My Ride

I believe it was the second weekend that IES announced a Hutong Tour via bicycle. Approximately 50 students showed up and we each rented bikes for roughly $1.50. Fifty white people biking through the Hutong’s of Beijing in one massive group was, I’m sure, quite a site to see.

Anyways, the tour was awesome. First because you really feel like a local when you’re on a bike. Second, well, there’s nothing quite like trying to share the road with buses, cars, buses, food carts, buses, other bikers, buses, and people. And by share I mean fight.

So the Hutong’s were cool, no one died, and it was 10RMB well spent. But it got me thinking…. I should do this every day….

Let me back up a bit. My homestay, which I should have put in the last post, is right down the street from The Birds Nest (Olympics…). Every morning when I leave for school I can see it; which is pretty awesome. The not-so-awesome part about it is the distance from school. Every morning I have a 30-45 minute bus ride. On this bus I fight for around 100 others for a seat or standing space. Throughout the process, there is a tiny TV on the bus running Chinese propaganda, bad commercials, and last night’s game show highlights.

I don’t like the bus.

So back to the Hutong-bike-tour-day. When I returned the bike I decided it was time to purchase my own. I went home and checked out Google maps to see if the ride would be worth it. When I discovered it was 6 miles (6.02 to be exact) I was sold. I could definitely beat the bus…

I dropped almost 400RMB (around $58) on the sucker, but it does me well. The only thing I don’t like about it is the name; “Gaiety”…. All it needs now are some pink streamers…

My first ride home was just over 35 minutes. The next day I peddled hard and made it in 30:47; so close to sub-30!! Each subsequent time since, I keep hitting 31:00, 33:00, and even 38:00 when I don’t hit the lights. Another contributing factor is that twice the amount of cars are back on the road since the Olympics are over. During the games, only odd numbered licensed plate cars could drive on odd number days, and likewise for even numbered cars. Therefore- half the cars, and faster bike times. Now all the cars are on the road, as well as all the street vendors and their carts (those were outlawed as well). If I have ever had any goal in life… this is it.

Riding my bike to school is like playing a video game. Think of Frogger and Jet Slalom combined. It really is a lot of fun. Having to dodge buses, cars, taxis, the black taxis, street carts, bicycles, and people, I believe there is an average of 3 potential accidents each time I ride. I am happy with this number as it keeps things exciting. I have never looked so forward to going to school before…