KarmaCycle: Glory, Glory ... and talking to strangers on bikes in London

Friday, 21 May 2010

Glory, Glory ... and talking to strangers on bikes in London

Days like today are what cycling was invented for. A perfect sunny day but not boiling hot. It was all I could do to stop myself greeting every fellow cyclist with a cheery wave and a "good morning" ... actually perhaps I should start that and see what happens. Somehow the idea that you can actually talk to a fellow cyclist seems a bit unlikely. Have you guys ever tried it? As documented in blog posts past, cyclists do occasionally exchange words with strangers - but it's normally when the weather is extreme - snow or driving rain. But when it's sunny? Come on cyclists - did you talk to a stranger today? Confess.

2 comments:

Kannan.V said...: I would love to do that too.. its just that the traffic lights turn green and you have to break off abruptly.... that's what I hate ;)

-K; Friday, 21 May, 2010
KarmaCycle said...: Yes, I know that - you feel a bit crap as you leave the person in mid flow. There's an art, I guess, to timing your opening remarks to the moment the light has turned red - and making sure the light is a long one. (There are plenty of those in London)!; Friday, 21 May, 2010

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The Cycle of Karma

When you're cycling around 100 miles a week through London, you develop some strange notions. The one I can't get out of my head is that you build up karma - good and bad - depending on how you cycle. So - if you stop at red lights, wait politely for pedestrians, smile at cars, you get rewarded - the next light turns green for you straight away, someone smiles back at you - you get the picture. Of course this doesn't always work, but it works often enough for me to try to cycle by those rules. Most of the time.