Mike van Erp, great cyclist or grass?

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Steve X
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Mike van Erp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by Steve X »

I have searched the forum for the name Mike van Earp and got no hits, apologies if this has already been discussed.

I think he is ace, doing what all cyclists should be doing.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... oads-safer

Do you think he is ace, and would you still think him ace, if he filmed you using your phone whilst sat in stationery traffic, and reported you to the Police?
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Paulatic
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Re: Mike van Erp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by Paulatic »

Try "Mikey" and he’s had a few mentions.
He will never film me behind a wheel with a phone in my hand in traffic so can’t answer your question.
If we had enough policing he wouldn’t need to do it.
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Mike Sales
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Re: Mike van Earp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by Mike Sales »

Paulatic wrote: 6 Jan 2022, 8:27am Try "Mikey" and he’s had a few mentions.
He will never film me behind a wheel with a phone in my hand in traffic so can’t answer your question.
If we had enough policing he wouldn’t need to do it.
I've no car, so I would not be so caught. I'm just one of those most vulnerable to the consequences of this misbehaviour.
Dangerous law breaking by drivers is endemic, and very poorly policed.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
Pebble
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Re: Mike van Earp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by Pebble »

I wish he was using his time to catch those who come too close when overtaking and those speeding, I support his role on Gandalf corner but people looking at mobile phones in stationary traffic seems a bit OTT a bit pedantic.

overall I will award him 7/10 for his efforts

I will award the police 0/10 for their efforts in enforcing traffic laws.
Jdsk
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Re: Mike van Earp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by Jdsk »

Steve X wrote: 6 Jan 2022, 8:11am I have searched the forum for the name Mike van Earp and got no hits..
According to the article his name is van Erp.

As original poster you can edit the Subject of the thread. This will probably help others to find it in the future.

He's usually referred to as Cycling Mikey or CyclingMikey.
search.php?keywords=%22cycling+mikey%22 ... ngmikey%22

Jonathan
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Audax67
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Re: Mike van Earp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by Audax67 »

Steve X wrote: 6 Jan 2022, 8:11am I have searched the forum for the name Mike van Earp and got no hits, apologies if this has already been discussed.
Maybe if you spelt it correctly..?
Have we got time for another cuppa?
Pebble
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Re: Mike van Earp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by Pebble »

Jdsk wrote: 6 Jan 2022, 9:14am
Steve X wrote: 6 Jan 2022, 8:11am I have searched the forum for the name Mike van Earp and got no hits..
According to the article his name is van Erp.

As original poster you can edit the Subject of the thread. This will probably help others to find it in the future.

He's usually referred to as Cycling Mikey or CyclingMikey.
search.php?keywords=%22cycling+mikey%22 ... ngmikey%22

Jonathan
so no relation to Wyatt, the famous law enforcer from Dodge City - OK Corall / Gandalf Corner / OK Corral
Jdsk
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Re: Mike van Erp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by Jdsk »

Pebble wrote: 6 Jan 2022, 9:31am
Jdsk wrote: 6 Jan 2022, 9:14am
Steve X wrote: 6 Jan 2022, 8:11am I have searched the forum for the name Mike van Earp and got no hits..
According to the article his name is van Erp.

As original poster you can edit the Subject of the thread. This will probably help others to find it in the future.

He's usually referred to as Cycling Mikey or CyclingMikey.
search.php?keywords=%22cycling+mikey%22 ... ngmikey%22
so no relation to Wyatt, the famous law enforcer from Dodge City - OK Corall / Gandalf Corner / OK Corral
Probably not. Wyatt's family name was Irish rather than Dutch.

: - )

And today's quiz question... without looking it up... in what decade did Wyatt Earp die?

Jonathan
thirdcrank
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Re: Mike van Erp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by thirdcrank »

I found the Grauniad article interesting when it was linked on another thread. There are all sorts of things to take from it. The mounts for the GoPro10 on the rear track nuts look snazzy but I can't believe he commutes far with a camera there without its being constantly covered in muck and needing regular replacement from damage.

I get the impression that he has worked out how to use the Metropolitan Police's (?) reporting system including what sort of cases will run. eg A reg plate + mug shot + close up of a handheld phone being used = Bingo! He does seem to catch a lot of celebs, which adds to his fame/notoriety in a sort of reverse Nick "Mr Loophole" Freeman kind of way. AIUI they may be going to lock horns at court fairly soon so that may be fun.

I've not looked at any of his youtube stuff so I don't know if he does much with close passes, which as I keep posting, are so much harder to prove.

