Deciding to be conservative for a change, he grabs the brakes and stops his bike just as the traffic light turns red. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a second biker pull up beside him.

His attention, having been drawn in that direction, catches on the construction project behind the other biker. The skeletal frame and towering crane beside it. And the crane is hoisting something, but not steel beams or a pallet of planks. It’s a blue portable toilet.

“There’s something surreal about that,” he says without much thought.

“Imagine what it’s like for guy inside taking a whiz,” replies the other biker before peddling off with the now green light.

He is about to push off with his right foot to get the bike going, but he hesitates and listens for a second. There’s a sound that could be the distant protests of a badly put-upon construction worker, but maybe it’s just the wind.