Push-bike wonderland…
Posted by Fyse on Wednesday, 25 January 2006
In the world of Cambridge transport, the bike reigns supreme. Following the grand tradition of fabricating plausible statistics, I can confirm that 90% of students in the city own bikes, of whom 75% use them once or more each day. Lectures for the majority of people (65%) begin at 9.00am, and so it is a busy time. Flowing past two or three abreast, cyclists dominate the road and form an impenetrable barrier. Poor pedestrians wait minutes for a suitable break in traffic, before diving quickly from pavement to pavement. On the shared foot and cycle paths, streams of bikes part around pedestrians in almost biblical fashion, before crashing back in a maelstrom of spoke and handlebar. The natural progression of this uneasy coexistence of foot and wheel? Poor, benighted perambulaters reduced to hand signals any time they want to change direction. When I finally see a pedestrian with brake lights and a crash helmet, I’ll know I’ve really gone through the looking glass…
I’ve been reading and enjoying your blog for a while now (as you know), but it seems like your writing has really elevated to another level lately. Kudos to you, my friend. I’ve really loved these slices of life posts.
Thanks Oz! The switch in style was a conscious decision, and I really appreciate the encouraging comments.