Let’s see how you’re going so far:

1. You are more or less penniless
2. You have bleak career prospects
3. You are now at an age where this is no longer raffish and charming.

Up until now you’ve done a decent job of managing to convince your younger girlfriend that it will all fall into place sometime soonish, with careful and judicious use of impressive, throwaway phrases such as “just rewards”, “fullness of time”, “recognition of talent” and so on. You realise that too much planning or organisation at this delicate stage could well stymie creativity, nay, upset cosmic balance. Fate will provide.

And it does; you win a car.

For the first time in your life you have a legitimate financial asset. From these giddy heights not much is out of reach. You could drive places for a start. You could sell the car and get an engagement ring for the girlfriend. Save up for a place to call your own. Travel the world. With careful investment, an early retirement beckons. Even your family is moderately impressed … until you let slip that you are going to sell the car to buy a nice bicycle.

There is a big difference between cycling and riding a bike. While certain things tend to separate cyclists from people who happen to be on bikes — tan lines, smooth legs and probably some fairly tight clothing — these are not definitive. Bike Snob NYC, a cyclist blogger probably captures it best:

1. A “cyclist” rides a bike even when he or she does not have to.
2. A “cyclist” is someone who owns a floor pump.¹

Cycling for me began back in high school, riding the 25km or so to Manly Beach in Sydney on sunny days in the summer holidays in the company of a close friend or two. Neglect on my part over time had me doubting that I would find the magic of those times; nevertheless, a nagging desire to get fit again a year ago had me breaking open my pitifully small piggy bank to find out. The bike itself was just the beginning. Shoes, clothing, sunglasses and other accessories led to more reading — studying the rules of the European Cyclist in OREC², and with the learning came a wider interest in the sport itself.

It’s a good time to be into cycling, not just because I find myself nestled for the moment in the lovely Vale of Aylesbury in rural England. Cyclists are increasingly being taken into account as road users and bike use encouraged by governments. In the UK, for example, initiatives like Cyclescheme³ offer incentives for those that leave the car at home. It allows users to buy a new bike tax-free through an employer, provided it is used for commuting at least some of the time.

Sustrans is a charity that involves itself with, amongst other things, the National Cycle Network which, according to their website, roughly 50% of the country is within a mile of.⁴ The quieter roads of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire around me are dotted with small signs displaying the routes that take in the scenery whilst avoiding the traffic. Some of these have made clever use of dismantled railways and canal towpaths. Maps and news of events can be found on their website.

My cycling has yet to take me to many other places around the world, although that is something I hope for, but even Seoul, where I sometimes find myself, a city with much to do to improve its environment, has been working hard to restore the streams that criss-cross it. Paths alongside these mean that most areas of the metropolis are accessible by bike, without needing to face the nightmarish, aggressive traffic. But it’s pretty hard to beat the example set by the lucky residents of Copenhagen. Already a world-class cycling city, you may soon be able to ride on the world’s first carbon-neutral artificial island off the coast. And it’s in the shape of a bicycle.⁵

For those cyclists seeking competition there is always the local bike club that will offer preparation and avenues into racing. For those looking for a non-competitive challenge, a cyclosportive may be the answer. These offer the conditions and support of a race but with a more social flavour. Difficulty varies to suit all ages and abilities from a slow family ride right up to La Marmotte, the fearsome ride through the Alps, which after more than 5000m of climbing will bring you to the top of L’Alpe d’Huez, the Tour de France’s most famous climb. Crazy? Thousands queue up to try; places at some of the more established events need to be booked in advance.

Indeed, cycling is likely to be Great Britain’s most successful sport at the Beijing Olympic Games, testament to the growing popularity of road and track cycling. The Tour de France this year will certainly add to the attention the sport gets here. The young and cocky sprint talent Mark Cavendish has already proven to be the fastest man in the peloton by winning his fourth stage victory. The Antipodes, too, have reason to celebrate: Cadel Evans, despite an early crash, has worked his way into the Maillot Jaune and is a good chance to be the first Australian to win the general classification. Naturally, being the Tour de France, there has been plenty of drama off the course as well: one team has already withdrawn after one of its high-profile riders, Riccardo Ricco, returned a positive test for a third generation EPO.⁶  The presence of this substance was previously thought to have been untestable. Ricco will now face criminal prosecution, testament to the efforts of the International Cycling Union to clean up the sport. Doping and controversy have been features of the Tour for a long time, but cycling has gone to considerable lengths to clean up its act. In the wake of “Operacion Puerto⁷ ”, the bust of an organised doping network overseen by Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, cyclists attracted almost all of the media attention and disciplinary action. Fuentes himself was angry at the concentration on cycling⁸ ; all 34 of the athletes eventually named were cyclists out of a list of over 200 including top footballers, tennis players and other athletes.⁹  Plenty more action remains in the Tour before the final sprint down the Champs Elysees and for the sake of my cycling education, I won’t be missing any of it.

But the sun is out now and it’s time to don the lycra and explore the beautiful countryside around the Chiltern Hills. For the next few hours I will be meditating on the important things in life, not least of which will be the purchase of a new carbon fibre bicycle … if I can convince myself I deserve one. Like temperamental racehorses they should be earned and need to be treated correctly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDHzp_qApgo.

But, first… Would anyone like to buy a car?

Endnotes

1. For answers to questions philosophical and cycling-related see: http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2008/04/mused-and-confused-pondering-nature-of.html.  The blog generally makes for excellent reading.
2. OREC — The Official Rules of the European Cyclist is a Facebook group
3. http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/
4. http://www.sustrans.org.uk/default.asp
5. http://www.copenhagenize.com/2008/06/bicycle-island-off-copenhagen-coast.html
6. http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/tour08/news/?id=/news/2008/jul08/jul17news4a
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operaci%C3%B3n_Puerto_doping_case
8. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/Fuentes/indigna/filtracion/selectiva/elppordep/20060705elpepidep_23/Tes/
9. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2006/jul06/jul02news2