Stage 11 of the Giro d'Italia saw a crash mid-sprint; but the urban finale in Francavilla al Mare saw the sprinters go on a full-on battle for positioning. Amongst these was Laurence Pithie, who responds to criticism of his dangerous behaviour in the peloton.In words of Israel - Premier Tech's Hugo...

Garda fined motorists between 540 and 350 times per year in the last four years across Ireland with a wide regional variance including figures which were so low in one region that the data was merged with another because it was claimed the low figures would have data protection implications.The data was released in reply to a parliamentary question from Waterford based TD Marc Cathasaigh (Green Party).Across the country 539 motorists were given fines for parking on cycle lanes in 2020, while there were 350 fined in 2021, 477 in 2022, and 531 in 2023.The Dublin Metropolitan Region had the most fines ranging from 375 to just over 250 per year.Offices in the Southern Region issued fines ranged from 58 to 233 per year. The region includes Cork, Limerick, Kerry, Tipperary, and Clare.While because there are Figures [of] less than 10 in one Garda region, the data for the Eastern and North Western Regions was amalgamated for data protection reasons.The combined data ranged from 37 to 75 per year across 14 counties including all of Connacht, all of Leinster except Dublin, as well as Donegal, Cavan and Waterford.Commenting on the figures, Deputy Cathasaigh said: We see a certain element of car-blindness when it comes to policing of our public spaces. Pavement parking or parking in cycle lanes is often disregarded as minor infractions. In reality, it has the impact of pushing vulnerable road users out into traffic. This can be a daily occurrence in many areas I could point to Manor Street in Waterford where there has been a persistent issue, with the cycle lane at times completely obstructed by parked cars.This undermines the cycle network as a whole unless our less confident cyclists feel that they can get from A to B along safe, fully segregated cycle infrastructure, were not going to see the kind of dramatic modal shift weve seen in places like Paris, he said.He added: I would hope that as the new directive to Garda to devote 30 mins per day to roads policing will make a difference with respect to the enforcement of cycle lanes.The written parliamentary reply from the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, said: As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, including all operational policing matters. I have contacted the Garda authorities and have been advised of the below.The Department of Justice said that the data on Fixed Charge Notices issued for parking on a cycle lane is from the Fixed Charge Processing System and are operational and subject to change.Transport Minister Eamon Ryan, at the start of 2022, increased the fines for parking in cycle tracks as well as on footpaths and in bus lanes from 40 to 80. There was no clear increase and some regional decreases in enforcement since then.Regions2020202120222023Dublin Region375251316261Eastern and North Western Regions*58417537Southern Region1065886233Grand Total539350477531* Figures less than 10 have been amalgamated for data protection reasons.The Parliamentary reply from the Minister said: An Garda Sochna has further advised that they are not in a position to report on accurate totals of penalty points issued, as penalty points can be issued in a judgment of a relevant Court on conviction for an offence.The reply added: As the Deputy will appreciate, the management of the courts, operational matters and logistical functions are the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution.The data also does not include where parking on footpaths is fined instead of on the cycle lanes or where parking on cycle tracks is fined under the offence of dangerous parking.

Dario Cataldohas announced that he will retire from cycling at the end of this year after 18 seasons in the professional peloton. During that time, Cataldo raced for world's biggest teams such as Liquigas, Quickstep, Sky, Astana, Movistar and lastly Lidl-Trek.The Lidl-Trek rider confirmed the news...

The Giro d'Italia peloton seems to be finally enjoying some more freedom at the start of the second week as Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates are satisfied with their lead and three stage wins. However, rivals admit that racing in the same peloton as the Slovenian makes it harder for them to aim for...

