.
Funny how different our world is… I cycled from Germany to Istanbul this spring. When going into turkey there were several occasions where we would ignore Komoot and search for quiet roads instead of going on the suggested highway. Just to find that there aren’t any or if, people randomly stop you and ask, where you’re going, only to tell you that you’d rather go back and cycle on the highway :D Not to say it was anywhere close to fun, but it’s reality. Oh and on another occasion even the military of Greece told us to use the highway to go into Bulgaria - we were desperately trying to find a different way, but there just wasn’t :D So we ended up driving on a shoulder that even was partly blocked due to construction work. In these moments I just can’t believe how lucky we „east-Europeans“ are with our beautiful network of cycle roads or even country roads that are driveable
Disagree, they are tackling law breaking drivers, some forces admittedly better than others but must be seen to be tackling all crime, if you ignore one crime it becomes rife (like illegal electric motorbikes in Warwickshire as the force is useless).
Exactly what I was going to write. Sort out the cars, and the e-tards on illegal overpowered electro stuff, and then there would be some kind of moral right to discipline cyclists.
The police do deal with drivers breaking the law. How do I know, I was a roads policing officer for the last 14 years of my career. I issued thousands of tickets, reported just as many to court and made a significant number of arrests for driving offences. My colleagues did the same. The issue is that there are not enough police officers to deal with everything that's thrown at them. There simply aren't enough roads policing officers to deal with every offence you see! As for cyclists breaking the rules. Yes, they should be prosecuted if they're committing offences. The law is the law and it should be enforced without fear or favour. No one group of road users should be immune to prosecution.
That's correct, but usually it doesn't cause an issue anyway as up until now it's been very very rare for a cyclist competing in a race to break 30mph. Event organisers know that speed limits don't apply to cyclists but also know it's a bad look for all their events' participants to be going faster than motor traffic.
@@cruachan1191 if it's a closed course even the support vehicles should be able to exceed the speed limit. You don't see the Isle of Man races restricting vehicles to the speed limit.
@@roberteltze4850 That was the reason given in the story on the BBC website, I can't post the link as UA-cam won't allow it but should be easy to find. The Isle of Man is covered by different laws from mainland Britain, and there are no upper speed limits outside the towns even outwith the TT.
Words matter. Anything that has a throttle and does not need to be peddled is NOT a bicycle, please call it what it is, an electric motorbike. If the industry uses the wrong terms, then the media will use the wrong terms and people will lump e-bikes into the electric motorbike category and start to make stupid rules for the wrong people.
Well that’s the problem, road traffic laws in the U.K. can be waved for a fully closed road event, but road races are not on fully closed roads but a rolling road closure and my understanding that that was the problem.
As someone who commutes to work and basically anywhere I go I do occasionally run red lights depending on the situation. I stop peddling and come to around 5-8km an hour, look around, and continue to go cautiously. I work until 9:30-11ish at night often and most of my journey is on pretty empty streets with lights that sometimes take 20-30 seconds to change. Which is just brutal. I really don’t think I’m putting anyone at risk when I do this. The streets are basically empty in my residential area at that time and when there is a car just treat it by the “law”
There's also so many completely useless traffic lights for cyclists around me that you can't help but ignore some of them. Some on a bike lane crossing a one way street that almost never has a car. All you'd have to do as a cyclist is look one way and if there's no car just go. But "technically" you're running a red light. Another one on a crossroads. But for a cyclist crossing one way the entire rest of the crossroads goes on red. So if you're a cyclist crossing the other way you can just look to your left, see if the light's green and just safely go straight.
What you are describing is called the Idaho Stop and is the correct way to negotiate a red light or stop sign on a bicycle. Don't let anyone shame you out of it. Don't worry about the legal status of it. If the cops pull you over for it just pay the fine and don't worry, it's worth the money to lower your chance of getting rear ended at a stop by 40%.
Getting yellow card for being rude to a spectator? 🤷🏼♂️ Keep the spectator to keep out of the way and not taunt the riders. Give the spectator a lashing card. 🤬
As a cyclist, I can never, ever assert my right of way without first negotiating it with car drivers. I can never rely solely on the rule granting me the right of way. My safety is always in my own hands because I'm surrounded by distracted people driving deadly weapons - no rule will protect me if they break it. That’s why, when I see it’s safe to go, I don’t care much if someone else judges my decision based on the traffic light.
I am the same way, but even then always remember that it can seem like somebody is looking directly at you but really they're looking PAST you and don't see you at all. I experienced this while cycling through a 2-lane, two circle roundabout that passes under and accommodates the entry/exit ramps of a major highway. I thought the driver waiting to enter the roundabout was looking directly at me and meeting my eyes but as he pulled out in front of me his eyes shifted ever so slightly and went a little wide as he recognized my presence, but I was already taking evasive action into the inner lane for a go around. also remember that people can be night blind... another close call that I had... I didn't realize what probably actually happened until last year when my mother was explaining why she doesn't drive at night anymore, the lens of her eyes are scratched so it's kind of like looking through a dirty windshield. fine during the day when the world is lit up, but at night lights ahead are all refracted, such that she can't tell how far away they are from her. the incident that I had involved an older woman pulling out of a driveway. I'm wearing a headlamp, retro-reflective safety vest, and at the time I was pulling a loaded BOB trailer with the pendant flag on it to which I had also stuck retro-reflective stripe. in my case retrospectively if I kept moving I probably would have been fine, but thinking she was backing out in front of me I came to a stop, however she reversed to the right as if to park on the shoulder. I thought oh maybe she's parking to allow somebody else to reverse out, so I get half a crank in, and she begins forward again... so I stopped to figure out what she's doing now... then she stops again... I think oh she stopped because now she sees me... so this time I pedal in earnest thinking she's waiting for me but then she jerks forward and steers directly towards me and I "giv'n her all she's got cap'in!" but it's only enough to clear the bike not the trailer from her path of travel. the force of pushing the trailer to the side was enough to bend my rear wheel, yet the trailer and the contents we're fine. I remember thinking with all of this reflective stuff I've got on, how could she possibly not see me? well that's how: it's not that she couldn't see me it's that she couldn't differentiate all of the lights & retro-reflective on my bike and body from the house lights behind me.
I live in Chicago, where the police have been on quiet strike for several years. No need to worry about them enforcing laws against anybody, let alone bicyclists
I live near tacoma, WA and it's the same here. If I'm doing 10 over on surface streets, I'm getting passed like I'm standing still. On highways definitely so. People in cars, especially lifted trucks, are so arrogant and entitled that they will rage and aggressively push their way through ANY traffic they can. And never mind keeping your license plate tabs up to date, probably a third of all vehicles I see are operating on expired tabs. And, it's actually a primary offense here, so cops CAN pull you over solely for that reason
And finally.....on 20mph speed limits. It's my understanding that the 20mph speed limit does not apply to cyclists, and that the reason for the course alterations in the Welsh race was because the supporting vehicles would have been breaking the speed limit, not the cyclists. (At least, this is what was reported by the BBC).
And yet Italy or France or Spain somehow manage to waive traffic tickets off of cameras when the whole peloton rips through one of their villages? I dunno, it just smacks of anti cycling sentiment
Living in Belgium I often break the law while cycling even when I'm doing my best to follow them. The road infrastructure for cyclists changes too frequently, eg where you are allowed to cycle, on which side of the road, on pavement or on the street, etc. When doing longer distances it is a nightmare. Sometimes I'm cycling on the cycling path when suddenly it disappears where a couple 100 m further you realize you need to cycle on the narrow cycling path on the other side of the road. Additionally it feels that the road infrastructure introduces risks for cyclists where it's not required. Uneven pavement in the direction of travel, cycling paths that suddenly become narrow. Cycling path in between parked cars and blind driveway exits. If we put as much thought and consistency into the road infrastructure for cyclist as we do for vehicles i truly believe a lot of the problems would disappear. But until that day I would urge all cyclists to follow the rules as best as they can and ask drivers to be forgiving when they see a cyclist who isn't following the rules perfectly. Can the police sanction excesses they spot. Sure
-Run a red light while riding my bike at a walking pace, and not only am I breaking the law, many would think what I've done is morally wrong. -Walk past the same red light (especially when it's roadworks) on the road with my bicycle beside me, and and it's perfectly legal. Do people think that's morally wrong too? Also cycling on the footway is technically illegal in the UK, but in the past a minister and a police chief have said the only reason it's illegal is so they have something to tackle cyclists behaving dangerously on pavements with. Something something motonormativity, cyclist hating, ethics, etc.
Exactly. I'll frequently go through red lights on my bike if it doesn't endanger other road users or myself, because in many situations it's just silly to stop and wait. I am not in a car, yet the rules of the road and infrastructure design expect me to behave like I am in a car. My rule of thumb is, "if it would be safe for me to proceed in this situation as a pedestrian, then I'll proceed with caution, at a walking pace on my bicycle". Example 1: At a cross junction, if lights are red on all 4 sides for traffic but green for pedestrians, I'll wait until pedestrians are clear and then I will go through slowly. Example 2: At a standard pedestrian crossing from one side of the road to the other, if the light is red for traffic, I'll stop, but once pedestrians have crossed I'll go through. Example 3: At a T junction, I come to a red light, but there is no traffic. I'd cross if I was on foot so why not on wheels? I'll never just fly blindly at speed into a junction through a red light (like you do see some people doing). That's asking for trouble. I still get shouted at sometimes for going through red lights by other road users, but I'm not going to behave like I'm in a car, when I'm not in a car and I don't pose the same risks to pedestrians as I would do if I was in a car. As l long as I'm giving way to more vulnerable road users and proceeding with caution, I don't see a problem with this and think it's a waste of police time to clamp down on people doing this, outside of say a few junctions in London that are heaving with pedestrians.
