National Geographic

32# About 10:30 on a Saturday morning in the north Londonborough of Islington, two men on mopeds race down theshopping corridor of Upper Street. Sheathed in helmets,gloves, and jackets, they look more like manic video gamefigures than humans. They weave through traffic andaround double-decker buses at kamikaze velocity. Motor-ists flinch at their approach. The bikers pop wheelies andexecute speedy figure eights along the busy street. Still,something more purposeful than joyriding would seemto be on their minds.``````BY ROBERT DRAPER