Pinyons and Pines is a self-supported 300-mile bikepacking race that starts and ends in Flagstaff, Arizona, and follows some of the best terrain the northern part of the state has to offer. To coincide with today's grand depart, we gathered details for 50 race rigs, featuring bag and gear highlights for each. See them all here...The post Rigs of the 2024 Pinyons and Pines appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Further to last weeks post about congestion pricing in New York City, Ive been seeking insight and sagacity on the subject. Alas, stories about congestion pricing seem mostly to come in three flavors. Theres the declaring-it-a-success-before-its-even-started kind:Not just a success, but a miracle:And one so miraculous that the winners will outnumber the losers, the clouds will part, the angels will sing, the dead will rise, and maladies such as bad skin and halitosis will become things of the past:Then theres the smug people-in-functional-societies-think-New-Yorkers-are-silly-for-worrying-about-it type of coverage:For example, unlike New York, apparently in Sweden people dont steal and they trust their government:This could be because their government has earned their trust:Whereas New York State government has always been deeply corrupt:All of these people could very well be right, though you might think all of this preemptive dick-sucking would at least warrant some skepticism and intelligent criticism of New Yorks version of congestion pricing:But instead you just get professional bike-hater and aging restaurant critic Steve Cuozzo:Who apparently drove between the Upper West Side and Tribeca until seven years ago, which is objectively crazy:Steve Cuozzo is the literal face of New York Citys traffic problem:Though its noteworthy that advocates and cranks alike never seem to want to blame the real culprit, which is ALL THESE FUCKING UBERS AND LYFTS. (Presumably cranks like the convenience, and advocates like the money.)Youve got to hand it to the ride hailing companies, theyve done a great job of convincing people that traveling by car doesnt count as traveling by car as long as you use an app to do it and someone else is touching the steering wheel.As for me, Im doing my best to de-congest the city one ride at a time. This is The Empire State Trail:From here it will take you all the way to Canada:I dont have that kind of time, but its still my regular escape hatch:Here I am in escape mode:My feet liberated from the shackles of oppression:By which I mean toe clips:And as much as I enjoy the one-handed downtube shifting of the Cervino, its hard to beat the convenience of bar-end shifters:Though I guess they dont have any programmable buttons:At this point in the evolution of the road bike lever, shifting and braking are becoming afterthoughts:So basically the shifter will control your gears, control your brakes, control your GPS, control your lights, open your garage door when you get home Like the downtube storage compartment, this is yet another sign that its effectively over for what Ill lazily call regular bikes:I dont mean this bitterly or cynically, either. Its just the way it is. What consumer is going to opt out of these features? If youre starting from scratch so to speak with bikeslike youre fairly young and youre not invested in like 20 years worth of spare partswhy would you choose a bike without a glove compartment or a smart shifter over one that lets you stuff your spare tube* in the downtube and schedule your appointments with the touch of a fingertip?*Just kidding:I mean who the hell uses tubes anymore?But yes, this is the way its going to beand not just because if you lose your downtube cover Trek gets to sell you a replacement:Of course I do hope exquisitely timeless mechanical bikes made of metal at least continue to live alongside todays carbo-tronic marvels:Just like people still wear analog watches in the smart watch age, or the deer continues to flourish amid the urban sprawl:Shes even got her little fawn with her, isnt that fucking adorable?Incidentally, I see you can now put in your pre-order for the latest Sam Hillborne, which as I understand it is more or less the Homer but with studs for canti or v-brakes:No downtube storage, but thats why the Great Lobster On High created bags.

"There's no real problem here, there's nothing that justifies taking away parliamentary time from the more important problems that we face", says Martin Porter KC on the same week the Government announced tougher laws to crack down on dangerous cycling

Mark Cavendish has had the pleasure to work with some of the best leadout men in professional cycling over the past decade and a half. One of them was Bernhard Eisel, who is happy to see his former teammate looking strong after taking a win at the Tour de Hongrie last week before aiming for the Tour...

According to Shell, Brandalisms striking hacked billboards completely mischaracterise the nature of our partnership with British Cycling

Stage 1 of the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas ended in a bunch sprint but quite an unusual one. Lorena Wiebes was beaten, and as Lotta Hentala took the stage win, Elisa Balsamo crashed at high-speed against the barriers.It was a chaotic finale where helicopter footage explained the incident. Balsamo launc...