Friday, March 10, 2006
There are 9 million bicycles in Beijing....
...and I challenge you to find 2 bikes worse than ours!! Well my Shanghai Forever was passable, Rhod's was worse. However it's at times like these that we must remember that old adage 'A bad workman always blames his tools.'
If you can cope with near-collision experiences with buses, bikes, motorbikes and taxis, this really is the way to enjoy a hassle-free Beijing. We somehow managed to make it round Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the back-street hutongs, following the simple rule that if the traffic lights are red, you can go. If they are green you can also go. There seemed to be no hard and fast rules to support the amber. This was fortunate for Rhod as his excuse-for-a-bike had no brakes! To add to it's woes the basket had a hole in the bottom, both wheels were buckled, the tyres were barely pumped up and the pedal fell off if you put your foot on the wrong side. I thought we fitted in a treat. If only we had one of those cone shaped straw hats I don't think anyone would have spotted us in a crowd.
If you can imagine what a stir 2 westerners cause just walking down the streets in Beijing, imagine what a sight 2 westerners riding bikes down the street can cause. As I was following Rhod, I noticed one lady stop in her tracks laughing, poke her husband and direct his attention towards Rhod. I'm glad we could be of such amusement to the good people of China!
# posted by Rhodri @ 9:04 am 
