Here's one for your lefty wets - Jeremy Clarkson on Cycle Lanes in Holland Park Ave

jonnyburgo

The full kit wankers usually pop up for a bit on sunday mornings around le tour time with their big bellies and expensive bikes then disappear again when the weather turns, theyve probably got expensive wetsuits and cobweb covered canoes in their double garage too, alongside the Ski's and the twice ridden cannnondale mountain bike. 

Me generalising? Never!

Johnnyseven

jonnyburgo said:

The full kit wankers usually pop up for a bit on sunday mornings around le tour time with their big bellies and expensive bikes then disappear again when the weather turns, theyve probably got expensive wetsuits and cobweb covered canoes in their double garage too, alongside the Ski's and the twice ridden cannnondale mountain bike. 

Me generalising? Never!

You see alot of these guys holding their bikes at the top of Box Hill in the summer, never see them doing much riding though.

merlin

LastMantra said:

As long as you don't throw BILE at them you'll probably be alright. 

Or not. I wouldn't piss on either of them if they were on fire. 

hollywoodrox

I would definitely get another pushbike if I lived back in Lincolnshire/Cambridgeshire , it’s so bloody hilly in Devon 

ewal

crunchman said:

ewal said:

One thing that's obvious from cities where cycling is popular is that they do it in everyday clothes and yes, often without a helmet (shock, horror!).

I think that's one of things we need to get over - stop the fetishisation of it - you really don't need any special gear to ride a bike ...

Cycling shorts are more about avoiding a sore bum.

I agree if cycling any distance. But if you're just using it as a utility to get about town, just do it in every day clothes. For more people to choose bike over car, we need to drop the notion that you 'need' special gear to do it. Utility mode of transport vs recreational activity - I do both and yes wear cycling shorts, shoes, etc when doing the latter.

p90fool

Exactly, millions of people in cities all over the world cycle to work every day, the vast majority in their work clothes. 

We are a bizarre nation for "looking the part", fancy-dressing our way through everything from jogging to motorcycling, having to be seen in the cool gear even though the rest of the world rarely bothers. 

Can you imagine all those Dutch, Chinese or Chilean office workers all tarted up like Bradley Wiggins every morning? It would be hilarious. 

jpfamps

Sassafras said:

I have a recurring dream where I'm driving a big lorry and I see Clarkson and Piers Morgan on a tandem and I accelerate and crush both of them under my wheels, sometimes I have to reverse back over them to make sure.

That's quite an unlikely combination giving the history between those two.

crunchman

ewal said:

crunchman said:

ewal said:

One thing that's obvious from cities where cycling is popular is that they do it in everyday clothes and yes, often without a helmet (shock, horror!).

I think that's one of things we need to get over - stop the fetishisation of it - you really don't need any special gear to ride a bike ...

Cycling shorts are more about avoiding a sore bum.

I agree if cycling any distance. But if you're just using it as a utility to get about town, just do it in every day clothes. For more people to choose bike over car, we need to drop the notion that you 'need' special gear to do it. Utility mode of transport vs recreational activity - I do both and yes wear cycling shorts, shoes, etc when doing the latter.

I do cycle to work in every day clothes now, but my previous office was nearly 8 miles.  For that, I wore some cycling gear and then showered and changed in the office.  Just cycling shorts with a normal T shirt though.  Even when I'm out on a proper ride, I would never do the "full kit" thing.  All my proper cycling tops are of the Lidl / Decathlon variety.

Up to approximately 5 miles, then civvies are normally the best option.  Above that and cycling shorts make sense.  The exact distance does depend on the terrain.  If it's dead flat, you can do pretty much any distance in normal clothes if you take it easy enough.  At a certain point, the extra speed you get by going fast in cycling gear saves more time than it takes to shower and change.

London is a bit different from cities like Amsterdam though.  It's a lot bigger, so commutes of 8 miles plus are not uncommon.  I'd imagine that there are a lot less commuters in Amsterdam travelling that kind of distance.