Sales of bikes were up a whopping 28 per cent last year on 2009 figures, with 3,700,000 bikes sold. The London School of Economics has just announced that cycling generates about £3bn per annum in the UK economy – that’s making them, selling them and other cycle-related employment.

Surprised? I’m not. You don’t have to be a bike geek like me to see there are more people than ever on bikes these days.

I have observed no fewer than four acquaintances in the past year go from zero interest in cycling to being committed.

Last I saw any of them they were into fishing or football. Next I hear they are on Cowley Road with £800 in their pocket, looking for a road racer with clipless pedals and a speedo.

One guy in particular I follow on Twitter because he is a big Mac design guru. (I am using a Mac to write this column.) He’s @hicksdesign if you’re into that sort of thing.

I have followed him since I last saw him about a year ago. We hardly mentioned cycling last we met, and he clearly regarded loving bikes as, well, odd.

Then his work moved from Burford to Witney, where he also lives, and he bought a jalopy to get to work, a short cross-town commute.

I read his Tweets as he worried about where to park the bike, how he coped with rain, how he loved the quiet routes through town, and then quite quickly how he fell out of love with the cheap bike. In no time, he was Tweeting about shopping and before I could counsel him, he’d bought a very pretty Globe hybrid.

The next few months were really rather beautiful: I actually watched this guy fall in love with cycling. I read how they sold the second car as he could now commute by bike.

I read how this funded a Brooks saddle and numerous other tasty bike bits. I grew jealous as I read about shortish and then longer countryside forays.

In no time, he realised that he ‘needed’ a road bike. He got something light and fast, fitted clipless pedals and a bike computer, and off he went every evening.

Within six months, he’d gone from full-on design nerd to passionate bike aficionado, with not one iota of encouragement from yours truly.

It was lovely to watch this from afar, and how quickly he fell. The only real surprise was a recent Tweet about going on a ride with someone else. I had always assumed he’d taken to these sunset Cotswold rides with a mate or two. Wouldn’t you?

For me, the pleasure of road riding or mountain biking would be empty without the foil of a riding partner who you can race, whose map you can consult, who can steady your wheel as you change a tyre – and who can buy you a well-deserved pint after the ride. For Jon, it was all about man and machine, pure and simple: a monogamous love affair with two wheels.

For my part, knowing that these non-cyclists were out there enjoying their rides has reignited my love. They’ve actually pushed my lardy ass right back into the saddle. For the past two months, two or three of us have gone up to the Chilterns for a gruelling belt around the dusty bridleways followed by a much-needed ale.