Just wondering.

Today on MARTA (our subway) I had my bike fastened to the wall at the end of the car. I had walked across to the other side of the car (about 3 feet away) to facilitate traffic in and out of the train. One station up, these two dudes come up and stand next to my bike. Then the guy on the left leans against my bike (facing away from it) and puts his hand on my saddle, his other hand on my handlebars. I am watching this happening and gritting my teeth. For some reason, it is infuriating me. I was slightly surprised at my reaction. I don't mind it when people touch my bike when I am at polo or just hanging out with other bikers ... but this felt different.

It made me remember something I learned when I was in college about people with disabilities. I worked at lab at Georgia Tech that did disability research. One of the things everyone there was explicitly told was to not touch people's guide dogs or wheelchairs. We were told that it was like touching someone's body ... not something you should do unless you know the person.

Anyhow, I was really irritated on the train this morning. Not irritated anymore, but I thought it was curious enough to ask other people if they've had similar experiences or not.