The good news is more for American than British cyclists. Ray LaHood, Obama’s Transportation Secretary, told a cycling summit of his support for sustainable communities and getting people out of cars. Any politician looking at ways to get more people walking and cycling is a good thing.

Unfortunately, the news on this side of the Atlantic isn’t so good. The Sun reports on a soldier killed whilst cycling along the A338 on Salisbury Plain. Blame for the accident is being laid on a huge pothole which Captain Jonathon Allen was avoiding when he was hit by a lorry. I have to agree with The Cycling Lawyer, who points out that it wasn’t the hole that killed Captain Allen, but the lorry, the driver of which tried to overtake at the wrong time.

In future, can we have more stories like the first and less like the second please.