A friend of mine - a cameraman at MTV - lost a lot of weight from cycling, and I thought I'd try it, too, thinking whenever you look at a cyclist they all look super-skinny, so hey, why not? But then it turned into such a psychologically satisfying thing.
I am kind of like a diesel. It is the cyclist in me.
In Italy it's full-on stardom when you're a cyclist - eating in restaurants for free, it's great.
Cycling is a great way to learn about your city. I love being outdoors, especially in good weather, but I'm not a fair weather cyclist. I'm happy to get a red nose in the cold.
It is still difficult being a black cyclist. There are people who say bad things to you that they won't to a white person. It is stupid that that is the case, but your skin colour is there, and some people judge you on that.
I started as a road cyclist and did all types apart from BMX. I started doing a lot of competitions, and then my dad suggested I tried the track. At first the thought of falling is scary, but you realise soon that if you go fast enough, you'll be fine. I realised it was more than a hobby when I was 16.
Apparently I'm not a pro cyclist.
The stronger you are as a unit, the more you can control a race. The strongest cyclist in the world isn't as strong as two guys, let alone nine.
I think an Olympic medal is the only thing missing from what I can physically achieve as a cyclist. I can't win the Tour de France, but I've pretty much won everything else that I can within my physical realm, so that's the only thing missing.
I started getting into decent food after I got a house in Tuscany, near the British cycling academy's training base. For a cyclist, the area is incredible, with the flats of the basin of Florence, the heights of the Apennines and the small climbs around Chianti.
