neilfein

This started as a reply to this thread about rolling your bike, but it got out of hand.

A few days ago, I was rolling my Dahon in a train station using the seat-up pushing-the-bike method, my wife Martha right behind me rolling a suitcase. I got to a tunnel and there was a crowd of commuters streaming out towards me like toothpaste. I stopped behind a guy looking at the crowd with a look of should-I-do-this plastered on his face. "Allow me," I said to him, and pushed my bike smoothly around him and into the crowd.

The people parted in front of me as if I was leading Martha and the guy out of Egypt. This interruption in a normal mob-like rush hour scene startled people, and the individual commuters moved aside smoothly, one at a time, no fuss.

But, the looks on people's faces! Oh, I guess I'd better move aside... Martha and the guy were able to follow along in my wake. We got to the end and laughed, and chatted with the guy while waiting for our trains.

what bike?

nice story, you must be a god

Lalato

Happens to me all the time when I'm weaving through people on the Metra platform at Ogilvie/Northwest Station in Chicago. I think people are afraid of getting tangled up in the that weird thing we're pushing.

--sam

what bike?

lol, you must be a god aswell, or they might think your disabled and its some sort of walking frame

EatMyA**

thats great!

makeinu

+1

I find crowds behave similarly and I've had quite a few people come up to me after sitting on the train for a few minutes and say, "I thought that was a wheel chair, but just realized it's a bike."

Parting the red sea is ok when you're the only one, but I can never get past the nagging thought that such behavior patterns can not continue if there are more than a few of us [with largish folding bikes].

That's one of the things that intrigues me about the Carryme so much. No matter where I am it's easy to imagine one in the hand of every individual around me, going on their ways as they are now without disruption.

neilfein

My favorite remark, when I'm with the bike folded: "Does that fold?"

what bike?

hehe i gotta try this someday

Chessbored

How often do I hear this? That or "Is that a bike?!?!" upon watching me unfold and mount my...bike. Why ask if it is a bike when I'm sitting on the ruddy thing?

No it's a sofa. What do you think?

neilfein

Today I got asked about my unicycle.

what bike?

1 word for those two comments..... LOL

JSnow789

I generally just wait. I'm reverse commuting so I feel like a salmon at Olgivie in the evenings. In the morning it's a breeze because there are no trains getting in when I leave

JSnow789

I generally just wait. I'm reverse commuting so I feel like a salmon at Olgivie in the evenings. In the morning it's a breeze because there are no trains getting in when I leave.

I get the unicycle question *a lot* when I'm wheeling the strida. Its funny because they ask it as they are staring down at the two wheels.

taser

I decide on a direction in a crowd and keep walking. If you walk with purpose, people will move out of your path.

Lalato

Yeah. I'm reverse in the morning too. West Line to Lombard.

--sam