Dear vélo traveller,

Yes, this blog is primarily about bicycles and bicyclism.

Or is it…? Isn’t the bicycle, as an intimate extension of one’s self, a mere analogue for the complexities and contradictions of our post-postmodern¹ existence?

Erm…is it?

Of course! Our relationship with the bicycle is simply a reflection of our attitude to the world around us… One might say the bicycle is a psycho-cultural index fossil?

Well, yes, I suppose “one” might… But this blog’s also about flânerie and the sheer joy of the dérive.

Fancy talk for wandering around aimlessly ogling at people…

Stop it! It may occasionally wander off into the realms of appropriate technology, inappropriate humour, atomic theory and the like but I’ll endeavour to keep such diversions to a minimum.

Really?

Yes, really. Furthermore, you are unlikely to find any reference to an American gold watch.

Apart from that one…

Ah, yes…quite.

R:B

(Flaneur Brian)

1. Eagleton calls this “pre-postmodernism” – modernism that has gone through postmodernism and emerged out the other side – but this appears to be often confused for precursory postmodernism. Personally, I prefer the concept of “re-modernism” – reapproaching modernity armed with the knowledge we previously lacked – but this is another argument entirely…