A vicious war of words has broken out in Windsor over a cafe giving a “Lycra discount” to cyclists. The 10% concession on food and drink has led, say some angry residents, to the royal Berkshire town being swarmed by middle-aged men on bikes.
‘Overrun’ by Mamils
The “Lycra discount” has been such a success that the Berkshire town has become “the centre of a wildly popular endurance test” called the “Bun Run”: a 62-mile ride from London to Windsor and back, stopping off at the cafe midway for a restorative cinnamon bun.
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But the town’s new-found status as a cyclists’ Mecca has “divided opinion” among locals. Some say the roads around Windsor have “become overrun with pelotons of middle-aged men in Lycra – known as Mamils – at weekends”.
“When there’s a whole bunch of them, you can’t get past in the car,” said 84-year-old resident Hugh Nixon. “It’s like trying to pass a caravan.” Another local, 79-year-old June Adnitt, said, “Why have they got 10% off just because they are cyclists?”
The cafe’s owner, Ian Jones, is baffled by the backlash. “We’ve been offering the discount for 15 years,” he told Cycling Weekly. “Fifteen years and it’s still controversial!”
‘Crying little babies’
The story is the “latest chapter in the bizarre culture war between cyclists and drivers”, said Cycling Weekly. And the online fans of two-wheeled travel haven’t held back. One called those who complained to The Telegraph “crying little babies”, while another commented on the Metro’s write-up that Windsor’s locals should “ditch the car, get on your bike and enjoy life a bit more”.
Best known for its association with the Royal Family, Windsor “has had a difficult relationship with cyclists in recent years”, said Road.cc. Windsor & Maidenhead Borough Council near-unanimously voted to ban cyclists from the town’s high street during the pandemic, and a Public Space Protection Order was imposed with a fine of £100 for cyclists who breached it. A move to partially ease the order last year drew criticism from the Windsor and Eton Business Partnership Board, which called it “a short-term tactical move by the council to appease cyclists who already have the whole of Windsor and all its roads to cycle on”.