bicycles

The first man steps into the rail car on the second stop after I did. He’s in his early forties. He wears a windbreaker that looks to be about a hundred dollars, expensive sunglasses and slacks, the right leg of which is pinned with a binder clip. He wears a bicyclist’s cap and helmet on his head.

The bike he’s pushing in front of him is well-maintained. It’s about twenty-four inches, between five and ten years old and has new tires. There is a headlight attached to his handlebars next to an aged bell. His U-lock sits in a clip attached to its frame. A copy of today’s Wall Street Journal is strapped to the rack that sits over his rear tire.

With the bike hung, he turns around, glancing across the faces of the other passengers. Even through the expensive sunglasses, his expression seems to say, “I hope all of you see that I rode a bike today.” He reaches around, takes a book from his pricey buckled leather backpack, leans against the Plexiglas and begins reading.

Two stops later, the second man enters the train. He wears a cheap and over-sized white t-shirt, a baseball cap with a flat bill that’s turned to the right, a pair of off-brand sunglasses and giant denim shorts that are long enough to come within inches of his white sneakers. He’s in his early twenties and wears a gold watch on his right wrist. It looks to be fake.

He’s pushing a smaller bike, about twenty inches or a bit shorter. It’s newer than First Man’s, but looks slightly older. The left handle is missing, it’s dirty and there are many places where its paint has chipped. It lacks any accessories but looks to be frequently used.

First Man, seeing Second Man’s bike, moves out of the way along with a few other people. The door closes while Second Man’s still making his way to the rack. He stands his bike and tries to hang his front wheel over the hook while keeping his balance as the train pulls out of the stop. He’s not very successful. First Man gestures and mutters something in an attempt to help, but is ignored.

Finally, with far more effort than is normally needed, Second Man has his bike in the rack. He backs away, steps toward the door and stands against the Plexiglas there. He doesn’t look around, he stares straight ahead and his expression never changes.

The two bikes are within feet of one another on the rack. One is obviously a leisure vehicle for its rider. It’s proof that First Man is environmentally conscious and forward thinking, not matter how loudly that rings hollow. With the cultural shift toward environmentally friendly living, dozens like him beam with pride over their smaller carbon footprint and their BMWs sitting idle in their garages.

Second Man uses his bike as a source of freedom. It’s a mode of transportation and an item of necessity. He doesn’t care about his impact on the environment. He may be new to mass transit, but he gets good use out of those two wheels. Maybe he has a car, but shares it or it’s in a shop or doesn’t run. Maybe he’s just taking it out today because it’s sunny and warm or he wants to avoid the roundhouse to the wallet that comes with filling up at the pumps.

The two bicycles may be hanging by their front wheels on the same rack in the same rail car, but they come from different places and are used in far different ways.