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09-12-05, 12:03 PM
what did I miss?
More hipster bashing and Pista vs. IRO threads I guess?
I just got back from a 4 week vacation on the Trans-Siberian Railroad with my family. A total of 2 weeks in Russia, 8 days in Mongolia and 5 days in China. Something like that. I know it doesn't add up, but I lost count of the days while on the train.
While it wasn't a bike trip at all, there was plenty of cycling to observe.
Beijing cyclists have some serious balls. While the city of Beijing still encourages cycling, riding around the downtown core, among its 18 million inhabitants and 1 million cars, is one of the most dangerous things I've observed. I haven't experienced NYC riding, but I imagine it to be rather tame compared to China. While the city has build special bike lanes along the main downtown roads - separated by a concrete median from the rest of the traffic - this doesn't stop busses, taxis and trucks from barrelling down these lanes (in both directions, despite the bike lanes being one-way) to get around the ubiquitous traffic jams. Even though bikes sometimes have their own traffic lights, crossing major intersections is still dangerous, since turning cars don't seem to respect the lights or even the crosswalks for pedestrians. So because of the inherent danger, cyclist seem to have no probelms asserting their rights to the road, by cutting off creeping cars, splitting lanes between merging busses and generally squeezing their way through any opening in traffic. Despite all this mayhem I didn't see a single collision.
Single-speeds prevail. 80% of the bikes are old "Flying Pigeon" steel single speeds (like Momovelo used to import) with steel rims, steel bars, steel chainguard, steel everything else and *rod brakes*. Sweet. Those things must weigh 50 pounds. You see the odd 50's Raliegh and "modern" Giant aluminum road bikes (albeit equipped with suicide levers and shifters).
On those bikes that are equipped with derailleurs, they often don't work. Their owners instead opting to use them as what we'd call ghetto single speeds, bypassing the derailleur and picking a rear cog that offers a decent chainline. Beijing cyclists are perfectly content of puttering around town at a comfortable 60 rpm cadence. It still gets them there faster than the cars and busses. I watched the same 70 year old man pass us at least 20 times as we crept forward through stop and go traffic.
The single speed cargo tricycles are awesome. I want to build one.
The cycling situation in Russia is completely different. Well, not entirely. Single speeds do still prevail - many of them being single speed folders. Full-kit lycra "roadies" exist too, though all of them I saw were actually riding mountain bikes with aero bars. St Petersburg and Moscow cyclists also tempt fate riding among the cars, but most of them seemed to be teenagers riding around on BMXs and dirt jumpers, rather than commuters.
In Mongolia the bicycle gives way to camels and horses. Well, at leat outside of Ulaan Baatar. I got bigger saddle sores from riding a camel for one hour than I ever have gotten from riding a bike. Centuries included.
Mongolia is absolutely beautiful - Wide open spaces, big sky and the some of most friendly and hospitable people you'll ever meet. I am definetly going back again, hopefully to do a camel-supported cycling tour. Anyone up for a fixed gear crossing of the Gobi desert?
Pictures to follow, later. After I get over this jetlag.
More hipster bashing and Pista vs. IRO threads I guess?
I just got back from a 4 week vacation on the Trans-Siberian Railroad with my family. A total of 2 weeks in Russia, 8 days in Mongolia and 5 days in China. Something like that. I know it doesn't add up, but I lost count of the days while on the train.
While it wasn't a bike trip at all, there was plenty of cycling to observe.
Beijing cyclists have some serious balls. While the city of Beijing still encourages cycling, riding around the downtown core, among its 18 million inhabitants and 1 million cars, is one of the most dangerous things I've observed. I haven't experienced NYC riding, but I imagine it to be rather tame compared to China. While the city has build special bike lanes along the main downtown roads - separated by a concrete median from the rest of the traffic - this doesn't stop busses, taxis and trucks from barrelling down these lanes (in both directions, despite the bike lanes being one-way) to get around the ubiquitous traffic jams. Even though bikes sometimes have their own traffic lights, crossing major intersections is still dangerous, since turning cars don't seem to respect the lights or even the crosswalks for pedestrians. So because of the inherent danger, cyclist seem to have no probelms asserting their rights to the road, by cutting off creeping cars, splitting lanes between merging busses and generally squeezing their way through any opening in traffic. Despite all this mayhem I didn't see a single collision.
Single-speeds prevail. 80% of the bikes are old "Flying Pigeon" steel single speeds (like Momovelo used to import) with steel rims, steel bars, steel chainguard, steel everything else and *rod brakes*. Sweet. Those things must weigh 50 pounds. You see the odd 50's Raliegh and "modern" Giant aluminum road bikes (albeit equipped with suicide levers and shifters).
On those bikes that are equipped with derailleurs, they often don't work. Their owners instead opting to use them as what we'd call ghetto single speeds, bypassing the derailleur and picking a rear cog that offers a decent chainline. Beijing cyclists are perfectly content of puttering around town at a comfortable 60 rpm cadence. It still gets them there faster than the cars and busses. I watched the same 70 year old man pass us at least 20 times as we crept forward through stop and go traffic.
The single speed cargo tricycles are awesome. I want to build one.
The cycling situation in Russia is completely different. Well, not entirely. Single speeds do still prevail - many of them being single speed folders. Full-kit lycra "roadies" exist too, though all of them I saw were actually riding mountain bikes with aero bars. St Petersburg and Moscow cyclists also tempt fate riding among the cars, but most of them seemed to be teenagers riding around on BMXs and dirt jumpers, rather than commuters.
In Mongolia the bicycle gives way to camels and horses. Well, at leat outside of Ulaan Baatar. I got bigger saddle sores from riding a camel for one hour than I ever have gotten from riding a bike. Centuries included.
Mongolia is absolutely beautiful - Wide open spaces, big sky and the some of most friendly and hospitable people you'll ever meet. I am definetly going back again, hopefully to do a camel-supported cycling tour. Anyone up for a fixed gear crossing of the Gobi desert?
Pictures to follow, later. After I get over this jetlag.