Cycling for fun!
People of the London Bicycle Tour company
Rob - Big Cheese
Rob has been holding up London traffic on his pushbike for the last 17 years. He also drives a 4x4 with a big bullbar so be sure not to get in his way.. unless of course you’re riding one of his bikes in which case he won’t try and run you over. He is well traveled, loves Bulgaria and has hitchhiked across all of Europe.. Well, at least he thinks he has.
Wes - Repair Shop Manager
Wes loves his pedals; his bass guitar pedals and the pedals on his super cool bike, which incidentally is large enough to carry his whole bass rig to gig training. He is part Russian, part native American, and was born in England, in the same hospital as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (though he doesn’t talk to them anymore). His band is at www.myspace.com/momshousedadshouse
Emil – Repair mechanic
He is... Emil.
Pawel - Repair Mechanic
Pawel comes from Poland, and used to work at the company but then he left. But now he's back. We like Pawel version 2.0 because he fixes the bikes and buys the beers better than ever before. He's a smiley bloke and will make you smile when he fixes your bike. Even if he accidently leaves a brake cable undone, you will smile because he has a cute accent and who needs brakes anyway right??
Gunter – Tour Guide
He knows every street in London, and if he doesn’t know it, he’s probably heard of it, or knows someone who’s heard of it. He's our Resident German Biker, and a member ofthe rat bike survival club. His motorbike is probably older than you. He also likes Motorhead, computer games and he bakes his own bread. He once rode over Tower Bridge… while it was open… just for extra tips and giggles.
Mark – Tour Guide
Mark lives in South London in the attic of his house. His motorbike is bigger than Gunters, as is his fully installed espresso machine in his kitchen. He is proper home Barista. He lives on the steepest hill on South London, which is almost true (the road next to him is the steepest hill). He loves telling tall stories about the city. Once he convinced a nine year old that London was once built on a large active volcano, and the violent 2004 eruption at Picadilly Circus killed 4 billon people and several squirrels.
Des – Tour Guide
Des pops up every now and again at the wharf with a big smile and a big English heart, ready to take tourists for the ride of their lives. He is a great Actor (he was in the DaVinci Code). Rob noticed his skills in the film and immediately contacted his Hollywood Agent, offering the $4m fee for Des to appear as a guide for London Bicycle Tour Company. As a famous Actor, Des can take you celebrity spotting in London, and if you don’t see any, you can just look and point at him.
Steve – Tour Guide/Wharfie/Jobs Rob doesn't want to do
Steve the Aussie has been in London for 6 years. He has his own music career and makes tens of pounds every year selling his records. check out www.stevekopandy.com if you are rich. He knows a lot about the city and can tell you facts about London you won’t hear anywhere else, like when you are doing tours in other cities. He enjoys drinking too much beer with Wes after work, and the West Wing.
James– Tour Guide/Wharfie/Jobs Rob and Steve don't want to do
James looks like a cross between Vin Diesel and a Carebear. He is one of the only staff members actually from England, so when the BNP comes in and hires bikes we all hide behind the desk. James is never here. He takes holidays from travelling around to come and work at the wharf once in a while. He just got back from Vietnam, and a 2 day trip to Australia. If you catch him, take a photo- it will last longer.
Josabete - Wharfie/Customer care
Josi is on it. She's the Boris Johnson of Bike Hire in London. Why hire a Boris when you can get personal service from Josi? She can run the business like it's nobody's business. And it IS none of your business. It's Josi's business. Send her an email and she will reply. Ask her a question and she will answer it. be mean to her and you shall feel her wrath. She's a Portugese powerhouse of pedalling passion. She works hard and she plays harder, and then (often with very little sleep), works hard all over again.
Levina - Funny Sounding Tour Guide
Levina ist onze Nederlander gid. She speaks Dutch, which is particularly useful when there are Dutch people around. And when there are bikes around, usually there are Dutch people around. So we get Levina to talk to them. In Dutch. So we don't have to. Not that we don't want to. It's just that we can't. And Levina can. Therefore she is cool. She even has orange hair. PS why is orange not on the Dutch flag?? PPS why are there no words that rhyme with orange? PPPS or purple????
Michael - Wharf Mechanic
Completing our multicultural lineup is Michael. He fixes a lot of bikes, and eats a lot of biscuits.