Mystery Bump Molester

Coming back from a winter vacation in the States, I was pleased to see an improvement on the Buda bank bike path just north of Margit Bridge. Two annoying speed bumps -- created last summer as an ad hoc measure to slow down cyclists passing through a temporary train stop -- had been notched out to allow for smooth passage.

At first, I assumed this had been a guerilla action by a fellow cyclist, like one that took place in the fall. From the looks of it, somebody had taken a pick axe to the bumps, and just busted out a gap of some 15 cm -- just enough to get your wheels through providing you're paying attention and haven't had too much to drink. My heart filled with gratitude for my comrade in arms who stuck his neck out with this righteous act of vandalism.

On second thought, however, I wondered if it might rather have been the half-assed handiwork of a legitimate street crew. Afterall, the ad hoc train stop ceased to function several months ago, so the speed bumps ought to have been properly removed. If this was the case, I could only shake my head at yet another example of cyclists getting the short end of the stick from our public services.

So I was feeling a little cognitive dissonance there for awhile: should I be grateful or pissed off, and at whom? But I decided that at least one thing's for certain: no matter who did the work -- the fact remains that the two speed bumps are 90 percent intact and still posing a threat to life and limb -- or at least rim and spoke -- to unwary cyclists. Whoever put the bumps there should come out and remove them entirely.