A drunken cyclist who tore through Perth was more Tour de Farce than Tour de France, a court has heard.
Daniel Cuthbert narrowly avoided hitting crowds of late-night clubbers as he blundered through the town centre at top speed in March.
He had apparently been keen to show off his BMX skills after a boozy night with friends but rather than head for the skate park he took to the streets.
After startling a number of equally tipsy patrons as they spilled out from licensed premises in the early hours, the 24-year-old was spotted by police.
They followed Cuthbert as he careered the wrong way down a one-way street before a sudden halt as he clattered into a pavement.
He staggered off on foot but was traced a short distance away in Canal Street where it became clear he was heavily under the influence of alcohol.
When asked about the manner of his cycling, Cuthbert became aggressive, the court was told, and racially abused an English officer.
While stressing the danger Cuthbert posed to pedestrians, Sheriff Lindsay Foulis accepted there had been something faintly comedic about Cuthbert’s antics.
He asked the solicitor whether his client’s speed had been akin to Scots cycling legend Graeme Obree and whether he had been “wearing a yellow shirt.”
Mr Ralph’s tongue-in-cheek reply was that the choice of cyclist was perhaps a reflection on the sheriff’s age and he instead likened the pace set by his client to that of “Lance Armstrong or Mark Cavendish.”
He was able to tell the court Cuthbert in fact wore a black top and a beanie hat. The dark attire made it even more difficult for pedestrians to spot the accused, whose bicycle did not have any lights illuminated.
Cuthbert, of Balgowan Road, Perth, admitted riding a cycle dangerously in South Street, Perth, on March 11 by riding at speed against a one-way system and weaving across the street without due regard for the safety of pedestrians.
He also admitted acting in a racially aggravated manner, swearing and shouting a racist remark at a police constable in Canal Crescent on the same day.
Ordering him to carry out 90 hours of unpaid work, Sheriff Foulis said: “This was just daft, absolutely daft. You were clearly causing a hazard to others.
“You were drunk and cycling through an area where a lot of pedestrians were congregating and they too were likely drunk.
“When you were finally stopped by the police, you compounded your idiocy, however, by making stupid remarks to the officers.”