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CyclingMikey wishes Ashley Neal would "leave me alone" as YouTube driving instructor uploads another video criticising his approach

In his latest "Ashley's Analysis" video the footballer-turned-driving instructor questioned Mikey's riding around pedestrians, arguing it is "concerning" if his followers copy...

Ashley Neal — son of former Liverpool and England footballer Phil Neal — has uploaded another video, this time questioning fellow YouTube road safety figure CyclingMikey's riding around pedestrians.

The Liverpool-based driving instructor shared the video — which included two pieces of footage originally uploaded by CyclingMikey, real name Mike van Erp — with his 134,000 subscribers as part of his "Ashley's Analysis" series and said he has "concerns that with such a large following, people copy some of his behaviour".

In the video, Neal criticised Mikey's decision-making around pedestrians in one incident in south-west London's Richmond Park as well as another outside London Paddington Station, saying "social media is an influential place and content creators need to take great care with the content they produce because a lot of people listen".

The driving instructor told his viewers that Mikey rang his bell at pedestrians on a shared-use path as "a way of saying 'get out of my way'" and hinted that he should not have told the woman that she should be walking at the side of the path.

However, in response, Mikey said he "didn't mind waiting for her" and only "took offence at her being angry with the other cyclist" who had passed the walkers seconds earlier.

The road safety campaigner who reports law-breaking drivers using their mobile phones behind the wheel also said he wishes Neal would "leave me alone" but is "mildly amused by him having to use me to create content, perhaps he doesn't have enough of his own creativity".

> "People need to see justice being done": CyclingMikey says camera cyclists suffer online abuse because some motorists "feel they have the right to drive how they want"

Neal praised Mikey's earlier "nice use of the bell" with a pedestrian who moved to side of the path to let him pass, saying "everything was dealt with nicely here" in a "shared space where the pedestrians are more vulnerable, especially with a young child".

However, as the clip develops, Neal suggested the second group of pedestrians had legitimate reason to be upset with the "close pass" of the cyclist riding ahead of Mikey and criticised his interaction with the group while passing.

"If we think of things from this lady's perspective just for a second," Neal said. "She has just been close passed, then told she should be moving out of the way for cyclists when, in effect, she was maybe only taking her primary position so any pass of her and her group could be done and should be done safely. Was she just being awkward?"

In the second video Neal analyses, he takes issue with Mikey warning a cyclist about waiting on her phone by a junction as a bus turns left and blames the rider for not making it a "non-event" when a taxi driver "pulls out when it probably shouldn't have".

These incidents precede the main portion of the video in which Mikey argues with a pedestrian who stepped out in front of him when the lights were green for traffic.

Neal accused Mikey of "trying to create content just for views" before pointing out two cyclists rolling through the red light at walking pace in the background of the shot.

"You cannot criticise everyone else bar from your own group," Neal suggested, less than two minutes after the footage of Mikey telling the phone-using cyclist to be more careful. 

> CyclingMikey ends up on car bonnet during confrontation with angry motorist

"It's like me not calling out driving instructors when I see them doing something wrong," Neal continued. "So what is my reason behind releasing this video? Primarily, it is to show Mikey there are alternative ways to deal with things. His following is large and his outreach is great and it is concerning if people take up a similar mindset.

"If we are ever going to truly make the roads a better place we all need to work together, follow the rules and always think of things from other people's perspectives."

Mikey brushed off the video, saying: "I just wish he'd leave me alone. I want nothing to do with these people. I'm mildly amused by him having to use me to create content, perhaps he doesn't have enough of his own creativity."

Neal has previously said he "wholeheartedly" disagrees with the approach taken by Mikey, this his second video about the cycling safety campaigner who counts Guy Ritchie and Chris Eubank among the list of phone-using drivers he has reported to the Metropolitan Police. 

"What Mikey has done is actually rallied many cyclists to take a similar reporting approach," Neil said in a video uploaded last May. "This may have a positive impact nationally on stopping people using their mobile phones, but honestly, I think it's created a different problem. I've actually asked Mikey about this on his videos before but he didn't respond.

"Quite often you can see on the footage while he's challenging the motorist for contravening the keep left bollard, cyclists doing exactly the same. Now, I understand that anyone driving a tonne's worth of metal is going to do a hell of a lot more damage than anyone riding a bike, but with the speeds involved at this junction and at this crossing area, honestly, it becomes a lot less relevant.

