Boy, 5, given breath test in Taiwan after crashing bike into a Tesla; Lazer's design-your-own lid comp; Straight Outta Brompton; Triathlete loses virtual race because husband tripped over trainer cable; Cyclist caught riding on M69 + more on the live blog

The 'improvised bike trainers' using stabilisers and shoes were masterminded by the manager of Pedal Cycles in Ferndown so his boys can train through the lockdown. We'll see them at Le Tour 2040... 

Brompton have launched a trial direct-to-home ‘Brompton To You’ service, which gives customers the chance to buy a bike direct from the Brompton factory, and have it delivered to their front door:

"In these uncertain times, where public transport services are reduced or to be avoided, and many people are restricted to essential journeys and limited exercise, a bike such as a Brompton will continue to play a key part in some people’s lives", so say Brompton.

"In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and having experienced increased customer demand for home delivery due to minimising personal interaction, Brompton will be trialling a new service, called ‘Brompton To You', in order to keep those essential journeys possible."

Brompton's Covent Garden store has remained open as an essential retailer, but says they appreciate many of their dealers are on reduced hours so home delivery is a decent option for many customers. Delivery with Brompton To You is free, you can still get 0% finance and bikes arrive almost ready to ride, with Brompton claiming set-up should take 10 minutes or less - more info over on Brompton's website. 

"Have you ever dreamt of winning your own customised helmet?" ask Lazer on their design-your-own helmet competition launched this week to quell boredom during the lockdown... for us the answer is no, but if you ever have had this rather specific dream then Lazer say they can make it come true. 

In the next few weeks, they're organising a series of competitions with the winners getting their own customised Lazer Bullet 2.0 helmet. It's a completely blank slate/helmet, and to enter you simply download the blank PDF file and get drawing; you then send it back to Lazer as a jpg or PDF for scrutiny. Lazer believe in these troubling times the comp is about way more than winning a fancy bike helmet, saying:

"In these difficult times we are currently living, some of you have been learning how to paint, others have been busy reading a lot of books, making puzzles… We believe that there are lots of ways to express yourself, the most important thing in life being to stay true to who you really are and not being afraid to show it to the world. Here is a brand new expression field!"

You can enter the contest and start playing around with your helmet on Lazer's website, and it closes on the 11th April. Keep it clean please...

Yes the roads are quieter at the moment... but no, that doesn't mean it's cool to cycle on the motorway as this latest culprit found out, joining our now quite lengthy archive of cyclists who have attempted to seek a quicker route to their destination. 

The Leicester Mercury report that a man was seen cycling along the southbound carriageway of the M69 motorway between Leicester and Hinckley on Sunday night, and was aprehended by officers from Leicestershire Police's road policing unit. He was given a lift home, reported for cycling on a motorway and reminded that it's illegal, and given an on-the-spot fixed penalty fine. 

First job of the night shift was to remove someone cycling along the M69!
He was given a lift and reported for cycling along the motorway. #why #needsanengine

— Leicestershire Roads Policing Unit (RPU) (@LeicsPoliceRPU) April 5, 2020

The traffic officers said they had also seen "more people than ever" taking their daily exercise, and had to engage a lot with groups out on bike rides to remind them to stay at home: "Another busy shift - lots of engagement and explaining with groups off out. Unfortunately, you shouldn't be going out for a ride on your bike.

"Just because the sun is out it isn't an essential journey.

"We saw more people than ever taking daily exercise and very few cars on the M69."

Last weekend, a cyclist caught near junction 3 the M60 was reminded by North West Motorway Police that the ride "does not constitute your daily exercise", but reportedly didn't understand what the problem was; he was issued with a fine for the misdemeanour.