The Outer Circle in Regent’s Park has been a popular road for cycling enthusiasts

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DOZENS of cyclists are pulling out of daily rides around the Regent’s Park Outer Circle after a spate of violent robberies of high-end bikes.

Muggers on powerful motorbikes have been targeting club riders who test their endurance with sunrise laps of the popular circuit each morning.

A woman was among those who was robbed of her £8,000 bike on January 14 – one of three on that day – and more attacks have followed by men wielding machetes and knives, creating a climate of fear in the cycling community. Data on the Strava app shows dozens of regular riders have stopped their daily health routine and there are questions about whether police could be doing more to protect them.

Regent’s Park Rouleurs club rider Bethan Lloyd-Glass was pushed to the ground and had her bike stolen in Camden Town as she cycled to the Outer Circle around 5.30am.

She told the New Journal she was still “terrified” after the ordeal, adding: “I know this will pass, but right now I can’t really face going out cycling. “Even the doorbell going at night is making me jumpy. I was talking to the police and I was thinking, why aren’t there more police on motorbikes in the city? They could go after these people. Why can’t they do a sting on the Outer Circle? They could start coming down to the park and really try and find these people.”

The New Journal has run several stories on the lukewarm response from the police to cycle thefts and muggings in recent years, with the Met blaming a lack of resources.

Recalling the harrowing attack, Ms Lloyd-Glass said: “I came down my usual way through Camden Town and as I was going past the [Kentish Town Road] bridge a motorbike went past me and stopped at the lights in front.

“I stopped a little bit behind them and the pillion passenger turned round to look at me… I just knew he was going to get off the bike, and I kind of just flatlined. “I unclipped my foot and shouted out ‘please don’t take my bike.’ He pushed me out the way. I’ve got a massive bruise of calf. He had his helmet on – all you could see what that he was a tall man.”

She added: “I’ve got this heart-shaped light on the back, and I just remember seeing it vanish off down the road. I was crying my eyes out.”

Ms Lloyd-Glass said she felt like she had been on “borrowed time” as a regular cyclist of the Outer Circle after a series of thefts there last year, adding: “One guy he had his bike stolen – and then it showed up in Russia. These people are carrying machetes and hammers. It seems hardcore much more when they are on an actual motorbike.”

After the attack on Ms Lloyd-Glass, the New Journal understands the same muggers went off to the Outer Circle and stole a Brompton from a man on his way to work close to the Hanover Gate. They were then thwarted in a third robbery by a group of cyclists close to the Regent’s Park Mosque.

Justin McKie, chairman of the Regent’s Park Rouleurs cycling club, said: “There is a now fear of the physical side of these robberies that is causing so much worry.

“People are genuinely so upset about it that they are not going out. You can see on Strava that there are a lot less people going out there now. Dozens by my count. It can’t be overstated the impact it is having on our community. Physical exercise is so important for mental health.”

Mr McKie said some of his Regent’s Park Rouleurs group have put GPS trackers in their bikes which, like the Find My Phone App in smartphones, can show a live location on a digital map. He said: “We have four riders who were robbed of their bikes in the last year. For perspective, we are a club of 30. In some cases we have even given the police the tracking locations, but they have not done anything. I do get the impression they are taking this a bit more seriously. It’s a tough one to solve.”

The Friends of Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill community group sent out an “extraordinary update” on Tuesday about the “thefts of cycles and physical attacks in and around the park”, adding: “The Police are pursuing this spate of attacks. But don’t be complacent. Please beware.”

The New Journal contacted the Met police for a statement with details of the robberies on January 14 but, we did not receive a response or any comment about the situation.