Bad Bikes

While London suffers with inexcusable violence and disorder, as people take advantage of a situation to simply run wild on the streets much has been made of the use of new technology such as social networking in order to organise the activity, while there is an older technology that is featuring equally.

While much of what I write about involved bikes as an expensive toy, a way to get to work and a means of enjoying the countryside and to get some exercise, but there is another side. Along with the ubiquitous Blackberry phones in the riot areas there are bikes featuring over and over again.

At the opposite end of the spectrum from the way I use bikes is the mobility and freedom that they give the kind of people in London who are rioting on the streets. It’s a reminder that bikes represent a freedom to everyone, even if that’s not a freedom that many of us wish they had at the moment. If there was any doubt then the fact that bike shops have been key targets for looters along with the type of shops selling those things which seem to be status symbols for those involved; clothes form cheap sports shops, mobile phones and televisions.

There’s no suggestion that this will damage the reputation of bikes, but it’s a clear reminder that it isn’t just those of us who enjoy bikes for good who use them, and in fact that there are people who will attack you, in the spirit of lawlessness, to steal your bike.

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