@@JamesGoesOutside Amen. People so often treat all versions of 'going through a red light' as the same, despite the fact there is clearly a spectrum. Also, a cyclist stopping at a red light and then slowly proceeding through it if there's nothing coming, prompts vitriol from people, but a motorist speeding up as the lights are changing, and speeding through just after they've changed to red, is infinitely more dangerous, and yet never, ever gets remarked on.
@@alexbizkit79 100% agree. The amount of times I've nearly been hit by a motorist that speeds through a red light a couple of seconds after it's changed is the reason why I cycle with a camera. People also forget that there are basically only two reasons we have traffic lights: 1) To control the flow of MOTOR VEHICLES so that people outside of MOTOR VEHICLES can cross the road without getting hit by MOTOR VEHICLES. 2) To control the flow of MOTOR VEHICLES so that MOTOR VEHICLES can maneovre through junctions without getting hit by MOTOR VEHICLES. Wherever there are no motor vehicles, we don't need traffic lights. I know that sound stupid to point out, but it is relevant, because we don't make traffic lights in response to dangers posed by bicycles. Bicycles are NOT motor vehicles and do not pose the same risks. Bicycles are much more similar to pedestrians than cars and we should allow them to behave more like pedestrians at junctions. Or better yet, build more CYLOPS style junctions that allow bicycles their own lane and the ability to turn left without a traffic light. TL;DR - Traffic lights are for motor vehicles.
@@ptmountford Are you asking me if other road users are mind readers? You know the answer to that. Every road user should always use their own brain and senses to come to their own decisions. If I just blindly follow the person in front of me into danger without using my own brain and senses, I don't just get to blame them if something happens to me. If it's safe for me to go, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's safe for the person behind me to go. People cross the road all the time before a green man comes if its safe to go, and most people don't have a problem with that.
Beetroot boost: for the Nitrate to be transformed into Nitrite, requires mixing with the bacteria in the mouth. So 'necking' b.juice may not result in this transformation. Connor should properly masticate on whole beetroot (preferably home cooked) sometime after brushing his teeth. This is because many toothpastes have antibacterial agents.
Courtesy and manners have been lost across all road users. I'm from Australia all your arguments are valid here to, most worrying trend are the high speeds om shared path ways mostly family's, elderly, childre walkers. These people not using bells warning the walkers of their silent approach, E Bikes (suedo trail bikes) speeds of 50kph to some passing me at 70kph. We have a high amount of hospital admissions due to these arrogant users hitting people. Lastly if you're a road bike user or pretending you're racing against a fictitious person on strava (fantastic stuff) but don't warn people you are passing them at 60kph on a 1.5m wide path is insanity, dangerous & arrogant behaviour which gives genuine cyclists a bad name.
FYI Knox is the first *male* rider to be issued a yellow card. Two weeks ago “Barbara Guarischi became the first pro cyclist to receive a yellow card. During the sprint of Stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes, she removed her hands from the handlebars while still in the pack. The UCI cited her for “improper conduct that endangers others in the final sprint,” under Article 2.12.007.8.2-1.” (Source: Cycling news)
Illegal modded ebikes have many hidden risks. If stolen or wrecked in an accident, there's slim chance that insurance is going to cover the equipment costs correctly. If in an accident on an illegal device on a public road way, you might take more of the fault and not be covered by insurance (property and health) and end up with various infractions on your record. If you mod the battery on your ebike and it lights your house on fire while charging or injures/kills you while working on it, you may be at fault (again, in the eyes of your insurers - property or life). Electrical standards exist for safety. Equipment on bicycles is built with certain tolerance, weight, rotational, and torque maximums in mind. There are limits for good reason and if you are trying your luck beyond them, please consider the risk you pose to others if you're already ok with the risk to yourself.
@@Ober1kenobi Do you think these aren't hidden risks of riding an ebike modded to go like 50+ mph? Are you one of these people? They aren't built for it. The brakes and drive train are not made for it. The suspension, frame and rims are not made to take potholes at that speed. Cycling gear is not made to absorb impacts and road rash at that speed. The bike paths and trail systems aren't built for it. And unless one can pull the wool over the eyes of the insurance company, they will be left with all the costs for themselves as well as those of anyone else involved in a crash. I love riding bikes and I see the value in efficient transport options like bikes and other micro-mobility devices. But there are reasons ebikes have class ratings - the faster they go and heavier they are, the worse the impact is going to be. If you don't wanna survive some future bike ride, go happily ride around some modded ebikes on a bike path.
I was stopped by police for running a red light. No traffic, and the light is triggered by a pressure sensor. Bikes not heavy enough to trigger the light to turn green. Not heavy enough even with disk brakes! If a car comes up behind me I’m in the way for cars to reach the sensor. Officer didn’t like my logic, and said I had to get off the bike and walk across the lane. He didn’t care about the damage to my shoes or the fact I would have to do this every half mile or so.
That case in California was dismissed the cop never showed up Side note a set of new bicycling laws went into effect in California this year, Cars are supposed to give us three feet of space about a meter for those using Metric, and if possible they are supposed to go around cyclist in the other lane. My personal experiences are not like that I have been honked at by an arrogant-ignorant female driver in an SUV who told me I don't belong on the road I informed her I can be on the road. And I ride bicycles and run and some cyclist can be a-holes to I was in the middle of a charity run and some cyclist started riding through our group of runners He got flipped off and yelled at, and I almost got ran over by a female Cyclist who came right across my path, She crashed in the sand, I stopped to see if she was alright, she tried to stop her bike and couldn't unclip from her pedals so I get to see it from both sides, I don't own a car but I drive a delivery van for my job and I usually let the runners and cyclist cross the road.
Not to be hard on law enforcement, it's a difficult job in the public eye constantly. But rather than focus on catching cyclist doing incorrect, how about studying up on what is and isn't cycling laws? Here in Portland Oregon, we actually have police officers on MTB's that ride on the sidewalk along busy streets, presumably because there's no bike path and they don't want to die, but recognize it's illegal. I too, like many, have my story of being pulled over for riding 2 abreast, and again in Oregon it's also not illegal. I was actually at a sanctioned bicycle event when it occurred. So my request, let's educate our officers of the laws, so they can be prepared to assist people in accidents with who's at fault for insurance, how to document the seen of accident, what the actual cycling laws are, and how they pertain to cyclist/car interactions. Let's help officers "protect and serve" cyclist better. Make them allies, not enemies.
French here. I break the law on my bike because cycling amongst cars is dangerous as hell, and I want to get from point A to point B ASAP. I only endanger myself. Motorists break the law because they consider other people's lives to be less important than the text they're typing out. I shall respect road rules when road rules respect me. Last summer I went on a cycling trip to Holland, and I respected traffic laws more times in 5 minutes than in 15 years of cycling around Paris, my home town. Because everything flowed, everything was designed around me not getting caked by some dude in a Ford 150 checking if his football team had won whilst driving. Respecting Dutch traffic laws made complete sense, as these laws kept me safe, so I respected them. French traffic laws make it that a 33ton truck turning right will turn into me as we both start at once when the light turns green. So yeah, I'm going through the red.
As a cyclist and driver I've learned to try to ignore other road users. I drive at the speed limit, I cycle sensibly - if others choose not to that's up to them. I've spent years getting frustrated at other road users, talking to them, beeping - whatever it is. It does nothing. The best way to make any difference is by showing other road users how to behave.
I've just encountered this dilemma on the group ride. A rider om his way to the group ride blasted through a red light I was waiting at. I have a private word to say I wasn't impressed by this. He shrugs "who cares?" The ride is fine but at a pause he notices I'm running a camera and objects; "you should really ask permission before using that". My opinion is that there is no expectation of privacy in a public space. Later at the end of the ride he goes through the same red light. Was I right to challenge? Do you have an objection to people running cameras? Would you also not report this infraction to the police?
In England there are no speed limits for cyclists. Speed limits apply to motor vehicles only. Until recently Welsh law was the same as English law. Did the Welsh assembly specifically change the law to make speed limits apply to all road users and not just motor vehicle drivers? Be interesting to know how to mount a speedometer on a horse, and if this could not be done how could a speed limit be applied to this category of transport?
No, in Wales, same as England, speed limit does not apply to pedal cycles. The issue was the support / escort vehicles. We had the Women's Tour of Britain through recently though, and they must have faced the same issues, I don't know how they managed as they were only doing rolling road closures
Where I live we don't have many rogue cyclists (nearest traffic light is more than 20 miles away, there are no pavements to cycle on etc.), also not many adult cyclists to be honest, although that could change now we've got a cafe. However between my village and the neighbouring one 3 miles away, there is a delightful tarmac-ed separated bike path to allow kids to go to school in the big village by bike or on foot (as mentioned there are no roadside pavements). But the rules are such that all vehicles coming out of field openings onto the road have priority over the path. I had a near miss a few days ago when a tractor hidden behind a large field boundary hedge exited a field and cut off the whole of the cycle path before they could see whether it was clear to pull out. Although I was only doing 10 miles an hour because the sight lines on the cycle path are poor, it's not wide and there are often pedestrians and dog walkers, the sudden obstacle cutting off my route meant I had to swerve into the hedge to miss tractor. If I'd been a kid tearing along, I'd likely have been under the tractor wheels. Is this rule sensible? Surely drivers of huge tractors should have a duty of care to pedestrians and cyclists. Is it reasonable to expect cyclists to stop for every (unmarked) field entrance and (in towns where there are dual use paths alongside roads) every house drive way? Or should the onus be on the drivers of the vehicles to look out for vulnerable path users? I'd be interested to get your take on this.
