A popular priest from Norwich who also served as leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Norwich City Council has died in his sleep after cycling to the United Nations Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen.
Canon Hereward Cooke, aged 70, had cycled to the summit with 25 other campaigners in a ride organised by the charity, Christian Aid. There are no reports as yet of his death, which the Bishop of Norwich described as sudden and unexpected, being linked to the ride.
The 140-mile ride was undertaken in three stages, starting at Stansted Airport, from where the group rode to the port of Harwich to take a ferry to Ebsjerg. After that, they rode 50 miles from Middlefart to Roskilde, before completing the trip with a 30-mile leg into Copenhagen.
Canon Cook, who leaves a wife, Diana, and two children, retired last year, although he continued to act as environmental officer for Norwich Diocese, according to BBC News.
Prior to traveling to Copenhagen, he had said: “The climate change talks in Copenhagen are one of the last chances we have of obtaining international agreement on carbon reduction measures.
"Making our presence felt there is one way of letting our political leaders know the ordinary man or woman on a bicycle is personally concerned with the outcome of their deliberations.
"I also hope that this high profile ride will encourage Churches in the UK to take appropriate action in their local communities."
The Bishop of Norwich, The Right Reverend Graham James, Bishop of Norwich, said: “Hereward Cooke was widely-loved and appreciated, as a pastoral priest, an industrial chaplain, a Norwich city councillor and, most recently as our diocesan environmental officer.
"It was in that capacity that he was at the Copenhagen Conference and entirely typical that he cycled there," he continued.
"Hereward had a zest for life and was always positive about the potential of his fellow men and women.
"He lived life in the fullness which God promises. We will miss him badly, and our prayers are with Diana and their family."
IIRC Dutch researchers found that generally banning bikes or removing bans on bikes from pedestrianised streets usually either made no difference...
I think you'll find that you'll only go to jail if rich people are losing money from it.
He's not there to fill air-time (that's Kirby and the other one), he's there to use his expertise to give good insight into the racing. And he's...
Maybe a bit of PPE?
Thanks for the review. I like that Orbea have included aero extras and wish more manufacturers would stick two fingers up at the UCI - at least in...
Excellent - I think I'll replace my emergency tube that is a real squeeze to get into the little Topeak bottle cage bag thingy....
I enjoyed this guy I captured with his hound on New Oxford Street a few years ago.
I know this is a bit late but one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the extra wear and possible damage to the cycle lane surface due to being...
*bursts back into the room hours after the conversation has moved on*...
Damn, that sucks. I generally feel pretty relaxed with my bike on Avanti trains because the compartment is locked and I don't have to worry about...