Every.Day.Ride #10 With Travis & Sigrid

We spoke with Travis & Sigrid, a famous cycling duo who have been quite the busy bee's this year, from releasing their first book, to greeting fans on their journeys. Here's their Every Day Ride!

Tell us a little about yourself?

I'm Travis, a 47 year old American expat. I came over to London to work as a Director of Data Science, but lost my job when the pandemic hit. Since then I've been spending my time cycling around with my cat Sigrid, which has turned into my full time job!

How and when did you get into riding?

I've been riding for as long as I can remember. I grew up watching movies like Rad (1986) and tore around town on my own GT BMX bike. I went through a short MTB period, then onto road bikes (and was doing a 20 mile commute to work), and for the last 18 years or so have been riding fixed gear almost exclusively.

What are the best and worst things about riding?

The best thing for me is exploring. We spend so much time in our homes and offices that we don't often get to see what's around us. Every time Sigrid and I go out, I'm looking for new streets, new alleys, new parts of town we haven't been to. According to wandrer.earth, we've ridden 9% of the streets in Greater London!

The worst thing of course is all the hatred and conflict around cycling here. Someone is always mad about something. Not a single day goes by where I don't get some kind of hateful message. I work so hard to stay positive and spread a joyful message!

Tell us about your most memorable ride to date?

We've had a lot of great rides, but one of my favourites was when Berghaus sent us out to ride through the South Downs. Taking a track bike built for the street off-road is an adventure in itself, but we also rode along the coastline, through fields of cows, and into some pretty remote areas with beautiful scenery (living in London, it's rare that we're out of sight of another person!). This was Sigi's first real countryside ride and she loved it! She even fell out of the basket jumping for a butterfly!

What's the best piece of riding advice you've ever been given?

To not faff about too much with gear or worrying about the most optimal setup or any of that stuff. Just get out and ride.

What do you bring with you on every ride?

Just the usual stuff I suppose, a minimal puncture kit, a bottle of water, snacks for my cat, etc.

How do you keep your bikes secure at home and on the go? Share your best tips to help others keep their bikes safe.

I tend to be very paranoid, as my bikes are very flashy and distinct, and bike theft is rampant in London. At home they live indoors, I would never leave them outside overnight. On the go I either keep my bike right next to me (you'd be surprised how accommodating people are when you show up with Sigrid, I recently had a café offer to let me bring my bike inside next to the table while I eat!), or I rely on my Litelok and occasionally a heavy chain.

When someone asks what kit you recommend, you say?

The same advice I mentioned above; don't worry about it too much and just go ride! But personally I swear by SPD pedals with mountain bike shoes. You can walk around in them, you can pedal without clipping in (so no faffing about when you take off from a light), and you've got good traction when you need to put a foot down. Nothing better for city riding if you ask me.

What's on your riding bucket list?

I really want to take Sigrid to Amsterdam and spend a few days exploring and then ride down to Brussels. I lived in Brussels for four years for university, so I'd love to explore some of my old routes. And of course it's hard to beat Benelux for relaxing rides and nice infrastructure!

You can follow the cycling adventures of Travis & Sigrid on Instagram!