Like riding a bike

 

Bicycles, despite their annoying place in civilized society, are commonly used as an example of a skill you never forget. However, it’s time we forgot. But first, let’s dissect this tiresome expression.

 

Bikes are a social problem, like the preponderance of fentanyl, vandalism, or public defecation. They don’t make a place better.

 

Bicyclists aren’t defined by 19^th century Frenchmen twirling their mustaches, but by Lance Armstrong and his juiced-up peers. I understand the urge to take steroids for baseball. It’s hard hitting a ball. Or to run fast. Nobody likes running, least of all runners. But to bike up some hills in Pyrenees? That I don’t get. Springsteen wrote about cars, Kerouac didn’t travel the country in a Schwinn, and Travis Bickle wasn't picking up passengers in a pink woven basket. 

 

Lanes, bells, and hand signals make the word a less interesting, more annoying place. Bikes are a blight. Thankfully, hating bicycles is a familiar, timeless pastime. You might even say, it’s like riding a bike.