Parliament bouncer Chris Symonds cycles to work as a House of Commons doorkeeper every day - and found himself in the Commonwealth Games time trial at 48 years old.
Symonds trailed in 47th out of 54 riders, 16 minutes behind gold medallist Rohan Dennis of Australia, but he will never forget the day he rubbed shoulders with Tour de France legends in a Wolverhampton park.
At work, in his “Downton Abbey” uniform, Symonds decides who is allowed in the Commons chamber. And after the 12-mile trip from home in Edmonton, north London, he leaves his bike chained in the House of Lords for safe keeping.
But on his big day out against the clock in the Black Country, Symonds' Ghana skinsuit zip was unruly and he hated being first man down the ramp for others to chase.
He said: “All the time trials I've done this year, and it all went wrong for me today of all days – mainly the last six or seven miles.
“When I saw I was first man off the ramp I thought, 'Oh, for goodness sake' – it's the worst place to be because it means everyone else is hunting you down. About four or five overtook me, it's better to chase someone, but there you go.
“I cycle to work and home every day, and my coach Tom Kirk has had me doing time trials on a Tuesday night. I've been doing PB's (personal bests) all year but it just didn't work out today.
“The journey into work is about 12 miles on a hybrid commuter bike – you try to work up a head of steam, but it's not easy with all the traffic lights.
“I live in Edmonton and I normally ride out into Hertfordshire – the Little Alps, as we call them.
“Mike Freer, the MP for Finchley, has been out on a few rides with me and I've had a few good-luck messages from MPs, including Stuart Anderson, who's an MP in this area. He met up with me earlier and wished me all the best.”
Symonds has been filtering MPs from the great unwashed at the doorway to the lobby under five different Prime Ministers.
You don't expect to meet parliamentary doorkeepers in a major international cycling race – but Symonds has the Commons touch.
He goes back to work after the summer recess, like MPs, but he will be back in the “Edwardian evening wear, like Downton Abbey” next month.
He said: “I've been doing this job for 20 years, since Gordon Brown and David Cameron were Prime Ministers. We keep the doors to the chamber, to make sure people like you don't get in.
“I've barred entry to a few famous people, but I'd better not say who.”
So who's the fittest MP? “No comment,” he laughed. “I might make a few enemies if I get it wrong. But I've never ridden a Boris bike. Too heavy.”
