On Twitter Tuesday morning, Ben Phillips, director of campaigns and policy for Oxfam, shared this intriguing picture, of a “Boris bike” — one of the bikes from London’s bikeshare system — in Gambia, a tiny West African country (and former British colony) that’s surrounded on three sides by Senegal.
A Boris bike turns up in Gambia… pic.twitter.com/5ngfIU87Kg
— Ben Phillips (@benphillips76) December 17, 2013
Phillips is not the photographer and was given the photo by a person who “wants to be anonymous.” So we have pretty much no idea what the story is here. Our best guesses on how, exactly, this bike made it from London to an entirely different continent:
- Someone biked 3,600 plus miles from London to Banjul (and has a monster bikeshare bill).
- The Gambia’s being recolonized by bikes.
- BIKES CAN FLY.
Probably the most likely explanation is that someone stole it. But if London’s bikes can fly, we’re pretty jealous.