10 of the most off-the-wall cycling stories from 2016

Each year brings a crop of cycling-related stories that are quite unlike anything we’ve come across before, and 2016 has been no exception – here’s 10 of the more off-the-wall stories we’ve covered here on road.cc over the past 12 months. Click through the headlines for the full details.

"Successful" cycle scheme prompts mirth by baffled cyclists

In January, an engineering firm proudly posted a picture to Twitter of what it claimed was a "successful" greenway project in Northern Ireland - one that had a barrier right across the cycle path, making it impassible. The responses from cyclists on the social network were predictable, and merciless.

The bicycle that may have cost its owner £25 million

In February, civil servant Chris Hill-Scott revealed that back in 2008, he gave up his shares in a tech start-up in exchange for a bicycle. The company, SwiftKey, was sold this year to Microsoft for £174 million – meaning he could have trousered a cool £25 million had he kept his stake. His comment, “the biggest mistake I ever made” hardly seems to cover it.

Cyclists save collapsed man's life - with help of tyre lever

March saw a group of cyclists in Surrey administer first aid, including CPR,  to a man who had collapsed while walking on the pavement - with one pressing a tyre lever into service to remove a blockage from his windpipe. “We would like to say thank you to those members of the public who helped the patient prior to our arrival," said a spokesman for South East Coast Ambulance Service.

Halfords throws away bike man took in for repair

Bedford cyclist Pete Bradley got a shock in April when he took his bike to Halfords for repair - only to learn later that it had been thrown away. The retailer claimed that he had agreed to have it disposed of during a phone conversation, and even produced a phone call log to prove the conversation took place. "The only person who could have picked up the phone was my cat Eric and I think that's slightly beyond his capacity," said Mr Bradley, who had been at work when the supposed conversation happened.

Cyclist survived lightning strike - because he was wearing headphones

In July, we reported how doctors in Croatia described it as a “miracle” that farm worker Zoran Jurkovic survived being struck by lightning when he was caught in a thunderstorm while riding his bike. Instead of passing through his body, the potentially lethal charge went down the cable of the headphones he was wearing before earthing via his penis.

The fastest fast food? Deliveroo rider in full Team Sky kit on a Pinarello

The same month saw road.cc reader Gila Joffe Overton send us a picture of a Deliveroo rider who really was putting the "fast" into fast food - dressed not just in full Team Sky kit, including a Kask helmet, but also riding a Pinarello Dogma. We're still trying to work out if it was one of the team members doing a bit of moonlighting while his colleagues were riding the Tour de France.  

Driver crashes as he ogles female cyclist – then asks for compensation

August saw a motorist in Leicestershire crash into a postbox because he was distracted by a woman dressed for a summer's bike ride in a bikini top and short skirt. The driver later turned up to the dog kennels run by Vicky Young's parents to demand compensation for his broken wing mirror - and was told where to go. Given her father is the legendary Arsenal and Scotland hardman defender Willie Young, we reckon he got off lightly.

Chase of thief who stole bike from Rapha Cycle Club posted to Strava

Usually stories about bike theft are no laughing matter - but when they end up getting their comeuppance, there's a bit of schadenfreude to be had. So we enjoyed this story in August about a man who stole a bike from the Rapha Cycle Club in San Francisco. The resulting chase by bike was documented on Strava by Edward Dorsey under the heading, "Just your average morning ride to bike thief chase, to rugby tackling and eventual apprehension” - and got a lot of kudos.

Man protests against separated bike lane in Scotland ... by rowing on it

In September, Ayrshire man Andrew Russell, complete with a sailor's hat jauntily perched on his head, protested against a new protected bike by setting up a rowing machine in the middle of it and pulling on the oars. He said he enjoyed the "peace and quiet" -  and inadvertently underlined why safe roads are a good thing.

Soho Bikes goes viral as chalkboard message trolls the Daily Mail over Article 50 case coverage

Central London bike shop and cafe Soho Bikes got the kind of press coverage money simply can't buy after its chalkboard response to a Daily Mail headline slamming the High Court judges who ruled in November that the triggering of  Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to set in motion the process of the UK leaving the EU was a matter for Parliament. "People stopped to take photos all day long." cafe manager Tristan Clark told road.cc.