Mystery perpetual cyclists

[Pancho]

Do you have them round your way?

There's two here; one male, one female. Whenever I travel along the Axx, at whatever time of day, I see one or both of them riding one way or the other. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm imagining them. Ancient Mariners of the road. Maybe they are ghosts.

[MSeries]

Yes, I call him West Yorkshire Cyclist. Always wears blue a balaclava and carries a haversack. Seen him all over town any day of the week.

[Maladict]

There's a guy in Cambridge who cycles around with a ghetto blaster in a carrier bag slung from his handlebars.

I see him lots and I have a suspicion he just cycles round and round the city centre all day.

[Dave]

There's a guy in Cambridge who cycles around with a ghetto blaster in a carrier bag slung from his handlebars.

I see him lots and I have a suspicion he just cycles round and round the city centre all day.

There's another bloke in Cambridge - used to see him round Regent Street all the time - white TT helmet and violently blue tights. Always assumed he was a cycle courier of some sort.

[Basil]

I think I may have been one today.
Cycled my nice little 5 mile commute in, down into the underground car park under the building, get off bike, "Hang on.  Something's wrong."  "Bugger.  No panier."
Cylce same route back home.  Collect pannier.  Cycle same route back to work again. 

[Wowbagger]

There's one in Southend who always rides a beaten-up old bike (ladies'), flip-flops, bare torso, long, dirty blond hair, and whizzes up and down the sea front or high street He appeared at the pub last week when Fatters and I were enjoying lunch.

The problem is that there is no mystery about him. His name is Dion Thurling and I taught him in about 1978, or maybe a year or two later. The fact that his complete and absolute idleness while at school served as a perfect apprenticeship in later life makes me quite proud to have been a part in his formative years but also quite humble in that anything I tried to get him to do was evidently totally futile.

[Greenbank]

There's a guy in Cambridge who cycles around with a ghetto blaster in a carrier bag slung from his handlebars.

I see him lots and I have a suspicion he just cycles round and round the city centre all day.

Sometimes he even tunes the radio in properly.

I usually see him around Trinity St / St Johns St.

[vince]

There is a guy around here that has an Eddison MTB with a well worn set of carradice panniers and saddlebag. Because of the state of his luggage I'm willing to bet people think it is an old nail, rather than the custom built loveliness it is to those in the know.

[Pancho]

It's quite a nice way to go bonkers, I suppose.

Here I am with a nice firm grip on reality and social responsibilities and I get to sit in the office at 2100. Again. Meanwhile the Perpetual Cyclists get to spend all day, every day riding around and talking to God.

Exactly who's barking, here?

[fruitcake]

Somewhere else in the world there is a man talking about his perpetual cyclist while picturing you. 

[andygates]

Ah, the LOGs, Leathery Old Gits, forever seen trundling around on machines at least fifteen years old.  Ours is on a 1980s Colnago, and seems totally wrapped in his private world.

I sometimes wonder if there's a Flying Dutchman thing going on -- if they breathe a sigh of relief when they get a puncture, free at last to take a ten-minute break before riding round Dartmoor one more time...

[scott]

Ancient Mariners of the road.

There's one here, complete with long bushy beard.

[eck]

I think I've seen two, both on long perms with the same clubmate.

One was about 2am, on the Twilight 600, on the long climb out of Dalmally. My clubmate was way ahead of me, but I became aware of a cyclist just up the road a little. I thought it was strange that he was going so slowly, but as I drew nearer, I realised it wasn't my clubmate at all, but an old guy on an upright roadster. "Fine night" he remarked as I went past. I was mighty relieved when I eventually made contact with my clubmate, and he confirmed that he had seen him too.

The other was a few weeks ago, approaching Glendevon, again in the dark. We were together this time, and noticed a cyclist ahead. He seemed to be on a touring bike, panniers etc, but was wearing a huge flapping tweed greatcoat. "Fine night" he remarked as we went past.   

