ALPINE mountain biker John Alcock is stepping up a campaign for safe cycleways around Ulverston, after receiving the worst accident of his life on the A590.

He shattered his right elbow and nearly ended up under the wheels of a passing lorry on a stretch of road he has been campaigning against for six years.

The intrepid cyclist has in the last two years taken part in a harrowing 354-mile Mexican mountain expedition and ridden all over the Alps, but his most frightening cycle trip was between Ulverston and Greenodd.

Mr Alcock was riding at about 18 mph in heavy traffic, keeping close to hedging which juts out slightly into the road near Arrad Foot, when his handlebars suddenly stuck in a blackthorn bush.

"The bike stopped dead, spun the handlebars round, and pitched me off into the road and into the traffic flow.

How they missed me I don't know," he said.

He had to undergo five hours of surgery to repair bones and damaged muscle.

Now recovering at home in Spark Bridge, the avid cycleways campaigner is using his accident to aid his long-running crusade for safe routes for cyclists.

He is appealing to families, long-distance cyclists, and anyone who would prefer to get bikes off the main roads, to write to the campaign with their views and experiences, particularly along the A590 Ulverston to Greenodd stretch.

"This accident just confirms mine and other people's feelings that it is an extremely dangerous piece of road to have cyclists on," he said.

"This is a key route both in and out of Furness, and to and from the southern lakes area.

"I have cycled in various parts of the world in horrific conditions and this turned out to be the most frightening and the most dangerous."

Mr Alcock has helped raise £6,000 for an Ulverston cycleways study, is on the committee of the Furness Greenways Partnership Project, and has been instrumental in cycling schemes for Ulverston 2000+.

He is also a founder of the Better Towns Team Ulverston self-help group, which is keen on safe cycling and walking routes.

He asks anyone who supports his campaign to write via the Better Towns secretary Ralph Spours at 7 Upper Brook Street, Ulverston, or E-mail Mr Alcock on jmalcock@jalcock.fsnet.co.uk