A protest ride that took place in the south of England last weekend had long been planned, but there was an awful lot more poignancy and pertinence to the event in Kent after two local cyclists were killed on the route of the ride last week, having been struck by a car.
Steven Anscomb, aged 60, and Natasha Lewis, 51, both died at the scene when a car-driver hit a group of bike riders on Sole Street, near Gravesend, last Sunday. A third cyclist was also injured. A 22-year-old man has subsequently appeared in court, charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
On Saturday, hundreds of cyclists, horse riders and walkers attended the Pass Wide and Slow ride that takes place annually in the area, conveying an urgent message to drivers to treat the bike riders, pedestrians and equestrians with whom they share the road, with care and respect. Because the consequences of not doing so can be truly tragic.
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Moving slowly along a pre-planned route, riders and walkers were given a police escort and when they reached the spot where the cyclists died, the crowd paused to observe a two-minute silence in memory of in honour of Steven Anscomb and Natasha Lewis.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Pass Wide and Slow)
Pass Wide and Slow is a road-safety campaign started in 2015 by Debbie Smith, focused on protecting vulnerable road users from unsafe overtaking. It has gained traction across Britain and beyond, with awareness rides taking place in Belgium, Australia, the United States, Canada and New Zealand.
Drivers are encouraged to slow down significantly when approaching horses, cyclists, or walkers, leave ample space when overtaking (often 1.5 to 2 metres, depending on local law) and avoid sudden noise such as revving engines or honking.
“We do always have some cyclists [on our rides,” Smith told Cycling Weekly. “I have worked with Caspar Hughes [founder of Stop Killing Cyclists]. But it was a one off having so many there and yes, I think that was because of the accident.
“It’s important we work with cyclists we have a lot in the group. We have many differences between us on certain points, but it’s education all the way.”
“This year we organised another ride for the group,” Kent activist Tora Lorence explained to CW.
“We are up to ride 162. But due to the awful tragedy that happened to those poor cyclists this event just got a lot of support so we decided to join it together with a little memorial service for the families to show our respect.
“I decided to get involved due the way some drivers treat us and the abuse we can get, it should be fun to do our hobby. With a lot of people it’s just ignorance [they don’t know] what a 600kg animal can do when in flight mode. They can jolt sideways at 50mph if spooked, so just being patient and giving space is all we ask. It’s the same with cyclists – they could go down a pot hole or catch a stone on their tyre and have to swerve suddenly.
“We were in awe of the amount of people that arrived and made this a very special day to remember those poor souls that lost their lives, it was past the route we had planned so I decided to make it as best I could, and it was amazing the reception we got.”
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