KarmaCycle: noise

Friday, 30 October 2009

Are you listening to your bike?

My bike has developed a new noise and I'm struggling to understand the language. It goes like this. I pedal, it goes "creeeeeeek". I pedal, it goes "creeeeeeeek". I pedal, it goes "creeeeeeeek". I pedal fast, it goes "creeeeeeeeeek" faster. OK, that suggests it's the pedals or the chain. But then I kind of stand up on the pedals and it stops. I am led to the inevitable conclusion that it's my seat. But when I kind of wobble it, nothing happens. No creeking noise. I'm beginning to worry I might be alarming small children and unsuspecting cyclists with my new noise.

If only I was fluent in bike.

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.