A bad day for the Old Portlians CC and cycling generally

The unbridled joy that normally surrounds the Old Ports Saturday potter around the lanes of the North Downs south of London, taking in the villages of Downe, Knockholt, Halstead and Shoreham, was shattered this morning by a crash that left one of our number, Phil Pearson, needing to be airlifted straight to King's College Hopital, London. The accident happened as we descended through Knockholt village. Phil hit a large pothole, lost control of his bike and careered into a parked car sustaining what appeared to be serious head injuries. The air ambulance landed in a field down the Halstead road and the doctors sprinted carrying their bags all the way to the scene, some 400 meters to the crash site. They clearly were taking no chances.

It brought it home to the rest of us how treacherous it is on the roads at the present time when there is not just other vehicles to worry about but also the very surface we are riding on. So much of the tarmac is simply appalling and, as today showed, downright dangerous. We await news on our man's condition.