Chapter 79
Biking
Just like crossing the street and driving a car, riding a bicycle is also different in China compared to here. In the US, it is more open and we can just ride. In China, there are lots of obstacles.
I decided to buy a bicycle in September of 2011. It cost 600 RMB which is about $100. It would make it easier and faster than walking to get places. It was good exercise also.
Well, this was another thing to learn how to do. Some people are moving faster, some slower, some do not pay any attention. It’s like they are the only person there among the thousands on the streets. There are bike lanes for the bikes, electric bikes and motorbikes. All three of those vehicles ride in the same lane so the lanes are wider than here. There is also a divider between the car and bike lanes. Sometimes you may also find a taxi in the bike lane. It is really interesting. There are people walking there also.
When you are riding a bike, you have other bikes and people coming at you from every direction-from behind, in front of you, the right, the left and every other angle. Again, huge numbers of people there compared to here and more people riding those than driving cars.
If you think rush hour is bad here, there you have the car lanes for cars and buses. Bike lanes with bicycles, motorbikes, electric bikes and people walking. Sometimes they are all intertwined.
I rode my bike quite a bit the first year I had it. I think that I rode it four times in the fall of 2012 and then decided to quit. It just got too dangerous. Too many people riding and not paying attention. I did not buy a helmet, I should have. That would have been the place to really have one. I saw maybe a handful of people wearing helmets. If I could have sold everyone a helmet, I would have been rich.
When I was out riding around, I wished that I would have had a Go Pro Camera to record what it was like to ride a bike there. I had a video camera but I couldn’t figure out a way to attach it to my bike. I thought about duct tape but it wouldn’t have been a good way to do it.
You will see bicycles in pictures throughout this journal. They are a common form of transportation in China. They are everywhere and there are parking places for them. There are also electric bikes, motorbikes and small motorcycles. I will just show a few pictures of bicycles here. There are other topics in this journal that show all the different kinds but I just wanted to show these.
This is my bike. I bought this in September of 2011. In US dollars, it cost $100. It was a very nice bike. Even though I lived on the 5th floor of my apartment building, I would bring it up five flights of steps and put it in my apartment and when I would go out to ride, I would take it down. It was safer in my apartment and I could keep it clean.
If you think rush hour is bad here, there you have the car lanes for cars and buses. Bike lanes with bicycles, motorbikes, electric bikes and people walking. Sometimes they are all intertwined.
I rode my bike quite a bit the first year I had it. I think that I rode it four times in the fall of 2012 and then decided to quit. It just got too dangerous. Too many people riding and not paying attention. I did not buy a helmet, I should have. That would have been the place to really have one. I saw maybe a handful of people wearing helmets. If I could have sold everyone a helmet, I would have been rich.
When I was out riding around, I wished that I would have had a Go Pro Camera to record what it was like to ride a bike there. I had a video camera but I couldn’t figure out a way to attach it to my bike. I thought about duct tape but it wouldn’t have been a good way to do it.
Chapter 80
Bicycles
You will see bicycles in pictures throughout this journal. They are a common form of transportation in China. They are everywhere and there are parking places for them. There are also electric bikes, motorbikes and small motorcycles. I will just show a few pictures of bicycles here. There are other topics in this journal that show all the different kinds but I just wanted to show these.
This is my bike. I bought this in September of 2011. In US dollars, it cost $100. It was a very nice bike. Even though I lived on the 5th floor of my apartment building, I would bring it up five flights of steps and put it in my apartment and when I would go out to ride, I would take it down. It was safer in my apartment and I could keep it clean.
I only rode it for the one year. I started to ride it the next fall for just a few times and then I decided to quit. It was too dangerous. It isn’t like riding bike in the US. In China, there are people everywhere and many don’t look where they are going and they are coming at you from every direction.
I let a friend of Mary’s ride it when he wanted to. Mary had borrowed one of the teacher’s bikes to ride. After I went to leave Luoyang to come back here in June 2013, I told Mary she could sell it and whatever money she got for it she could go to Dairy Queen and have ice cream.
I didn’t buy a helmet, I should have. It would have been a good place to have one. If I could have sold helmets to everyone that had a bike there, I would have been rich.
You will see bicycles built for 1, 2 or more.
I let a friend of Mary’s ride it when he wanted to. Mary had borrowed one of the teacher’s bikes to ride. After I went to leave Luoyang to come back here in June 2013, I told Mary she could sell it and whatever money she got for it she could go to Dairy Queen and have ice cream.
I didn’t buy a helmet, I should have. It would have been a good place to have one. If I could have sold helmets to everyone that had a bike there, I would have been rich.
You will see bicycles built for 1, 2 or more.
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