NAME: Leonard Greis
LOCATION: New South Wales, Australia
OCCUPATION: Managing Director at Apres Velo

On March 4th, 2009 my driver’s license was suspended for 6 months due to a number of minor speeding infringements—one of 600 people losing their drivers license in NSW, Australia on a daily basis. Thank goodness the laws have now been changed, albeit too late for this sucker.
My initial reaction was *&%**@... My independence was in jeopardy... My freedom was under threat. Cranky I was!

As a bike fixated obsessive, I figured I could negotiate my way to and from work each day on a new set of wheels I had purchased—a retro looking Soma Juice steel mountain bike.
However, and herein lies the real problem, I have a six year old King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, whom I’ve taken to work with me every working day since he was a pup. I have a very close bond with my spaniel, Milo, and being the neurotic love sponge that he is, he would fret to have to now learn the virtues of staying “home alone” for eight hours each day.

Being the over indulgent obsessive nutcase I am, I was determined to find a solution and one I found…

A Chariot for a King (Charles Cavalier) now takes to the roads every day, with Milo sticking his head out of the chariot’s sunroof, filled with a mix of trepidation, anguish and nervous excitement, whilst I work up a sweat lugging 30kg behind me (chariot, Milo, briefcase).
Not the quickest mode of transport, but one that I have begun to look forward to every morning, with each journey revealing a myriad of facial expressions glimpsed in the traffic, with motorists, passengers and pedestrians wide eyed at this surreal sight. The number of smiles and laughs I raise each journey from the “passers-by” more than justifies the sweat that I raise each journey, and what’s more… Milo still puts in a day’s work at the office.

Check out www.apresvelo.com