A cyclist from Italy who filmed himself solving a Rubik’s Cube one-handed while riding a Boris Bike in Hyde Park could be in trouble after The Royal Parks alerted police to the video he had posted to YouTube.
Simone Santarsiero, aged 25 and from Florence, shot the footage using a GoPro camera while visiting London last month.
– Video: Man solves Rubik's Cube one-handed in 40 seconds – while riding Boris Bike
Several commenters to our story on Monday expressed concern at a rider being distracted while travelling through what is a public space, with one likening it to a motorist using a mobile phone while driving.
Now, The Royal Parks, the government body that looks after Hyde Park and several other green spaces in and around London, says it has brought the matter to the police’s attention, reports the Evening Standard.
“The Royal Parks welcomes safe and responsible cyclists but behaviour such as this is reckless,” said a spokesman.
“It not only endangers the safety of the cyclist but also that of other park users and wildlife.
“It is against the law to ride a bike in a manner that is likely to endanger someone else.”
Mr Satarsiero, a student, told the newspaper: “At first it was quite difficult because I realised I could not cycle without both hands, but then I realised I could do it with one.
"People were looking at me strange, I was worried about hitting someone but I did not injure anybody," he added.
A Metropolitan Police Service spokesman said officers were “aware” of the video and that “if any offences are proven, police will take action against the cyclist."
26 thoughts on “Police investigating Rubik Cube-solving Boris Biker (+ video)”
Really?
Really?
I saw someone texting while
I saw someone texting while driving the other day. I wish the cops would investigate that.
OldRidgeback wrote:I saw
Did you video them and have evidence of that? The police have investigated idiots who video themselves driving fast or being pricks and post it on YouTube.
Come on man, we can’t as cyclists criticise motorists for doing stupid things, and then let a cyclist do a stupid thing. Just because no one got hurt doesn’t mean it’s ok. What if he hit a pedestrian or another cyclist? Ok, the injuries might not be too severe, but it’s still just wrong.
I agree a motorist doing something which distracts them can have worse consequences, but a guy on a bike riding very wobbly one handed, whilst completing a mentally challenging task, in among other road/path users, who aren’t prepared for him to wobble into their path, is just plain wrong.
Put it this way, if he had hit someone, or caused a collision, the tone of the conversation would be very different.
tatsky wrote:…whilst
Er. If you’re referring to completing the Rubik’s cube, I would dispute it being a mentally challenging task. If this individual *can* do the cube in anything resembling 40 seconds, then I would argue he is not finding it mentally challenging.
My best was 51 seconds to solve (albeit I don’t know any speedcubing methods), and really it does not take much brainpower once you know what you’re doing. I find cycling through road traffic in London during rush hour a much more mentally challenging task.
London is such a peaceful and
London is such a peaceful and safe place; the police have so little to do that they can investigate tourists who solve Rubik’s cube…
Stephan Matthiesen
Whatever you do, don’t let your library books become overdue, not unless you want a new front door.
Isn’t wasting police time an
Isn’t wasting police time an offence?
I wrote to The Royal Parks a
I wrote to The Royal Parks a week ago suggesting they make urgent trail repairs in Richmond Park on one of the descents where the surface is so rutted and sandy it is plainly dangerous. Particulary so for inexperienced cyclists and children regardless of the speed at which they are travelling. Have they replied? Have they f*@k
Check the date folks, it’s
Check the date folks, it’s April 1st!
wait, what, it isn’t a joke?!
For those who say it’s similar to driving whilst on the phone, maybe, but cycling whilst on the phone isn’t an offence – it’s specifically mentioned in law that its motorised vehicles.
He doesn’t appear to be cycling ‘furiously’ either….
I’m still on the run from the
I’m still on the run from the Royal Parks from the time I popped a wheelie. I was twelve at the time, but they never forget.
@tatsky – specious to compare
@tatsky – specious to compare texting whilst driving, which is specifically illegal, as opposed to cycling one handed, which is legal (in fact required for hand signals etc) albeit whilst distracted, which I think you could probably class as unwise.
Weird one. Thought the police
Weird one. Thought the police didn’t accept video evidence as independent witness evidence 😉
The original story says he
The original story says he solved the puzzle in under 40 seconds, but the video is heavily edited and I reckon he took much longer than that, so , yeah, maybe he should get told off by the rozzers. Lying swine.
Without a specific law, the
Without a specific law, the Police will have to conduct a risk assessment to determine whether what the cyclists did was dangerous.
That may take sometime, whilst they search for a traffic officer who knows how to solve a Rubik’s cube.
bikebot wrote:…the Police
Cops round my way could complete this assessment very rapidly:
“It’s a cyclists, so nail the f***er”
Investigating in police
Investigating in police dictionary means doing nothing….
Stupidity begets stupidity…
Stupidity begets stupidity…
THAT MAN HAS JUST SAVAGELY
THAT MAN HAS JUST SAVAGELY BEATEN A DOG TO DEATH WITH HIS BARE HANDS!!
Yeah, but you once used a cheese grater, so, you know….
I wish one of them would just
I wish one of them would just sit in my passenger seat on my commute and tally up the number of idiots he see’s texting whilst driving, far more impact when 1500kg of metal drives into someone.
But cubing and cycling is a dumb thing to do
When was the last recorded
When was the last recorded incident of a collision occurring while someone was cycling and solving a rubiks cube at the same time?
I have video evidence of someone walking on the pavement while simultaneously chewing gum, presumably the police have time to investigate this too?
Now, The Royal Parks, the
So I hope now they start looking at how Taxi drivers drive through the Royal Parks.
The story says the rider was on a short holiday from Italy. So if he is back home, there will be nothing the Police can do.
The hypocrisy!
Police will
The hypocrisy!
Police will do nothing about close passes, people on phones, people eating cereal, etc.
… but see a cyclist do something and send an armed response unit to break their door down.
Why don’t you anti-Rubik
Why don’t you anti-Rubik morons get off your health-and-safety high-horse and do something that makes a real difference in the world.
All the time we spend working on investigating and prosecuting silly stupid nonsense and there are hungry, homeless people living on the streets in your country.
Thanks Rubik’s Cube Man, for reminding me how stupid some humans are.
The police made a statement
The police made a statement which might stop a trend of people posting videos of themselves doing stupid things on a bicycle. That is probably all they will do. Sounds alright to me. Anti-stupid, not anti-bicycle.
I’ve come to realise that the
I’ve come to realise that the Queen’s staff REALLY don’t like cyclists. You only have to try cycling down the race track that is the roads around Buckingham Palace to realise this.
OK, solving a Rubik’s cube
OK, solving a Rubik’s cube whilt riding a bike in a public place could be considered silly, just like popping wheelies or smoking a ciggie while driving but in the grander scheme this is so trivial.
Given how much we hear about police budget cuts and the need for police forces to prioritise their activities the Met should be pretty embarrassed by this story.