I lived in London for a while, and for a shorter while I was a cycle courier, a very naiive one. Back then (I should start with 'back in the day' to show it was a REALLY long time ago) the only cyclists on the road were the couriers, experienced ones and newbies like myself.
The old hands rode bikes that you'd expect to see in a skip and most were black and, even then, there was a preference for fixies or single-speeds. In my naiivity, I thought my bright white Muddy Fox with its 21 speed Suntour groupset, was like bringing space travel to folk who'd not even seen, well, a bicycle. Oh how wrong I was!
Day 1, job 1- Pick up large envelope from office on Bishopsgate. No problem. Lock the bike (big D lock) and head up to the second floor to receive said envelope from reception. Nice smile from the receptionist- 'yes, I'm a cycle courier, hardy and fearless'.
Outside again. Okay, I'm a cycle courier with no saddle. I now have to drop off the envelope in Grays Inn but some scally with nothing better to do (and undoubtedly no bright white Muddy Fox missing a saddle) has half inched my only perch! A lesson learned the hard, and somewhat painful way.
Let's fast forward a large number of years. Cycle usage has increased massively, bikes look remakably similar but are far removed technologically in many respects. And couriers still ride fixies and single-speeds. The alarming thing is that cycle theft has more than kept pace with all of this and according to a recent survey by London Cycling Campaign, '80% of London Cyclists have at least one bike stolen'. Back in the day, this figure would have meant a few couriers had been left bikeless and you could almost understand the reticence of the Police to put any effort into recovering them. (Before anyone lets off a round of abuse here, let me make it clear I don't condone the lack of response to ANY cycle theft).
However, things have changed. Not only are there more cyclists on London's streets, they are a higher proportion of Londoners, and that means a bigger voice, one would hope. As a specific voice for London's cyclists, LCC have decided enough's enough and that voice is now aimed squarely at cycle theft. They've launched Beat the Thief (metaphorically, we don't want any have-a-go heroes) and produced a natty little video with some enlightening tips on cycle security.
If this had been around on that fateful first day, I'm pretty sure the memory would not have been of searing pain in the quads for lack of a suitable perch, but instead the warm glow of a receptionist's smile.
