20 April 2007

Nuts and bolts

When I retire, I plan to spend a day picking up all the bits of scrap metal that, ignored by motorists but very visible to the cyclist, litter the kerbs of the streets and roads of Manchester - especially the main ones.

Motorway roundabouts (like J17 of the M60 in Prestwich) and busy intersections like New Bridge St and Cheetham Hill Rd, near Manchester Victoria Station, are full of the stuff. Nails, bolts, nuts, hooks, pins, the odd bit of someone's old car. Once I even spotted a carefully rolled length of rope, complete with hook at the end. I wish I'd stopped to collect it as it looked pristine that morning. The following morning it had been thoroughly trampled on by passing traffic, and even now - months later - you can spot the odd bit of rope lying around that junction.

No comments: