It wasn’t until I moved to London in my late twenties that I started cycling regularly to and from work, not very far, about 2 ½ miles each way. In late 2009, and after a year or so riding my (now) husband’s old mountain bike, I decided that it was time to get myself my very own bike. The first bike I bought, I chained up outside my office, and then when I went back to get it at the end of the day, I found that it had been stolen! At the time, I worked in Covent Garden, which (I didn’t realise) was a cycle-theft hotspot. So, not to be defeated, I wanted to choose a bike that I could take into the office. A Brompton seemed ideal. I went to a local bike shop and tried out a Brompton and I was really impressed; they were comfortable, stylish and surprisingly speedy. I was sold! I chose a Turkish green two-speed Brompton. Mostly because the colour matched my cycling jacket!
In December 2010, we moved a little further out of London to south-west London. From here I was cycling seven miles each way to and from work, and after a number of months commuting on my Brompton bicycle, I found that more and more cyclists were remarking on my pace. I even found roadies staring at my bike, bemused that I had either kept up with them, or had overtaken them. Once a lycra-clad guy on a fancy road bike literally swore when I pulled up next to him after…
