82 yr old suffers brain bleed from bike crash

Herald Sun

Picture: Adam Elwood

Cyclist Michael Waterfield crashed while riding his bike on Yarra Blvd, bike path in Kew in late September.

AN 82-year-old cyclist suffered bleeding on the brain and was hospitalised for three days following a crash he believes is linked to tacks deliberately thrown along Yarra Blvd in Kew.

And up to 1500 bike riders are expected to protest along the road on November 8, fed up with the attacks against their own.

Crash victim Michael Waterfield was sent flying off his bike late September while riding down a hill near Studley Park Rd after his front wheel was punctured.

Thousands cyclists have taken part in previous ‘Stop The Tacks’ protest rides. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

The force of the crash left the cycling enthusiast with broken ribs, serious grazing to his hands, knees and shoulders.

Mr Waterfield has little recollection of the crash but said he may have been travelling at 30km/h at the time.

“The crashed happened about 11.30am and the next thing I remember is waking up in an x-ray machine at The Alfred,” he said.

Reports of broken glass, tacks and metal shards deliberately thrown on the Yarra Blvd stretch back more than two years and has left cyclists at their wits’ ends.

While a tack was not found in Mr Waterfield’s wheel following the crash, he said only a tack could have caused a complete puncture of his wheel.

“Normally punctures from glass or other sharp objects go through just the inner wall of the tyre, but my puncture was through both walls,” he said.

“The crash could only been caused by a tack.”

He said other cyclists had had their wheels punctured in the area around the time of his crash.

Cyclists Shane Miller and Edward Hore have been collected hundreds of tacks from along Yarra Boulevard. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Mr Waterfield, who has enjoyed riding for 72 years, was back on his bike last week, showing defiance against those laying tacks along the boulevard.

“When you get to my age you go backwards if you give up exercising,” he said.

A bike riders’ protest, in defiance of the attacks, is planned for Yarra Blvd on November 8.

Protest organiser George Mihailides said riders had been forced off the Yarra Blvd shoulder and into traffic lanes — putting them dangerously close to trucks and cars.

He said attacks had increased in recent weeks and called for CCTV cameras to be installed along the besieged strip.

Boroondara police Senior Sergeant Mark Standish said an investigation into Mr Waterfield’s crash was unable to draw a direct link to a tack.

“At this stage it is inconclusive if a tack has caused that accident,” he said.

But Sen-Sgt Standish urged the public to report tack sightings along Yarra Blvd to Crime Stoppers.

He said police had varied patrols in the area in a bid to catch those responsible but relied on public support.

“I understand the frustration of the bike riders and I certainly feel for them, but we are confident we will get a result in the end,” he said.

He said police were considering a reward for information that helped catch the culprits.