Back again, now in China, after a long break.
 

I have communted on and off for many years. I was last on this forum when I was living in Tasmania, doing a 24km round trip commute.

Well after Tasmania I moved to South Korea for two years, and lived in two houses. Both were so close to work that I walked, and didnt even own a bike. As the public transport is so good in Seoul, I didnt own a car either.

Now I have moved to Chengdu, in western China. Presently I am doing a 10k round trip commute, but that will change. I will spend a month living where I work, then start doing a 24 km round trip commute.

Chengdu is a lovely city for commuting. It is flat. It has HUGE bike lanes, often 10 m wide. However there can be a lot of traffic, the roads are fairly bumpy, and the cars, especially the taxis can be brutal. I am often waiting to cross an intersection with up to 30 other bikes, both pedal and electric (petrol bikes are meant to be banned in the city).

It is exciting to race the electric bikes, weaving between pedestrians, three wheeled pedal bikes carrying large loads, and all the other traffic Chengdu bike lanes throw up.

I bought myself a Giant Lava mountain bike with front suspension. I got a red one as they go faster. This lovely bike cost me 1100 RMB (USD$160, AUD$202). This is VERY cheap. It is because they are made here, and have no tax.

I will post some pics in the next few days so you can see what I am talking about.

z

I travel in China and really admire the bicycle culture there. Cyclist often have a complete car lane that is fenced off from the vehicle lanes. Everyone is on bikes and drinking tea in the mornings.

I hope this culture continues as-is. If all chinese started driving cars, it would be a disaster.

Michael

Yea I want to see that so bad, I would go at the drop of a hat!

It is fun riding with the pack, though there are as many electronic bikes as manually powered bikes nowadays. On my ride this morning there were two lanes of traffic blocking the bike lane so cyclists had to go on the sidewalk to get past them.

Anyway, I snapped a picture of a smallish group waiting for the lights to change

You live in China and didn't buy a Flying Pigeon? ;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Pigeon
http://flyingpigeon-la.com/

Thanks for the post and the cool pic...please jeep us up to date with your cycling adventures while there. :thumb:

do they have freds and roadies in china?

I've seen roadies in Shanghai. There are no freds anywhere in China.

I've never seen a roadie in china.

I've also noticed that the vast majority of bike lane users are electric powered. In Hangzhou, it was to the tune of 95%.

You appreciate the power of color.

I think it is a little less here.

I have a few more pics. Not great quality as I am whipping my phone out of my pocket to take these...

The first is a view of the peleton waiting for the lights. The second is a common style of doubling both here and in South Korea for the youth. The third is a bike lane when it is fairly empty. The fourth is a regular hazard, a bus stopped outside the bike lane, but people going onto the bus without looking and those jumping off who want to be crashed into. The last is a style of doubling more common among the older folk, and for girls wearing short skirts.



z

This seems like a tough thing to ride, the wheels were badly buckled, he has a passenger, and it is a heavy bike.
http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...t/Tricycle.jpg

Riding with an umbrella is very popular when the sun is out, or it is raining

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...anumbrella.jpg

But there are some benefits...

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...yclinggirl.jpg

z

I quit my first job teaching English, and took another job teaching science and math. I am currently living on campus, about 12 km south of where I spend a lot of time with friends. The road south is 4 or 5 lanes in each direction, with a two lane wide bike/bus lane on either side of the road. The bike/bus lane looks like this:

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803030.jpg

Sometimes I have to share it

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803032.jpg
http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803042.jpg
http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803044.jpg

The intersections are huge, and as there is little cross traffic bikes generally run the red light

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803035.jpg

There are some lovely buildings along the way, my local bank branch is in the first

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803033.jpg

This one isnt finished yet, but it looks promising

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803037.jpg

Some apartment buildings

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803036.jpg

The lighting on this one looks great at night....

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803039.jpg

This is one of my favorites

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803041.jpg

c

This is only a part of the local government admin building, there are 4 of the silver things surrounding a dome. The whole place is 800m long

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803040.jpg

The main road goes over a bridge that spans ring road 2 and a train track. I did ride it once, but with two lanes of expressway speed traffic leaving to go to the airport and two more lanes coming onto the bridge, it was hairy and I wont do it again, so I go under.

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803043.jpg

and along some nice brick lined streets

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/f...0090803045.jpg

The traffic rules here take some getting used to, but offer a lot of flexability in your approach to dealing with others. Despite crazy stuff happening regularly I have yet to see any evidence of road rage.

There are a number of obstacles for the cyclist, I will try to collect some pics over the next two weeks.

I often think that China doesnt look much like China.

c

Cool! I keep meaning to go to Chengdu, mostly for the food -- still haven't managed to make it over there, though. I hear it's laid back and a lot of fun. Might try a weekend trip at some point!

And yet your pictures look so much like China...

Chengdu is indeed a very laid back and fun city. Let me know when you are coming across, it is worth the trip.

c

I am now into the swing of a regular and slightly longer commute. I live 12 km from work, and sleep at the apartment they supply me with at work on a Monday night. I sleep at my own apartment closer to town on the other nights. So on Mondays I only ride 12 km to work, Tuesday I ride the 12 km home, and Wednesday through Friday I ride the 24 km round trip.

With a few shopping trips to the side, I am doing a bit over 100 km per week.

This place is truly a bike riders delight. It is flat, with huge bike paths, a cager population that is used to riding with bikes, and give them right of way, and little to no wind.

Loving it in Chengdu :)

z

Everybody in China is a Fred - even the roadies.

http://www.neatorama.com/images/2007...or-bicycle.jpg

It happened already in the big cities like Shanghai and Beijing. Not EVERYBODY has an automobile, but the few that have them took over the roads. The car drivers just drive in the bicycle lanes en-masse and take it over.

And you are correct, compaired to the days without cars, Beijing and Shanghai are disasters.

That guy is obviously not from China, he is wearing a helmet :eek:

I often ride in the left hand lane of the bike lane. I move over for buses, but slow all cars down before moving out of their road. My aim is to make it slower for them to use the bike lane. I am not the only one doing this, other bike riders do it as well, and some of them give me the thumbs up for joining them :)

Fight the cagers!!!!

z

China looks great. I am near Busan in South Korea at the moment and envy you for living in Seoul! I would not own a car either but I would HAVE to ride a bike. I rode to Seoul in August from Busan and riding in the traffic there was a hoot!

I am going to try to make it to China, probably Shanghai and Beijing during my winter vacation but I doubt I will be able to ride since it will likely be snowing? What do you think?

Yes, the guy in the pic is not Chinese. He is just such a Fred, I had to use the pic.

Hey, man, be careful pissing off drivers in China. You aren't in Kansas anymore. I did that once in Taiwan and almost got run over by some rich kid in a sportscar.

Unlike the USA where everybody has a car, in China automobiles mean big status and they are owned by the elite. Those elite class know that they can fix any problem with money. In the back of their head, they probably calculate about how much it would cost them to run over a foreigner and make the decision whether or not to pancake you based on their mood at the moment.

what will it be like in Beijing?
I have these notions of going there...

That looks funnnn

On my first read through I thought you wanted to ride from Busan to Beijing, but North Korea is in the road a bit :)

It will snow in Beijing in winter, and it is cold there, but Shanghai is much further south, and I don think it snows much at all.

I visited Busan a number of times, and loved it :)

z

Sadly on the eastern edge of China, the car is getting much penetration. Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing are all leaning somewhat towards car culture. I doubt the majority of the population will ever own cars... but there is indeed change occurring.