01 June 2011

SoWa Bike


This bike was getting a lot of attention at the SoWa Open Market (Sundays in the South End). There was an Italian family touching it, I got to feeling a little bit uncomfortable with their enthusiastic appreciation - it seems that bike groping etiquette is different across cultures. Would you touch another person's bike? Most particularly, would you explore the firmness of their Brooks saddle?

9 comments:

MamaVee said...

ha. No I have not touched another's bike! I have dropped a note inthe basket and taken a picture but even that felt very crossing of boundaries!

Love SOWA.

Lindymegan said...

Hah! I totally got up close to check out that bike this weekend. Normally touching I think is a bit taboo. Maybe just the handlebars . . .

Velouria said...

Americans touch my bikes all the time, including testing the saddle's firmness! I sometimes work at cafes where I position myself at the window and keep an eye on my bike, so I get to see this. Who knows what's happening to your bike when you're not watching it : )

bibliogrrl said...

That bike is pretty!

I don't touch bikes owned by people I don't know - in fact, I even hate shifting a bike over so I can lock mine to the same rack!

Part of the thing for me is that I regularly have to chase people off of one of my bikes; it's partially because it is a cool looking bike, and partially because of drunks in the neighborhood where I work. But it still drives me crazy.

Traditional Bike Club Curmudgeon said...

Touching someones saddle is just a bit "cheeky".

Anonymous said...

I've only ever taken a picture of someone's bike, but even then I felt a bit subversive!

Chocolate Crucifix said...

Saddles are for sniffing, not for touching, you plebeians.

She Rides a Bike said...

Touching another person's saddle is just a boundary I cannot cross.

And tell me about that bike basket?

kkmccann said...

love the Nantucket Bike Basket Co. Tuckernuck basket!