Category Archives: bicycles
Cut your legs off at the ankles
‘It’s a weird world out there on the flats,’ Patrick said. ‘Nothing looks the same as normal. Gulls can seem as big as eagles. Scale and distance change. It’s very easy to lose your bearings, especially at dusk or dark. … Continue reading
Talk first to the dog
If you cross paths with someone walking a dog, do you talk first to the person or the dog? Matthew Yeager, A Jar of Balloons or The Uncooked Rice Dogs chasing my car in the desert by John Divola 1. … Continue reading
How not to ride a bike
1974 poster by Jerzy Flisak for When the Legends Die via 50Watt Hello, the stylish people on vintage bicycles, wafting through red lights like pollen on the breeze. I’ve see your red lipstick. Your tweed. Your buttons. Your bicycles with permed … Continue reading
The orange cone
Savage Eyes On Wednesday after work I got on my bike and rode home. At an intersection on Brixton Road I pulled up behind a big red bus. It was dark, and I could see parts of my reflection in … Continue reading
You Shook Me
The siren waits thee, singing song for song. – Walter Savage Landor from Robert T. Beyer, Sounds of Our Times: Two Hundred Years of Acoustics (1998). The first siren, invented in the late eighteenth century, was more of a musical instrument … Continue reading
Signs of winter: the ghost recumbent
I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, And in short, I was afraid. T. S. Eliot, ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ Bu bu!? by Simone Rea Fur-lined Russian hats (Ushankas, or “ear hats”) begin to appear … Continue reading
A pride of bicycles: Part V
Rachel Bone i. The most prevalent road-rage gesture I see in London is the one I call the Seinfeld. It’s exactly the kind of gesture Jerry would make when saying: “What IS thaaaat?” It’s exasperation, outrage, bafflement. It’s almost an … Continue reading
A pride of bicycles, part 4: Why?
Bicycle spills by Rachael Bone It hasn’t been a great week for the bike. I’ve been reminded too many times of all the things that grate me about cycling, the things that shred my good mood into slivers of rage and wretchedness. … Continue reading
A pride of bicycles (Part III)
Every day I see outbursts of rage on the road. A pedestrian bellowing at a cyclist for running a red light. A concrete mixer truck weaving in and out of lanes, leaving fist-waving cyclists in its wake. All the while, … Continue reading
A pride of bicycles (Part II)
Some people find bicycles boring. Well, there’s not much I can do about that – other than find lots of nice bicycle pictures for you to look at. Fortunately there are a lot of bicycle pictures around. Like guitars and … Continue reading