I must say in California, at least in Kern County, they really have really been working hard at integrating bicycle lanes in our roadways and have given cyclist consideration in new construction projects.
You should be cautious around cows. Just last week, a 67-year-old hiker was tragically attacked and killed by cows in a nature reserve in Limburg, the Netherlands.
Re number plates for bikes: as a student at Cambridge in the 1970s we had to have a registration number issued by the college displayed on our bikes, It was painted on the rear mudguard by the college Bicycle Repair Man (fact!) and was a letter denoting the college followed by a serial number. Mine was U237, hot stuff!
I managed to p*ss off the whole UK Police force, when I pointed out they were breaking a road traffic law. In December 2018 I raised the issue of display screens in vehicles and regulation 109. At that point, the UK Police force realized they were diving police cars illegally when using the ANPR system. Following my contact, all officers were issued with a warning about Reg. 109. In November 2020, emergency legislation was passed in Parliament (vehicle special order, Police Vehicles) amending Reg. 109, so that the Police could drive their Police cars legally 😊
I think a kangaroo would definitely be more dangerous than a cow and a squirrel combined. I can't imagine encountering one of those in the middle of the road.
As a cyclist in north Wales I have to say im not finding the 20mph limit safer. I tend to see alot more of cars overtaking and the immediately slamming on their brakes. Also alot more cars driving alond side me and then slowly closing the door instead of just overtaking. Fortunately I only have 3 miles of town to ride through before hitting beautiful countryside where all the nobheads can be forgotten about.
It's the same in south west Wales too. More close passing seems to have been the effect of 20mph or cars riding your back wheel. I definitely don't feel any safer.
I got myself confused with the navigation last weekend when I was out riding and almost headed down a highway exit the wrong way (!). I noticed pretty quickly, fortunately, and was able to turn around and take back on route.
Very recently I was a Marshall at charity event in our town which meant we closed the road to all traffic. It was to pedestrianise a portion for people's safety. The amount of cyclists that rode through and argued the toss about it was very frustrating. One guy went onto the pavement as he said 'it's just the road that is closed'. I am a cyclist but that behaviour gave us very bad name.
Dan you are correct that squirrel-phobia may be absolutely justified; I wish I still had the pictures, alas I do not. However, maybe 20 years ago when carbon forks were very new, a friend with this new trendy component had a bad squirrel related accident. The squirrel darted through the spokes of his front wheel and was pulled clean through both sides of the carbon fork! Obviously, he crashed and even braking a collar bone! The incident proved fatal for the squirrel.
17:36 Strada militare del Colle dell'Assietta! Rode it when we did the Komoot Women's Torino Nice Rally in 2022. We stayed at the Refugio Assietta up top which is around 2,500 m. Was super cool to watch the Tour de L'Avenir stage up Finestre (although video footage was cutting out), I'll have to go rewatch the Froome stage! I didn't make the connection before. I'd love to climb it again but without 25 lbs of gear and food attached to my bike!
That Phil Gaimon show was a lesson in keeping your cool under intolerable pressure. He is so good at implying outrage without blowing up. And cows, my friends, are very dangerous. I was gored by a beast while visiting India which proves that sacredness is very far from godliness.
In the 70's I remember they offered them to anyone who wanted one, in the state where I lived, they weren't mandatory. Of course almost no one wanted one, except some kids who thought it was cool because it was like a car. It quietly went away at some point due to lack of interest. Technically all bicycles were required to be registered, they'd give you a little sticker for the bike, but again almost no one did it, and it was never enforced, and also quietly disappeared at some point.
I have been fined twice for speeding, and once for jumping a red light. I admit to the speeding, but not the red light. I paid a £25 fine all three times, and got a warning from Police Scotland that they had the power to confiscate my bike if I continued to break the law. I'm not the only rider I know that has been fined and/or cautioned, but it's been a long time since I've heard of a case. For reference, the first time I was going down Mountblow Road in Clydebank at around 40mph. The second time I was doing an estimated 30 in a 20mph zone in Glasgow city centre.
I'd love to see someone try to "confiscate" my very expensive road bike. I don't require a license to ride it, nor do I require registration. It isn't a revocable privilege and "confiscating" it would actually be grand larceny
Regarding illegally modified e-bikes, I think a weight limit in addition to the current regulations might be part of a solution. It would limit the battery and motor size given these are the heaviest parts of the bike, this would encourage pedalling to conserve battery life and the use of smaller motors to increase the range. The inertia of the bikes is partly what makes these "bikes" particularly dangerous in a collision the weight limit would help reduce that and given they typically use standard bike brakes ensure these are sufficient to stop the bike. Unlike power limits and throttle control, police could far more easily enforce this as they could measure the bike mass at the side of the road with luggage scales. The only issue I see is this would impact on cargo bikes but given the weight/size of these perhaps a registration which exempts you from the weight limit is appropriate. I'd be keen to hear your thoughts
I freely admit that I have violated my fair share of traffic laws while riding a bicycle. I too have been stopped by the police for violating traffic laws. And I'm also annoyed at the rise in anti-cycling attitudes I've seen happening around me. Though it has been my experience that anti-cycling attitudes are nothing new. I experienced them when I first started riding regularly in the early 80's while growing up in Colorado. Despite my past rogue behaviors, and in spite of other's behaviors, I think cyclists should comply with traffic laws. It's generally safer for riders as it makes us more predictable, for automobile drivers to safely navigate around us. It also makes it harder for anti-cycling people to criticize us as rogue idiots who think we can do whatever we want. As a consequence, I think that law enforcement officers should stop, and occasionally ticket, cyclists when they violate traffic laws in a reckless manner. I doubt most law enforcement officers like showing up at an accident scene to see a mangled cyclist hauled off to the hospital or morgue because the cyclist decided to ride like Evil Knievel and got smacked by an automobile. If we want to ride like Evil, I think we should (and video and post it on UA-cam, so I can watch). However, I would argue that, we need to save it for days, locations and times where it's safe for us to do it without dragging others into it. Roads can be busy and chaotic, and it works a lot more efficiently when everyone is doing the right thing.
EK was known for long jumps over various things, like cars, trucks, pools, a canyon. Have never seen a cyclist on the road jumping over things wantonly.
@@PRH123 I mentioned Evil to bring levity to my comment. Also, Evil was famous for both jumping things and for crashing while attempting to jump things. He was a great showman. My point was that cyclists, myself included, should be abiding by traffic laws because it's safer and because it gives the haters less firepower to advance their totalitarian case (roads are only for automobiles) against cyclists. Finally, I have seen people do things like riding over cars, and jumping over roads with cars driving on them. I've seen videos of this kind of thing on UA-cam. I didn't see it, but a semi-famous local freestyle BMX rider named Joe Hendrix famously stopped a random car driving by, and, in the middle of the road during a show in Boulder, Colorado during the 80's, used it as a stunt platform. I heard varying things about whether or not it was planned versus improvised, but I knew people who said they saw it. Moreover, Joe's behavior was irrational sometimes because he was struggling with drug addiction. I think he mentions the event during one of his more recent interviews posted on UA-cam.
I’ve been fined $160 for coasting 3kph alongside a tram in Melbourne. All the pedestrians had gotten on and off but its doors were still open. It was the letter of the law but it felt line an abuse of power.
Living in Cambridge you can sit at any junction and watch cyclists break the rules by the minute. Not to mention the illegal ebikes, scooters cyclists without lights, etc. lots of this comes down to education, make riding road safety part of the PE curriculum.
Passed a guy on the C4 cycle path in London the other day, wizzing along on an illegal e-bike not pedalling, after being behind him for half a mile. I asked him why he had pedals as he clearly doesn’t use them. 😡
I live in the USA. the times I have been stopped was 1). he thought I was intoxicated, let me go because I was not. 2). the officer saw mr run a red light after stopping and seeing no traffic. I was given a verbal warning. in general its best not to piss people off. I smile a lot, get eye contact and go out oof my way to be courteous and allow others to go first. I do live in an active community of outdoors people, and they give bikes a lot of room here. what goes around comes around.
In recent years I had more problematic encounters with other cyclists than with motorists, mostly near-crashes with people watching their phones while riding and not paying attention to what's around them. This is asocial behaviour and needs to be punished more severely. Also I'd ask police to know the rules they're enforcing. Once I got pulled over by traffic police while riding on a bike lane and told that I should use the road as I was exceeding the 25 kph speed limit for bike lanes (Germany) and could endanger children. In the next village there was another traffic stop and there I was told to use the bike lane because I was obliged to use it no matter what. Rogue cops are just as awful as rogue cyclists!
I have seen Police pull over a cyclist for jumping a red light. It was busy, cyclist was on some illegal derestricted e-bike and the Police car was directly behind them. I’m certain they wouldn’t have bothered about the bike if the rider hadn’t jumped the red light. Feels like we already have the right level of policing- generally no harm, no foul but if you’re obviously taking the piss then expect to get nicked.
I was driving up the M61, there was a guy riding an E scooter on the hard shoulder. Shocking? Not as shocking as the police car in front that drove straight past him.
A canonization of cycling laws need to be done here in the US. (I saw that vid. They must be held accountable.} You all seem much happier in the past few months, congrats!!
