News

This week, Blaise Metreweli made headlines as she became the first woman to be appointed Chief of MI6 - the UK’s top spy, known by the famous codename “C”. A historic moment, yes, but it wasn’t just the appointment that caught the attention of many cyclists tuning into Radio 4 last week.

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Picture the scene: you’ve been driving south since dawn, all panniers, passports and “are-we-there-yets”, inching ever closer to your holiday desination. Up ahead is a an “aire de repos” shaded by plane trees. You pull over, unclip a hand-sized bundle, hook it between branches, and - voilà - instant siesta. Ten minutes later the world looks brighter, the kids’ in-car snacks less perilous, and the ride in the Dordogne suddenly feels doable again.

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If you’re someone who follows the news and cares about road safety, chances are the Today programme left you frustrated more than once this week.First came a segment revisiting the case of Harry Dunn - the teenager killed by a driver who was not arrested and quickly fled the UK. The story rightly focused on police failures and the lack of justice for his family. But it missed something crucial. Harry’s death, while particularly high-profile, was not an isolated incident. On average, five people die on Britain’s roads every day. Families up and down the country are dealing with similar losses, often without the media attention or political outrage.A quick call to RoadPeace - the charity supporting families bereaved by road violence - would have revealed this. They would have pointed out that young people dying in road collisions is devastatingly common, and that road harm, unlike other public health crises, rarely gets the sustained attention it deserves.

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The British summer has well and truly switched itself on. Temperatures are expected to hit 30 °C across much of England today, with yellow heat-health alerts in place until Sunday evening - a warning that the hot weather poses increased risks, particularly for older people and those with health conditions.That doesn’t mean we have to park up our bikes just yet, but it does mean the school run, the café ride or even the usual dash to the station might feel a little more like hard work. When the air turns thick and heavy, dehydration can sneak up fast - bringing headaches, fuzzy thinking, and the kind of slowed reactions nobody needs when navigating busy roads.

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You’re halfway up an Alpine pass. The light is doing thatuncanny thing it only ever seems to do at altitude – bleaching the sky,crisping the edges of the world. The engine is humming in a deeply satisfyingregister. And then, in your ear:

"Do you think my panniers look too wide from theback?"

The intercom has spoken.

Once the preserve of professional motor racing crews and airtraffic control,  intercoms are now acommon fixture among bikers on tour - particularly those heading to Europe withfriends. These devices promise convenience, safety, and an added socialdimension to your ride. But they also threaten something precious — the solitudethat make motorcycling so mentally restorative.

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We’ve long known that cargo bikes are clever – quieter, cleaner and surprisingly quick through the school run scrum – but what happens when the bikes themselves start getting smart? That’s the promise of the soon-to-launch TARRAN T1 Pro, a front-loading e-cargo bike that big on gizmos: think powered parking gear, in-built security systems, and even a frame-mounted selfie cam.

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Other countries are tackling fire risks and powering up e-bike safety. Why aren’t we?

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Headlines fixate on the horror-movie spectacle of e-bike batteries erupting in hallways - and yes, those fires can be deadly and demand regulatory intervention - but the hidden hazard is the policy void that has smouldered for years while ministers posed next to Teslas. Successive governments have left e-bikes in limbo. The combination of no purchase subsidies, muddled regulations and little control of gig-economy rider employers has nurtured a grey market of “Franken-bikes” and public unease. If battery blazes are the sparks; sustained political neglect is the slow-burn crisis undermining one of our cleanest, healthiest ways to travel.

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We Brits are nothing if not weather-obsessed — and the current outlook has given us plenty to talk about. One minute you’re basking in glorious sunshine, the next you’re sheltering from a sudden downpour, wondering if summer has gone on strike. Welcome to June 2025.

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There’s a particular kind of clarity that comes with clicking your cycle camera into place. No, it doesn’t make the roads feel any safer. But it does offer something else: a small, stabilising sense of control.Because when the roads fail you – when someone speeds too close, swerves across your path, or worse – that little blinking lens on your handlebars or helmet can be the one witness that never forgets. In a country where vulnerable road users are too often left to fend for themselves, a cycle cam is less about paranoia, and more about proof.

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