Pedaling With A Feline: Cyclist Trolled By Dog Owners
Travis pedals through life with his cat, Sigrid, like it’s a never-ending Instagram photoshoot. The goggle-wearing feline became a viral sidekick, racking up more than 149,000 followers, and even earning surprise celebrity run-ins. But fame did not bring peace, because some dog owners decided that a cat on a bike route is basically a personal attack.
The trouble starts in real places like Hampstead Heath, where Travis and Sigrid stop for a café meet-up and a dog walker shows up with three off-leash dogs, chaos included. It escalates from there, spilling into Instagram comments where Sigrid gets dragged, trolled, and insulted, with Travis saying the cat is even called a “rat” by some accounts. And after a rough lockdown stretch, cycling was supposed to be his escape, not another daily fight.
Now the question is, how do you keep rolling when the crowd refuses to let you?
Travis, known for cycling with his cat Sigrid, faces backlash from boisterous dog owners. The duo gained viral fame as Travis shared their unique pedaling adventures on Instagram. Amid personal challenges like job loss during the initial lockdown, Travis found solace and purpose in cycling alongside his beloved feline companion.
That Hampstead Heath café moment, with three off-leash dogs charging in, is where the vibes went from “cute content” to “why is this happening?”
With over 149,000 Instagram followers, the eccentric duo of Travis and his goggle-wearing cat, Sigrid, have garnered quite an online following. Their cycling escapades have even led them to chance encounters with celebrities like Helena Bonham Carter and a bemused Jeremy Clarkson.
However, amidst their growing popularity, not everyone embraces Travis and his cycling cat with the same enthusiasm.
While Travis is trying to meet a photographer for a photoshoot, the dog walker’s argument, “there are no cats,” turns into a full-on confrontation.
It’s the same kind of petty pressure as the flatmate who tried to show off his cat to strangers.
In an exclusive interview as part of the My Colourful Life series, Travis candidly shared his experiences of being "stalked" and "trolled" alongside his social media sensation cat. He revealed that dog owners are often the main culprits behind the harassment.
Recalling a particularly unsettling encounter, Travis recounted a visit to a café in Hampstead Heath with his cat. "There was one time when we were meeting a photographer for a photoshoot, and we were in Hampstead Heath at the café," he explained. "This dog walker came up with three off-leash dogs, and of course, they went nuts because she didn’t really have control of them."
Travis continued, "And she was like, 'Why do you have a cat here? We walk our dogs in the Heath as there are no cats; you shouldn’t have a cat.' I’m like, 'You have your dogs here; why can’t I have my cat?' you know."
Even after the park drama, the trolling doesn’t stop, because Instagram hate keeps targeting Sigrid, with “rat” showing up in comments.
But the criticism from dog owners doesn't stop at face-to-face encounters. Despite facing confrontations with riled-up dog enthusiasts in parks, Travis and Sigrid find themselves unable to escape the online hate.
Travis disclosed that they frequently encounter trolling on Instagram, with the cat often being derogatorily referred to as a "rat." "Get that around my dog, and my dog's getting a free meal in the form of your rat," one troll jeered.
Travis revealed that the trolls are often fellow dog owners and cyclists, adding another layer of frustration to their already challenging situation.
The wild part is that Travis found purpose cycling during job-loss lockdown days, yet dog owners still make every ride feel like a battle.
“We get a lot of mean and hateful comments from the anti-cyclist people and even from dog owners, which is quite strange," Travis candidly shared.
“We’ve had stalkers.
"I’ve blocked them, then people make new accounts and stalk us again. I’ve had to go to the police a couple of times.
“One of them is actually a cyclist who doesn’t really like what we’re doing, I guess because we fall outside the norm of cycling.
"So for months, every couple of weeks, he would pop up and say something nasty, and he had multiple accounts.
"I would block him on Twitter, and he would show up on a different account."
Despite facing trolling from dog enthusiasts and cyclists, Travis and Sigrid remain undeterred. Sigrid refuses to cower in the face of the dog-centric world and stands her ground, even attempting to assert herself in her own feline way.
"She stands up for herself, and she tries to chase dogs and attack them," Travis explained. "I think people always, no pun intended, root for the underdog."
He continued, "She's kind of the underdog herself, with a big personality in a small cat."
Travis and Sigrid might have to change routes, because some people clearly can’t handle a cat in their dog world.
Want more wild cat-owner drama? Read what a random Facebook user demanded cat owners do.
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