Compulsory test, registration and insurance for drivers don't stop them speeding, running red lights and having generally inconsiderate behaviour on the road, so it seems unlikely there's anything that would make the same people suddenly behave when riding bikes.
Each day on my commute to work I have to pass a crossing at a bridge ramp. To police and politicians it is known as one of the most dangerous spots for cyclists in our city. Once a week I have a near death ecounter caused by cars ignoring traffic rules or being unattentive. This year the police started patroling this spot more frequently. The outcome is: The city administration wants to force cyclist into special traffic behaviour trainings, no matter if they broke traffic rules or not. No word about how to train car drivers to be more attentive to cyclists and pedestrians...
I do think all bikes should be fitted with a gps speedo, sometimes cyclists are oblivious to how fast they are going, in urban / shared use environments.
Rogue cyclists huh? I live in Santa Cruz (CA) a cycling friendly city to say the least, BUT kids flying around on so called e-bikes at 25+ miles an hour (the speed limit on most streets in our nice seaside town) definitely need a lesson or two in danger to themselves (not to mention others). Being kids, they will probably grow out of knobheadedness (?) but in the meantime, maybe need a bit of a boost in that direction. Btw... the police patrol on bicycles around part of our town too (no they don't speed!).
A national bike registry would be a great idea. It would enable the police to find and return stolen bikes. I'm sure they'd love to provide such a service.
I think a somewhat easier way of putting the rear mech into a fixed easy gear is using a limiting screw - no need to deal with the cable at all. But yes, the presented solution should also work.
On "rogue cyclists". I must have been one of these in my youth: I was stopped by a policeman in around 1972/73 when cycling up the A420 in Oxford, on a stretch of road that was designated as a bus lane. That was before town planners came to their senses and sensibly permitted cyclists to share bus lanes as in now common in the UK. I got a mild ticking off and was told to push my bike the remaining 60 metres to a point where the bus lane disappeared. It didn't help that this occurred pretty much exactly outside the St. Aldate's Police Station. Did I learn my lesson? Well, I took the precaution of making sure that there weren't any bobbies coming out of the cop shop as I approached this stretch of road on future occasions.
I grew up in Oxford - by the time I was riding in town you could use the bus lanes, but Cornmarket had been pedestrianised. My mates and I used to regularly ride through it, keeping a beady eye out for the Bobbies. It wasn't uncommon for us to be caught and sent back to the start of the road and made to walk all the way down it... :D
I ride on the main roads and highways a lot. I think that cyclists (myself included) should receive the same penalty for certain infractions as cars do. For instance, if a cyclist runs a red light or stop sign, they should pay the same penalty as a car driver. You can't expect to be protected by the traffic laws if you're not prepared to obey them.
WRT the speed limit of 20 mph in Wales: I wonder why bike racing events are not simply exempted from this law. Fun fact: in Germany, roadside speed limits only apply for motorized vehicles. As it is easy to exceed the usual 30 kph speed limits in villages on a road bike, cyclists often are stuck behind a motorist who is afraid of getting a ticket for speeding (somehow comprehensibly.).
It's the same here in Wales, the speed limits only apply to cars, so living somewhere pretty hilly, it's quite common to be having to slow down on the bike because of cars in front of you. The issue with the race was the accompanying support / escort cars, and also I guess the public perception of shooting a race through a built up area at maybe 25/30mph when a lot of the motorists are very upset at their newly imposed 20mph limit
I’ve been watching just about everything GCN for ~8+ years now, I love you guys. But why the hell can’t you keep your lighting consistent after all this time……????
I ended up on a French motorway by mistake. The turning I wanted was about 1km. Just as I told my husband not to worry the Police arrived. Let us know they weren't happy. Another time in Spain had to cycle the wrong way up a slip road when mistakenly encroached on a motorway trying to get out of Toledo.
I had a friend get pulled over by a cop for speeding on his bike. He was doing 35 mph down a gradual straight downhill in a 30 mph zone. The cop flipped on his lights and pulled him over, and told him even on a bike he has to obey the speed limit. Let him off with a verbal warning,
At last in the US, most cops will not issue tickets if the ticket value is below a certain value. And If I am not mistaken, I am aware of the particular case that you are referring to, and that police officer seems to have a dislike of cyclists and has been known to harass cyclists for various things and is regularly wrong. However, I don't see any reason why a cyclist should not be ticketed for running red lights or doing other dangerous or other significant infractions.
What are your thoughts on policing rogue cyclists? 🚴👮
If it's Dan without a shirt, then YES!
Deterrence for stupid/risky acts is probably needed, since obviously it's happening. I got pulled over for drunk bicycling in my college years (this was the 80's) even though I was only swerving lightly... Cops had less to deal with then.
There is honour in cycling safely, considerately and making progress in that order. It's best for you to do that for its own sake rather than for fear of the rozzers.
I'm glad police are thinking about dangerous cycling but i think we should do more introspection and have 'a word' with someone who is being a knob.
I'm all for stopping und citing people on bicycles for breaking the traffic laws the same as people driving motor vehicles.
But the cops need to be properly educated as to what is und isn't illegal behavior.
@@tomwestbrookgood, you *WERE* operating a vehicle.
Regarding the 20 mph speed limit interfering with a race: I feel like on a closed route, during a race, you could go faster than the speed limit. I don't see F1 cars going 20 mph in Monte Carlo during the annual race.
Well, the Haas does.... :) Or Williams with (former driver) Logan S at the wheel... :)
You can't always close roads in the UK.
What you feel isn’t impacting the law.
Roads can be closed and allow speeding, as is the case with closed road rallies (Rali Ceredigion this weekend), but it needs concurrence by Parliament and also a full road closure which may be the issue as road races are a rolling road closure.
My understanding is that bikes don't legally have to follow the speed limit anyway, so they're probably avoiding 20 mph speed limits to avoid controversy.
It's not a closed route, not entirely
The irony of Si re-affirming his fear of cows whilst wearing an El-Toro shirt!
Oh, the irony!
Ironic. And for once the shirt was ironed! 😂
@@peterleffler2062I think it was brand new
As a society we have been conditioned to just accept when motorists break road rules. Everyday I see cars speeding, running red lights, changing lanes without signalling,, and there is nowhere near the level of vitriol towards this compared to when a cyclist does it.
Cyclists don't have fender benders, the slightest bump from a car can be fatal.
Where the duck are you from? In 1st world countries it's the other way round with cyclist skirting ALL the laws
@@AlbionSupreme So how come in the UK drivers kill 5 people and seriously injure 80 every day, but people who ride cycles at worst kill 5 in a bad year? The vast majority of death and serious injury on our roads is down to drivers because if you hit someone with 2 tons of metail it does damage. We have a massive problem with speeding, drug and drink driving and people driving who have never passed the driving test.
Simple answer. We all follow the rules of the road. Neither motorists or cyclists should be entitled over the other. Respect all.
@@ADAMEDWARDS17 Much fewer cyclists than drivers is the answer why.
I love the chemistry between Dan and Si.
I agree, absolutely priceless.
Dan is right, illegally modified eBikes are incredibly dangerous. They travel at motorbike speeds on pavements and through parks as well as on the road. The riders have no helmets, probably no insurance and definitely don’t have motorbike licenses yes they are essentially riding a highly powerful and dangerous motorbike.
Add to that that they are really quiet due to the electric engine making no noise. The police are trying to tackle those with localised operations, but from what I can see this has no effect on the numbers of them. If anything the number I see daily have increased. The only way of sorting this out would be to ban the sales and private ownership completely, but that won't happen.
Well the problem also lies in infrastructures not being adapted to cyclist. In my area in Germany lots of traffic lights have "weight detectors" to turn green only if a car is detected, usually when you are coming from a small road crossing a bigger one. As a cyclist the red light never detects you, therefore you can end up waiting basically forever, which can be frustrating...
Also for instance when on a cycling lane, turning right at a red light into another cycling lane, you never cross the path of any car, therefore it represents no danger turning, even though not authorized by law.
So the conclusion would be to adapt the infrastructure and a lot of infractions could be avoided!
Same in the UK. We call those vehicle detector loops. Usually there will always be a car approaching the junction at the same time I need to cross, but I have had a few cases when I simply had to make the crossing at a red, otherwise I would have been waiting there forever, or would have had to use the pedestrian crossing which is daft.
Fully agree. I also live in Germany and the bike paths are mostly in very bad shape and thus dangerous to ride with a road bike (I had a crash only a week ago when I hit a root). Nevertheless you get pulled over by the police when you do not use them. If the cycling infrastructure would be similar to what you see in the Netherlands or Belgium, rule breaking by cyclists would be a much smaller issue.
I've figured out with magnetic loop detectors, sometimes if you pedal slowly while coasting up to the stop line through the magnetic sensor, sometimes (certainly not every time) the motion of the metal is enough to "disturb the force"and trigger the light. obviously this probably isn't going to happen with a carbon fiber or titanium frame. I've often wondered if it will trip if you put a copper coil
The problem is that the police are largely ignorant about the law as it applies to cyclists. I had a cop pull me over to warn me (no ticket fortunately) claiming that I was breaking the law when I wasn't.
You could drop the last 5 words from your first sentence and still be speaking truthfully.
Personally I have had more near misses with light jumping fellow cyclists that then accused me of being careless for not looking out for them. Dah selfish and stupid
They do not see us as any different to a motor car driver.
Lots of talking points this week!
