This morning's commute and other commuting stories

Well, it's not necessarily lost souls. When the choice was either between heavy old clunkers or a second (third, fourth, etc.) hand road frame or a cheap road bike, and brake hoods weren't comfortable enough yet to spend a whole ride on them, many people who preferred an upright riding position, rather than riding in the drops, simply turned the bars up. That way they had a lighter frame and could ride as they would on an old Raleigh roadster, for instance, but without the weight penalty. A lot of newer bikes, especially hybrids, which make riding positions possible that such people consider more comfortable than leaning forward, have been sold in the last twenty years, so you don't see this as much any more, but I remember well when I first came to London and it was a frequent sight. The supply of bikes was just very different back then.