I saw the lady with the bike parking up at the cross-roads at the time I went into the supermarket. When I was leaving, it looks like she had bumped into a friend and elected to push her bike for a while so they could chat. Bicycles are remarkably "human" modes of transport, travelling by car, these two would never have had their chance encounter and a chat.
I bumped into this chap locking my bike up at the supermarket, he was sorting out a puncture. He seemed very impressed with my bike, mainly because he didn't know they still made, "Proper bikes." I saw him again on my way home via the Floop and I rode with him for a few minutes chatting about where he got his bike from and how he enjoys it because "It gets me around."
The encounter left me in a good mood, and I hope I had the same effect on him. This is the sort of interaction which only happens when transport is on a human scale, another one of the benefits of cycling.