I grew up in the 1950s and '60s in the Channel Island of Jersey. At that time it was compulsory for cyclists to display a licence/number plate. This was a small rectangular metal frame approximately 7x10cm (portrait orientation) into which a pink paper licence card was slid. A new licence card had to be purchased each year (it cost 6d in pre-decimal currency). At some time in the early '60s the requirement to display this was abandoned because it cost the government more to manufacture these than they received in income.
Klein bikes had rear-facing dropouts and internally routed cables; I think that hack/bodge was something else.
I've still got my old Klein. It's pretty sweet.
Dan telling the story of how he slowed down to let the other guy overtake him and take the front really made me laugh, great story : )
Excellent episode, good to see Si & Dan laugh so much. Great job.
Funny how different our world is… I cycled from Germany to Istanbul this spring. When going into turkey there were several occasions where we would ignore Komoot and search for quiet roads instead of going on the suggested highway. Just to find that there aren’t any or if, people randomly stop you and ask, where you’re going, only to tell you that you’d rather go back and cycle on the highway :D Not to say it was anywhere close to fun, but it’s reality. Oh and on another occasion even the military of Greece told us to use the highway to go into Bulgaria - we were desperately trying to find a different way, but there just wasn’t :D So we ended up driving on a shoulder that even was partly blocked due to construction work. In these moments I just can’t believe how lucky we „east-Europeans“ are with our beautiful network of cycle roads or even country roads that are driveable
Caption-competition #captioncompetition ‘The rain in Spain falls mainly on the chains’
Nice to hear Dan is out riding his bike with Si again. Like the old GCN days 🙂
The police need to sort out the law breaking motorists before tackling the cyclists.
Disagree, they are tackling law breaking drivers, some forces admittedly better than others but must be seen to be tackling all crime, if you ignore one crime it becomes rife (like illegal electric motorbikes in Warwickshire as the force is useless).
Yep, tackling different problems should not be sequential
Exactly what I was going to write. Sort out the cars, and the e-tards on illegal overpowered electro stuff, and then there would be some kind of moral right to discipline cyclists.
The limit doesn't apply to cyclists, only motor vehicles but the race is flanked by support cars hence the problem
The police do deal with drivers breaking the law.
How do I know, I was a roads policing officer for the last 14 years of my career. I issued thousands of tickets, reported just as many to court and made a significant number of arrests for driving offences. My colleagues did the same.
The issue is that there are not enough police officers to deal with everything that's thrown at them. There simply aren't enough roads policing officers to deal with every offence you see!
As for cyclists breaking the rules. Yes, they should be prosecuted if they're committing offences. The law is the law and it should be enforced without fear or favour. No one group of road users should be immune to prosecution.
At 33:00 Why didn't Dan tell the other rider "I usually burst into tears if I average below 20mph in the New Forest!" ??😅
Dan is on fire this week! Comedy gold is POURING out of him! I particulary enjoyed "I just take a key to the house!"
I dont think I'd take a cow over a squirrel, but two squirrels have sacrificed themselves twice trying to end my career and cows have not
We’re glad it didn’t end your career, but be careful... squirrels can be very vengeful
@@gcn That's for sure. I got too close to one and it bit my finger.
I didn’t think speed limits applied to cyclists in the UK, only for motor vehicles!
That's correct, but usually it doesn't cause an issue anyway as up until now it's been very very rare for a cyclist competing in a race to break 30mph. Event organisers know that speed limits don't apply to cyclists but also know it's a bad look for all their events' participants to be going faster than motor traffic.
In the case of the Tour of Wales, the issue was the support vehicles not being able to keep up with the riders through the 20mph limit sections.
Surely if the road is closed for the race then usual speed limits need not apply @cruachan1191
@@cruachan1191 if it's a closed course even the support vehicles should be able to exceed the speed limit. You don't see the Isle of Man races restricting vehicles to the speed limit.
@@roberteltze4850 That was the reason given in the story on the BBC website, I can't post the link as UA-cam won't allow it but should be easy to find. The Isle of Man is covered by different laws from mainland Britain, and there are no upper speed limits outside the towns even outwith the TT.
There's something rather ironic about Si talking about his fear of cows ... while wearing a tshirt with a bull on it! 🐄🐄
😂😂😂❤
Words matter. Anything that has a throttle and does not need to be peddled is NOT a bicycle, please call it what it is, an electric motorbike. If the industry uses the wrong terms, then the media will use the wrong terms and people will lump e-bikes into the electric motorbike category and start to make stupid rules for the wrong people.
The speed limit is a weird race problem. Closed roads should not be governed by speed limits
Well that’s the problem, road traffic laws in the U.K. can be waved for a fully closed road event, but road races are not on fully closed roads but a rolling road closure and my understanding that that was the problem.
As someone who commutes to work and basically anywhere I go I do occasionally run red lights depending on the situation. I stop peddling and come to around 5-8km an hour, look around, and continue to go cautiously. I work until 9:30-11ish at night often and most of my journey is on pretty empty streets with lights that sometimes take 20-30 seconds to change. Which is just brutal. I really don’t think I’m putting anyone at risk when I do this. The streets are basically empty in my residential area at that time and when there is a car just treat it by the “law”
There's also so many completely useless traffic lights for cyclists around me that you can't help but ignore some of them. Some on a bike lane crossing a one way street that almost never has a car. All you'd have to do as a cyclist is look one way and if there's no car just go. But "technically" you're running a red light.
Another one on a crossroads. But for a cyclist crossing one way the entire rest of the crossroads goes on red. So if you're a cyclist crossing the other way you can just look to your left, see if the light's green and just safely go straight.
You are probably more at risk stopping, and being rear-ended by a driver either running the red light or aiming to stop a bit beyond the white line.
What you are describing is called the Idaho Stop and is the correct way to negotiate a red light or stop sign on a bicycle. Don't let anyone shame you out of it. Don't worry about the legal status of it. If the cops pull you over for it just pay the fine and don't worry, it's worth the money to lower your chance of getting rear ended at a stop by 40%.
Getting yellow card for being rude to a spectator? 🤷🏼♂️
Keep the spectator to keep out of the way and not taunt the riders.
Give the spectator a lashing card. 🤬
As a cyclist, I can never, ever assert my right of way without first negotiating it with car drivers. I can never rely solely on the rule granting me the right of way. My safety is always in my own hands because I'm surrounded by distracted people driving deadly weapons - no rule will protect me if they break it. That’s why, when I see it’s safe to go, I don’t care much if someone else judges my decision based on the traffic light.
I am the same way, but even then always remember that it can seem like somebody is looking directly at you but really they're looking PAST you and don't see you at all. I experienced this while cycling through a 2-lane, two circle roundabout that passes under and accommodates the entry/exit ramps of a major highway. I thought the driver waiting to enter the roundabout was looking directly at me and meeting my eyes but as he pulled out in front of me his eyes shifted ever so slightly and went a little wide as he recognized my presence, but I was already taking evasive action into the inner lane for a go around.
also remember that people can be night blind... another close call that I had... I didn't realize what probably actually happened until last year when my mother was explaining why she doesn't drive at night anymore, the lens of her eyes are scratched so it's kind of like looking through a dirty windshield. fine during the day when the world is lit up, but at night lights ahead are all refracted, such that she can't tell how far away they are from her. the incident that I had involved an older woman pulling out of a driveway. I'm wearing a headlamp, retro-reflective safety vest, and at the time I was pulling a loaded BOB trailer with the pendant flag on it to which I had also stuck retro-reflective stripe. in my case retrospectively if I kept moving I probably would have been fine, but thinking she was backing out in front of me I came to a stop, however she reversed to the right as if to park on the shoulder. I thought oh maybe she's parking to allow somebody else to reverse out, so I get half a crank in, and she begins forward again... so I stopped to figure out what she's doing now... then she stops again... I think oh she stopped because now she sees me... so this time I pedal in earnest thinking she's waiting for me but then she jerks forward and steers directly towards me and I "giv'n her all she's got cap'in!" but it's only enough to clear the bike not the trailer from her path of travel. the force of pushing the trailer to the side was enough to bend my rear wheel, yet the trailer and the contents we're fine. I remember thinking with all of this reflective stuff I've got on, how could she possibly not see me? well that's how: it's not that she couldn't see me it's that she couldn't differentiate all of the lights & retro-reflective on my bike and body from the house lights behind me.
I live in Chicago, where the police have been on quiet strike for several years. No need to worry about them enforcing laws against anybody, let alone bicyclists
I live near tacoma, WA and it's the same here. If I'm doing 10 over on surface streets, I'm getting passed like I'm standing still. On highways definitely so. People in cars, especially lifted trucks, are so arrogant and entitled that they will rage and aggressively push their way through ANY traffic they can.
And never mind keeping your license plate tabs up to date, probably a third of all vehicles I see are operating on expired tabs. And, it's actually a primary offense here, so cops CAN pull you over solely for that reason
#captioncompetition Racing in this heat!!!?? Water you crazy??!!
And finally.....on 20mph speed limits. It's my understanding that the 20mph speed limit does not apply to cyclists, and that the reason for the course alterations in the Welsh race was because the supporting vehicles would have been breaking the speed limit, not the cyclists.
(At least, this is what was reported by the BBC).
And yet Italy or France or Spain somehow manage to waive traffic tickets off of cameras when the whole peloton rips through one of their villages? I dunno, it just smacks of anti cycling sentiment
@@Ensisferraeit’s different laws in different countries.
