Gooner Mad Dog
Active Member
- Location
- Walthamstow, London
What sort of cyclist are you? On my 10 mile commute it always amuses me why people are cycling we all have most of the same in common ie to get from A to B safely, cost effective, perhaps faster, greener, healthier etc we just have different priorities. You may well be a fusion cyclist, however fusion will cause confusion erm where was I? enjoy.....
Racers
All the gear, high performance bike, it’s all about the speed, must go faster, red light whoosh and gone. The dare-devils of the cycling world, heads down low never seem to have a bag perhaps a token tool bag or something around their waist big enough to get a small sandwich in and a tangerine. They constantly challenge themselves, knocking 33 seconds off their journey makes their day! Tend to be under 35’s, no not going to say boy racer….
Commuters
Most of us fall into this group I expect, we are all trying to get to work in one piece, some are fortunate enough to have showers at their workplace others make do whatever way they can. Generally, most work colleagues look on you with some suspicion, why do they bother? Mmm suppose it saves you money, you must be fitter I suppose mmm no I like the Metro in the morning, oh far too dangerous!
Financial Commuter ( me )
£1300 quid to renew my 1-3 travel card , that’s it! Financial commuter like heads off to the shed dragging out whatever roadster/hybrid bike that has been ignored and unloved in the last 5 years! Most have acquired some cycling gear usually from supermarkets and drive a variety of bikes in the budget to mid price range. Oil, tyres inflated and Tesco’s for a set of lights, sorted! Off we go, racer shoots by maybe will invest in a decent bike next year plenty of miles left in this one, mmm ebay?? After initially sorting out your safest commute, improving your fitness you even start to enjoy it ! I can listen to the radio, see more of London, more sociable but at the back of your mind, have saved over a hundred quid this month! Usually has fairly bulky rucksack of heavily laden panniers with some of last nights stew for lunch.
Pootller Commuter
This species is usually found on the fringes of central London and is only doing perhaps one or two miles at most. They are dressed ready for work with perhaps token high viz armband as a and can be found gently cycling in places like Islington in abundance. They have no stress just a leisurely ride to work, not even breaking into a sweat. They might be even eating toast, apply makeup at traffic lights or have a small dog in their basket. Pootlers are envied by stressed, teeth clenched Financial commuters like myself, they even do free-wheeling and chat to friends on phones!” Yah yah will be there in 5 minutes I have the keys, mwah!”
Eco Commuter
Green man/girl is a cyclist with a conscience and spends nights worrying about the planet and their carbon footprint. If I cycle all year how many ice-bergs will I save? Generally kitted out well and will have a budget bike a real eco commuter will have rechargeable batteries or better still manual charged lights. Eco’s are widespread and will often be seen picking up some organic groceries perhaps enjoying a fair-trade coffee together.
Fitness Commuter
Its all about the health n fitness for these folk, they will get to work fitter not fatter. They might even cycle to the gym after work and generally have all the gear and more a little older in males, younger in females. They drive mid to high end bikes and usually have Nike or similar bags containing a healthy lunch and their squash kit .Fitness commuters can be easily confused with Racers but are in fact a totally different species.
Weekend Cyclist
Purely a leisure rider, the bike comes out on sunny weekends and will flock to canal pathways, Epping Forest, back-roads and bridleways. They are cooped up all week in corporate offices, cars all week at weekends they relish the fresh air and freedom cycling affords. They ride a variety of bikes and from budget to high end cycling is their guilty pleasure and boy will they enjoy it. Whether it be getting dirty in a forest or a organised family ride the weekend cyclist complete with Debenhams flask is a flourishing species. They are more inclined to sub urban areas or London fringes in small social groups unlike the solitary commuter/racer family.
Urban Street Gang Cyclist
Relatively a new species only discovered in last 10 years and generally nocturnal. They congregate around late night fast food outlets in small numbers smoking questionable cigarettes. They wear no high vis clothing, no water bottles, no bells and definitely no lights. This cyclist prefers to stick to the pavements riding very cautiously a creature of nervous disposition, very furtive and ride very slowly. It was first thought that the USG cyclists stuck to the pavements because they had not ever passed their cycling proficiency tests? This has been since disproved since as they can be seen at high speed in pursuit or fleeing the scene of a mobile phone theft! They ride a variety of bikes usually stolen but no panniers or baskets this cyclist likes to travel light and doesn’t associate with the other cyclists.
