Everyday Man

JOHN DE BRUYN RIDES HIS BIKE MORE THAN MOST. THIS IS HOW HE DOES IT.

- MIKE FINCH

AT THE TIME OF WRITING, FIVE MONTHS INTO 2023, 51-YEAR-OLD JOHN DE BRUYN HAD RIDDEN OVER 8 000KM SO FAR THIS YEAR - AN AVERAGE OF 400KM AND 20 HOURS A WEEK. THE SORT OF MILEAGE A FULL-TIME PRO WOULD BE HAPPY WITH. YET DE BRUYN HAS A NORMAL JOB, AND A FAMILY.

FOR MANY OF US, EVEN THE POSSIBILITY OF SPENDING THAT MUCH TIME ON A BIKE SEEMS ALMOST LAUGHABLE. THAT'S THE DOMAIN OF THOSE WHO WEAR A SPONSOR'S JERSEY OR LIVE OFF A FAMILY TRUST FUND. AND FEW OF US COULD HANDLE THAT MUCH SADDLE TIME ANYWAY, EVEN IF WE COULD FIT IT IN.

BUT DE BRUYN HAS MADE IT WORK AND MANAGED TO KEEP THE BALANCE IN THE PROCESS.

BICYCLING: WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING?

John de Bruyn: My job is in the renewable energy space. It's a pretty rapidly growing area now, but it was something that was already in my mind long before the current energy crisis. So we maybe got a bit of a head start on some of the stuff we do. I find the whole space more fascinating every day.

One of the most interesting areas is around electric vehicles from scooters to fleet management. This revolution is going to come quicker than you think; because those vehicles require way less maintenance, and economically they make more sense. For people in fleet management, it's a way of controlling costs way better than they ever could before.

BIC: WHAT DID YOU STUDY, TO GET INTO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?

JDB: Yeah, it feels like 200 years ago! But I studied urbanology, which is all about architecture, urban design and urban spaces. It's helped me a lot in my current role.

BIC: WHAT DOES RIDING MEAN TO YOU?