Ashley Neal — son of former Liverpool and England footballer Phil Neal — has uploaded another video, this time questioning fellow YouTube road safety figure CyclingMikey’s riding around pedestrians.
The Liverpool-based driving instructor shared the video — which included two pieces of footage originally uploaded by CyclingMikey, real name Mike van Erp — with his 134,000 subscribers as part of his “Ashley’s Analysis” series and said he has “concerns that with such a large following, people copy some of his behaviour”.
In the video, Neal criticised Mikey’s decision-making around pedestrians in one incident in south-west London’s Richmond Park as well as another outside London Paddington Station, saying “social media is an influential place and content creators need to take great care with the content they produce because a lot of people listen”.
The driving instructor told his viewers that Mikey rang his bell at pedestrians on a shared-use path as “a way of saying ‘get out of my way'” and hinted that he should not have told the woman that she should be walking at the side of the path.
However, in response, Mikey said he “didn’t mind waiting for her” and only “took offence at her being angry with the other cyclist” who had passed the walkers seconds earlier.
The road safety campaigner who reports law-breaking drivers using their mobile phones behind the wheel also said he wishes Neal would “leave me alone” but is “mildly amused by him having to use me to create content, perhaps he doesn’t have enough of his own creativity”.
Neal praised Mikey’s earlier “nice use of the bell” with a pedestrian who moved to side of the path to let him pass, saying “everything was dealt with nicely here” in a “shared space where the pedestrians are more vulnerable, especially with a young child”.
However, as the clip develops, Neal suggested the second group of pedestrians had legitimate reason to be upset with the “close pass” of the cyclist riding ahead of Mikey and criticised his interaction with the group while passing.
“If we think of things from this lady’s perspective just for a second,” Neal said. “She has just been close passed, then told she should be moving out of the way for cyclists when, in effect, she was maybe only taking her primary position so any pass of her and her group could be done and should be done safely. Was she just being awkward?”
I didn’t mind waiting for her, but I took offence at her being angry with the other cyclist. I didn’t think that cyclist did anything wrong, she was slow and careful. Then the pedestrian got angry with me for just quietly tinging my bell to let her know I was there.
— CyclingMikey (@MikeyCycling) March 6, 2023
In the second video Neal analyses, he takes issue with Mikey warning a cyclist about waiting on her phone by a junction as a bus turns left and blames the rider for not making it a “non-event” when a taxi driver “pulls out when it probably shouldn’t have”.
These incidents precede the main portion of the video in which Mikey argues with a pedestrian who stepped out in front of him when the lights were green for traffic.
Neal accused Mikey of “trying to create content just for views” before pointing out two cyclists rolling through the red light at walking pace in the background of the shot.
“You cannot criticise everyone else bar from your own group,” Neal suggested, less than two minutes after the footage of Mikey telling the phone-using cyclist to be more careful.
> CyclingMikey ends up on car bonnet during confrontation with angry motorist
“It’s like me not calling out driving instructors when I see them doing something wrong,” Neal continued. “So what is my reason behind releasing this video? Primarily, it is to show Mikey there are alternative ways to deal with things. His following is large and his outreach is great and it is concerning if people take up a similar mindset.
“If we are ever going to truly make the roads a better place we all need to work together, follow the rules and always think of things from other people’s perspectives.”
Mikey brushed off the video, saying: “I just wish he’d leave me alone. I want nothing to do with these people. I’m mildly amused by him having to use me to create content, perhaps he doesn’t have enough of his own creativity.”
No aggression at all with pedestrians in Richmond Park, and the drunk guy went to hit me, so I reacted.
— CyclingMikey (@MikeyCycling) March 6, 2023
Maybe I should do the same to him, and explain why he’s wrong? I bet he wouldn’t cope haha.
Entertainingly, he claimed I do YT only for the money, from his sponsored and monetised video. ?— CyclingMikey (@MikeyCycling) March 5, 2023
Neal has previously said he “wholeheartedly” disagrees with the approach taken by Mikey, this his second video about the cycling safety campaigner who counts Guy Ritchie and Chris Eubank among the list of phone-using drivers he has reported to the Metropolitan Police.
“What Mikey has done is actually rallied many cyclists to take a similar reporting approach,” Neil said in a video uploaded last May. “This may have a positive impact nationally on stopping people using their mobile phones, but honestly, I think it’s created a different problem. I’ve actually asked Mikey about this on his videos before but he didn’t respond.
“Quite often you can see on the footage while he’s challenging the motorist for contravening the keep left bollard, cyclists doing exactly the same. Now, I understand that anyone driving a tonne’s worth of metal is going to do a hell of a lot more damage than anyone riding a bike, but with the speeds involved at this junction and at this crossing area, honestly, it becomes a lot less relevant.
“Some motorists think because of the lack of requirement for number plates and licences to ride a bicycle, cyclists are getting away with things that motorists don’t.”





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107 thoughts on “CyclingMikey wishes Ashley Neal would “leave me alone” as YouTube driving instructor uploads another video criticising his approach”
Guess Mickey has made it then
Guess Mickey has made it then …
He’s got his own ‘celebrity follower hanging off his every word… and reposting Mickey’s content too.