"Some motorists think because of the lack of requirement for number plates and licences to ride a bicycle, cyclists are getting away with things that motorists don't."

Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.

Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.

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107 comments

Avatar
alansmurphy | 1 year ago
10 likes

"You cannot criticise everyone else bar from your own group," Neal suggested

 

He didn't. He criticised one pedestrian directly in front of him that was causing an issue to him...

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the little onion | 1 year ago
20 likes

Schrodingers Bike Bell - both needs to be there so pedestrians know that cyclists are coming, but shouldn't be there in case it is indimidating.

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Daclu Trelub | 1 year ago
2 likes

Mikey's turning into a bit of a knob.

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essexian | 1 year ago
16 likes

Why does anyone bother watching Mr Neal's output? He is a poor driving instructor having seen some of the "advice" he gives to his learners: he is just plan wrong at times.

As to his knowledge regarding cycling, it is less than my knowledge of 17th Century France. 

Mr Neal channel is just click bait. Ignore him and hopefully he will go away. 

Avatar
RDaneel replied to essexian | 1 year ago
5 likes

Which is why it's such a suprise that the resident "character" Martin "I hate YouTubers for making drama for likes" is such a fan of Neals output. Well it certainly worked on him as he must have watched it, I meanwhile haven't. 

Avatar
STiG911 replied to essexian | 1 year ago
6 likes
essexian wrote:

Why does anyone bother watching Mr Neal's output? He is a poor driving instructor having seen some of the "advice" he gives to his learners: he is just plan wrong at times.

As to his knowledge regarding cycling, it is less than my knowledge of 17th Century France. 

Mr Neal channel is just click bait. Ignore him and hopefully he will go away. 

It's pointless nit-picking click bait of the highest order. Pathetic.

Avatar
essexian replied to STiG911 | 1 year ago
0 likes

Me or Mr Neal?

 

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STiG911 replied to essexian | 1 year ago
3 likes
essexian wrote:

Me or Mr Neal?

Mr Neal - you seem like a fine Essex chap  4

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Flintshire Boy replied to STiG911 | 1 year ago
0 likes

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Agreed. It is pathetic to nit-pick click bait.

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Yet ya'll keep doing it!

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Bike Fascists on Road.cc - the gift that keeps on giving!

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Thanks, la.

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Avatar
Clem Fandango replied to essexian | 1 year ago
11 likes

Yep.  I find it hard to take advice on cycling from those who clearly don't ride regularly themselves.

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mctrials23 replied to Clem Fandango | 1 year ago
5 likes

To be fair to Neal, he has started cycling. I have seen a few of his videos over the years and its fascinating to see how drastically his views on cyclist related incidents have changed since he started getting on two wheels. 

Like most drivers he has a new appreciation for how fucking awful most drivers are and how vulnerable you are as a cyclist. 

Its amusing that drivers think that cyclists are a menace and ignore all their fellow motorists shitty driving but as soon as they get on a bike all those shit drivers are suddently not such a non-event when you don't have a big metal box around you. 

Avatar
HarrogateSpa replied to essexian | 1 year ago
0 likes

Well, let's start with Cardinal Richelieu, who was known as 'the Red Eminence'.

He sought to consolidate royal power, and restrain the power of the aristocracy. In other words, he wanted a strong, centralised state.

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Flintshire Boy replied to essexian | 1 year ago
0 likes

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'He is a poor driving instructor.'

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And you know this how?

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Oldfatgit | 1 year ago
5 likes

Guess Mickey has made it then ...
He's got his own 'celebrity follower hanging off his every word... and reposting Mickey's content too.
Bet Neal is glad that copyright laws over "fair use" and "critique" are as lax as they are.

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cycle92 replied to Oldfatgit | 1 year ago
0 likes

To be fair, Ashley has a larger following...

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Flintshire Boy replied to cycle92 | 1 year ago
0 likes

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What has fairness got to do with it?!

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How DARE YOU, Sir?

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Flintshire Boy replied to Oldfatgit | 1 year ago
0 likes

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As are so many of us.

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So what is your point?

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Or maybe you should try to re-phrase whatever it is that you were trying to say.

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