.the cyclologist

It's not just le Tour racing in town.

The times they are a changin'. there is a different atmosphere around town. I get down to London every few years, far enough a part to notice a slow but gradual change for the better that seems to be sweeping across the capital. My enduring memory when I left London a dozen or so years ago was of a dirty old town, filled with stressed people and aggressive driving. Cyclists were a strange species, a subculture derided by many and ignored by most.

But what a difference a few years makes. There is less traffic. Whether that is due to the Congestion Charge, or whether Oyster has got people out of their shell, there is a different buzz around the place. More people on the streets, out of their vehicles. People talking to each other, recognising the community in which they live, travelling by bus, by bike, on foot. Even those still in their cars seem more patient, more forbearing now the competition for every inch of space on the roads has lessened.

And competition is what this is all about. With so many more people out and about on bikes, the resurgence of that great sport that dare not speak it's name, that no-one will admit to participating in, has come about. We are not talking of le Tour, everyone knows about that. Nor the fakenger phenomenon, or the resurgence of the fixie chick. Instead, the Cyclologist has researched far and wide to uncover the hidden truth and rules behind the sport of Commuter Racing.

Come on, admit it. You do it to. The competitive urge is there in all of us. Get behind a wheel and we get frustrated being stuck behind the car in front. Get on a saddle however and there is space and time to play. We can overtake those in front, legs and lungs permitting. No-one likes to be passed, everyone likes to go past others. We wipe the sleep from our eyes, out to do gladiatorial combat on the streets of our towns and cities as we boost our health and productivity with an adrenaline boosting rush to our desks.