Boris the bike champ (again to the rescue)

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Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who two years ago gave chase on his bike to a gang of girls attempting to mug a woman in Camden, has played Good Samaritan again after stopping to help a fellow cyclist who had been knocked off his bike and injured when a minicab driver opened his car door into his path.

The incident took place on Monday evening in Southwark Street as Mr Johnson returned – on a Boris Bike, naturally – to City Hall following a meeting in the West End, reports the London Evening Standard.

Mr Johnson telephoned for an ambulance and remained with the victim until emergency services arrived at the scene, adds the newspaper, which also provided an eyewitness account from project manager Liam Smith, who was passing by.

“I saw Boris speed past me on his Boris bike and go through two red lights,” said Mr Smith, with perhaps a little more detail than the Mayor would appreciate.

“A short while later I saw him at the junction of Southwark Bridge Road with a small crowd of people and an injured cyclist.

“The man was bleeding from his mouth and had cuts on his hands and knees,” Mr Smith added. “He was very pale and barely conscious.

“Boris was on the phone calling an ambulance and then he was saying to the man, ‘stay awake, stay awake, what is your name?’

“He was shaking him gently to stop him from passing out. A guy brought him a glass of water and was saying, ‘don’t worry, you are being looked after by the Mayor of London’. The cyclist said his name was Richard and he was on his way to visit a friend.”

Mr Smith added that an off-duty member of St John’s Ambulance helped administer first aid to the stricken cyclist, while the mini cab driver also remained at the scene.

While Mr Johnson is without doubt one of the capital’s most high-profile cyclists, and certainly the one best placed to influence policy when it comes to getting around the city on two wheels, some of his decisions have been criticised as being at odds with his much-vaunted desire to bring about a “cycling revolution” in London.

There has been a series of protests by cycle campaigners against his and Transport for London’s decision to scrap a temporary 20 mile an hour speed limit on Blackfriars Bridge, while two years ago he was criticised for effectively scrapping the Commercial Vehicle Education unit after axing funding for the body, which was staffed and operated by the Metropolitan Police.

Boris Brompton Bike

Keeping on the Friday Brompton theme … I see Boris made a trip to the factory that a lot of commuters are glad exist …. the only thing that could make Brompton better is a belt driven version but that is a post for another time …..

 

LONDON, UK – To promote the UK capital’s business successes outside the Square Mile, and to see the role businesses like Brompton play in supporting London’s economy, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, visited the Brompton Bicycle factory in West London.

 

Boris Johnson is known in the UK and abroad as the bicycling Mayor after the introduction of the Barclays-liveried “Boris’s bikes” rental system last year.

 

After paying Fuller’s Brewery a visit in Chiswick, the Mayor rode on a Brompton bicycle with Brompton’s Managing Director, Will Butler-Adams, for the short ride to the factory in Brentford. Here he met several members of Brompton’s staff and the manufacturing facility.

 

Boris said of the visit: “Here Brompton are building their bikes by the Great West Road; it’s just a great example of the diversity of manufacturing found here in London.”

 

Will said: “It is fantastic to have the Mayor of London visit the factory and see what we are doing first hand. We take great pride in making a quality product here in the capital, and getting Boris in the saddle was a great way to demonstrate the product. We had a lot of fun on the ride from Chiswick; I think he really liked the bike!”