11 reasons why you should fall in love with a cyclist

There are plenty of excellent reasons why shacking up with a pedaller would be a great idea, but here are a few of the best ones.

We're great at home repairs

While some mechanical problems require the attention of a qualified mechanic, cyclists often take it upon themselves to fix their bikes on their own. Extrapolate this out a bit and you'll find that some of us are dab hands at bodge jobs fixing things around the house as well.

>>> 11 bike maintenance mistakes and how to avoid them

We have an excellent tool collection at hand

In line with reason number one, to perform home repairs on our bikes requires us to be in possession of an impressive collection of tools. If you need an Allen key then we'll ask 'what size?'. If you need a cassette removing from a wheel, we're the one you want to come to.

Hammers and saws don't play much of a part in bike maintenance though, so it's probably best not to ask for those...

We are great conversationalists

Unless you ride on your own, having a natter with your riding companions is one of the great joys of cycling. And with rides often lasting multiple hours, we've got to be pretty good at coming up with conversation topics.

Most of it may be about bikes, but we're also known to talk about travel (in which country would you love to ride your bike?), politics (which party is going to invest in cycling?) and the arts (did you go and see that Lance Armstrong film?)

Duvet days can easily be incorporated into our training regime

You know, those days when you just don't get out of bed, watch movies and catch up on the day's newspapers? Cyclists need their rest and the old adage goes: if you don’t have to stand, sit; if you don’t have to sit, lie down.

We don't accept defeat

Cyclists are rarely comfortable letting an obstacle get in our way. Why else would we go out of our way to ride up really steep hills, returning the following week if it gets the better of us the first time? It's an admirable trait that we take into the rest of our lives as well.

We can dress for all occasions

Whether the occasion is a long ride in the rain or a two-wheeled pootle in the baking sunshine, we've got everything in our wardrobe to suit any eventuality.

We know the value of an early night

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdTxVvqauJk

When your friend at the pub suggests moving on to a nightclub that you really don't want to go to, all you have to do is look at your cyclist partner.

"I've got a training ride tomorrow, so I can't really have a late night." Voila, a ready made excuse to just go home and get to bed at a reasonable time.

You'll get plenty of 'me time'

If you're not a cyclist, you'll have plenty of time to yourself to do whatever it is you enjoy doing. Your partner will be out for long periods of time, getting lost on country lanes and fixing punctures. Don't get too involved in your hobbies while they're out, though, as you may receive a call to pick them up when they run out of inner tubes.

>>> The nine types of ride we all upload to Strava

We've all got an impeccable sense of direction

Forget what we said above about getting lost on country lanes, cyclists spend so long looking at maps they almost never get lost. Want to know the best way to get to a specific location? Chances are we've cycled round that area before and we'll know all the handy back roads.

We can never take the high road with online shopping expenditure

If you think you have a penchant for expensive luxuries, wait until you date a cyclist. £500 is an acceptable amount to spend on a pair of new wheels, so that £300 jacket you bought the other day pales in comparison.

When our friends lead us astray, it often only means an extra slice of cake

Chances are, if your cyclist partner is out a bit longer than expected on their ride with a friend, they've stopped for another coffee rather than popped to the pub for a quick six pints. It's either that, or they've tacked on an extra 5km to their route before heading home.