Competing with Children



With gas prices up over $4.30 where I live, I've been out on my bicycle a lot. It's a great way to meet people and stay connected to the world. While riding through the inner city, I've noticed a near phenomenon of really tiny motorcycles ridden by big people. I mean, these bikes are made to fit a 6 year old.

I met this young dude on the West Side fixing his chain in the middle of the road! Traffic swooshing by, he drew a small crowd of onlookers (likely because he was in the middle of the street) who resisted the temptation to lend a hand. Instead we stared. After he got the chain on, I offered to race him down the street on my bike. He agreed and I readied myself. Of course I had to turn my bike around because he was going to race
against traffic and I guess, so was I. And with sneakers kicked back and knees barely off the pavement he smoked me. I estimated (on my cycle computer) that he was going 28mph before stopping his house to get something to get some candy.