ADJUSTING BIKE GEARS

Poles, Dome and Man on Bicycle in Fog - Tianjin Olympic Center.

I tried to post this photo on my blog but couldn't. It’s China again, those little rrrrascals. At least for now Flickr isn't blocked. But in this brave new and very fluid China, it could be in the process of being blocked as I write. You just never know what will come next, or, more accurately, what will be rendered ‘inaccessible’ next. The closer we move towards August, which, by default, we are inextricably doing, the more things seem to disappear as somebody keeps adjusting all the mirrors.

There not much to say about this one: a guy on a bike, a Line of Poles, a slivered edge of muted sun grazing the latest version of Dome. This could be coastal foggy Bottom anywhere – perhaps the Carolinas, perhaps China – a place where people of Real Property in closed-door sessions boldly indulged unnamed brethren by inviting one of the Domes to town, resulting in the quid pro quo shuffle – legerdemain in broad daylight, (except when Fog rolls in, and things change hands as if they’re inside a large bowl of milk) – money in a bank somewhere, dull child to good college, surgical plastics for whomever might need them.

But despite, resistance – environmental impact statements, weekend fishermen’s cadre protests, even a few mosquito advocates bemoaning the loss of primal seething habitat – Dome always comes and parks on the edge of town, settles in for the long haul, smiles like it’s a good friend.“Hi, I’m Dome. I’m here to make your life a lot better.”

The man on the bike is as unknown to me as I am to him. In another life, perhaps we were brothers. According to Tibetans, this pedaling man and I were both, in other lives, each others’ very own mother, which, despite the inclusion of this nugget of good wisdom in the Tibetan cosmic order – which one would hope might foster strong, healthy relationships and sensibly civilized human interactions – it doesn’t seem to stop Tibetans from periodically wailing the hell out of each other, which I take as a physical admission that some mothers were a lot better at it than others.

All the best and most sensible information one can muster oftentimes has no influence at all on the visiting and subsequent outcome of random events, from who is whose mother to where Domes finally settle down. Or who is riding a bicycle past my camera. At this moment here it’s a man on a bike, a white clothe sack balanced across the handlebars and basket, and a child in a seat centered directly behind him and over the back wheel. You can’t see the child. I can’t see the child either, but I’ve seen the next photo and there’s a child wrapped in thick pants and heavy winter coat w/hood. Boy or girl, too small and bundled up to really tell. There always seem to be a child you can’t quite see when you’re in the vicinity of Dome and all of its Fog.

And the ubiquitous and upstanding Line of Poles? Well, they just watch. But they’re not telling what it is they’re seeing. Sneaky like that, they are.

-- December 1, 2007.

©Jim Gourley, 2007

The 'Sideways Bike' was invented by Irishman Michael Killian (photo) and is primarily meant for children - as it is best enjoyed when swinging. In the other image, Michael is seen promoting his extraordinary vehicle. In the Netherlands, bicycle riders are obliged to stick out a hand before making a turn. Since that would be quite inappropriate with his bike, Michael came up with red tubes and finger signals.