John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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37 comments
It's interesting that a video of a guy eating his breakfast while driving attracts 2 schools of comment:
1) He is eating breakfast while driving - WHAT?
2) Someone is filming him eating his breakfast (while driving) - WHAT?
Now, I completely agree that not arguing with motorists if you are a cyclist or pedestrian is a very good idea (especially in Glasgow - see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-26303925), and can understand that criticism of ones driving is hard for people to accept. However;
- cyclists have been passively shaking their head and tut tutting dangerous driving for decades. This strategy hasn't done much to highlight the danger of bad driving.
- Imminent technologies such as google glass are going to render this sort of thing totally normal in a few years.
I think the best approach is to let it go at the time, don't get annoyed (& you can't educate them) - and then feel free to upload it to youtube to demonstrate the reality of cycling in Britain.
Flying Scot wrote
A shake of the head would have done.
( No it wont)
Call them what you like, but some of these amateur traffic cop types on bikes with helmet cams just put other cyclists at risk by pissing everyone off and getting us all tarred as vigilantes.
( No it wont)
Half the videos posted, I don't understand myself as a cyclist what the indignation is about, the other 25%, yeah bad driving, but no harm done ( if it was motorist to motorist, would result in a FLASH or PARP) and yeah , sure the final 25% are serious and dangerous fully deserving of a bollocking.
Well ask yourself this, when you walk out of the morgue after identifying a loved one whether you really want to carry on shaking your head, tutt tutting or sighing in resignation or do you want to highlight the crass stupidity, recklesness and outright lawbreaking on our roads and get the authorities to do something about the criminal activities on our roads.
There is a point here, the rider should be looking at where he is going, not craning his neck to get better video and provide a loud running commentary to all and sundry.
A shake of the head would have done.
Call them what you like, but some of these amateur traffic cop types on bikes with helmet cams just put other cyclists at risk by pissing everyone off and getting us all tarred as vigilantes.
Half the videos posted, I don't understand myself as a cyclist what the indignation is about, the other 25%, yeah bad driving, but no harm done ( if it was motorist to motorist, would result in a FLASH or PARP) and yeah , sure the final 25% are serious and dangerous fully deserving of a bollocking.
Comment deleted
A vigilante is someone who takes action to punish someone else who they decide is a criminal. They usurp the law's prerogative to punish.
The headcam cyclists are doing what is the duty of a citizen, to bring to the attention of the law what looks like law breaking.
If you see a person climbing through your neighbour's window and dial 999 you are not a vigilante, but just a citizen doing your duty.
Though in certain social circles they'd call you a 'grass'!
I do think maybe there is a bit of an issue about everyone being under constant video surveillance when in public areas. Actual crimes are one thing, but anything stupid or embarrassing you do in public is now potentially going to get an audience of millions, forever!
But that's just the modern world, cycle-cams are only a small part of it.
Don't disagree down fader, its bang out of order and anti social while being unnecessarily risky.
Just putting the traffic conditions on that road in rush hour into perspective
I don't know how he got there and I'm not excusing his behaviour, but he has joined 4 miles of traffic moving slower than a slow thing for half an hour. (It's the southbound switchback near the garscube campus)
So let's not kid ourselves on that this was massively dangerous as he will be crawling, albeit it's a stupid and unnecessary risk.
Being connected with Italian sports cars myself, perhaps the biggest red neck for the driver of the Maser is that he must have it in city (automatic) mode.......
Lets look at it another way.
Whilst he's munching and the traffic has all set off in front of him - at the very least he is delaying the traffic behind him. I see this with people texting at the lights, it goes green and nobody manages to go anywhere because that text/tweet etc is oh so very important.
In reality eating, texting etc can wait.
I only saw that for the first time recently. Got so used to motorists being so impatient they jump the red it really baffled me to see one failing to move when the lights were green - till I noticed they were hunched over their mobile.
I've had a wet shave while cycling down the street, I've talked on the phone, sent texts, taken photos and video, and eaten every meal on the bike. As a car driver I've been better behaved (but not perfect!). I suspect many cyclists, like me, should not throw stones because we live in glass houses.
As the cyclist in this video, I can confirm that for the driver to get to this queue he would have driven on a 40mph road. Up until shortly before the start of the video, the road was clear and so it is reasonable to assume that he would have been driving at least 30mph in his own private dining room.
Is a driver driving in this manner really in full control of his vehicle?
I must say, I ride that road, I've seen a few of your videos, though for once I can see your problem with this.
I am not condoning driving while eating cereal or being distracted, but in this situtuation no one is in any danger, the traffic is barely moving. I wouldn't like it if someone walks around filming me doing things that I do wrong when I am on my bike.
I think helmet cams are good to be evidence when incidents occur, rather than using it to be vigilante is a bit of a bitchmove, i mean we all have *ahem* accidentally ran set of ligthts or two at some point.