Bet Neal is glad that copyright laws over “fair use” and “critique” are as lax as they are.
To be fair, Ashley has a
To be fair, Ashley has a larger following…
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What has fairness got to do with it?!
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How DARE YOU, Sir?
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As are so many of us.
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So what is your point?
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Or maybe you should try to re-phrase whatever it is that you were trying to say.
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Why does anyone bother
Why does anyone bother watching Mr Neal’s output? He is a poor driving instructor having seen some of the “advice” he gives to his learners: he is just plan wrong at times.
As to his knowledge regarding cycling, it is less than my knowledge of 17th Century France.
Mr Neal channel is just click bait. Ignore him and hopefully he will go away.
Which is why it’s such a
Which is why it’s such a suprise that the resident “character” Martin “I hate YouTubers for making drama for likes” is such a fan of Neals output. Well it certainly worked on him as he must have watched it, I meanwhile haven’t.
essexian wrote:
It’s pointless nit-picking click bait of the highest order. Pathetic.
Me of Mr Neal?
Me or Mr Neal?
essexian wrote:
Mr Neal – you seem like a fine Essex chap 😀
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Agreed. It is pathetic to nit-pick click bait.
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Yet ya’ll keep doing it!
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Bike Fascists on Road.cc – the gift that keeps on giving!
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Thanks, la.
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Yep. I find it hard to take
Yep. I find it hard to take advice on cycling from those who clearly don’t ride regularly themselves.
To be fair to Neal, he has
To be fair to Neal, he has started cycling. I have seen a few of his videos over the years and its fascinating to see how drastically his views on cyclist related incidents have changed since he started getting on two wheels.
Like most drivers he has a new appreciation for how fucking awful most drivers are and how vulnerable you are as a cyclist.
Its amusing that drivers think that cyclists are a menace and ignore all their fellow motorists shitty driving but as soon as they get on a bike all those shit drivers are suddently not such a non-event when you don’t have a big metal box around you.
Well, let’s start with
Well, let’s start with Cardinal Richelieu, who was known as ‘the Red Eminence’.
He sought to consolidate royal power, and restrain the power of the aristocracy. In other words, he wanted a strong, centralised state.
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‘He is a poor driving instructor.’
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And you know this how?
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Mikey’s turning into a bit of
Mikey’s turning into a bit of a knob.
Schrodingers Bike Bell – both
Schrodingers Bike Bell – both needs to be there so pedestrians know that cyclists are coming, but shouldn’t be there in case it is indimidating.
“You cannot criticise
“You cannot criticise everyone else bar from your own group,” Neal suggested
He didn’t. He criticised one pedestrian directly in front of him that was causing an issue to him…
I never knew there was so
I never knew there was so much psychology behind ringing a bell. For one person it’s fine, for the next it aparrently isn’t.
Jippily wrote:
I don’t use a bell anymore. Despite roughly half the population welcoming it (well, they say they welcome it but they probably can’t hear it over headphones), the other half are angrily and sometimes violently against them.
Plus ca change.
Yep! Half of the time people
Yep! Half of the time people are fine with a bell, other times they say I should have said something as a bell disconcerted them. And vice versa if I don’t use the bell.
im expected to know, in advance, withiut knowing the person , which type they are.
In my experience, most people
In my experience, most people prefer it when you use a bell.
I think it depends how far
I think it depends how far away you ping the bell. If you are far enough away that they’ll register it, look around, see you, and move aside, then that’s fine. It’s when people are two feet behind them and pinging madly that it gets people’s backs up.
Mostly…
HarrogateSpa wrote:
That’s the problem with experience. In my experience, people prefer the voice. We could do this all day. I’ve experienced both voice and bell preference but mostly voice.
The worst one…
“DON’T YOU RING THAT F***ING BELL AT ME! YOU NOT GOT A VOICE?! USE IT!”
The worst I’ve had for someone preferring a bell to voice…
“Ooh, don’t you think you should get a bell, love” quiet and polite. Thing is with that lady, I’d already rung the bell twice on the approach!
I’m with Ashley Neal here.
I’m with Ashley Neal here. The second ‘ding’ seemed petulant to me, not to mention his ‘holier than thou’ remarks afterwards. Imagine if this had been a motorist blowing their horn at two riders abreast with a child on a narrow country road.
Mikey’s treatment of the older guy was awful, not to mention escalating a total non-incident for no reason (except youtube clicks)
Won’t be watching either of
Won’t be watching either of their YT videos. One rightly submits footage of dangerous and illegal driving to the Police but his style is unnecessarily confrontational and leaves me feeling uncomfortable. The other refuses to submit footage of outrageous driving, which is condoning the poor driving even if in the soundtrack to the video he says differently. Actions speak far louder than words.
I think the video with the
I think the video with the drunk pedestrian is a few years old (edit: 2018-ish going by streetview). Seems like Ashley Neal has been digging around for content that puts Mikey in a bad light. Not sure what AN is trying to achieve (other than clicks).
When a cyclist in Edinburgh rode through a red light (seemingly by mistake), it wasn’t ‘make it a non-event’, it was these sort of selfish cyclists could give a driver nightmares if they killed them, etc.
