Originally posted by iraszl
I've lived in Beijing for 6 years. That place is bikers heaven. I had a mountain bike, a road bike and a BMX for the different occasions. The roads for bikes are in most places are as wide as for cars. And there are bike roads everywhere, so it's really safe riding in Beijing. Everybody (at least in the 1990's) was using a bike to get around. Only taxis, buses and some foreigners used cars. Most bikes are really simple (no gears, no cables) and heavy, but durable. And people ride really slow, but for 50-100 km every day. They socialize (talk) while riding. It's really good exercise, cheap and environmentally friendly. If there were 10 million cars in Beijing I would've suffocated. The air is polluted in the winter anyway, because people use coal to heat and that makes a lot of smoke.
Very good description of the bicycle culture in Beijing, Iraszl. Especially about people bicycling and talking - that is a beautiful thing.
I am sad to report that things have been changing through the 1990's. Motor cars are taking a majority of the road space and the resulting air pollution is making bicycling difficult and dangerous. There are still a lot of bicycles in use, but it isn't like the old days. I encourage anyone who wants to experience a world of bicycles to go to China now. The China bicycle culture is coming to a rapid end.