Sigrid a four-year-old Norwegian Forest cat, has been zooming around London in the front basket of her owner Travis Nelson’s bicycle since 2020.
Nelson began exploring Britain’s capital with the intrepid feline in tow when he was made redundant and wanted to find a stress-free activity to distract him. It turns out that showing Sigrid the sights of London was exactly what he needed to lift his spirits!
Spreading joy
Nelson wasn’t the only one whose spirit was lifted by the bicycling feline, Sigrid is now known as ‘London’s bicycle cat’ and brings joy to everyone who sees the laid-back kitty zooming around the city.
Explaining how his biking companion has been bringing happiness to the streets of London, Travis Nelson told the British website Hamhigh:
“It sounds a little strange but it’s as if you’re spreading joy, like a trail of happy people everywhere we go. It’s quite fun.”
A passion for the pastime
As unusual as it might seem for a cat to enjoy traveling around a busy city, Sigrid’s owner has shared that she has a true passion for the pastime and can’t wait to get out onto the streets every day.
Nelson explained that once Sigrid sees the bike she is ready to get riding, saying:
“She always seems to love going outside. She’ll stand at the door and whine. She sees me messing with my bike and she starts running around getting excited, it’s her favorite thing to do.”
Sigrid finds her fans
Once he realized how much joy the sight of his chilled-out kitty in her bike basket brought people on the streets, Nelson decided to create an Instagram page to share Sigrid’s adventures with the world.
The intrepid feline’s biking exploits quickly captured hearts and Sigrid became a viral star with her Instagram page being flooded with love for ‘London’s bicycle cat.’
As the likes and comments rolled in, Sigrid continued to be just as popular in real life, with many of her cycling videos revealing that Nelson is often stopped by crowds of curious passersby who wish to pet the friendly feline.
Some setbacks
Interested onlookers are not the only setback that Sigrid and Nelson face while out on their travels. Within one of his videos, he hilariously revealed that Sigrid sometimes stretches out her long fluffy tail and blocks the screen of his GPS.
Oblivious to the obstruction that she is causing, Sigrid will not move her tail in these instances, and Nelson has to battle through her fluffy fur to see his directions.
A surprising detail
Unknown to most who meet Sigrid on the streets, the docile cat is actually deaf and can not hear all the compliments that she is attracting.
Her owner believes that Sigrid’s inability to hear the loud hustle and bustle of London’s busy streets likely contributes to her relaxed demeanor while on the bike.
A friend to everyone
Now that Sigrid has become a viral star, the sociable white cat has left her owner feeling as though the pair have friends in every part of the city, with Nelson sharing:
“It’s a little odd now, almost every time we go riding we get recognized by someone. It feels like we have friends everywhere.”
If you are ever in London make sure to keep your eyes peeled and see if you can spot ‘London’s bicycle cat’!