When a driver beeps their horn at a cyclist, it’s merely to ‘notify of presence’ – if you get upset by it, it’s your fault for misunderstanding the ‘true’ meaning of the horn (even though the highway code says it is to warn of presence). Yet ring a bell at a pedestrian wearing headphones and you’re being arrogant – even though the highway code actually encourages you to do so.
HoarseMann wrote:
I’ve just been asking myself the same question: why is a driving instructor in Liverpool so bothered about someone riding on a shared path in Richmond Park?
While I can understand the value of dashcam footage to show good/bad behaviour examples, I’d have thought that his YT channel should be more focussed on promoting his driving school than stuff like this.
In the video description Ashley says “I do have concerns that with such a large following people copy some of his behaviour.” If that is the case then where is the benefit of putting it on his own Youtube channel (134k subscribers and considerably more views than Mikey’s)? And I wonder why he thinks Mikey’s videos are so influential yet his own…
I agree with Ashley on this
I agree with Ashley on this one.
I have never felt right about Cycling Mikey. Him and a few others on twitter, especially as grown men and woman, acting like petty children with gotcha moments. Jeremy Vine of all people really shocked me! There is no how do we solve these issues, it is all finger pointing and who is right and who is wrong sneering.
From my point of view, Mikey creates large situations out of smaller incidents. He loses his temper; throws abuse and I have seen road users around him do illegal activity to get by the one bad driver he’s holding up. He does not mention it or acknowledge it.
I have not seen any bad or childish content from Ashley. He has qualifications on road safety and he’s responsible for the drivers he puts on the roads. He holds his own account. Unlike many anonymous people online, he uses his real identity and puts his own business on the line. I feel he takes road safety seriously and I see the driving community responding to his content positively, especially when cyclists are brought up. From the Cycling Mikey, Cycling Gaz, Jeremy Vine and even Road.cc, it is all finger pointing negativity which just grows and grows.
I only stick to GCN, cycling weekly, cyclist, bike radar and his channel as every other channel has a negative vibe.
I am a supporter of CM and
I am a supporter of CM and have no intention of clicking anything in connection with deadbeat dimwit AN. Problem solved for me
That’s the problem. So many
That’s the problem. So many cyclists here commenting without even looking at the video. I’ve always found Ashley Neal to be very even handed.
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AN ‘even handed’?
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How DARE YOU, Sir?
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Off this site with you immediately!
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Yeah, but. No but.
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That’s life in Garstang for ya.
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? You’re not wrong. It is the
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Love Mikey, but when you
Love Mikey, but when you spend your life criticising people you have to learn to take it too. I don’t criticise because I know I can’t take it.
I keep saying to Mikey he
I keep saying to Mikey he should critique some of Ashley’s videos. The difference is, Ashley is open to this as he says, we learn from our mistakes.
cycle92 wrote:
No one talking bollocks has the rights to someone else’s time.
AN occasionally says some good stuff but he also comes out with trash for clicks. No one owes him a response.
That’s fine. I didn’t say he
That’s fine. I didn’t say he was owed a response.
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Look out. Look out.
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Bike Fascist about.
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You WILL NOT have different opinions to mine.
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ChuckSneed wrote:
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If using a hands-free phone
If using a hands-free phone is distracting, how distracting is it to read out a script while you’re driving? I suspect that it is quite distracting, and not something anyone concerned about driving safely would do, but hey AN knows best. Of course he does, he’s better than anyone else.
As for criticising Mikey for ringing his bell at the rather aggressive pedestrian woman, she clearly wasn’t interested in the safety of the child or herself, otherwise she wouldn’t have forced Mikey to ride between them. She appeared to be only interested in asserting her right to walk wherever she deemed fit. As AN himself says, we’ve got to share and behave safely, but he doesn’t seem to apply that logic to pedestrians.
I’ve always wondered about that; why pedestrians on shared use paths almost always split up to both sides, not to one side, which would make things easier and safer for everyone.
My wife and I regularly use
My wife and I regularly use our local shared path (often several times a day) and I am very happy to share it with pedestrians and runners. I always slow down for them and give way to them. I always ring my bell when approaching them and thank them when they move to one side and on the whole we get on like a house on fire. HOWEVER, there’s always someone! Last week I had two incidents. The first we were going into town on our tandem and were approaching a runner from behind. I rang the bell well in advance but saw nothing to indicate that he had heard me. As I approached I slowed right down and rang the bell a few more times. Eventually I slowed down to his pace and from right behind him rang my bell furiously. Still no reaction. I then decided to overtake him on his left hand side and as I did so he started to drift over towards me. I called out “Cyclist passing on your left”. He jumped when he heard me, or maybe when I came into his field of view. He then shouted at me “You should use a bell”. I turned around to remonstrate and saw that he was wearing ear pods! What made this all the more ironic was the fact that just before setting off I fitted a new louder bell on the tandem.
The second occasion I was cycling into work when I came up behind a group of older men. I went through the usual routine until I came up behind them at which point I stopped and rang my bell several times and still got no reaction. So I called out “excuse me, cyclist coming through” which they heard and parted to let me through, only for one of them to say “You should use a bell”.
