Biker Down

Some sad news this morning:

Ian Hibell, cyclist who pedalled world, killed by hit-and-run driver
A cyclist who pedalled the world for more than 40 years, braving raging rivers, a lion and the hospitality of an Eskimo princess, has been killed by a hit-and-run driver in Greece.

Ian Hibell, 74, was a well-known figure in the world of long-distance cycle touring, setting several records and pedalling the equivalent of ten times around the Equator.

He died on the road between Athens and Salonika when he was hit by a car whose driver was apparently in a race with another motorist. Although the driver fled the scene, he was arrested two days later and charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Shit news for sure. But some interesting information at the bottom of that peice. At least, interesting enought I thought I’d share it.

Pedal power

— A cyclist can travel 1,037km (644 miles) on the energy equivalent of one litre of petrol

— Regular cycling can make you as fit as someone who is ten years younger

— A cyclist consumes 1/50th of the oxygen of a car making the same journey

— A twice daily half-hour commute will, over a year, consume the energy equivalent of 24lb of fat

— In 1949, 34 per cent of all mechanised journeys were made by bicycle. Fifty years later that figure had fallen to 2 per cent

— The rate of serious heart disease for civil servants who cycle 20 miles or more a week is 50 per cent lower than for their sedentary colleagues

Source: Somerset County Council

Fuck all. Happy Friday.