Racers
All the gear, high performance bike, it’s all about the speed, must go faster, red light whoosh and gone. The dare-devils of the cycling world, heads down low never seem to have a bag perhaps a token tool bag or something around their waist big enough to get a small sandwich in and a tangerine. They constantly challenge themselves, knocking 33 seconds off their journey makes their day! Tend to be under 35’s, no not going to say boy racer….
Commuters
Most of us fall into this group I expect, we are all trying to get to work in one piece, some are fortunate enough to have showers at their workplace others make do whatever way they can. Generally, most work colleagues look on you with some suspicion, why do they bother? Mmm suppose it saves you money, you must be fitter I suppose mmm no I like the Metro in the morning, oh far too dangerous!
Financial Commuter ( me )
£1300 quid to renew my 1-3 travel card , that’s it! Financial commuter like heads off to the shed dragging out whatever roadster/hybrid bike that has been ignored and unloved in the last 5 years! Most have acquired some cycling gear usually from supermarkets and drive a variety of bikes in the budget to mid price range. Oil, tyres inflated and Tesco’s for a set of lights, sorted! Off we go, racer shoots by maybe will invest in a decent bike next year plenty of miles left in this one, mmm ebay?? After initially sorting out your safest commute, improving your fitness you even start to enjoy it ! I can listen to the radio, see more of London, more sociable but at the back of your mind, have saved over a hundred quid this month! Usually has fairly bulky rucksack of heavily laden panniers with some of last nights stew for lunch.
Pootller Commuter
This species is usually found on the fringes of central London and is only doing perhaps one or two miles at most. They are dressed ready for work with perhaps token high viz armband as a and can be found gently cycling in places like Islington in abundance. They have no stress just a leisurely ride to work, not even breaking into a sweat. They might be even eating toast, apply makeup at traffic lights or have a small dog in their basket. Pootlers are envied by stressed, teeth clenched Financial commuters like myself, they even do free-wheeling and chat to friends on phones!” Yah yah will be there in 5 minutes I have the keys, mwah!”
Eco Commuter
Green man/girl is a cyclist with a conscience and spends nights worrying about the planet and their carbon footprint. If I cycle all year how many ice-bergs will I save? Generally kitted out well and will have a budget bike a real eco commuter will have rechargeable batteries or better still manual charged lights. Eco’s are widespread and will often be seen picking up some organic groceries perhaps enjoying a fair-trade coffee together.
Fitness Commuter
Its all about the health n fitness for these folk, they will get to work fitter not fatter. They might even cycle to the gym after work and generally have all the gear and more a little older in males, younger in females. They drive mid to high end bikes and usually have Nike or similar bags containing a healthy lunch and their squash kit .Fitness commuters can be easily confused with Racers but are in fact a totally different species.
Weekend Cyclist
Purely a leisure rider, the bike comes out on sunny weekends and will flock to canal pathways, Epping Forest, back-roads and bridleways. They are cooped up all week in corporate offices, cars all week at weekends they relish the fresh air and freedom cycling affords. They ride a variety of bikes and from budget to high end cycling is their guilty pleasure and boy will they enjoy it. Whether it be getting dirty in a forest or a organised family ride the weekend cyclist complete with Debenhams flask is a flourishing species. They are more inclined to sub urban areas or London fringes in small social groups unlike the solitary commuter/racer family.
Urban Street Gang Cyclist
Relatively a new species only discovered in last 10 years and generally nocturnal. They congregate around late night fast food outlets in small numbers smoking questionable cigarettes. They wear no high vis clothing, no water bottles, no bells and definitely no lights. This cyclist prefers to stick to the pavements riding very cautiously a creature of nervous disposition, very furtive and ride very slowly. It was first thought that the USG cyclists stuck to the pavements because they had not ever passed their cycling proficiency tests? This has been since disproved since as they can be seen at high speed in pursuit or fleeing the scene of a mobile phone theft! They ride a variety of bikes usually stolen but no panniers or baskets this cyclist likes to travel light and doesn’t associate with the other cyclists.
