Festival of Hobbies - Cycling
Alistair is one half of architects Skeet + Coutie based at Harland Works.
I have to admit, it was quite easy for me to hazard a guess at his hobby as I often see him arriving or leaving for work on his bike … and my guess was right. Alistair’s hobby did turn out to be cycling...
“I suppose I could try to be a bit more imaginative as I do other things too, and because I know so many people do it, but although I play cricket a lot during the summer, I think I'd have to say cycling, really.”
Alistair has a long term love of cycling. “I've cycled ever since I was a teenager. To varying degrees. Children intervened a bit, although the school run for both of them involved a trailer bike….and that’s when they were a real rarity! We lived in Fir Vale, and the trip across town up to school in Crookes was challenging! It's not always the most family-friendly pursuit so for a long time I had to fit it in on my own in breaks between childcare responsibilities”.
Now he is able to cycle more: “I cycle with a club (Sheff Rec CC). There’s a group of us that go out every Sunday. There are other rides in the week, but I'm always out on Sunday morning, which is a really important part of my week. And then I obviously ride to work and back, and I hate not doing that because I just get so frustrated by being in a car. And I do try and go out at least once during the week as well.”
What is it about cycling that he particularly loves I asked - apart from offering a better commute to work than by car? “I like the uncomplicated, almost thoughtless nature of it, which may sound a bit boring to some people I guess. There's something about it that I do quite like: to be in my own head space. It’s a good antidote to all the other stuff that has to be thought about during the week, and we live in such a great part of the country to do it.
There's something about cycling that’s quite mindful. You do the same thing over and over again. You can go a long way, and experience a lot of changing scenery, without having to do anything other than what you're doing at any one moment continually. I do quite like the repetition. You have to be quite sort of skilled and deliberate about it, and you can't just drift off, but there's something about it that…becomes part of you... it's quite uncomplicated.”
He enjoys having the time now to do as much cycling as he does, and does other things around cycling: “(With the club) We get involved in quite a lot of events, and so I quite like helping out, you know, marshalling and helping out at events and things. And I've more recently got into bikepacking a bit, as well. I suppose it’s a more modern version of touring but on a bike suited for different terrains and carrying a minimum amount of kit”.
Would he recommend cycling to someone thinking about taking it up as a new hobby?
“I think that if I was recommending to anybody to do anything, Iwould say that cycling is a really good de-stresser, in terms of mental health. There's lots of anecdotal evidence about how good cycling is for you whether you do that individually or with groups”
Sheffield has many different cycling groups, so it is possible to find a group that would fit with the sort of cycling you want to try. Although for someone new to cycling, Alistair did admit that the Sheffield hills may seem daunting for some. It’s not like starting to cycle in York, that’s for sure. But, even here, he thinks that there will be a way to get into cycling that would fit individual circumstances:
“There's a niche there that anybody could find. If that's just cycling around, just being outdoors, then that's perfect!”
Cycling can attract people who are a bit competitive, but Alistair suggests its best to ignore any comments that make you feel worried that you might not be quite good/fit/fast enough:
“Don't be put off by other people: people are good at different things, and I think speed is one of the obsessive things about cycling. Some people have an attitude that if you're not fast enough then therefore you're not fit enough, you're not able to be in our gang. I think that's a terrible barrier, because Sheffield's not an easy place to cycle.
But as I've got more involved in racing events and marshalling and things, you see people are just good at different things. Some people are great sprinters, some as hill climbers, some are really good at time trials, and some people are really good at long, long, long arduous distances across days, and sleeping in bus shelters, and just have a real commitment to a different type of the same thing.
And nowadays there are also ebikes! “I know people who are in their 70s and 80s who still cycle. Especially nowadays with e-bikes, which I think are a fantastic way of either maintaining or getting into cycling”.
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If you’d like to try cycling there are many cycling groups in Sheffield to choose from. This list might be a good place to start http://www.sheffieldcycleroutes.org/sheffield-bike-clubs/ or see also this blog by the Outdoor city on a guide to the city’s road cycling clubs.