The Most Dangerous Game

I have briefly mentioned how big public transportation is in a previous post, but I have not talked at all about bicycles.

Bicycles are really big in England, really big. People ride them all over the place, and you can see them stacked up against random posts and walls all over Oxford. Sometimes they do not even attach them to poles or fences because there is not room left. Instead they will use their chain to make the bicycle unridable and lean it up against a building while they head to class or pop into a store. They even have bicycle Christmas lights that they are putting up now.

My roommate, Amy, and I were once walking past a large collection that were leaned against a building, and she accidentally knocked one over while a crowd passed by. But since the wheels were made immovable by the chain, it took forever to set it back up, because the front wheel was perpendicular to the back one. And no one even bothered to take another look at her. Like stealing random bikes/people having no control over their own bikes was just a totally normal thing. We now have a joke that she steals bikes and rides them to other parts of the city where she leaves them to be found.

But back to cyclists, they are never dressed what you might expect a cyclist to wear. They wear rather normal clothes, and some women even still wear skirts/dresses, although I am not sure why. And they always seem to have a jacket on, which they put their hands into while cycling by. It's as if they know they are badass and want you to know too.

Buses also always seem like they want to kill the bicyclists, or at least make the people riding the bus think they killed them. They drive right up next to the cyclists and just hover there, meanwhile the cyclist has their hands in their pockets and are trying to steer using their knees, and I am on the bus ready to call 999 (England's version of 911) the moment that cyclist gets hit. But the cyclist just looks completely chill and rides away somewhere. Is it a stunt they pull together? I am not sure.

You also start to gain a 6th sense after a while, where you can sense when a bike is getting close. Or you never really stop being aware, in case a bike was to show up. i promise that I have been walking around on a deserted road with bushes surrounding it, and a cyclist will just show up out of no where and attempt to run me over. And they do try and hit you, like it is a game to see if they can hit you without you noticing. Maybe that is why the bus drivers aim for them. Pay back. Either way I feel like I am a story where I am being hunted by bicyclists.

Also, all the bikes have cute little baskets on them, some on the front and some in the back, and sometimes with a baby inside them. No joke. Babies will be riding in a metal crate without cushioning while their parents speed down the road attempting to hit pedestrians. And some have bells to ring when they get close to you. But when they approach you from behind, usually you have just enough time to turn around and see them as they run you over. Instead of signaling further away so you can see them and get out of the way. These bells also make me really paranoid though, because I will hear one really far away and think it is a biker who is about to jump over the wall next to me and is just trying to give me notice.

Although, some people think they are too good for bikes and ride something more sleek and cool: a Razor Scooter. Yes, adults here ride Razor Scooters. Although I at first thought I was having a flash back to the early 2000s, when I was a child and realized they were ridiculous then, I quickly found out this was actually present day England. They are not common, but there is usually at least ne person a day that I will see gliding down the street on one of those bad boys. And they usually look like they think they are the epitome of cool. Maybe they are here, but I think in America they would be laughed at. Those things are so much more work than walking. Only in England, I guess.

Until next time...

Embrace the Odd,
Caitlin

"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." -Mark Twain