Halfords offer free bike to Twitter user who bought stolen bike and traced owner; Cyclist who claimed to have been robbed made it up say police; Gone in 60 seconds – 3T Exploro stolen from garage; Cycling vlogger Durianrider attacked + more on live blog

A cyclist who claimed he was robbed by two men on a riverside path in the Scottish town of Ayr was lying about the incident, police have said.

A witness appeal was issued following the alleged on the River Ayr Walk attack last Friday, but officers say they are now satisfied the 39-year-old man, who claimed to have had cash and personal effects stolen, had made the details up, reports the Daily Record.

Yesterday, Ayr police commander Chief Inspector Brian Anderson said that after “thorough investigations” officers concluded that no crime had been committed.

“No further police action is required. We would like to thank the public for their co-operation during the investigation,” he added.

While police reportedly do not plan to charge the cyclist with wasting their time, the newspaper quoted a source as saying: "It appears to be the case there was some sort of incident. But we don't think it was a genuine case."

Hi @SteBurke44, as you’re such a good Samaritan we’d love to offer you a bike of your own. Do let us know if you’d like to take us up on the offer.

Kind regards,
The Halfords team

— Halfords (@Halfords_uk) January 21, 2020

It's been quite the 24 hours for Good Samaritan Mr Burke, whose tweet explaining that he bought a stolen Whyte mountain bike for £80 so he could track down its owner has now been like over 46,000 times; since posting, the owner came forward and the bike was returned.  

Retweeters include Stormzy and Ralf Little, and the icing on the cake has to be Halfords stepping in to offer him a bike of his own for free. That £80 seems like a fairly shrewd investment now! 

Benoit Vanden Haute started with a Koga Worldtraveller touring bike, electrified it then added solar panels to effectively give it an unlimited range on sunny days. Full story and video over on eBikeTips. 

 

 

 

 

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It’s a good size. #bikes #tourdownunder

A post shared by Darryl Moliere (@dmoliere) on Jan 20, 2020 at 1:33pm PST

All sh*ts and giggles until you have to ride the thing... 

This was every bit as painful and terrifying as it looks. pic.twitter.com/DTs5DsCxCw

— paul morgan (@pauldmorgan) January 21, 2020

BBC tech expert Paul Morgan says he suspects black ice or 'slippery muck' on the road may have been to blame for his heavy fall, which remarkably didn't result in any broken bones. Careful out there in the ice folks, and do check out our survival guide to riding in the ice and snow for some extra handy tips. 

In this video that was definitely not staged in any way, Quick-Step riders stop off for a coffee at the Quick-Step Bar Velo popup coffee van for a caffeine fix, served by riders-turned baristas Zdenek Stybar and Tim Declercq. it's part of Quick-Step's 30th anniversary celebrations, and it's also the 22nd year they've sponsored a pro cycling team. 

If you think you've had rotten luck on your rides with mechanicals or even minor accidents in the past, it's probably small fry compared to former pro and now over 60's South African hour record holder Wimpie van der Merwe, who claims to have been attacked for a fourth time in three years while cycling. IOL report that on this occasion, Van der Merwe narrowly avoided being stabbed by a man wielding a spear between the Cape Town suburbs of Strand and Gordon's Bay. 

In the lengthy Facebook post above Van de Merwe has listed numerous tips for cyclists to protect themselves from attackers, and a WhatsApp safety initiative has been launched for cyclists to report attacks and see where danger hotspots are. ​

Virtual riding is probably taken for granted a bit nowadays in the cycling community, but it's perhaps intriguing to hear how the world of gaming perceives Zwift, the most popular virtual cycling app by number of users. 

The Gamer write: "Since Zwift doesn't resemble any of today's most popular competitive video games, considering Zwift races as esports may even necessitate reconsidering what defines esports as a medium.

"...the skills required to succeed in Zwift are directly transferable from old-fashioned, non-virtual bicycling. This makes Zwift esports unlike any of its competitors. Its closest analogues are in NBA 2K and other competitive sports games, which require the similar, if not the same strategies as their real-world counterparts. But unlike in Zwift, the mechanical skills used to control a 2K team differ greatly from how real-life NBA players physically play."

Essentially, cycling esports are perhaps unique because to be any good at the game, it's imperative you're a top cyclist in real life. Can you think of any other esports that are at all similar? 

The Tour of Oman, which has become a useful warm-up race for the Spring Classics may have been cancelled due to the death of the Sultan.

Not only would this leave a gap in the race schedules of the pro peloton, we'll also have to find another sandy, flat cross-wind stage race to watch. Disaster.

Controversial Australian Youtuber Durianrider, real name Harley Johnstone, was allegedly attacked along with his girlfriend outside a shopping mall in Adelaide at the weekend. Johnstone has now posted a lengthy video (above) saying how the attack was an 'ambush' from behind, and that the attacker is known to him. 

He claims the person has been arrested and charged, and that it was the same individual who perpetrated a similar attack in 2016. 42-year-old Johnstone claims his 21-year-old girlfriend Natasha Miklich suffered no physical injuries, and while he was sent to hospital after falling unconscious, he asked to be discharged early because he feared for his safety. 

Johnstone is known for his strong opinions on pro cycling, tech, veganism and fitness, often speaking of being abused by 'trolls' online; and it appears once again, the rivalries have spilled over into real life. CCTV stills published by the Daily Mail allegedly show Johnstone on the ground with his attacker on top of him, who was said to have been arrested at the scene while Johnstone was taken to hospital.