so I'm walking down the street when I see a most unusual bike:
It's grey, dirty, and full-fendered. Low-profile TT bullhorn bars. 700Cx25 tires, full fenders. BIG
cantilever front brakes, no rear--wait, it's a fixed-gear! Track fork ends, at that....
I'm busy contemplating this unusual species of two-wheeled life when its owner comes out of a door;
he's a messenger, and I look very bike-thief-like. "nice bike" i say.
"what's so nice about it?" he challenges me.
"That's a fixed-gear, isn't it?" This must have passed a test. The messenger relaxes. I'm not going
to jack him for his bike (which would have fit me just fine, too).
"Yeah it is. Best thing for riding around town, this. You into bikes?"
"A bit."
anyway, this got me thinking: is there a sort of bike-admiration etiquette to be followed? I did
feel rather embarassed to be caught examining his bike so closely, but I was only curious about the
details of how it was put together and its interesting setup--but then, I did look rather dodgy. am
I just too sad for my own good?
[i never did get ask him too closely about the bike--he was working after all, and if the bike is
feeding him, i didn't feel right holding him up unduly. maybe a track frame with a cyclocross fork
installed?]
(I should say that the london messenger crowd seems to ride everything and anything, which makes
them interesting to watch. I've seen battered road frames, track bikes, mtbs, and...this, which
seems to defy any real classification)
-Luigi