Re stepping out in front of cars, I'd say "Don't try this at home." Sooner or later, the erring driver will be distracted (eg by their handheld mobile) so surprised they hit the accelerator instead of the brake, or a psychopath (not to be confused with a cyclepath) who is having a bad day. It would then be a case of the vid being proved at court by the police crash investigator, rather than the (ex)cameraman.
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Re: Mike van Erp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by Vorpal »

thirdcrank wrote: 6 Jan 2022, 10:19am I found the Grauniad article interesting when it was linked on another thread. There are all sorts of things to take from it. The mounts for the GoPro10 on the rear track nuts look snazzy but I can't believe he commutes far with a camera there without its being constantly covered in muck and needing regular replacement from damage.

I get the impression that he has worked out how to use the Metropolitan Police's (?) reporting system including what sort of cases will run. eg A reg plate + mug shot + close up of a handheld phone being used = Bingo! He does seem to catch a lot of celebs, which adds to his fame/notoriety in a sort of reverse Nick "Mr Loophole" Freeman kind of way. AIUI they may be going to lock horns at court fairly soon so that may be fun.

I've not looked at any of his youtube stuff so I don't know if he does much with close passes, which as I keep posting, are so much harder to prove.

Re stepping out in front of cars, I'd say "Don't try this at home." Sooner or later, the erring driver will be distracted (eg by their handheld mobile) so surprised they hit the accelerator instead of the brake, or a psychopath (not to be confused with a cyclepath) who is having a bad day. It would then be a case of the vid being proved at court by the police crash investigator, rather than the (ex)cameraman.
IIRC, the first successful prosecution based on his video evidence was a close pass. He used to only submit evidence from his cycling, but heard from other cyclists about wrong way drivers at Gandalf corner & started lurking there occasionally.

from the article linked above
Peter Walker in the Guardian wrote:Yet, very gradually this has changed – Van Erp’s first successful prosecution followed an incident in 2018 when a taxi driver overtook him very closely.
and
he does not go out looking for phone-using drivers. He encounters enough of them during his usual cycle journeys – and official statistics illuminate how this
and
A few years ago, Van Erp heard how queueing drivers at another London junction, in Regent’s Park, were impatiently darting down the wrong side of a traffic island to reach a right-hand turn – sometimes nearly hitting cyclists who were going the right way.

He began lurking at the junction, and if a car tried the manoeuvre he would step out in front of it, blocking its path, and ordering the driver to go back.
Regarding don't do this at home..
But the most-watched clip, at almost 4m views, sees a driver become so incensed he bumps Van Erp several times with his Mercedes. When the police arrive the driver starts to argue with them too.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
thirdcrank
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Re: Mike van Erp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by thirdcrank »

I read about his jumping out in front of cars in the Grauniad piece. It's up to him, of course, but I'd still say that stopping a car by standing in front of it might be suicidal. It is something I've occasionally done in an official capacity and emerged uninjured, but more by good luck than good management

(I've probably posted before about a courageous PC under my command who stood in front of a suspect car going at some speed in the dark. He revealed his inner tensions by racking his extending baton with such force that the end flew off, breaking the car's windscreen and causing the driver to stop sharply, believing the officer had a firearm. Meanwhile, the officer stood his ground, a better man than I am but not called Gunga Dinn)
Jdsk
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Re: Mike van Erp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by Jdsk »

I suggest looking at some of his videos to see what he actually does.

Jonathan
thirdcrank
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Re: Mike van Erp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by thirdcrank »

Life really is too short.

There was a newspaper article linked by the op - at least the second time it's been posted in a couple of days - and I commented on that, on the basis that something published in a newspaper with the apparent collaboration of of the subject should be reasonably accurate. I'm happy to say good for him in what he's doing, but if it's right about stepping into traffic to prevent somebody driving on the wrong side of an island that's foolhardy.
colin54
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Re: Mike van Earp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by colin54 »

Pebble wrote: 6 Jan 2022, 8:56am ...but people looking at mobile phones in stationary traffic seems a bit OTT a bit pedantic.
I used to live in a flat overlooking a set of traffic lights, and often had a view of people using their phones whilst stopped, when the lights changed, and they noticed slightly late only because the car in front immediately in front of them had moved off, they seldom checked their mirrors to see who might be coming up either side of them as they pulled away in their haste. A similar scenario can apply in a line of slow moving traffic. You can see the same behaviour just about any day of the week.
Using a phone whilst....in control....of a vehicle is a potential danger to other road users, stationary or moving.
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Steve X
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Re: Mike van Earp, great cyclist or grass?

Post by Steve X »

Jdsk wrote: 6 Jan 2022, 9:14am
Steve X wrote: 6 Jan 2022, 8:11am I have searched the forum for the name Mike van Earp and got no hits..
According to the article his name is van Erp.

As original poster you can edit the Subject of the thread. This will probably help others to find it in the future.

He's usually referred to as Cycling Mikey or CyclingMikey.
search.php?keywords=%22cycling+mikey%22 ... ngmikey%22

Jonathan
Thank you, someone appears to have done it for me, but I did not know that was possible.
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