In the news

I think we all need "don't be a c--t, your mum told you what that means" stuck permanently in our line of vision.

Car stickers, glasses stickers...pedestrians stickers... "brought to you by LFGSS"

I agree with what you say, it's just the CYCLISTS bit that's somewhat narrowminded to me...they never nearly got run over by cars? This lack of balance is everywhere unfortunately, but you can just see the "CYLISTS: THEY EVEN RUN OVER DISABLED PEOPLE" DM headlines :/

Eric Pickles. W.A.C

Biggest I've ever seen.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-parking-for-new-homes-will-end-vicious-cycle-of-clogged-up-streets

learn to spell you fat, useless, massive coronary waiting to happen.

you fat, useless, massive coronary waiting far too long to happen

fixt

the ice bucket challenge ... the gift that keeps giving

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/man-hospitalised-after-400-gallons-of-water-dropped-on-him-from-plane-in-ice-bucket-challenge-9692751.html

400 gallons = 1,800 litres = 1.8 tons
pity they didn't do the math

Regarding the blind people cycle terror, can anyone find a link to the results of the survey? I can't tell if the results are time bound - i.e. 1 in 4 blind people report a collision with a cyclist in the last year - or not.

The BBC article now has this correction:

Correction: An earlier version of this story said a quarter of guide dogs working in London had been hit by a bike. The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association has since said the information it provided was incorrect.

So it appears the results are not so much time bound as completely made up.

Excellent, that tiny footnote at the bottom of a scary article will bring some sanity to the hysterical laundry list of Evil Things That Evil Cyclists Do All The Time.

But it's ok, I went out of my way to run over a thousand guide dogs on my way home from work to make up the numbers.

Cookie eating cunts.

Apropos of this, a nice lady at the traffic lights outside Lambeth North station this morning gave me a reflective ankle strap with this URL on it: guidedogs.org.uk/cycleyes#.U_­2b2rxdXoo
(I wasn't riding on the pavement or running over any blind or seeing people or their dogs at the time, FYI)

That video is amazing, footage of a handful of people jumping reds, a woman safely dismounting her bike and a handful of people using what I assume is a shared path/crossing.

Despite being out all day with a camera crew and 3 changes of clothes(could have been 3 days of filming) he wasn't killed by a cyclist despite having no hivis which we all know is now legally expected, being blind too it's down right wreckless to leave home without one.
http://road.cc/content/news/120591-make-pedestrians-wear-reflective-clothing-says-mr-loophole-lawyer-who-defended

This 'blind people cycle terror' story has been on all the BBC TV and radio news bulletins throughout the day. I find it really depressing whenever a cycling charity/body has to intervene in this way - ie ticking off the very people they campaign hard to protect. (I know part of LCC's work is to promote responsible cycling, but it still seems so unfortunate.)

Suddenly, cyclists shift from being the vulnerable road users to the villains. What's more, the 'victims' are disabled, and to make matters even worse, there are cute innocent dogs involved! :(

I don't doubt that it must be horrendous to be bumped, knocked over or startled by a cyclist - I'd be bloody angry and upset, myself, even more so if my dog got hurt. Nor do I doubt it's a problem - if it wasn't, this campaign wouldn't exist. However, I can't help being a bit sad about it and pessimistic about the effectiveness of the campaign, not only because the prats who do this type of thing (which often involves running red lights, cycling on pavements, weaving around peds on crossings etc) are selfish, unaware of, don't give a crap about cycling organisations or issues within the cycling community, but also because they're probably indignantly in denial. No one admits in public to being a dick - well OK, a small few do on here, in jest. Yet we all see people, possibly every day, doing idiotic/dangerous things while cycling...from full kit roadies, to suited Brompton-ites, Boris bikers to fixie skidders. I actually noticed this so much more when I had to become a pedestrian for several weeks this summer, often with my dozy dog in tow. The Surrey Canal Path is one example of a route no one ever admits to cycling too fast on, yet the vast majority of people who do are MAMILs/well dressed commuters, not the imagined 'yobs off estates' most would rather blame.

Am reading lots of unconfirmable reports that Russia has invaded southeast Ukraine along a salient to Mariupol. Follows reports yesterday of little green men in the area, as well as the captured paratroopers who allegedly got lost.

Could be people getting overexcited, could be true. I don't know, but I guess we'll know by the weekend.

If Russia has invaded Ukraine we'll know much much sooner than the weekend. Probably almost immediately.

Given how long it took us to figure out they'd invaded Crimea, I don't think that's entirely true. And the weekend isn't long away.

I guess. I figure lenses are a bit more focused now, and Crimea was both a limited movement and a place which already had Russian military troops stationed in it.

I suspect a large movement (invasion size) of Russian troops would be noticeable, but I could be wrong.

It'll take a time for reports to be confirmed, what I'm getting is pretty raw stuff from the ground which may be inaccurate. If it's big then may not take that long, but we won't know for sure immediately.

BBC still calling them rebels. Rebels with, erm, tanks. Hmm.

East Ukraine rebel leader admits several thousand Russian 'volunteers' fighting alongside rebels. BBC etc now firming up reports of Russian armour involved. Plus looks like Mariupol might fall today. Hey ho, here we go again.

pity they didn't do the math

maths

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/brazil/11060282/Brazils-valley-of-beauties-appeals-for-single-men.html

the sausage fest ride anyone ? from the photo the valley looks quite fertile and would make for good ploughing

^ sigh

How many drivers have knocked down blind people?
Go on Evening Standard write a piece about the scandal of the number of drivers knocking down people sighted, blind, deaf, young, old, on roads, on pavements...

lol!

http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/guide-dogs-cymru/whats-happening/events/three-castles-tour/?utm_source=FacebookWallPost&utm_medium=FacebookPost&utm_content=CraigandCommando-240814&utm_campaign=FacebookWallPosts2014#.U_7zDvldV8E

another bizzare gun related death in the us
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-28961229

It's pointless. The ES and their anti-cyclists campaign is just symptomatic of a wider picture. That being that London hates cyclists. Everyday cycling through this city I come across small things that reinforce this view in me. Even the way the lights are phased so cyclists end up waiting longer at reds than other traffic or get hit by a double and sometimes triple red. We are second class road users and I can't see it ever really changing