Friday, December 28, 2012

speechless.

Yesterday I am on my bicycle,  I am waiting at a red light.  The light turns green and a bicyclist-roadie who had timed his approach better, swoops past me on my right.  That's ok.  He gives me plenty of room and it's a good-sized bicycle lane.

The bicyclist is just a few lengths in front of me and I am sizing up his potential for speed when I see him put out his left hand, palm outwards.  I arch an eyebrow.  As I watch, he inserts his hand (with the delicacy of a veterinarian turning a calf that is still in the cow) into the wheel well of the car travelling immediately to his right and takes a (presumably) firm hold of the car and stops pedaling and starts coasting at what I calculate to be ~30 mph.

The car continues up the road apparently unaware that it is being felt up by a bicyclist.  I discover that my jaw has dropped and I snap it shut.  I also find my eyelids up around my hairline and move them back into place.  I have no chance of catching them but I pedal hard and keep the newlyweds in sight long enough to see the bicyclist get to the top of a hill, run a red light, dodge through a construction zone, and disappear from my view.

1.  No, he wasn't wearing a helmet.
2.  It's like having a technicolor giraffe park in your garage and put it's head through your window so that it can eat your breakfast.
3.  No, I am pretty sure the car had no idea that the speedy bicyclist on his left had his hand up the car's wheel well.




3 comments:

  1. How do you interpret the left-arm extension, palm-out? A signal for you that he was about to do something?

    It's just an awesome vignette, and it leaves me wondering (a) if you'll see him again at the same time/place and (b) if you have a helmet cam at home.

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    Replies
    1. He put his hand out that way in preparation for sticking it into that mild-mannered sedan, there was a delicate little hesitation as I guess he steadied himself and made sure not to touch the wheel and then he grabbed the wheel well at the top and wheeee!

      I do have a gopro! The contraption captain won one at work. One of my new years resolutions is to start filming the varied randomness I spot.

      As for seeing him again, maybe I am lucky and he's moved to the area and I will be treated to more bike tricks on my commute home..

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  2. He's a Darwin award candidate! That kind of stuff is fine for the movies, but sooner or later in real life anybody that does that is going to die.

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