Despite the penchant for Lycra and neon colours, and largely using your legs, cycling is nothing like running. I’ve cycled round London for the best part of six years but recently, since a promise I made to Chrissie Wellington, I’ve been upping my effort on the bike. If you’ve been inspired to get on your bike by the weekend’s Olympic road races or the Tour de France, here’s what I know about cycling*.

The fact that you have to put on a helmet before going on a bike tells you all you need to know about the comparative dangers between cycling and running. While running injuries are common the worst you’ll probably get is a ruptured Achilles. The worst injury you could expect on a bike is death. So the need to be sensible is a bit higher.

Don’t underestimate the pace of a 60-year-old dude on a Boris bike. They will drop you like a stone. In fact, don’t judge anyone’s speed by their bike and kit.

It’s difficult to get your speed up and get a good workout if you don’t know where you’re going, unless you’re happy to do a few miles detour.

All other road users hate you. Even pedestrians and passengers on buses, and especially taxi drivers.

Unless it’s an emergency, it’s every commuting cyclist for themselves. So if you fall off your bike, as I once did at White City roundabout, your fellow peddlers will come to your aid, but while waiting at the traffic lights they’ll do anything to get a jump on you.

Cyclists are much more vocal than runners. The closure of the Lea Valley tow path has affected runners, walkers and cyclists alike, but it’s the cyclists that have been standing up on this issue and campaigning for change.

(*Disclaimer: I don’t know very much about cycling)