I’ll be bike! (But Arnie, we ride on the LEFT)
Terminator on wrong side of road during visit to Scotland
DURING his time as governor of California, his brand of hardnosed politics seldom involved U-turns.
But on a visit to Edinburgh yesterday Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been well advised to make an about-face – for his own personal safety.
The Hollywood legend took to the city streets for a bike ride, and as bemused locals looked on, he headed off into rush-hour traffic on the wrong side of the road. The 68-year- old Terminator star appeared to forget that he was no longer in the US as he left the Waldorf Astoria hotel and set off along the right-hand side of busy Lothian Road, smiling at pedestrians as he went.
One onlooker said: ‘There were two lanes of traffic coming towards him. He was risking his life. He was very cheery and very happy and looked like he was enjoying himself. He then stopped in the middle of a junction and took selfies with his pals.’ Schwarzenegger later tweeted a snap of his adventure, saying: ‘My first Edinburgh bike ride. A beautiful city.’
On Wednesday night the actor attended a meet-and-greet event at which fans paid up to £1,500 for tickets. He told the gathering: ‘I’m going for a bicycle ride around town and this is how you get to know it.
‘I’ll stop at the little shops and try a croissant and a Scottish coffee and beer or whatever.
‘I’ve never been to Scotland or Edinburgh before but next time I come I’ll be able to say it’s great to be back.’
The actor could have been stopped by the police under Section 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 for his bicycling blunder.
Most cycling offences are dealt with by fixed penalty notices but someone found guilty on summary conviction of ‘careless or inconsiderate cycling’ can be fined up to £1,000.
The climate change campaigner had earlier raised eyebrows among green activists when he arrived at Edinburgh Airport earlier this week in a highly polluting private jet.
He was whisked to his hotel in a gasguzzling Porsche Cayenne with a luxury Land Rover carrying his staff and luggage following behind.
‘He was very cheery and very happy’