I sometimes wonder if there's a Flying Dutchman thing going on -- if they breathe a sigh of relief when they get a puncture, free at last to take a ten-minute break before riding round Dartmoor one more time...

Maybe there's a Flying Scotsman thing going on as well. 

[woollypigs]

When I was a kid cycling around town no matter where I was going there was always this old fella with his 2 dogs walking around. Peg it across town and there he was walking around and then all the way over to the other side of town, low and behold he would turn up very shortly. No the town was not that small He was always there no matter where you went, the weird/sad part was when he died (I think as he was very old) you kept looking for him.

[RichForrest]

Somewhere online there is a cantankorous (sp?) old bloke looking up audax rides and riders, then goes out in a car to various points on the ride to pop up and say "Nice night for it" before going back to the car and onto another location further up the road.
Perhaps  he was chucked out of a club for something and thinks "I'll f##k with their heads"

 

[Jaded]

There's one here. We call him Cycle Track Man.

Always the same clothes, come wind or shine, a black coat, a wooly hat. An old bone shaker bike that looks quite well looked after. Such a regular that earlier this year I posted on our local forum asking if anyone knew if he was alright, I'd not seen him for a week or two. He is missing quite a few teeth and is therefore quite difficult to understand. It was a couple of weeks before I realised he was saying "You're the Chairman of the Cycle Track!". He's always got a few words (which I think are usually about the weather or the rough surface of the track)

I met him pushing his bike in town one evening when I was out with my son. "Is this your Lad? Are you taking him to the pub?" Hy lad is 13. 

[Hummers]

Chillmoister, of this parish, is perpetually on the Havant/Broadmarsh cycle track as I pass that stretch of road.

H

[clarion]

Round here, it's not a grizzled, weather-beaten old man, but a young (well, younger than me) guy on a Trek.  He's everywhere

[Gus]

There are a couple of these around here.

I also suspect that some  people think I'm having the mythical status.   

[tiermat]

When I was growing up there was a guy who seemed to be permanently riding down our street, on an old butchers bike, dressed in plus fours, tweed jacket and tweed hat with not just one feather in it, but a WHOLE PHEASANTS WING!!!!

I knew exactly who it was, it was my younger brother's best friend's dad....

[FatBloke]

We have a pair! 

Probably twins, of 70+ years of age, both of large build.

They dress alike in brown overcoats and flat caps and are always seen riding together on oldish, but again apparently well maintained bikes!

[fuzzy]

Got one in Wycombe. Name of Kenny. Rides around The Rye area a lot on an old MTB. Sometimes got a trailer attached with his dog in the back Always got his straight pint glass in the bottle cage and bottle of White Lightning cider somewhere about his person. Often the pint glass is half full of cider whilst it is in the cage.

[JJ]

There's another bloke in Cambridge - used to see him round Regent Street all the time - white TT helmet and violently blue tights. Always assumed he was a cycle courier of some sort.

Nice chap!  The slowest aero helmet in the world!  He used to run his courier business from one of the shops near where I work go to drink coffee and surf each weekday.  Went off to run the Alma I think.  I haven't seen him to talk to for a while, but I do sometimes see him pedalling around.

[Cudzoziemiec]

When I lived in Bath I was forever seeing an old guy, small, tanned and leathery, on an old-fashioned road bike with a Caradice saddle bag, going up and down the A4 between Bath and Bristol. He seemed to prefer this busy road to the quieter and in fact prettier alternatives. I don't know if he's still there though, as I moved in 1996.

[Basil]

When I lived in Bath I was forever seeing an old guy, small, tanned and leathery, on an old-fashioned road bike with a Caradice saddle bag, going up and down the A4 between Bath and Bristol. He seemed to prefer this busy road to the quieter and in fact prettier alternatives. I don't know if he's still there though, as I moved in 1996.

Erm, I lived in Bristol in the early eighties.  I used to commute Bristol/Bath* along the A4.  On a road bike.

*Actually it was the Knowle/Totterdown border on the Wells Road to Twerton.