y o u b i k e l o n d o n; Guy from Brixton

Name and age?
Guy, and I'm 25.
Where do you live / ride to?
I live in Brixton and I cycle to Chancery Lane for work.
What do you ride?
A Specialized Globe City 6.
How often do you ride?
I don't ride every day, I try to ride to work two or three times a week.
Helmet or no helmet?
Helmet during the week, no helmet at weekends; you're on holiday at weekends and no one is rushing, you know?
What's your primary reason for cycling?
It just feels healthy, you get a bit of fresh air, a bit of exercise; I hate the gym so it's nice to do some exercise.
Least favourite aspect of cycling?
I guess when you go off in the morning and it's a nice sunny day but when it comes to leaving work at the end of the day and it's raining.
Most favourite aspect of cycling?
The wind in my hair.
What do you never leave the house without whe riding?
My lock I guess.
How many locks do you carry and have you ever had a bicycle stolen?
I had a bicycle stolen when I was 13, I left the bike outside my parent's house and didn't lock it. We lived in a lovely suburb where these sorts of things don't happen, until they happen to you.  Now I have a D lock.
What advice would you give an aspiring cyclist thinking of riding in London for the first time?
You need to be assertive, but aware of what is around you.  As long as you ride with confidence, I think traffic will come to respect you more; if it sees you as being hesitant then they'll just go and mabe not give you as much respect as they should.
What can be done to improve the lot of the London cyclist?
I think that most of the roads I ride are pretty good in that they've got pretty good bicycle lanes and therefore you're not that close to the traffic, but the number of lanes that are full of pot holes is not great and needs to be improved.

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