Car-Free Day

[franceslievens]

Sunday cyclists travel in packs where the other day only cars, busses, and lorries tortured the asfalt. They sway from left to right, hardly noticing that rules and regulations still apply. "There is no traffic," they say and nearly run into a four-year-old riding his tiny bike, with little wheels attached to it, in the opposite direction. A mother can't be seen, because it's safe. Or should be. Accidents are bound to happen when the weak take over the empty streets of the city that otherwise was filled with the motorists' humming.
Tomorrow they'll all climb in their cars again, and look at the same streets and roads from the false safety of metal and motors. They won't notice the weekly cyclists, pedalling on.

Today was Car-Free Sunday in Brussels.

Comments

[candlelightfrot.livejournal.com]

This made me laugh because of the analogy that came to mind. Coming from Indiana, the Indianapolis 500 auto race is big over here. There's a saying here that when someone is speeding in his car that he thinks he is a driver at the Indy 500. So I was wondering if your Car-Free Sunday cyclists thought they were racers in the Tour de France?

[frances-lievens.livejournal.com]

Well, I think you hit the nail on the head. Probably that's why they were riding their bikes so recklessly.

Otoh they weren't speeding, but slowing down and stopping where they weren't supposed to etc. When people in cars do this we call them "Sunday drivers", the persons that only drive their cars on Sunday and aren't really used to a lot of traffic. The equivalent are the cyclists that only ride on Sunday or on days when there isn't any traffic.