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news
Torbay cycle path (Google Maps)Cyclist "luckiest man alive" after tumbling down "crazy" brick staircase on cycle route's steep hill
An 83-year-old cyclist who has been riding bikes for years suffered multiple injuries in the worst fall of his life — not while riding — but wheeling his bike as he descended steps built to improve access on a Devon cycle route that climbs a steep rise.
The path, which runs behind Torre Station through Torquay woodland, cost £350,000 to build and includes a steep staircase where cyclists push their bike through a gulley while climbing or descending the 30 steps. It was opened in 2016 to offer riders a route away from the busy main road.
(Crownhill Rise entrance to the cycle route)
Ron Keegan fell while trying to negotiate the steps in cleats, tumbling down the steep incline, suffering a list of "cuts and bruises, various wounds and aches and pains" and prompting a five-hour stay at hospital.
A former road racer who can also count Land's End to John O'Groats amongst his cycling achievements. He told Devon Live the steps are "crazy" and he would like to see a ramp replace them.
"There was going to be a ramp, but maybe it was too expensive to do. The path was supposed to be accessible to wheelchair users and the like, but they ended up with steps," he explained.
"People used to build follies, and this is a folly. It's crazy, and totally inappropriate. I accept I was wearing cycling shoes with exposed cleats, and they're not designed for walking in, and in retrospect I should have looked down the steps and turned around and gone back. But those steps have just been an accident waiting to happen. It did happen, and I was the victim.
"I somersaulted three times. Sure, I was wearing cycling shoes, but what do you want me to wear when I'm cycling? The bike ran away with me and I took a tumble. I spent five hours in the Minor Injuries Unit at Newton Abbot.
"I have cuts and bruises, various wounds and aches and pains. I have cuts on my knees, my elbows and my face. My nose is cut and I'm bruised all over. I'm in a bit of a state."
He is asking the council to put up a warning sign to try to avoid any future incidents.
The council responded to the fall, saying the steps were built to national design guidance at the time of construction, but "when funding becomes available, we plan to improve this route by installing a ramp to connect the upper and lower paths."
"It overcomes a technical difficulty with the difference in level at this location. Whilst this is not an ideal solution, it does provide a safe and useable facility for a very short section of the route," a spokesperson said.
"In the meantime, cycles can be pushed with care. The steps have been in use since 2016. In the short term, we'll ensure that the steps are clear of any overgrowth."
In the absence of pictures of the location, a social media search found similar comments of its unsuitability for those with bikes.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing when I first came across them just after they opened that “route”. No money for a ramp, but plenty for junction redesigns 👍
— Riviera Rider (@RiderRiviera) July 10, 2020
Last April, the topic of steps causing problems for those on two wheels was covered on this website after a temporary bridge on a canal path in Nottingham was dubbed the "Stairway to Hell".
Social media footage showed a rider struggling to carry her Brompton up the steep stairs – but can't get it down the 40-degree slope once at the top.
Dan joined road.cc in 2020, and spent most of his first year (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. At the start of 2022 he took on the role of news editor. Before joining road.cc, Dan wrote about various sports, including football and boxing for the Daily Express, and covered the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Part of the generation inspired by the 2012 Olympics, Dan has been 'enjoying' life on two wheels ever since and spends his weekends making bonk-induced trips to the petrol stations of the south of England.
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19 comments
Lets be honest. Steps with gulleys should never be built and labeled for cycling. There is a set near me that my kid can barely get down that terminates on a main road with a nice soft grated barrier to catch you.
Just 200m away there is a stepped part of NCN 4 with not even a gully but plenty of space for a gentle hairpin path.
Its just not good enough.
Mind you - a hairpinned path isn't always much of an improvement.
Wow...I'd be happy to be cycling around at 83! And in cleats! Good luck with the recovery, sir and keep on riding...
Still, can't help but think the most dangerous thing he did that day was sitting in Newton Abbot hospital for 5 hours. Must have a cracking immune system!
This article does really need a picture of the offending steps to be worthwhile.
Didn't take much finding to be honest (road.cc I'm available as a researcher at very reasonable rates...):
Those don't look too bad, but I wouldn't fancy falling down them.
Maybe not with a nice light road bike - wouldn't fancy it so much coming down with a heavier / laden bike that might be prone to run away from me. And not much good for anything 'non-standard'.
Yes, clearly impossible for cargo trikes, handcyclists et cetera. The available embankment either side looks ideal for a gently sloping triple hairpin path, though that doubtless would be more costly.
The one and only time I went over the footbridge from Boston Manor Park to the River Brent towpath (by the GSK building and with similar gullies to this) on the Elephant Bike, the sequence went something like:
1 - Take panniers off bike and up the stairs.
2 - Take dog out of basket and up the stairs, putting panniers on top of lead so she can't run off.
3 - Push bike up the gulley.
4 - Move everything to top of other staircase.
5 - Take bike down the gulley, heavy on the brakes so it doesn't run away.
6 - Take dog down the stairs, put her in basket.
7 - Take panniers down the stairs, put them back on bike.
8 - Try and remember which way I wanted to go after all that faffing around ...
You make it sound like that thought-experiment where you have to get a fox, a chicken, and a bag of grain (or something like that?) across a river
I had to do that recently on a bridge over the Aire & Calder canal, that forms part of NCN. Only I didnt have a dog. Bridges and slopes with steps, even with gullies, should not form part of marked cycle routes (and cycling route planners should also avoid them).
Full panniers looks an issue with scraping against the wall or leaning the bike to avoid the wall and the bike toppling.
Well obviously we're generously spending money on these high-quality facilities for the benefit of more vulnerable people - to given them an alternative to the roads.
Except when we're not wasting money on these things because they're stopping the ambulances getting through / not everyone can ride around in rubber knickers (thanks Eric Pickles!) / won't you think of the old / disabled / children?
I'll be honest that if I followed signs and came to THAT, then I'd assume that I'd made a mistake somewhere. It's not exactly obviously 'cycling infrastructure', or even 'open for use by cyclists at all', is it...?
I'm a fell-runner and would think twice about attempting those steps in cleats. Who on earth decided that it was a good idea?
I'll be quite happy if I'm still cycling in cleats at 83. Get well soon sir.
For me you can take out "in cleats"...
I'd just be happy to be alive if I was still cycling at 83... with driving standards the way they are.