Scaring Cyclists
You've got to wonder what inadequacies seem to be affecting TV cookery host James Martin for him to use his motoring reveiw column in the Daily Mail to not only write disparagingly about cyclists but also to admit to deliberately causing a dangerous traffic incident while road testing a Tesla Electric Car.
But whenever I drive to London, dutifully paying my £8 for the privilege (on top of my road tax, petrol tax, parking and all the other rip-offs), without fail a cyclist will rap on my window and make some holier-than-thou comment, before zooming off through a red light where he knows I can't get him.God, I hate those cyclists. Every last herbal tea-drinking, Harriet Harman-voting one of them. That's one of the reasons I live in the countryside, where birds tweet, horses roam, pigs grunt and Lycra-clad buttocks are miles away. But recently, there's been a disturbing development.
Each Saturday, a big black truck appears at the bottom of my road, with bikes stuck to the roof and rear. Out of it step a bunch of City-boy ponces in fluorescent Spider-Man outfits, shades, bum bags and stupid cleated shoes, who then pedal around our narrow lanes four abreast with their private parts alarmingly apparent. Do they enjoy it? They never smile. I'm sure they just come here to wind me up.
So far so good. Well a journalist writing in the Daily Hate Mail has got to have something to try and cause trouble over otherwise it would be out of keeping with the rest of the rag.
But then he goes on to tell us what happened as his Tesla test run continued
“Twenty minutes into my test drive I pulled round a leafy bend, enjoying the birdsong - and spotted those damned Spider-Man cyclists. Knowing they wouldn't hear me coming, I stepped on the gas, waited until the split second before I overtook them, then gave them an almighty blast on the horn at the exact same time I passed them at speed.
“The look of sheer terror as they tottered into the hedge was the best thing I've ever seen in my rear-view mirror. I think this could be the car for me."
Nice guy. No mention of whether he stopped to check if any of them had cuts or grazes. No look back to see if there were any broken bones or worse still, life threatening head injuries.
So what is there to do about this? Pro Sprinter Robbie McEwen has advised this poor excuse for a journalist that physical violence will be coming his way if he meets Robbie. Bradley Wiggins has spoken out against Martin. Short of keying up his car every time cyclists see him out in town what would be the best way to deal with this?
Simple. Email the BBC and ask them if they think hat this sort of behaviour is becoming of an employee of their corportation. Other presenters have been sacked or reprimanded for being caught taking drugs at parties and other antisocial behaviour. Willfully causing road accidents and then boasting about it should be no different.
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