Living in Belgium I often break the law while cycling even when I'm doing my best to follow them. The road infrastructure for cyclists changes too frequently, eg where you are allowed to cycle, on which side of the road, on pavement or on the street, etc. When doing longer distances it is a nightmare. Sometimes I'm cycling on the cycling path when suddenly it disappears where a couple 100 m further you realize you need to cycle on the narrow cycling path on the other side of the road. Additionally it feels that the road infrastructure introduces risks for cyclists where it's not required. Uneven pavement in the direction of travel, cycling paths that suddenly become narrow. Cycling path in between parked cars and blind driveway exits. If we put as much thought and consistency into the road infrastructure for cyclist as we do for vehicles i truly believe a lot of the problems would disappear. But until that day I would urge all cyclists to follow the rules as best as they can and ask drivers to be forgiving when they see a cyclist who isn't following the rules perfectly. Can the police sanction excesses they spot. Sure
...and Belgium is already much better compared to most other countries in Europe...
Police profile of cyclists is an issue everywhere in Texas
you two are great together. thank you.
-Run a red light while riding my bike at a walking pace, and not only am I breaking the law, many would think what I've done is morally wrong.
-Walk past the same red light (especially when it's roadworks) on the road with my bicycle beside me, and and it's perfectly legal. Do people think that's morally wrong too?
Also cycling on the footway is technically illegal in the UK, but in the past a minister and a police chief have said the only reason it's illegal is so they have something to tackle cyclists behaving dangerously on pavements with.
Something something motonormativity, cyclist hating, ethics, etc.
Exactly.
I'll frequently go through red lights on my bike if it doesn't endanger other road users or myself, because in many situations it's just silly to stop and wait. I am not in a car, yet the rules of the road and infrastructure design expect me to behave like I am in a car. My rule of thumb is, "if it would be safe for me to proceed in this situation as a pedestrian, then I'll proceed with caution, at a walking pace on my bicycle".
Example 1: At a cross junction, if lights are red on all 4 sides for traffic but green for pedestrians, I'll wait until pedestrians are clear and then I will go through slowly.
Example 2: At a standard pedestrian crossing from one side of the road to the other, if the light is red for traffic, I'll stop, but once pedestrians have crossed I'll go through.
Example 3: At a T junction, I come to a red light, but there is no traffic. I'd cross if I was on foot so why not on wheels?
I'll never just fly blindly at speed into a junction through a red light (like you do see some people doing). That's asking for trouble.
I still get shouted at sometimes for going through red lights by other road users, but I'm not going to behave like I'm in a car, when I'm not in a car and I don't pose the same risks to pedestrians as I would do if I was in a car. As l long as I'm giving way to more vulnerable road users and proceeding with caution, I don't see a problem with this and think it's a waste of police time to clamp down on people doing this, outside of say a few junctions in London that are heaving with pedestrians.
@@JamesGoesOutside Amen. People so often treat all versions of 'going through a red light' as the same, despite the fact there is clearly a spectrum. Also, a cyclist stopping at a red light and then slowly proceeding through it if there's nothing coming, prompts vitriol from people, but a motorist speeding up as the lights are changing, and speeding through just after they've changed to red, is infinitely more dangerous, and yet never, ever gets remarked on.
@@alexbizkit79 100% agree. The amount of times I've nearly been hit by a motorist that speeds through a red light a couple of seconds after it's changed is the reason why I cycle with a camera.
People also forget that there are basically only two reasons we have traffic lights:
1) To control the flow of MOTOR VEHICLES so that people outside of MOTOR VEHICLES can cross the road without getting hit by MOTOR VEHICLES.
2) To control the flow of MOTOR VEHICLES so that MOTOR VEHICLES can maneovre through junctions without getting hit by MOTOR VEHICLES.
Wherever there are no motor vehicles, we don't need traffic lights. I know that sound stupid to point out, but it is relevant, because we don't make traffic lights in response to dangers posed by bicycles. Bicycles are NOT motor vehicles and do not pose the same risks. Bicycles are much more similar to pedestrians than cars and we should allow them to behave more like pedestrians at junctions. Or better yet, build more CYLOPS style junctions that allow bicycles their own lane and the ability to turn left without a traffic light.
TL;DR - Traffic lights are for motor vehicles.
You might have rules for going through red lights, but does someone watching you know that when they get on a bike and follow your example?
@@ptmountford Are you asking me if other road users are mind readers? You know the answer to that. Every road user should always use their own brain and senses to come to their own decisions. If I just blindly follow the person in front of me into danger without using my own brain and senses, I don't just get to blame them if something happens to me. If it's safe for me to go, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's safe for the person behind me to go.
People cross the road all the time before a green man comes if its safe to go, and most people don't have a problem with that.
I’m watching hack or hodge saying “That’s a Klein!” So glad Si saw it too.
Can we all give a shout out for Si finally ironing a T shirt for the show!
It wasn’t ironed it was brand new. Looked good though didn’t it!
Beetroot boost: for the Nitrate to be transformed into Nitrite, requires mixing with the bacteria in the mouth. So 'necking' b.juice may not result in this transformation. Connor should properly masticate on whole beetroot (preferably home cooked) sometime after brushing his teeth. This is because many toothpastes have antibacterial agents.
Courtesy and manners have been lost across all road users. I'm from Australia all your arguments are valid here to, most worrying trend are the high speeds om shared path ways mostly family's, elderly, childre walkers. These people not using bells warning the walkers of their silent approach, E Bikes (suedo trail bikes) speeds of 50kph to some passing me at 70kph. We have a high amount of hospital admissions due to these arrogant users hitting people.
Lastly if you're a road bike user or pretending you're racing against a fictitious person on strava (fantastic stuff) but don't warn people you are passing them at 60kph on a 1.5m wide path is insanity, dangerous & arrogant behaviour which gives genuine cyclists a bad name.
Si is afraid of cows, but he is wearing a Bull on his shirt?🐂
FYI Knox is the first *male* rider to be issued a yellow card. Two weeks ago “Barbara Guarischi became the first pro cyclist to receive a yellow card. During the sprint of Stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes, she removed her hands from the handlebars while still in the pack. The UCI cited her for “improper conduct that endangers others in the final sprint,” under Article 2.12.007.8.2-1.” (Source: Cycling news)
Illegal modded ebikes have many hidden risks. If stolen or wrecked in an accident, there's slim chance that insurance is going to cover the equipment costs correctly. If in an accident on an illegal device on a public road way, you might take more of the fault and not be covered by insurance (property and health) and end up with various infractions on your record. If you mod the battery on your ebike and it lights your house on fire while charging or injures/kills you while working on it, you may be at fault (again, in the eyes of your insurers - property or life).
Electrical standards exist for safety. Equipment on bicycles is built with certain tolerance, weight, rotational, and torque maximums in mind. There are limits for good reason and if you are trying your luck beyond them, please consider the risk you pose to others if you're already ok with the risk to yourself.
Spoken like a car driver who happily drives 80mph in a two tonne death box
But go off
@@Ober1kenobi Do you think these aren't hidden risks of riding an ebike modded to go like 50+ mph? Are you one of these people?
They aren't built for it. The brakes and drive train are not made for it. The suspension, frame and rims are not made to take potholes at that speed. Cycling gear is not made to absorb impacts and road rash at that speed. The bike paths and trail systems aren't built for it. And unless one can pull the wool over the eyes of the insurance company, they will be left with all the costs for themselves as well as those of anyone else involved in a crash.
I love riding bikes and I see the value in efficient transport options like bikes and other micro-mobility devices. But there are reasons ebikes have class ratings - the faster they go and heavier they are, the worse the impact is going to be. If you don't wanna survive some future bike ride, go happily ride around some modded ebikes on a bike path.
I was stopped by police for running a red light.
No traffic, and the light is triggered by a pressure sensor. Bikes not heavy enough to trigger the light to turn green. Not heavy enough even with disk brakes! If a car comes up behind me I’m in the way for cars to reach the sensor.
Officer didn’t like my logic, and said I had to get off the bike and walk across the lane. He didn’t care about the damage to my shoes or the fact I would have to do this every half mile or so.
I think he's probably right to not care about your shoes.Imagine standing up in court and using shoe damage as your defence!!!!
Not even with disc brakes-now that sounds like a problem.
That case in California was dismissed the cop never showed up
Side note a set of new bicycling laws went into effect in California this year, Cars are supposed to give us three feet of space about a meter for those using Metric, and if possible they are supposed to go around cyclist in the other lane. My personal experiences are not like that I have been honked at by an arrogant-ignorant female driver in an SUV who told me I don't belong on the road I informed her I can be on the road.
And I ride bicycles and run and some cyclist can be a-holes to I was in the middle of a charity run and some cyclist started riding through our group of runners He got flipped off and yelled at, and I almost got ran over by a female Cyclist who came right across my path, She crashed in the sand, I stopped to see if she was alright, she tried to stop her bike and couldn't unclip from her pedals so I get to see it from both sides, I don't own a car but I drive a delivery van for my job and I usually let the runners and cyclist cross the road.
Not to be hard on law enforcement, it's a difficult job in the public eye constantly. But rather than focus on catching cyclist doing incorrect, how about studying up on what is and isn't cycling laws? Here in Portland Oregon, we actually have police officers on MTB's that ride on the sidewalk along busy streets, presumably because there's no bike path and they don't want to die, but recognize it's illegal. I too, like many, have my story of being pulled over for riding 2 abreast, and again in Oregon it's also not illegal. I was actually at a sanctioned bicycle event when it occurred. So my request, let's educate our officers of the laws, so they can be prepared to assist people in accidents with who's at fault for insurance, how to document the seen of accident, what the actual cycling laws are, and how they pertain to cyclist/car interactions. Let's help officers "protect and serve" cyclist better. Make them allies, not enemies.
