The bike rider killed on Monday when he was hit by a truck on London’s High Holborn interchange has been named as 54-year-old Alan Neve.
Alan was riding to work on Monday morning when he was killed. According to a waiter from a nearby restaurant who gave him CPR after the crash, it appeared Alan had been hit by the lorry as it drove straight toward a green light.
Alan’s cousin Jonathan yesterday told the Evening Standard his family was, “absolutely devastated by Alan’s death. Alan’s parents are heartbroken, he was their first born son and the apple of their eye. He was kind, compassionate, loving and affable.
“We had only got back in touch and had plans to spend time together in the future but now that is all lost.”
Alan worked for PRS for Music, the organisation that protects musician’s copyrights and collects performance fees, and was on his way the organisation’s office in Berners Street, near Goodge Street when he was killed.
Alan’s cousin Jonathan said: “Music was Alan’s life and he loved his job at the PRS. He was a wonderful person and a joy to be around. He will be missed terribly by all who knew him.”
Robert Ashcroft, chief executive of PRS for Music, said: “Alan was a dedicated and popular employee, having been with the company for 30 years. We are all in shock at this tragic news and our thoughts are with his family at this time.
“We have lost a colleague and a friend, Alan will be deeply missed.”
At yesterday’s protest ride, London Cycling Campaign chief executive Ashok Sinha reiterated the organisation’s demand that London’s road network be made safer for bike riders.
He said: “Boris Johnson promised us a better London for cyclists at the last mayoral elections but so far we’ve just seen delay after delay.
“Cycling is on the increase in London and if something isn’t done soon then so will the number of cyclists dying on our roads. The last few weeks has shown that something needs to happen fast.”
Our official grumpy Northerner, John has been riding bikes for over 30 years since discovering as an uncoordinated teen that a sport could be fun if it didn't require you to catch a ball or get in the way of a hulking prop forward.
Road touring was followed by mountain biking and a career racing in the mud that was as brief as it was unsuccessful.
Somewhere along the line came the discovery that he could string a few words together, followed by the even more remarkable discovery that people were mug enough to pay for this rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work. He's pretty certain he's worked for even more bike publications than Mat Brett.
The inevitable 30-something MAMIL transition saw him shift to skinny tyres and these days he lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.