The story of Dr. Stuart Emerson, the ‘Mad Max’ of bike commuters who cycles a return trip of 100 km to get to and from his practise down under, got us here at Tredztalk thinking about our very own inspirational 'uber Commuter'.
Many people, me included, would consider the journey between Swansea and Cardiff (about 43 miles) to be a considerable distance to drive to work. Not Ferdie, our king of the A48, as for the last three months he has been cycling to the Tredz Bike shop in Cardiff and back home to Swansea every day.
Clearly this is a man worth talking to.
The first thing you notice when you start chatting to him is how alert he is. Which is no suprise considering how high his concentration levels have to be for so long: “you’ve got to do the thinking for both of us” he says diplomatically when talking about his fellow road users. “Most drivers are pretty good”, but being constantly aware is probably one of the reasons why he’s suffered no accidents in three months, and only two accidents in five years of heavy road use.
“Just a better level of education” for drivers would make his life easier though; as he says that a basic lack of driver awareness is the biggest problem he faces on a day-to-day basis rather than any malicious white van drivers.
Benefits?
You believe him when he says “You aren’t thinking about work by the time you get home.” He obviously feels a sense of pride in the way he gets to and from work with the minimum environmental impact, whilst staying in racing shape. He definitely appreciates the health benefits, and you can hear him smiling down the phone as he says “Mate, I can eat what I want, I eat garbage.” I laugh, resentfully, as I look at my low fat (low flavour) sandwich and apple on my desk.
As far as his kit goes, in less favourable weather Ferdie uses a Planet X
Uncle John Cyclecross Bike to make the trip. The Uncle John is "Not
top of the range but as it's getting bashed around a
bit it's ideal. A solid utility lightweight training bike that suits
the ride." Summer time finds him switching to Giant road frames as the conditions, allegedly, improve.
He’s been cycling extensively since he was twelve and now participates in The National Point Series, so the daily ride
is the perfect way to fit training in with his full time job at Tredz.
I ask if he drives at all: “I’ve failed my test
four times.” He responds without the slightest bit of regret. You sort
of think that its fate. People like Ferdie just aren’t meant to drive.
Posted by Oliver
