This week we're going to talk about another experience unique to Peoria. Right up there with the McBreeze, the vomit trees, and factory smells, but this one isn't a smell: it's a sound. Ben and I were taking full advantage of the waning warm weather with our windows wide open (yay for alliteration). And then I heard it: a loud, high pitched whine coming from what seemed like a mile away but coming in hot. This unmistakable sound is what Ben and I refer to as the 'Peoria 10-Speed'.
In all my travels, to all the states, cities, municipalities, Peoria is the only place I've seen or heard this phenomenon. For some reason the locals are obsessed with taking a single-cylinder motor and strapping it to their bicycle and driving anywhere they want. Sidewalks, streets, parking lots, it doesn't matter; these guys will bob and weave through traffic and pedestrians leaving only dust and a deafening whine in their wake.
Whenever we have our windows open you hear these guys coming long before we see them. The sound is usually shortly followed by a comment along the lines of 'I hate these guys' or a less polite version of 'would you kindly go away, good sir'. Not just because they never have mufflers on them which makes them terribly annoying, but also because they're unsafe to pedestrians and drivers. I'm all for getting from point A to point B as fast as possible. But not at the cost of safety.
No comments:
Post a Comment