“If I can do it and have fun, you can too”: Councillor with dyspraxia receives high praise from cyclists for learning how to cycle and urging others too; Meet man who’s fixed over 3,000 bikes and donated them to children for free + more on the live blog

I know it can get quite disheartening to see all the rhetoric and lambasting of cyclists, mostly for nothing from not only trolls and strangers online, but sometimes also from your elected representatives. So, here’s a little ray of uplifting news on the live blog to cheer you up this morning.

David Barker, Labour & Co-operative Councillor in Birmingham, has received kudos and glowing remarks from cyclists after he shared his journey of learning to cycle as an adult with dyspraxia, a type of developmental coordination disorder that makes movements and balancing more difficult.

A year ago today, I got a bike for my birthday and tried learning to cycle for the first time. I've made a little video for fun to show my journey over the past twelve months.
I didn't think I'd be able to, so if you've never learned or want to try again, this is your sign🚴 pic.twitter.com/039kclCUxR

— Councillor David Barker (@David4BKH) April 10, 2024

He says in the video: “A year ago I set myself the challenge to learn to ride a bike. I got a bike for my birthday, spending the morning watching instructional videos. First, I attempted to balance, then pedal, always expecting to fall or crash. I never did, and within a month, I had the basics down. I even found Bikeability lessons for adults, who, like me, were learning for the first time.

“Growing up, I never tried to learn. I was a clumsy child constantly tripping or bumping into things. At university, I was diagnosed with dyspraxia. Dyspraxia is a neurological condition that makes balance and coordination more difficult. It was a relief at the time to have an explanation for why some things were harder. But it also meant I gave up hoping I could learn to cycle. I thought if I tried, I would just fall off.

“I’ve spent a lot of time as a councillor looking at how to make active travel easier. People were often surprised when I told them I couldn’t cycle, but encouraged me to try. So a year ago, I set myself the challenge to learn to ride a bike. I thought, if I fall off, I can try again. And if I can’t pick it up, at least I’ve tried.

> “Is it drivers’ responsibility to keep cyclists safe on the roads?” asks Good Morning Britain, after Jeremy Vine urges motorists to put “Think Bike” safety stickers on wing mirrors

“I knew it would be nice, getting around the ward quicker, without needing a car. It’s helped me to understand how unsafe cyclists can be on the road. It’s not a surprise to learn more when you pick up a skill. But I didn’t expect it to be so freeing, to feel more confident, less held back.

“I’ve seen parts of the city I hadn’t before, or even just in a new way. It’s also been really fun. I think that’s important. Because if you’re like me and never learnt, or just haven’t cycled in a long time, I hope you see this and think, if I can do it, and have fun, you can too.”

I’m not going to lie, watching the video has made me really want to jump on my bike and go for a quick little spin. What a beautiful and liberating tool a bicycle can be!

Barker, who shared the little video on Twitter, has been showered upon with praise by many cyclists and active travel campaigners, including Jeremy Vine, who congratulated his efforts and welcomed him as one of their own.

87% of UK adults know how to cycle, including one more now!
Only 75% know how to drive a car.
So that's about 5 million more adults knowing how to ride a bike than to drive.
And then there's the children...
Sources: BHF, DfT

— Oxfordshire Cycling Network (@OxonCyclingNet) April 10, 2024

Green councillor for Oxford Emily Kerr wrote: “This is such a lovely video, thank-you for sharing and what a brilliant journey. Cycling is such fun isn’t it?!”, while Liz Clements, Birmingham’s Cabinet Minister of Transport, replied saying: “Lovely to see this David and you’re right, that sense of freedom when you’e riding a bike is something special!”

Tim, another cyclist and campaigner from Birmingham said: “Wonderful to see your story, David. Cycling as joy; cycling as liberation. So great that you shared the story. I hope it motivates others to learn to ride, too. However old they are.”

> “Obstacle course” cycle junction a “ruse to drive motorists out of the town”, claim drivers – but cyclists praise long-awaited layout change

Bianchi has hit back in the fallout to Paris-Roubaix which saw Florian Sénéchal claim his bike had been on the verge of giving out on the cobbles, the manufacturer blaming Arkea B&B Hotels mechanics for disregarding "specific instructions" about assembling handlebars, causing "disparities in the handling of the bicycles in competition".

> Bianchi blames pro cycling team mechanics ignoring "specific instructions" for Paris-Roubaix problems that left Florian Sénéchal's bike like "cardboard" on the cobbles

While the Tour of Basque crash which shook the cycling world to its core, with riders suffering serious injuries, fortunately hasn’t resulted in any life-threatening consequences as the injured cyclists embark on a tough recovery programme, reports from the crash are still trickling in.

And Steff Cras, one of the riders involved in the crash and perhaps one of the worst hit by it, has opened up about the crash. Speaking to La Dernière Heure, he said that he had “a brush with death” in the incident.

Des nouvelles de Steff :

Après des examens plus poussés, @SteffCras souffre d’un pneumothorax à droite, de plusieurs fractures costales associées et de deux fractures vertébrales dorsales, en plus de plusieurs hématomes, plaies et dermabrasions. (1/2)#Itzulia2024 pic.twitter.com/Ha8wHRFsPt

— Team TotalEnergies (@TeamTotalEnrg) April 4, 2024

“I was scared to death because I couldn't breathe for thirty seconds. I only had one functioning lung,” he said. “I had a brush with death. I realised when I saw the concrete block [at the side of the road] that I would have been dead if I’d fallen 20cm further away. Honestly, I was very lucky.”

> Spectators cause two crashes in two days at Tour de France, Steff Cras forced to leave and blasts them saying "you have no respect"

The Belgian who currently rides for Total Energies, had suffered broken ribs, two fractured vertebrae, and a collapsed lung, when he went off the road with Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič, and others, on the descent from Olaeta with 35km remaining on stage 4 of the Itzulia Basque race. He spent four nights in hospital in San Sebastian before returning to Belgium on Monday.

Elia Viviani, the prolific Italian classic rider from Ineos Grenadiers was involved in a crash at Sunday's monument with about 220km to go, which saw around 20 riders hit the floor. The 35-year-old was unfortunately forced to abandon the race, along with EF Education-EasyPost's Jonas Rutsch.

Thankfully, he's updated via social media that he suffered only a muscle injury and no fractures, and perhaps more importantly to his head, for which he thanked his helmet.

He wrote: "The tests carried out in hospital on the day of the race ruled out fractures, after returning home to Monaco, I carried out other checks which highlighted a muscle injury which I will be able to recover in a few days like the various abrasions on my body. About my head, I passed all the necessary checks and everything is ok, thanks to the helmet @kask_sport which saved my life."

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Elia Viviani (@eliaviviani)

These bizarre scenes happened in yesterday's Brabantse Plij classic, won by AG2R Decathlon's Benoît Cosnefroy after a bunch sprint.  

E no meio do caminho tinha um ciclista na contramão 🤣

Isso foi na @DeBrabantsePijl hoje cedo pic.twitter.com/xhtQxhSVU3

— O País Do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo) April 11, 2024