New York Minute 175 - Bicycle Chain

File this one under things that you don’t see very often. I went out to run an errand late one night and noticed a distressed man yanking on the chain that secured a parked bicycle to a large steel light pole. I figured that the bicycle was his and he had lost his key or forgot his combination, but I acknowledged the possibility that he was trying to steal it.

The man was clearly upset, blurting out pathetic yelps as he yanked on the chain, again and again. It was as though he was pleading to the heavy lock to show him mercy. After a series of yanks, he would pause and shuffle awkwardly on the sidewalk like a boxer who’d been hit so many times that he was no longer aware that the fight was still going. After a brief break, the man would go back to yanking the chain and pleading for his bicycle to be emancipated from its grasp.

After observing this repeating spectacle for a while, I decided to be on my way, but I noticed shortly thereafter that the yanking and yelping had stopped. I looked up in time to see the man ride past me the now freed bicycle, wobbling terribly and facing traffic on an avenue that was still busy with cars at this late, late hour. A couple of the cars came dangerously close to hitting the man as he wobble and swerved, seemingly unaware of the danger that the automobiles presented. I hope that he made it to wherever he felt that he needed to go.

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