Digital pedalling

Since I started cycling again I noticed that there has been an increase in strange beings patrolling the streets like some cycling cybermen.

Electronic gadgets ooze out of every available attachment, cameras, Garmins, go-pros, mobiles, more cameras. They stride through the streets connected to the tech world in a way that certainly never did when I was a kid – then again my racer had levers on the side of the frame which you moved until the gear changed.

Computers tell you how fast you are going, how your heartbeat is, even how much power you put into pedaling. Meanwhile, the eye in the sky (or helmet/bike) casts its all-seeing view over the world.

Some use cameras to record their rides, others to protect themselves in case of an accident.

The other day, I actually saw someone riding along in a hi-viz tunic, his helmet spouting a go-pro like some latter-day pharaoh’s Khepresh, an air of extreme self-importance - the icing on the cake was that he was on a Brompton.

Now I know Brommies are now fuming but it was the complete picture of all the get up with a foldable bike that made me laugh.

In this mass-surveillance world, there is considerable debate about whether these cybermen are actually causing confrontation.

When you look at some of the You Tube videos, it is hard to disagree sometimes but that is down to the cyclist concerned rather than the camera itself. For every self-righteous rider who would yell at a butterfly fluttering past, there is another rigged-up rider who will glide serenely through their route.

However, I do feel there has been a rise in confrontation and anger on the road with all users. It could be down to societal changes or training or just idiocy manifesting itself but cycling cameras are only a small part of it.

For some lucky cyclists, their route in is one of approaching nirvana, where drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and bikers interact in a state of bliss.

Unfortunately, there are also routes that resemble Mad Max where mutant scavengers fight it out for a piece of tarmac, where one man on a bike is up against the insanity of Nux, where…

Actually, roads in this country are relatively safe, even in London and the burbs but even taking this onboard, on a lot of routes taking the offensive is actually the safest form of cycling.

My wife and daughter have only seen me riding on the road in rush hour once when they were on a bus I overtook and were amazed at the speed and decisiveness (think I was shocked too!)  I used to pass what I considered could be a hazard and certainly would delay me due to its route – plenty of stops ahead on narrow roads.

For many commuter cyclist, using speed is normal and a lot of us feel that our speed and behaviour protects us as we are acting as traffic not something to hide in the gutter.

And sometimes we do blow our top. My range goes from casual shake of head, to pointing at sign/traffic lights to a full-blown anyone in earshot with kids or are sensitive I apologies- type language.

But it is down to the event. I am angry because you nearly ran me over, carried on going at me when you should give way or you pulled out on me and I was about to do a 3.2 dismount over your bonnet. You are in a lump of metal, I am just a lump.

Saying that, in number terms, the incidences where I would release the invective are minuscule and the majority of drivers give me space, are attentive, look both ways, don’t overtake at pinchpoints, don’t ignore give way signs, give you space etc – but that doesn’t create hits, doesn’t create news.

In regards other technology - yes Strava louts can be idiots, bombing through without care for traffic nor pedestrian alike in their bid to get a King of the Mountain (KoM) or personal best (PB). It also looks like quite a soulless pastime. I have been cycling home and seen someone bomb down a ‘segment’ – runs that times are set against - stop, look at his time then head back to try again. Like a gym, I just cannot see the appeal of that. It is like learning to pass your driving test rather than learning to drive – at the end of the day, neither as satisfying nor complete.

But for me and many others, the program has been very useful in letting me know where I falter, how my speed inevitably drops on hills and the spikes and troughs of my cycle – if I get a PB then it is a sign that the training is working and is a by-product of a run. Indeed, I am still amused that I am KoM of two runs because a) I only knew they existed after I’d done them and was at home; and b)couldn’t work out why someone would segment those areas.  

In fact it was these troughs on the Strava that prompted me to get a cheap bike computer so I could see my speed when cycling. I thought if I could smooth those out, my time would be quicker on Ride London thanks to better efficiency.

With less than two weeks to go, the combination of computer and Strava has allowed me to be pretty confident that I will be able to get round the Ride London course within 9 and a half hours - finishing...another story but time-wise... When I started this madness, I never thought I’d ever hit the 12.5 mph necessary – now that is fairly easy.

I am not (to mix programmes) ready to quite join the full collective, I’ll take my commute without a camera, and my phone is happy in the back pocket.

But if, when you are out, you pass someone extremely teched up, and you feel jealous or wish to have the same kit, just think about the extra weight they are carrying ;)