"Re-education": Cyclist attacks car passenger who allegedly threw litter at him; Pressure group asks PM to remove cycle lane... that was his idea; Tao donates £5k to his former school; Paris bike lane busy despite winter weather + more on the live blog

A driver in Melbourne captured the moment a cyclist got revenge on a car passenger who allegedly threw litter at him, with numerous people praising the cyclist's actions in the comments underneath the video and describing it as "karma" amongst other things. 

Around 18 secs into the video, the driver behind the dashcam can be heard saying: "What the f*ck? The guy in the Mercedes threw something". Shortly afterwards, the cyclist catches up with the driver and begins throwing punches, before we see the car speeding off. 

One person commented under the video: "Good on the bike rider for giving re-education to the passenger on littering", while another said: "I'd have done the same thing or worse. A knee in the door would have been justified."

Some condemned the violence on both sides, with one saying: "I don't care who did what to who. This behaviour is immature and does not resolve anything." 

Benny St Leger added: "This is why cyclists need to be registered. So we can all give him a cookie."

I represented a client pro bono who was arrested at a protest of racial injustice in NYC because he was biking alongside a march and taking videos. They zip-tied him, threw him in a van, and held him for hours.

Contrast that to law enforcement response yesterday at the Capitol.

— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) January 7, 2021

While the world still tries to make sense of the actual President of the United States whipping up an ragtag mob of extremists to break into the Capitol building, Elie Honig, a CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, has compared the response against 'protestors' yesterday to the treatment of a client he represented last year. 

Honig said he voluntarily represented a man who he claims was "biking alongside a march and taking videos" during a racial injustice protest: "They zip-tied him, threw him in a van, and held him for hours. Contrast that to law enforcement response yesterday at the Capitol", Honig added. 

Back in June, we reported on disturbing footage that emerged of a cyclist being beaten at a protest organised to show solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement. Pierce McCaffrey said that he was riding slowly to separate protestors from a line of police officers, saying: “They started tackling me to the ground, punched me, put my hands behind my back, handcuffed me and threw me into the car."

Santander Cycles 24-hour membership registrations rose by 157% in 2020 compared to 2019. The total number of hires also increased as more than 10 million journeys were made using the scheme. These new figures from Transport for London (TFL) show the bike hire service reached a wider audience during the pandemic as people tried to avoid busier modes of transport. In 2020, the previous maximum daily hire number of 50,000 was surpassed on 14 separate occasions.

Notably, the scheme's free codes for NHS staff and key workers were used on almost 220,000 hires by 18,000 people. The offer remains available to key workers until February 21.

OneChiswick writing to the man who conceived the idea for the cycle lane on Chiswick High Road ten years ago to ask him to intervene to stop it “to save a largely Tory voting community” is priceless. pic.twitter.com/VP9Sz9pyJK

— Paul Campbell (@PauloCampbell) January 7, 2021

If you're going to ask for a cycle lane to be removed, probably best not to ask someone who ensured it was put there in the first place...OneChiswick wrote to the PM asking him to intervene to help "save a largely Tory voting community." What the anti-LTN group seem to have forgotten is that Johnson came up with the idea for the cycle lane during his time as Mayor of London.

The letter asks the PM to intervene against "socialist councils" and describes Chiswick as a "Tory voting community", despite being part of the Brentford and Isleworth constituency which elected Labour MP Ruth Cadbury by more than 11,000 votes in 2019.

The first part of the letter reads: "Dear Prime Minister. Many congratulations on achieving a deal with the European Union — after the year you've had I'm sure that was a well received Christmas present. The pandemic must be a huge drain on your physical and emotional resources and whilst I don't agree with he (sic) course you're taking, I support you in these almost impossible circumstances.

"As if you didn't have anough to cope with, I'm here asking for your help on another front. In fact, I'm writing to ask for your urgent help to save a largely Tory voting community less than six miles away from #10. The various schemes — cycle lanes and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods have been implemented with no consultation by socialist councils across London."

The route finally opened on December 21, more than a decade after the plans for the route were unveiled by Johnson's administration. You can see a before and after video of the route here. The PM has supported many cycle schemes in the capital and was said to be 'ballistic' over the scrapping of the Kensington High Street cycle lane. 

Seven people received a combined court bill of £2,700 after failing to pay fines for cycling in Grimsby town centre. Planet Radio reports that North East Lincolnshire Council said they will continue to issue notices to anybody putting people at risk by cycling in pedestrian areas. More than 30 people have been successfully prosecuted since November.

In this case, all seven defendants were issued a £100 fixed penalty notice for cycling in a pedestrianised area on Victoria Street in the town centre. Those who failed to pay were taken to court, prosecuted for the original offence and given a larger fine.

Councillor Ron Shepherd is the cabinet member for Safer and Stronger Communities at North East Lincolnshire Council. He said: "Shoppers, businesses and people working in the town centre often complain about nuisance cycling in the town centre. There’s no need to cycle in the pedestrian area – Bethlehem Street and Osborne Street are literally a few metres away and run parallel to it."

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Tao Geoghegan Hart (@taogeogheganhart)

Tao's a good lad...The Giro winner has donated £5,000 to his old school in Stoke Newington — £1,000 for every year he went there. In a letter to the school he wrote: "Dear Stokey, 2020 has been a tough year for the young, and the old. I’m lucky enough to be able to say that this year has also given me a lot, so I want to give a little back. Thank you for all the great memories. I hope this donation can help future Stokey kids to also dream big."

Wout van Aert is close to committing his future with Dutch team Jumbo-Visma, Wielerflits reports. The 26-year-old's current deal ends at the end of this year prompting speculation that he would be in demand from cycling's biggest teams. However, Ton van Veen, CFO of Jumbo Supermarkten — the supermarket who sponsor the team — told employees during a New Year meeting that a deal to keep Van Aert beyond 2021 is close.

He said: "We have an important ambassador in Belgium. Wout van Aert is praised by the Belgians. I can reveal that we are in talks with the Jumbo-Visma cycling team to extend his contract. He still has a commitment for this year, but we want to keep him with us for longer. Those negotiations look very good. We will hear that in the coming days and we are very happy with that. Wout van Aert is very important to us for building brand awareness in Belgium. And loading the Jumbo brand in Belgium."

Oui mais les cyclistes on verra cet hiver quand il fera 0º. pic.twitter.com/AMBuKnXKmg

— Commute de Paris (@CommuteDeParis) January 5, 2021

This is an encouraging glimpse at what could be possible with proper cycling infrastructure. In Paris, despite the freezing temperatures, cyclists have continued to use two-wheeled forms of transport. In May, the city announced it would be investing €300 million into cycling infrastructure and has since committed to making pop-up bike lanes permanent. The screen on the left shows that 22,000 cyclists have been recorded passing in 2021, with more than 6,000 of those on a day with sub-zero temperatures. 

Si vous trouvez qu’il y a peu de vélos, que penser de la voie de droite. pic.twitter.com/r9sxwRHQJk

— Commute de Paris (@CommuteDeParis) January 5, 2021