Now that the bright, balmy days of allergy season are upon us, you can’t throw a milk crate without hitting a cyclist.

Which reminds me: Here’s the current leader of Le Tour de Milk Crate:

Sorry about the quality of this photo. It doesn’t do justice. This guy was riding a bright yellow bike, adorned with a bright yellow Umpqua Dairy milk crate … and by God if he wasn’t wearing bright yellow shoes, too. I know it’s still early, but I’m thinking the Umpqua boys look unstoppable this summer. I’ll keep you posted on Le Tour de Milk Crate.

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Coming home yesterday, I saw a near-collision at Seventh and Pearl. A guy pedaling along, grooving with his iPod earbuds in, makes a quick last-second swerve to avoid the woman riding on the sidewalk, just coming down into the crosswalk. Scold that I am, I have to say I am no fan of riding with an iPod. Nor am I a fan of riding on the sidewalk. These were two people who deserved each other.

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Then there was this bike outside of Poppi’s Anatolia:

Oh, sure, you say, what a jolly bit of festoonery. I dunno. I see a darker story of neglect. Poor thing — cast into the ivy patch alongside somebody’s house late last fall. Abandoned there for months. The menacing vines had their way. The bike’s owner turned to other pleasures: reading in front of the fire, tea and responsibly driving the Prius to work.

Then when the sun emerges, oh sure, the bike is hastily reclaimed. In swoops the owner. A few gallant snips with the pruning shears to free the bike — and then, with no more foreplay than that, the bike finds itself harshly remounted — and off to Poppi’s where it gets to sit outside, while the owner dines. I’ll bet it feels used … cheap … dirty.