French here.
I break the law on my bike because cycling amongst cars is dangerous as hell, and I want to get from point A to point B ASAP. I only endanger myself.
Motorists break the law because they consider other people's lives to be less important than the text they're typing out.
I shall respect road rules when road rules respect me.
Last summer I went on a cycling trip to Holland, and I respected traffic laws more times in 5 minutes than in 15 years of cycling around Paris, my home town.
Because everything flowed, everything was designed around me not getting caked by some dude in a Ford 150 checking if his football team had won whilst driving.
Respecting Dutch traffic laws made complete sense, as these laws kept me safe, so I respected them.
French traffic laws make it that a 33ton truck turning right will turn into me as we both start at once when the light turns green.
So yeah, I'm going through the red.
As a cyclist and driver I've learned to try to ignore other road users. I drive at the speed limit, I cycle sensibly - if others choose not to that's up to them. I've spent years getting frustrated at other road users, talking to them, beeping - whatever it is. It does nothing. The best way to make any difference is by showing other road users how to behave.
Discretion is indeed the better part of valor.
I've just encountered this dilemma on the group ride. A rider om his way to the group ride blasted through a red light I was waiting at. I have a private word to say I wasn't impressed by this. He shrugs "who cares?"
The ride is fine but at a pause he notices I'm running a camera and objects; "you should really ask permission before using that". My opinion is that there is no expectation of privacy in a public space.
Later at the end of the ride he goes through the same red light.
Was I right to challenge?
Do you have an objection to people running cameras?
Would you also not report this infraction to the police?
In England there are no speed limits for cyclists. Speed limits apply to motor vehicles only. Until recently Welsh law was the same as English law. Did the Welsh assembly specifically change the law to make speed limits apply to all road users and not just motor vehicle drivers? Be interesting to know how to mount a speedometer on a horse, and if this could not be done how could a speed limit be applied to this category of transport?
GPS horse speedo
No, in Wales, same as England, speed limit does not apply to pedal cycles. The issue was the support / escort vehicles. We had the Women's Tour of Britain through recently though, and they must have faced the same issues, I don't know how they managed as they were only doing rolling road closures
Where I live we don't have many rogue cyclists (nearest traffic light is more than 20 miles away, there are no pavements to cycle on etc.), also not many adult cyclists to be honest, although that could change now we've got a cafe. However between my village and the neighbouring one 3 miles away, there is a delightful tarmac-ed separated bike path to allow kids to go to school in the big village by bike or on foot (as mentioned there are no roadside pavements). But the rules are such that all vehicles coming out of field openings onto the road have priority over the path. I had a near miss a few days ago when a tractor hidden behind a large field boundary hedge exited a field and cut off the whole of the cycle path before they could see whether it was clear to pull out. Although I was only doing 10 miles an hour because the sight lines on the cycle path are poor, it's not wide and there are often pedestrians and dog walkers, the sudden obstacle cutting off my route meant I had to swerve into the hedge to miss tractor. If I'd been a kid tearing along, I'd likely have been under the tractor wheels. Is this rule sensible? Surely drivers of huge tractors should have a duty of care to pedestrians and cyclists. Is it reasonable to expect cyclists to stop for every (unmarked) field entrance and (in towns where there are dual use paths alongside roads) every house drive way? Or should the onus be on the drivers of the vehicles to look out for vulnerable path users? I'd be interested to get your take on this.
I must say in California, at least in Kern County, they really have really been working hard at integrating bicycle lanes in our roadways and have given cyclist consideration in new construction projects.
You should be cautious around cows. Just last week, a 67-year-old hiker was tragically attacked and killed by cows in a nature reserve in Limburg, the Netherlands.
Re number plates for bikes: as a student at Cambridge in the 1970s we had to have a registration number issued by the college displayed on our bikes, It was painted on the rear mudguard by the college Bicycle Repair Man (fact!) and was a letter denoting the college followed by a serial number. Mine was U237, hot stuff!
I managed to p*ss off the whole UK Police force, when I pointed out they were breaking a road traffic law. In December 2018 I raised the issue of display screens in vehicles and regulation 109. At that point, the UK Police force realized they were diving police cars illegally when using the ANPR system. Following my contact, all officers were issued with a warning about Reg. 109. In November 2020, emergency legislation was passed in Parliament (vehicle special order, Police Vehicles) amending Reg. 109, so that the Police could drive their Police cars legally 😊
I believe the Police are modifying all thier ANPR systems to switch off the display above 8mph, because of this law.
Here in Oz , kangaroos and wallabies behave just like giant squirrels….care required!
I think a kangaroo would definitely be more dangerous than a cow and a squirrel combined. I can't imagine encountering one of those in the middle of the road.
As a cyclist in north Wales I have to say im not finding the 20mph limit safer. I tend to see alot more of cars overtaking and the immediately slamming on their brakes. Also alot more cars driving alond side me and then slowly closing the door instead of just overtaking. Fortunately I only have 3 miles of town to ride through before hitting beautiful countryside where all the nobheads can be forgotten about.
It's the same in south west Wales too. More close passing seems to have been the effect of 20mph or cars riding your back wheel. I definitely don't feel any safer.
GCN should produce a hack/bodge coffee table book!
📝
I got myself confused with the navigation last weekend when I was out riding and almost headed down a highway exit the wrong way (!). I noticed pretty quickly, fortunately, and was able to turn around and take back on route.
Very recently I was a Marshall at charity event in our town which meant we closed the road to all traffic. It was to pedestrianise a portion for people's safety. The amount of cyclists that rode through and argued the toss about it was very frustrating. One guy went onto the pavement as he said 'it's just the road that is closed'. I am a cyclist but that behaviour gave us very bad name.
Dan you are correct that squirrel-phobia may be absolutely justified;
I wish I still had the pictures, alas I do not. However, maybe 20 years ago when carbon forks were very new, a friend with this new trendy component had a bad squirrel related accident. The squirrel darted through the spokes of his front wheel and was pulled clean through both sides of the carbon fork! Obviously, he crashed and even braking a collar bone! The incident proved fatal for the squirrel.
does the wheel survive? It sounds like a dramatic accident.
17:36 Strada militare del Colle dell'Assietta! Rode it when we did the Komoot Women's Torino Nice Rally in 2022. We stayed at the Refugio Assietta up top which is around 2,500 m. Was super cool to watch the Tour de L'Avenir stage up Finestre (although video footage was cutting out), I'll have to go rewatch the Froome stage! I didn't make the connection before. I'd love to climb it again but without 25 lbs of gear and food attached to my bike!
That Phil Gaimon show was a lesson in keeping your cool under intolerable pressure. He is so good at implying outrage without blowing up.
And cows, my friends, are very dangerous. I was gored by a beast while visiting India which proves that sacredness is very far from godliness.
She probably identified you as a foreign meat eater, and took action accordingly :)
@@PRH123😂
I am 71, born and raised in Toronto. The only bicycle license plates I have EVER seen are the cutsie ones that kids have with their names on them.
In the 70's I remember they offered them to anyone who wanted one, in the state where I lived, they weren't mandatory. Of course almost no one wanted one, except some kids who thought it was cool because it was like a car. It quietly went away at some point due to lack of interest. Technically all bicycles were required to be registered, they'd give you a little sticker for the bike, but again almost no one did it, and it was never enforced, and also quietly disappeared at some point.
Is it only me that's impressed that the show came out on Aug 27th, when it was scheduled for Sep 27th? 😅
I have been fined twice for speeding, and once for jumping a red light. I admit to the speeding, but not the red light. I paid a £25 fine all three times, and got a warning from Police Scotland that they had the power to confiscate my bike if I continued to break the law. I'm not the only rider I know that has been fined and/or cautioned, but it's been a long time since I've heard of a case.
For reference, the first time I was going down Mountblow Road in Clydebank at around 40mph. The second time I was doing an estimated 30 in a 20mph zone in Glasgow city centre.
I'd love to see someone try to "confiscate" my very expensive road bike. I don't require a license to ride it, nor do I require registration. It isn't a revocable privilege and "confiscating" it would actually be grand larceny
Cyclists can’t break speed limits in Scotland, they only apply to motorised vehciles.
@@Taz86They don’t confiscate, they can seize temporarily in the U.K. under section 59 of the Police Reform Act.
@@simonrook5743 not true. we are subject to the same rules as everybody else.
@@tussk. I just quoted the rules that apply, muppet. That is true.
In Germany if you break the laws of the road while riding you will be ticketed and can even have your driver's license revoked.
Cracked up at Dan's 18mph average speed anecdote. Brilliant 😅
Regarding illegally modified e-bikes, I think a weight limit in addition to the current regulations might be part of a solution. It would limit the battery and motor size given these are the heaviest parts of the bike, this would encourage pedalling to conserve battery life and the use of smaller motors to increase the range. The inertia of the bikes is partly what makes these "bikes" particularly dangerous in a collision the weight limit would help reduce that and given they typically use standard bike brakes ensure these are sufficient to stop the bike. Unlike power limits and throttle control, police could far more easily enforce this as they could measure the bike mass at the side of the road with luggage scales.
The only issue I see is this would impact on cargo bikes but given the weight/size of these perhaps a registration which exempts you from the weight limit is appropriate.
I'd be keen to hear your thoughts
I freely admit that I have violated my fair share of traffic laws while riding a bicycle. I too have been stopped by the police for violating traffic laws. And I'm also annoyed at the rise in anti-cycling attitudes I've seen happening around me. Though it has been my experience that anti-cycling attitudes are nothing new. I experienced them when I first started riding regularly in the early 80's while growing up in Colorado.
