Yesterday while waiting for the bus so I could go see my therapist I saw this guy cycling up Broadway on his recumbent bike reeeeaaaalllyyy sloooooowwwllyy. His head was about 2 feet above the ground, and since he was in the right-turn lane and it's a busy road, cars kept pulling partway into the lane, finally spotting the diminutive fella, and stopping short.
At his slow, sluglike pace (I kept waiting for him to fall over), he reached the light just as it turned green, and then accelerated rapidly, whizzing thru the intersection and zipping off to places unknown. I guess he was going slow so the light would change before he got to the intersection because if he had to stop, then he would have to unlatch his feet from the pedals since he's in those special bike shoes that are great for attaching you to your bike except for those times when you don't really want to be attached and then there you are, stuck on your bike as it topples over slowly and you topple with it feeling like an idiot.
Which put me in mind of the Tall Bike Riders, whom I have seen a couple of times now in Berkeley, riding way up above the ground on their modified bikes. The first time I saw one I couldn't figure out how they would stop for a light without falling over; would they have to jump off, and then find a stepladder once the light changed?
Jen assured me that tall bike riders would just go across town without stopping until they reach their destination. I should have a punchline of some sort here, but can't think of one. But keep your eyes open for the tall bike riders! Because not only are they interesting, artistic, and cool, they also apparently don't stop at stop signs. Ok, I guess that was my punchline.
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