Two photographs taken on the same morning in Petchaburi market three days ago with a similar theme of bike comparison. In both pictures it's an old man doing the cycling and in both there's a motorcyclist flying by.
I like this first photo for the airy feel around the cyclist whilst the motorcyclist is cropped tighter and has a look of confinement in that helmet. Despite the physical effort there's a sense of freedom riding a bicycle that I don't think you get on a motorbike (although, I may be biased!).
I don't like crossing this junction on my bike as the traffic feels like it could come at me from any direction but this guy looks untroubled.
Petchaburi city sits in a river's floodplain so all the city's public roads are virtually flat except, that is, for bridges, and the man in this second photo was defeated by one in a very calm and relaxed way. On his old bicycle he trundled out of the market area up to the bridge, eased himself off his bike and pushed it up the gentle little slope as he has probably done hundreds of times before. At the top he got back on and quietly peddled down the other side. Every movement was well-practiced, unhurried and unobtrusive. Meanwhile, the helmetless woman on her motorbike shot passed dragging her fumes and noise behind her. Helmets are supposedly compulsory on motorbikes but compliance is only about fifty percent around here.
You can probably guess which kind of bike I prefer.