This sort of thing is a regular occurence for us and I’m convinced that some people are just in a daydream so that although they probably hear the bell they just don’t register the sound and make the connection with an approaching cyclist, which is amazing as this particular path is very well used by cyclists and anyone who walks on it regularly will be only too aware.
iandusud wrote:
This reminds me of something a couple of weeks ago. A bike was coming off a shared use bridge*, pedestrians milling. The cyclist in a friendly way shouted out ‘bike coming on your left’. The bloke that needed to move wanted to move, but got confused processing. Everyone was very nice about it and everyone got where they needed to be, but watching the pedestrian made me realise that it can be hard to follow specific instructions, like left/right when your brain is elsewhere.
I opt for an “excuse me” in my best customer service voice.
*people lost their tiny minds when this bridge was put in but so far there haven’t been thousands of casualties from lengthy peletons flinging prams and dog walkers in the river.
Yep. I get that regularly.
Yep. I get that regularly. people walking in a daydream, or with earpods in. Either way, I ring my bell furiously, and shout, and when I pass them I sometimes get some earache, I was on the canal towpath the other day, and ended up shouting at the top of my voice at someone with their headphones on, in her own world. Then I had a cantankerous old man who stood to the side, and as I passed, made a sarcastic remark about why I was using a footpath. I really couldn’t be arsed to stop and tell him why he was wrong.
On the whole, when I approach someone, I ring my bell in advance, and most people move to the side, they always get a cheery hello and thank you. Many comment on my classic bell, I have a Lion Bellworks. Had to buy a solid brass one as I broke so many others pinging them so bloody hard!
I too have experienced this.
I too have experienced this. No matter how I communicate my presence it is not heard, and then a jump sidewards as if cattle prodded. I always slow down too and take extra care.
It is easy to become distracted and not hear your immediate surroundings though, or be in deep thoughts, which is why some people go for walks of course.
Last night whilst cycling through a village I was on a narrow lane, cars parked in the incoming lane when a driver, having seen me decided to drive at me anyway, and scream at me to get out of their way. I obviously responded in kind.
I can tell you that if this driver was cycling, running, or walking, they would still be an arrogant tw…
Apparently there’s a
Apparently there’s a difference between an aggressive ring on a bell and a friendly toot. Beats me, but maybe I don’t have cloth / tin ears?
To his credit Ashley Neal did take another look in the case of the cycle collision in Edinburgh – where he suggested recklessness from the cyclist in the first video. I don’t think his original point changed substantially; but reviewing something from another point of view is a rare thing in this arena.
On the whole business – this is the YouTube crossover which I for one wasn’t calling for.
chrisonatrike wrote:
JustTryingToGetFromAtoB wrote
AN certainly thinks so. I’m not so sure – I’m left pondering Ogmios’ request for a gentle horn button…
I’ve developed my own “pedestrian notification procedure” over time but I know it still can cause irritation whatever I do. As always I’d just prefer the conversation to consider how to avoid the problem all together – by having separate spaces for the very different modes of driving, cycling and walking . (The first two can share where motor vehicles are *effectively* limited in both speed and number, the latter where there aren’t many of either).
chrisonatrike wrote:
I’d pay good money to have something the volume of an Airhorn but Sandi Toksvig’s voice saying ‘excuse me darling’
For the bike and the car.
Mikey. Never let them get
Mikey. Never let them get you down.
London is a safer ride thanks to you. ?
IMO. Cycling will see most of the city off limits to all but public transport in the next 10 years.
Mike Ashley talking out of
Ashley Neal talking out of his rectum there, it’s starting to look like he has an agenda against cyclists, he is certainly biased. The pedestrian was very obviously being deliberately obtuse, obstructive and blocking the highway in a petulant manner. You cannot blame either cyclist for her irrational behaviour. Ringing the bell to remind them that the space is shared with other users is quite reasonable, her reaction is totally unreasonable. It’s also noticeable that this selfish woman deliberately blocking the entire highway has resulted in the pedestrians going the other way having to walk in the mud to go around them, seriously inconsiderate with an attitude problem.
Mikey’s action and the way
Mikey’s action and the way you speak is exactly like a driver tailgating a cyclist while using the horn to say ‘get out of my way’.
Correct action: Sound the bell leading up to the pedestrians (Mikey did a great job here), keep a safe non-intidating distance back (where he failed) from the party and pass when it’s safe to do so. With an agitated pedestrian and a child present, hold back until it’s safe to pass while taking extra care.
cycle92 wrote:
No, it’s nothing like. You are drawing a false equivalence to use as a straw man.
You could perhaps equate it to a group of cyclists deliberating weaving across the entire highway to block an approaching car because they want to be arses… and then using the horn to remind them that the road is also for motorvehicles and you should deliberately block the highway, which is totally reasonable.
It’s funny you should say as
It’s funny you should say as I’ve seen a case where a group of cyclists wouldn’t move on tiktok and the driver thankfully was patient enough to wait behind.