Despite my past rogue behaviors, and in spite of other's behaviors, I think cyclists should comply with traffic laws. It's generally safer for riders as it makes us more predictable, for automobile drivers to safely navigate around us. It also makes it harder for anti-cycling people to criticize us as rogue idiots who think we can do whatever we want. As a consequence, I think that law enforcement officers should stop, and occasionally ticket, cyclists when they violate traffic laws in a reckless manner. I doubt most law enforcement officers like showing up at an accident scene to see a mangled cyclist hauled off to the hospital or morgue because the cyclist decided to ride like Evil Knievel and got smacked by an automobile. If we want to ride like Evil, I think we should (and video and post it on UA-cam, so I can watch). However, I would argue that, we need to save it for days, locations and times where it's safe for us to do it without dragging others into it. Roads can be busy and chaotic, and it works a lot more efficiently when everyone is doing the right thing.
EK was known for long jumps over various things, like cars, trucks, pools, a canyon. Have never seen a cyclist on the road jumping over things wantonly.
@@PRH123 I mentioned Evil to bring levity to my comment. Also, Evil was famous for both jumping things and for crashing while attempting to jump things. He was a great showman.
My point was that cyclists, myself included, should be abiding by traffic laws because it's safer and because it gives the haters less firepower to advance their totalitarian case (roads are only for automobiles) against cyclists.
Finally, I have seen people do things like riding over cars, and jumping over roads with cars driving on them. I've seen videos of this kind of thing on UA-cam. I didn't see it, but a semi-famous local freestyle BMX rider named Joe Hendrix famously stopped a random car driving by, and, in the middle of the road during a show in Boulder, Colorado during the 80's, used it as a stunt platform. I heard varying things about whether or not it was planned versus improvised, but I knew people who said they saw it. Moreover, Joe's behavior was irrational sometimes because he was struggling with drug addiction. I think he mentions the event during one of his more recent interviews posted on UA-cam.
I’ve been fined $160 for coasting 3kph alongside a tram in Melbourne. All the pedestrians had gotten on and off but its doors were still open. It was the letter of the law but it felt line an abuse of power.
Living in Cambridge you can sit at any junction and watch cyclists break the rules by the minute. Not to mention the illegal ebikes, scooters cyclists without lights, etc. lots of this comes down to education, make riding road safety part of the PE curriculum.
Passed a guy on the C4 cycle path in London the other day, wizzing along on an illegal e-bike not pedalling, after being behind him for half a mile. I asked him why he had pedals as he clearly doesn’t use them. 😡
I live in the USA. the times I have been stopped was 1). he thought I was intoxicated, let me go because I was not. 2). the officer saw mr run a red light after stopping and seeing no traffic. I was given a verbal warning. in general its best not to piss people off. I smile a lot, get eye contact and go out oof my way to be courteous and allow others to go first. I do live in an active community of outdoors people, and they give bikes a lot of room here. what goes around comes around.
In recent years I had more problematic encounters with other cyclists than with motorists, mostly near-crashes with people watching their phones while riding and not paying attention to what's around them. This is asocial behaviour and needs to be punished more severely. Also I'd ask police to know the rules they're enforcing. Once I got pulled over by traffic police while riding on a bike lane and told that I should use the road as I was exceeding the 25 kph speed limit for bike lanes (Germany) and could endanger children. In the next village there was another traffic stop and there I was told to use the bike lane because I was obliged to use it no matter what. Rogue cops are just as awful as rogue cyclists!
I have seen Police pull over a cyclist for jumping a red light. It was busy, cyclist was on some illegal derestricted e-bike and the Police car was directly behind them. I’m certain they wouldn’t have bothered about the bike if the rider hadn’t jumped the red light. Feels like we already have the right level of policing- generally no harm, no foul but if you’re obviously taking the piss then expect to get nicked.
Keep it up you to I'm in tears when Dan cracks in and Si looses it🤣🤣👊
Glad Si spotted the Klein! I nerded out on that too!
I was driving up the M61, there was a guy riding an E scooter on the hard shoulder. Shocking? Not as shocking as the police car in front that drove straight past him.
Loving the banter lads.
A canonization of cycling laws need to be done here in the US. (I saw that vid. They must be held accountable.} You all seem much happier in the past few months, congrats!!
Glad to hear that Toronto licencing fact; we should already know this though, having a licence or plate doesn't stop motorists breaking road rules.
Compulsory test, registration and insurance for drivers don't stop them speeding, running red lights and having generally inconsiderate behaviour on the road, so it seems unlikely there's anything that would make the same people suddenly behave when riding bikes.
Each day on my commute to work I have to pass a crossing at a bridge ramp. To police and politicians it is known as one of the most dangerous spots for cyclists in our city. Once a week I have a near death ecounter caused by cars ignoring traffic rules or being unattentive. This year the police started patroling this spot more frequently. The outcome is: The city administration wants to force cyclist into special traffic behaviour trainings, no matter if they broke traffic rules or not. No word about how to train car drivers to be more attentive to cyclists and pedestrians...
maybe you could film the 'what we talked about over coffee this morning" live and in person with coffee!
I still say mountain biking is harder. So much so. Earlier this year I bought former GMBN presenter bike. Blake Sanson's pink and green Orbea Rallon.
That’s a nice bike
I do think all bikes should be fitted with a gps speedo, sometimes cyclists are oblivious to how fast they are going, in urban / shared use environments.
Rogue cyclists huh? I live in Santa Cruz (CA) a cycling friendly city to say the least, BUT kids flying around on so called e-bikes at 25+ miles an hour (the speed limit on most streets in our nice seaside town) definitely need a lesson or two in danger to themselves (not to mention others). Being kids, they will probably grow out of knobheadedness (?) but in the meantime, maybe need a bit of a boost in that direction. Btw... the police patrol on bicycles around part of our town too (no they don't speed!).
It's common for children not to be aware of danger. Perhaps supervision or restricting access to certain things could be a solution 🤔
A national bike registry would be a great idea. It would enable the police to find and return stolen bikes. I'm sure they'd love to provide such a service.
I think a somewhat easier way of putting the rear mech into a fixed easy gear is using a limiting screw - no need to deal with the cable at all. But yes, the presented solution should also work.
Love how Si out classified Dan and didn't even know 😂
Thank you, Dan, Simon for being so nice, knowledgeable and modest! I love all the videos that you make. Fire Alex Paton.
You two are having way too much fun!😂
On "rogue cyclists". I must have been one of these in my youth: I was stopped by a policeman in around 1972/73 when cycling up the A420 in Oxford, on a stretch of road that was designated as a bus lane. That was before town planners came to their senses and sensibly permitted cyclists to share bus lanes as in now common in the UK. I got a mild ticking off and was told to push my bike the remaining 60 metres to a point where the bus lane disappeared. It didn't help that this occurred pretty much exactly outside the St. Aldate's Police Station.
Did I learn my lesson? Well, I took the precaution of making sure that there weren't any bobbies coming out of the cop shop as I approached this stretch of road on future occasions.
I grew up in Oxford - by the time I was riding in town you could use the bus lanes, but Cornmarket had been pedestrianised. My mates and I used to regularly ride through it, keeping a beady eye out for the Bobbies. It wasn't uncommon for us to be caught and sent back to the start of the road and made to walk all the way down it... :D
I ride on the main roads and highways a lot. I think that cyclists (myself included) should receive the same penalty for certain infractions as cars do. For instance, if a cyclist runs a red light or stop sign, they should pay the same penalty as a car driver. You can't expect to be protected by the traffic laws if you're not prepared to obey them.
B i k E NICE. Ride to the level of your smile. Ride in a way that makes all others smile too.
WRT the speed limit of 20 mph in Wales: I wonder why bike racing events are not simply exempted from this law.
Fun fact: in Germany, roadside speed limits only apply for motorized vehicles. As it is easy to exceed the usual 30 kph speed limits in villages on a road bike, cyclists often are stuck behind a motorist who is afraid of getting a ticket for speeding (somehow comprehensibly.).
It's the same here in Wales, the speed limits only apply to cars, so living somewhere pretty hilly, it's quite common to be having to slow down on the bike because of cars in front of you. The issue with the race was the accompanying support / escort cars, and also I guess the public perception of shooting a race through a built up area at maybe 25/30mph when a lot of the motorists are very upset at their newly imposed 20mph limit
I’ve been watching just about everything GCN for ~8+ years now, I love you guys.
But why the hell can’t you keep your lighting consistent after all this time……????
I ended up on a French motorway by mistake. The turning I wanted was about 1km. Just as I told my husband not to worry the Police arrived. Let us know they weren't happy. Another time in Spain had to cycle the wrong way up a slip road when mistakenly encroached on a motorway trying to get out of Toledo.
I had a friend get pulled over by a cop for speeding on his bike. He was doing 35 mph down a gradual straight downhill in a 30 mph zone. The cop flipped on his lights and pulled him over, and told him even on a bike he has to obey the speed limit. Let him off with a verbal warning,
Switzerland had plates for cyclists as well. They abandoned it since orga costs exceed benefits by far
I think if you got a cow through your spokes, it might be a bit uncomfortable.
At last in the US, most cops will not issue tickets if the ticket value is below a certain value. And If I am not mistaken, I am aware of the particular case that you are referring to, and that police officer seems to have a dislike of cyclists and has been known to harass cyclists for various things and is regularly wrong. However, I don't see any reason why a cyclist should not be ticketed for running red lights or doing other dangerous or other significant infractions.