Bicycling in Beijing

China is known for its images of the bicycling masses. And even in a modern, road clogged, exhaust-filled metropolis like Beijing, a substantial amount of people still commute this way - some as their only form of transportation. Granted many of these are electric bicycles which don't require any pedaling.

On Saturday, with naive bravery and an "I think I can" spirit, I set out to join the horde. Mind you, I am now happily tucked away in Kate's toasty-warm apartment in an enormous apartment complex and so would have easily stayed here all day if I hadn't made plans with Guo Xin to visit the Lama Temple (pic of Guo Xin at the temple). I also have Kate's bicycle and figured I needed to get out there and learn to navigate Beijing. After consulting various maps, writing down landmarks and street names, I headed out. It was quite an experience.

Prior to this outing, I had been very impressed with the Zen like way all the cars, buses, taxis, pedestrians and bikers are able to flow in traffic without major incidents - because outwardly it looks like barely controlled chaos. But then, I became part of the Zen. The trick seems to be to ride slowly, and to remain always present to everything around you. Daydreaming could be costly. The one good thing about the roads in Beijing is that there are always very wide bike lanes and on some roads, the lane is separated by a median. This doesn't mean cars don't use these lanes to access the buildings along them, but it cuts down on the hazards of moving vehicles.

So besides going slow, the other things to remember is that bikes do NOT have right of way. No one does. You go when it seems like a good idea - i.e. when you won't get hit. On my way home from the Lama Temple it was rush hour (even on a Saturday) and dodging taxis and buses got a little ridiculous, but there is safety in numbers so along with my fellow bikers, I safely made it back to the refuge and HEAT (it was freezing out there) of my new home.