IN BRIEF
In Richmond Park, one of London’s royal parks, the Richmond Park Cyclists association has logged at least seven incidents involving masked riders on illegally modified electric motorbikes who harass and intimidate cyclists. On 23 August, a 12-year-old boy had his mountain bike stolen in the park. According to Sergeant Richard Wright, of the Metropolitan Police, quoted by road.cc, none of these episodes has so far involved a blade or a cyclist knocked to the ground, unlike previous occasions. The chair of the London Dynamo club, for their part, reports that a fair number of the club’s members now avoid the park.
Richmond Park is one of London’s royal parks, and its road loop serves as a training ground for clubs from the capital. Some of them now prefer to go elsewhere. British outlet road.cc reports that masked riders on illegally modified electric motorbikes are chasing cyclists there.
Richmond Park: seven incidents logged
The starting point is a theft. According to road.cc, a 12-year-old boy had his mountain bike stolen as he was riding through the park on Sunday 23 August. Around that incident, the Richmond Park Cyclists association — which brings together several local clubs and riders — has gathered at least seven further incidents, all of them involving, according to the same article, masked riders on illegally modified electric motorbikes.
According to road.cc, cyclists report being chased and then surrounded by these riders, forcing them to stop or to seek the safety of the group. Paul Harknett, chair of Richmond Park Cyclists, sums it up in a single sentence: “The problem to me is fear,” he told road.cc.
No blades, no cyclists knocked to the ground so far, police say
That is the second stage of the story, and it comes from the association itself. Harknett is careful not to overstate things: “I don’t want to portray that these are real crimes. What the police have been very keen to point out is that they have yet to receive any reports of weapons being shown, and they’ve yet to hear of anyone being actually knocked off or pushed off in response to activity by these people,” he told road.cc.
The police confirm that reading. Sergeant Richard Wright, from the Metropolitan Police’s South Richmond Safer Neighbourhood Team, told the association that “none of the incidents so far have involved the use of blades and no cyclists have been knocked to the ground, both of which have been the case on previous occasions.”
Clubs are deserting the park
The effect, for its part, has set in. Andy Taylor, chair of the London Dynamo club, tells road.cc of a situation Taylor describes as a pretty sad state of affairs: “The honest picture is that a fair number of our members are now choosing to avoid the park altogether.” The club has put a routine in place: according to the same source, incidents are circulated internally through a dedicated WhatsApp group to alert other members, and those affected are urged to report them — to 999 for anything in progress, or through the usual channels otherwise.
According to road.cc, Richmond Park Cyclists has for its part issued advice to its members and supporters: avoid riding alone as far as possible, and put a foot down when an illegal two-wheeler rider approaches rather than risk being pushed off the bike.
Royal Parks, the charity that manages the park but does not handle policing operations, maintains for its part that “While, as in any public space, crime can occur, we consider Richmond Park a safe place to visit and remain committed to working with the police to address any emerging concerns,” according to the statement sent to road.cc. The charity also points out that “The Metropolitan Police Service is responsible for policing the Royal Parks, including enforcement of the Park Regulations.”
One point the road.cc article leaves unanswered: the period over which these seven incidents were logged. And according to the same source, the tally is that of a cyclists’ association, not a police record. What is observable, on the other hand, is the outcome: according to Paul Harknett, quoted by road.cc, children are now routing themselves around the park rather than through it, potentially putting themselves in greater danger on the South Circular Road or on the main roads on the east side of Richmond Park.
