March 5th – Never let it be said that I do not consider cycling a broad church; from the moment any of us owns a bike, we make it our own, unique. We confer upon it our patina, our personality and our individual stamp. We personalise, adjust the fit, add our own accoutrements, dial it in until it fits.

The handle bar area – christened by the great Bike Snob of New York blog as The Cockpit, is probably one of the most individual bits of any steed. I have a personal arrangement of controls, add-ons and positions on my rides that is unique, comfy and tried and tested.

However, wandering through Birmingham city centre on a dull  Thursday afternoon, even this easy-going freewheeler found a cockpit that confounded him.

The bars. The brakes. The light pointing at the ground. I’m hoping the owner has swivelled the bars up as a theft prevention technique, but I’m not convinced.

Coo, gosh! As Molesworth might say.