While they seem like they've been round forever, Boris Bikes arrived onto the streets of central London two years ago this week.
The Barclays Cycle Hire scheme, as it is almost never referred to, is the blond one's most visible contribution to London life. Over 80,000 people signed up in the first three months of the scheme before levelling off. Casual pay-and-go usage has fluctuated significantly, rising to 240,000 a month for periods of 2011.
From their popularity with wealthy City types to their lack of availability south of the river, Boris Bikes haven't been short of criticism, but the scheme is widely considered to have been a success. At least Londoners haven't nicked as many bikes as Parisians did. Thousands of bikes went missing in the first year of the bike scheme in the French capital.
Boris Bikes are here to stay and to celebrate the fact, here are ten images, from naked riders to beautifully shot racks, from the first two years.
All images from the Londonist Flickr pool: Stuart-Lee, Mike King Photo, Laurabot_, silvertony45, Ken Tsuda, Matt Malloy, IanVisits, richwat2011, Linda Wisdom and Jutiar.