It’s not worth raging about. The pedestrian is the more vulnerable in that particular case. Just like a cyclist is in comparison to a car. Never push past.
cycle92 wrote:
I’ve not seen that video, but you seem to be making my point for me 🙂
I don’t agree that the pedestrian is more vulnerable. If anything the reverse is usually true, although in this particular case the vulnerability is equal due to the low speed. Regardless, this obviously does not even remotely equate to the vulnerability of a cyclist v a motorvehicle.
That’s fine. I’ll choose to
That’s fine. I’ll choose to take extra care as I was taught. You do you.
cycle92 wrote:
No, false equivalence. A car, because of its mass and speed, is 100 times more dangerous than a cyclist.
So push past? Cars are more
So push past? Cars are more dangerous, that is true. That doesn’t mean bikes can’t be dangerous depending on the situation. You do you, I’ll do me.
cycle92 wrote:
That’s exactly what Mikey did. Crikey, it’s not like he’s driving an HGV through a playground. He was going at walking pace, you’d be a greater risk to pedestrians pushing a shopping trolley around the supermarket!
Personally I think he went
Personally I think he went too close and forced her hand but that’s just me. You do you and I’ll ride how I was taught. I grew up around a lot of heavy machinery (farming), I learned how to drive in a 1996 Scania 430. I stand by my view, choose to respect those more vulnerable and choose the safest option.
“learned how to drive in a
“learned how to drive in a 1996 Scania 430.”
Not legally as you need to have had a full drivers licence for at least 2 years before you can drive a HGV on the road.
Oldfatgit wrote:
That’s not entirely true, there must be or have been exceptions. My dad passed his (HGV) driving test in a Thornycroft mk7 fire engine just after he joined the Royal Navy back in the 70s, and got a car licence after that. Never taken a test in a car.
Not in my case but I wouldn’t
Not in my case but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true.
No, that would not be legal.
No, that would not be legal. I didn’t say I learnt to drive on the road. Like everyone else, I took lessons and passed my test as you would. I have my motorbike, car and HGV as well as HIAB. I had a lot of private land to play on, I grew up on 780 acre farm. We used 3 trucks to draw grain during the harvest. The majority of people brought up farming is taught to drive from a young age.
Sad to see you took a swipe at something non relevant to the article. My point was from driving large vehicles, I learned to be more aware and respect more vulnerable highway users. Seems like certain people have an agenda here, road safety isn’t one.
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‘Sad to see you took a swipe at something non relevant to the article’.
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This is Road.cc.
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How DARE YOU complain about narrow minded Bike Fascists wanting to shut you down?
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How DARE YOU, Sir?!
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? You’re not wrong. It is the
? You’re not wrong. It is the very much like ‘The Sun’ newspaper of cycling journalism. Tabloid gossip like mostly.. Reading the comments, the followers are similar to readers who buy The Sun too. Cycling Mikey is at home here.
cycle92 wrote:
TROLL!
Reading the comments, I’m not
Reading the comments, I’m not the troll here.
cycle92 wrote:
Do you think her deliberately blocking the highway and holding her arms out was respectful and the safest option?
The safest option is to stay at home, but you do you 😉
No but I have to do what I
No but I have to do what I can to make the situation safer. Pushing past or creating an altercation isn’t the best option in my view.
You stay at home if that’s your safest choice, it may do pedestrians a favour. I’ll do me, respect their safety no matter how rude they can be to me and explore.
cycle92 wrote:
Oh dear, I was actually telling you to stay at home because you claim to be about the safest option. Sorry if you aren’t bright enough to understand.
Glad you agree that her behaviour was not the safest option and she therefore started the altercation by deliberately blocking the highway (which is illegal) 🙂
I actually didn’t know a
I actually didn’t know a pedestrian blocking a shared pathway was illegal. Where is this stated?
Can we do this without the sneers please.
ChrisB200SX]
I thought half of Mikey’s content is blocking highways? There’s a famous corner named from it.
I thought Mikey was simply
I thought Mikey was simply crossing the road at that point, quite legally, and each time was met by a motorist dangerously blocking one direction of the highway by driving the wrong way up it? Also, towards a junction where the sight lines aren’t good and – I believe – there have been collisions. Naturally, being concerned for their safety and the safety of others CM merely stopped to point out each driver’s mistake and how to safely resolve it… In one case a driver even drove into him!
I think the difference between that and a contretemps with a pedestrian on a shared use path is great!
TBH the sooner we can persuade our local authorities and planners that shared use paths are an outdated bodge* the better. There’s a reason NL, Copenhagen etc have lots of cycling, are great for pedestrians AND have few if any UK-style shared use paths…
* which will end up limiting active travel and make their area look uninviting to investors and get them angry letters and then no votes from those in their wards… hmm, maybe that first reason is currently a positive for many of them?
It seemed to me like he was
It seemed to me like he was blocking the road to confront illegal drivers for trying to skip traffic for driving on the wrong side of the road. This is partially fine but he could have just of filmed and reported them to the police from the pavement. By blocking the path of the oncoming cars, he led the other cars behind him he was holding up to illegally drive on the footpath to move past him and the drivers he stops. He’s not the brightest mind in road safety to me.
He should just record and report them to the police from the pavement. The bad drivers will listen more to the police with penalties than an angry pedestrian throwing abuse with a camera holding up traffic.
