Pidcock film released ahead of Elite CX Worlds debut; Honorary doctorate for ‘Voice of Cycling’ Liggett; Bonkers 1 – bespoke ‘Big Bed Bike’ on eBay for £100; Bonkers 2 – Cyclists ‘have better sex lives’; Fan causes San Juan crash + more on live blog – road.cc

Ahead of Tom Pidcock making his Elite Cyclo-cross World Championships debut on Sunday – the 20-year-old from Leeds has already won the rainbow jersey at Junior and Under-23 level – an 18-minute film released today on YouTube charts his career to date.

Including contributions from his parents, with whom the Trinity Racing rider still lives – his bedroom is pretty much wallpapered with past race numbers and other mementoes – charts not only the high points such as last year’s victory at Paris-Roubaix Espoirs as well as the lows, notably the crash at the Tour de l’Avenir that cost him the chance to target the under-23 titles at a home World Road Championships in Yorkshire last September.

It’s well worth a watch.

Described as a ‘Carnival Circus Bike’, this dreamy tall bike is fashioned from a solid double headboard reinforced with square metal tubing, with the rear triangle and front forks originally belonging to a Diamondback BMX. Its owner says it has v-brakes with new Clarks brake levers added, and both head tubes are ‘rigid’ thanks to an 8mm flat drilled steel reinforcement added to the ‘top tube’. The turning circle is described as ‘large’, but the owner says it’s only really noticeable when you’re forced to make a U-turn… sounds like you’re not going to fall asleep at the wheel at least.

If you want to make it your own the eBay listing is here, with the price set at £100 with no lower offers accepted and collection in person from Southampton. We might think about splashing out ourselves, but will sleep on it before making a decision…

‘Are Cars the new Tobacco?’ will take place on Wednesday 26th February at the University of Westminster, and the expert panel will feature road.cc contributors Laura Laker and Dr Ian Walker. ​​The event description says: 

“Climate breakdown, air and noise pollution, habitat destruction, road injuries, and negative physical and mental health impacts of inactivity can all be linked to car-dominated transport systems.

…”Electric cars sales remain tiny and SUVs sales grow, despite their inefficiency and increased risk to cyclists and pedestrians. Why do cars (and the industry that produces and promotes them) still have such a hold over us? And how should we (academics, policy-makers, the public) challenge this?”

The event will start at 6pm and finish at 8 with a drinks reception after, register your attendance for free here. 

A new survey of 1,500 people by Cycle Republic has gathered some hard evidence about cyclists’ sex lives and lifestyles to finds out if they are ‘superhuman’ compared to the rest of society. 

Before we get to the sex bits, some selected other findings were that 60% of cyclists practice mindfulness compared to non-cyclists, which can help to lower blood pressure, improve sleep and remove stress. They also found cyclists were more sociable, with 15% socialising daily compared to 8% of non-cyclists. 17% of cyclists drink more than four cups of coffee a day, while 47% get their five portions of fruit and veg compared to 35% of non-cyclists. 

70% of cyclist said their motivation to cycle was to keep themselves fit and healthy, and 61% of cyclists exercise for over an hour a day compared to 45% for non-cyclists. Environmental impact was also a factor, with 53% of women and 50% of men saying this was motivation to cycle. 

Moving to the bedroom, Cycle Republic found that 15% of cyclists have sex daily and 44% get steamy on a weekly basis compared to 11% and 41% respectively amongst non-cyclists. Apparently (this wouldn’t include me), cyclists also think of themselves as more sexually attractive than average, with 46% of cyclists rating themselves more sexually attractive than average compared to just 35% of non-cyclists. 

Strangely, Cycle Republic also asked participants if they would date someone who wore cycling shorts for fashion (google them if you’re not familiar) and found 27% would compared to 17% of non-cyclists. 

Do you reckon cyclists are more prone to some extra evening exercise compared to the general population? Maybe ask your friends or relatives over dinner to gather some evidence of your own…