According to a report on the website Moving Target and a number of posts on the London Fixed Gear Forum, the cyclist who was killed by a left turning coach at the junction of Wormwood Street and Bishopsgate last Friday was a bicycle courier named Henry Warwick who worked for Rico Logistics.

There will be a memorial ride organised by couriers of London this Friday. The City of London Police is still looking for eyewitnesses of the crash.

Henry is said to be the ninth courier who died on London’s roads while working.

There is a poignant video on Youtube about the work of cycling courier that features Henry Warwick. It’s an episode of a TV series called  “Ed’s up”, where Ed Robertson, a member of the Canadian band “Barenaked Ladies”,  tries out dangerous jobs.

In this episode, Ed works as a cycling courier in London and is incorporated by Henry.

Watching the film now is absolutely terrifying for a number of reasons.

The manager of Rico Logistics introduces Henry as “one of our most experienced riders”. Apparently, Henry was working as a courier in London for more about 20 years.

Ed muses about the risks for cyclists on London’s streets in a way that appears both prescient and repugnant at the same time.

For instance, Ed asserts that

“London is a city of eight million people. With that comes dangerous traffic which does not bode well with me at my new job. (…) I think I’m more afraid of this than I’ve been of any episode I’ve ever done.”

Horrifying is a scene in a video where Ed discusses the map of London and asks the manager of Rico: “Where will I die exactly?”. The answer he get is: “Oh, you could die anywhere”. The managers the  tells Ed:

“Remain nervous. If you remain nervous, you remain alert and be scared. If you don’t watch out, you’ll die.”

I take issue with Ed’s suggestion that the dangers on the roads are an act of God which is clearly wrong. London’s roads are dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians because the mayor and Transport for London give priority to motorised traffic and stick to a road design that poses unnecessary risks to weaker road users.

The traffic planning decisions of Transport for London triggers situations where even very experienced cyclists like Henry, who was on  road for almost 20 years, have no chance.

This is a point made by a number of people on the London Fixed Gear forum. For example, somebody calling himself “Badman ratio” writes:

“IT DOESNT MATTER HOW GOOD YOU ARE or how good you THINK you are, sudden death or being maimed for life can snatch you off your machine quicker than you say fixie. Henry was probably the most experienced/exemplary courier in London, if not Europe”

It’s just so sad and agonising.