Same result applies without the pointless confrontation and added road rage. Courts have told him this.
I’m just keeping it real here.
cycle92 wrote:
Hmm… well you sound like you’ve watched more of his stuff than I have, I’ve only seen a few things linked from road.cc. So I’ll have to defer to your greater experience as someone interested in his content. However… I can’t recall seeing cars passing him on the pavement (in my tiny sample), and I’m not quite sure I’m following the logic of “he led the other cars behind him he was holding up to illegally drive on the footpath…” Surely the car doing the first illegal move would also be in the way of any putative cars behind him (and they’re wider than a person…)? Any drivers choosing to mount the pavement to go round him are doing so of their own volition, is that not so, also knowing there is another car blocking the road in front of them?
Is that the case in this situation? Genuine question as you clearly know more about his work than I do. I’d read he does get action on the drivers on their phones. Certainly just filming other driving infractions in other places (Lancs, Scotland) is liable to result in nothing more than you wasting your time!
Sounds like “point of view” here. Again I defer to your greater knowledge but I though I’d read comment from the police saying they were OK with him.
(Might have been a take from the man himself though! )
You don’t like the style, fair enough, the little I’ve seen of him he’s on the edge for me and I wouldn’t be copying him myself. However I am almost certain that the “anger on the roads” isn’t coming from his activities, unless he’s flying up to Edinburgh or has a legion of drivers here as fans…
As you apparently have not
As you apparently have not seen much of Mikey’s content, I am not going to continue this conversation. If you want to continue this, please educate yourself and familiarise yourself with both their approaches to road safety. I personally believe he seeks confrontation for content to post on his social media channels. I prefer Ashley’s approach by avoiding confrontation and making incidents into non-events. I recommend you watch both channels to get a better understanding. I am surprised you wrote such a long reply in regards to two people you repeatably state you do not watch. I followed both for years but fell sour of Mikey when he was asked fair questions but he responded with insults and blocking users. If road.cc is the only source for your infomation on these two, that is also quite flawed.
So you don’t want to address
So you don’t want to address specific points in something we have (apparently) both watched? I did ask about about a specific – pretty basic – road safety point… it does make your take sound more like “I don’t like his style”. Which I would certainly agree is more confrontational than Ashley Neal’s. AN of course is promoting his channel too (including doing promo stuff within one I watched) – and that’s fine of course, it’s part of his business!
I have given AN some respect for correcting himself on an assumption he made in his Edinburgh York Place/ Picardy Place video (I’ve probably seen half-a-dozen or so now, similar to CM). A less dramatic approach to road safety would benefit us all – unfortunately on the “vulnerable road user ” side campaigning is still needed also. Anyway AN seems to have generally good advice on safe and considerate driving. I don’t agree with all his views on cycling and driving around cyclists (“friendly toot”). Again he gets some credit for getting on a bike – as someone whose business is driving and drivers!
To me, he rode too close to
To me, he rode too close to the lady and sounded his bell in an intimidating way being directly behind her. Adding the comments to sneer her isn’t helpful or needed at all. Keep calm and wait to pass until safe to do so. It’s as simple as that. That’s my opinion on this clip.
Both get paid for their YouTube platforms. One gets paid by seeking out bad drivers by creating events and making small incidents into viral moments by escalating them. The other teaches road safety and commentates on other road users pushing the message of education (as he does it as a job anyway). His message is if you or others around you have a problem, keep calm and solve it. Make it a non event. Ashley reviews all road users, Mikey goes after certain road users that fit his agenda.
A good example of the wrong way to do it is this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sii4jDh3WL0
This clip is when I gave up on Mikey.
Can you count how many offences are committed by the road users that are not involved in this incident? But due to him confronting one driver, he’s created several more bad road users which he doesn’t even acknowledge. The MET let her off in the end. If he stood on the pavement and just recorded, that’s all the MET would have needed. He chose to stand in the road and cause unsafe chaos. I respect Ashley more for not taking this approach in his videos.
cycle92 wrote:
I don’t get the comparison between a bloke on a bike doing 3mph and a lot of heavy farming machinery.
Nobody was pushed and the only person who was ‘forced’ to do anything was Mikey, who had to slow and wait behind the pedestrian whilst she had a little outburst.
It’s really not so clear cut to say the pedestrian is more vulnerable here. I actually think it’s reversed in this situation, the cyclist is potentially at more risk than the pedestrian, as they could be knocked off their bike more easily than the pedestrian could be pushed over. Sure, the onus is on the cyclist to not put pedestrians at risk, which Mikey did by slowing down. But it’s not carte blanche for pedestrians to be overly obstructive.
I would like to think I would have been more chilled about it, but I have encountered belligerent pedestrians before: Walking 3 abreast blocking the entire width of the shared path, then one shouting ‘get in the road’ at me, despite me slowing right down to their pace and ringing a bell. I did inform them I had every right to ride there and I would probably get yelled at if I cycled in the road.
My point is I was taught to
My point is I was taught to look out for those more vulnerable while operating a larger vehicles.