You're sure he wouldn't do this in other circumstances as well? He's in charge of a large, quick, killing machine , breaking the law, and failing to control it properly. The only pity is they won't punish him adequately. Confiscate the car and make him watch it being crushed would be about right.
How will the driver:
-indicate their intentions
-have full concentration on the road
-turn the wheel effectively under sedate circumstance let alone at 40mph?
You have condoned the driving shown. That makes you pretty bad yourself. I've never run any lights myself tbh. What you're suggesting is that bad cycling (which could kill the rider and never a driver) excuses anothers actions...
...god forbid nobody jumps from a bridge. You might just copy them with that mentality. Using the V word is irresponsible in itself
I never know when I will fancy a piece of toast.
Are you a mathematician Ousaveard?
I once rode to work on my bike having a shave (not wet) with the Braun. Worked well until I dropped it.
Cereal bars one thing but a bowl of milky cornflakes is another. Imagine the mess if he braked hard.
Lets not become vigilanties on two wheels eh!
O level Physics. Ek = ½mv2
So me on my bike munching
Kinetic energy = Mass (90 Kg) x Velocity (11 - 12 mph = ~5m/s) squared so) 25 then divided by 2. 90 x 25 = 2250/2 = 1125
Car at same speed
1950 x 25 / 2 = 24375.
Remember also that the velocity is squared. Double the speed to 22mph and it's 97500 for the maserati 4500 for a biggish fella on a bike.
Mind you he could be going 44 in traffic. so 390,000 joules of kinetic energy.
So the same energy as 25 pro cyclists barreling along at 33mph no hands eating ceareal and all the force compressed into a bonnet sized warhead.
even at ~12 mph the impact of the car is equivalent to being hit by 22 big fat cyclists all at the same time.
12mph is not a trivial impact speed in a nigh on 2 ton car.
Maserati Muesli....talk to me
Could have been worse, might have been deep frying a Mars bar...
Yep Weegies, known for their healthy eating habits.
I hope he's got leather seats. Spilt milk would be hard to clean up from cloth seat covers.
Beavis: Whoa dude, he's like eating cereal
Butthead: Cool
Beavis: I wanna eat cereal in a Ferrari
Butthead: I wanna eat cereal on my bike...
So, fellow cyclists this guy is obviously way cool. Let's just try to find out what cereal he's eating
I wonder what he's having for dinner!
I also wonder if he has the milk, bowl, spoon and cereal in his car or does he take the bowl out of the house ready to go, which I imagine is quite difficult when you have to get in and put your seat belt on.
Purely within the context of the video (i.e. a lenghthy slow moving traffic jam), I can't get excited about this. I wouldn't do it myself mind. Might get porride all over my italian upholstery. And that would be bad.
As road.cc readers I think we have now been adequately informed that the rules of the road, laws of the land are bent, broken and abused thousands of times a day. Its all getting a bit Daily Mail, just from the other side of the coin.
Instead of wallowing around the www ether arguing amongst ourselves over who is the most righteous, instead why don't we propose some ideas about positive action?
I'll go first, and maybe they are rubbish ideas, I'm not experienced in changing society, normally I just make the best of the cards that have been dealt;
If a petition is large enough, doesn't a subject have to be debated in parliament? If say, due to a persistent campaign of petitioning, a subject kept cropping up over and over and over again (in mildly different guises), wouldn't the politicians be brow beaten into making changes over infrastructure, laws, legislation, sentencing etc?
and/or
Road.cc, you move in influential circles, can't you get a hold of Mr. Boardman, or someone and ask them what they think we as normal cyclists should do to help make a significant difference?
Like I say, I'm not a pro, maybe though someone out there is. Lets hear some new ideas. Not just idle hi-viz chest beating, reflective finger pointing and 700 lumen tut tutting.
This incident brings to mind a pic I saw in "Cycling Weekly" many years ago, showing a well known cyclist eating fish and chips "no handed" whilst on his way to breaking the "end to end" record.
But, on balance, given the fact that a car has far more destructive potential than a guy on a bike, there should be far more responsibility shown on the part of drivers to keep their hands on the wheel.
I wouldn't be surprised to see some cyclists getting pulled from now on though, not so much in "revenge" but through a determination by the police to be seen to be even handed.
I thought this was a cycling website, not a people who use roads website.
I was going to say, it's a bit different when you're driving. I'll all for reporting this $hit, gotta say. Idiots like this cause accidents, simple as.
Do we really need to become vigilante traffic cops? I often munch a cereal bar whilst cycling and no-one has had a go at me (yet). It's obviously more dangerous than keeping my hands covering the brakes, and it could cause an accident. I suppose it's only a matter of time before car drivers & vigilante pedestrians take their revenge on youtube....
Because obviously there is no difference between riding a bike and driving a car.
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