Slowing down to wait or even stop is the correct action if pedestrians are blocking your path. I think Mikey just went too close for that last loud ring which triggered the angry lady. Responding with sarcastic comments doesn’t help either.
If you don’t think a cyclist is any different to a pedestrian, that’s your opinion. The highway code recommends extra care.
You do you and I’ll do me.
cycle92 wrote:
Mikey was quite a respectful distance away at that 2nd ring and he passed with plenty of room. You can see the basket of his bike is right over on the other side of the path.
Fair enough if you would have given them even more room than that, but for me, that was more than adequate. In fact, most of the shared paths I ride on are nowhere near as wide as that. I’d not be able to use the cycling infrastructure at all if I couldn’t pass pedestrians closer than Mikey does here.
I disagree but that’s fine. I
I disagree but that’s fine. I haven’t triggered pedestrians with my methods, Mikey has with his. I would of held back an additional 6-8ft. The comments passing weren’t necessary either but we know some people can’t help themselves. I do agree with Ashley that the first cyclist in fluro orange created the agitation by pushing past.
Drivers would argue they won’t be able to proceed on backroads if cyclists road two abreast all the time on certain roads without a close pass but they have to respect the more vulnerable just as we do with pedestrians. In some cases, highway rage can lead to this, just hold back until it’s safe to pass. It’s not difficult. They’ll calm down or get bored eventually. Personally I just avoid creating rage, it’s gets you nowhere. I’d still be polite to them as I pass.
HoarseMann wrote:
Mikey was quite a respectful distance away at that 2nd ring and he passed with plenty of room. You can see the basket of his bike is right over on the other side of the path.
Fair enough if you would have given them even more room than that, but for me, that was more than adequate. In fact, most of the shared paths I ride on are nowhere near as wide as that. I’d not be able to use the cycling infrastructure at all if I couldn’t pass pedestrians closer than Mikey does here.— cycle92
I haven’t watched the video. But can someone explain why the little girl and her dad are on one side of the path and the woman with her arms out is walking on the other side? That looks more like “taking up the whole path” rather than “sharing the space”.
Why don’t you just watch the
Why don’t you just watch the video….
brooksby wrote:
That is exactly what she was doing. Deliberately being a complete arse because she hates cyclists. Mikey then calls her out for it.
Got more respect for Neal. I
Got more respect for Neal. I think Vine blocking him on twitter rather than discuss openly, and now Mikey spitting his dummy out is rather telling.
You’re right. Mikey and
You’re right. Mikey and Jeremy are the worst for hiding real difficult questions or point of views. They tend to block anyone who suggests approaching the problems without the drama or escalations. But doing this will reduce content so… They block these people and reply with a sideline passive aggressive comment to the hardcore fanboys to keep them entertained.
And FWIW in my opinion Neal
And FWIW in my opinion Neal is exactly the same and doubles down on his wuckfittery even more. Mikey can be a little single minded and Jezza likes a bit of drama but I’d take them both over Neal any day of the week.
That’s fine. You do you.
That’s fine. You do you.
And FWIW in my opinion Neal is exactly the same and doubles down on his wuckfittery even more.
— Secret_squirrel
Can you send me some examples? I genuinely haven’t seen this myself.
cycle92 wrote:
Having a go at an ambulance driver because they got a little bit close to his precious car: https://youtu.be/yhLwDlgssPI?t=151
Telling another motorist to get off the phone: https://youtu.be/ZurmspspUSQ?t=552
I commend him for correcting
I commend him for correcting his own. Tailgating is illegal and in that particular case, he was at risk. Both drivers in the clips provided are supposed to be driving professionals, I think he’s fair to hold them to account as a professional himself.
It could be worse..
“A good example of the wrong way to do it is this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sii4jDh3WL0 (link is external)
This clip is when I gave up on Mikey.
Can you count how many offences are committed by the road users that are not involved in this incident? But due to him confronting one driver, he’s created several more bad road users which he doesn’t even acknowledge. The MET let her off in the end. If he stood on the pavement and just recorded, that’s all the MET would have needed. He chose to stand in the road and cause unsafe chaos. I respect Ashley more for not taking this approach in his videos.”
cycle92 wrote:
Eh?! That’s a new take on tribalism!
As for the Mikey video, it’s just the outcome of two stubborn people clashing. Perhaps he could have just stood by the side and videoed the offending, maybe she would have run over and killed somebody whilst turning the corner on the wrong side of the road, who knows, best not to get involved? I see Mikey’s actions more like a protest, a bit like ‘just stop oil’ blocking roads, it’s going to upset some people. In some ways, that’s the point of it.
Correcting one fault while
Correcting one fault while creating a dozen more doesn’t make sense to me. If you see it as a protest, that’s your opinion. I see it as an unnecessary hazard, that’s my opinion. Just report it to the police without the childish drama. Simple.
cycle92 wrote:
It’s not always that simple though. The MET seem better now on prosecutions using 3rd party evidence, but it’s not always been like that and some forces need to be shamed into taking action or changing their policies. Creating some publicity helps it pass the “in the public interest” test.
FWIW Mikey has not been back to gandalf corner recently. Apparently driver behaviour has improved there.
That’s your opinion on what
That’s your opinion on what you think he is doing. I’ve been watching Mikey for years, I definietly do not see this being his priority at all. You’d think he’d mention this every now and again but he actually praises the police all of the time.
Have you any statistics from Gandalf’s corner? I’ve seen Mikey block people when asked this simple question. Bring some facts to the table.
cycle92 wrote:
It’s just anecdotal that gandalf’s is quieter, from the horse’s mouth: https://youtu.be/a2x0JrLYNwM?t=207
and a couple of quotes from this article:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jan/05/filming-cyclingmikey-dangerous-drivers-mike-van-erp-motorists-britain-roads-safer
sounds like a protest against bad driving to me, plus the bit that reporting these infractions initially wasn’t easy….
So Mikey stating it’s quieter
So Mikey stating it’s quieter now makes it quieter now? There are no statistics to back it up his before and after claims. Assumptions and feelings aren’t facts.
He nevers uses the term protest which is quite strange. Why does he avoid this word? I don’t agree with his methods anyway, escalating situations isn’t safe.
cycle92 wrote:
He didn’t create any of the offences, the entitled, victimhood-claiming driver did. Yes, it is an unnecessary hazard, but it’s entirely caused by the dangerous drivers. Doubtless you would be horrified and upset when someone is killed/injured there because of a dangerous driver, and will weep copious crocodile tears, and loudly wonder why “someone didn’t do something before”.
The police can’t be everywhere and they rely on the public reporting and stopping crimes if possible. They should be giving Mikey some sort of award.
The police can’t be
The police can’t be everywhere and they rely on the public reporting and stopping crimes if possible
Not in Lancashire they don’t! People who report road traffic offences here are regarded as Public Enemy No. 1 by the local BentFilth Lancs franchise
https://upride.cc/incident/fd67nej_bmw420_redlightcross/
That’s just for enhancement of confirmation bias, not because it has anything to do with the point above, except that it was, of course, ignored by OpSnap Lancs under Standard Operating Procedures
I disagree but that’s fine. I
I disagree but that’s fine. I still think it’s dangerous on Mikeys behalf as more people are thrown into a rage. He or others could be assaulted or driven over. I’d take the risk of just recording one bad driver and reporting them to the police than create a dozen more which followed the sheep effect as demonstrated in the video I linked.
VanErp and Vine want to be
VanErp and Vine want to be known as cycling activists, given their constant social media presence criticising motorised vehicle drivers, so they should expect push back and deal with it professionally.
In the red corner we have two
In the red corner we have two attention seeking but well meaning cyclists.
And the blue corner we have a attention seeking but well meaning driver.
let the battle begin?
I quite enjoy most of Ashley
I quite enjoy most of Ashley’s videos. I do however question his let everything go attitude. He encourages people to never challenge or engage with people driving dangerously or inconsiderately. I can’t see how this will improve road safety; it just encourages bullies to continue being bullies. I’m not suggesting that being confrontational is the solution, but never challenging or even standing your ground won’t help.
Completely agree. The obvious
Completely agree. The obvious solution is to get a camera and report inconsiderate (bullying) driving to the police. If they would send out a warning letter each time, with a NIP for repeat behaviour, it would soon stop. Cycling Mikey has demonstrated that this approach works. Unfortunately it requires enough people like him who are willing to make the effort to report and police forces willing to take action. There seems to be many who are willing to report but unfortunately a number of forces seem reluctant to play their part. Some won’t even give feedback to the people who report, let alone take action, which can be very demoralising. That leaves us with a dilemma.
People like MC just make life
People like MC just make life harder for the rest of us normal cyclists..
I ride on many shared paths, and see families out enjoying themselves, I don’t close pass, ring my bell until they dive out the way, I generally just pop on the grass for 10 seconds and go on about my day..
The exact same frustrations we’ve had with car drivers, MC is just manifesting with pedestrians, which is frankly ridiculous, we can’t have it both ways, we have to apply the same level of patience and consideration to peds as we expect from cars, or it literally undoes everything being campaigned for and is just showing what I feared, some cyclists are just selfish man babies that want everything their own way, and cars or peds are fair game..
I have got fed up the number of times I’m slowing for an obvious hazard and some camera toting lycra clad warrior blasts by at pace, completely obliviously and then after a near miss starts ranting and pointing at their camera..
Wake up, we campaign for the hierachy of vulnerability with cars, we have to now pass that on to how we treat peds and not be childish hypocrits.
I have got fed up the number
I have got fed up the number of times I’m slowing for an obvious hazard and some camera toting lycra clad warrior blasts by at pace, completely obliviously and then after a near miss starts ranting and pointing at their camera
As I said on the other topic, it’s easy to identify nutters who just make things up.
snubbers wrote:
And CM (who’s MC?) didn’t do any of those things. He was riding perfectly safely and courteously along the path, as can be seen from his good-natured and polite interactions with the other pedestrians (as Mr Neal himself admits, “everything was dealt with nicely here”), when he encountered an obstreperous pedestrian who deliberately moved into his path complaining about cyclists, whereupon he issued a mild rebuke for her rudeness in a polite tone and continued without endangering anyone.
What’s a “normal cyclist” by the way?