As Easy/Life-Threatening as Riding a Bike
I joked a few weeks ago about writing a blog with this title, but now I’m really doing it. Ha, isn’t life always like that. As soon as you think you won’t do something, the next moment, what do you know, you’re doing it.
I bought a cute little blue bike back a couple months ago, since for the first time in my life, I need a bike for daily transportation. I ride it every day to university, 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back. I also whiz around to buy groceries, meet friends at coffee shops, and go shopping. When the weather is beautiful, and Beijing in autumn cannot be described any other way (except maybe cold, windy, and dry), I feel like I’m floating on clouds, pedaling happily along, watching snippets of Chinese life pass me by while golden leaves swirl around me and my trusty bike.
I can’t help but hum these lyrics (shout out to all the Germans):
Oh wie liebe ich mein Fahrrad
Warum das weiss ich nicht genau
Meinem Fahrrad werd’ ich treu sein
Im Gegensatz zu meiner Frau
Niemals werd’ ich es verlassen
Niemals werd’ ich von ihm geh’n
Denn wir fliegen wie auf Wolken
Weil wir uns so gut versteh’n…
(abridged translation: I’m in love with my bicycle, and my bicycle loves me too)
So where, one might ask, does the “life-threatening” part come in to play? One need only traverse the streets of Beijing for a day (or an hour) to know the answer. Beijing traffic is MESSY! That’s the translation of the Chinese word often used to describe the traffic here. You’ve got pedestrians overpopulating out of the high-rises and onto the streets; taxis, legit and unregistered alike, exercising poetic license with the traffic regulations; buses, vans, and cars frantically fending for survival; and all of the above swimming in a ceaseless sea of fearless bicyclists.
And in this frothing sea of disarray doth I daily swim. Is it any wonder that today, both my bike and I are a little the worse for wear?
I was pedaling home from a tea house this evening, contentedly contemplating my forthcoming repast, when without warning, I heard a sudden crunch of metal and found myself hurtling along on a one-way train to Black Asphalt Junction. After I hit the ground, and as I was simultaneously disentangling myself from my bike and trying to avoid being run over by an oncoming taxi (as I had managed to land most inconveniently in its direct path), I realized what had happened — the driver’s side door of a parallel-parked car had opened suddenly, just as I was riding by, and BAM!! the rest is history. As I was painfully dragging my wounded bicycle to safety, the driver suddenly appeared before me, shouting something. At first I thought she was angry with me for not paying attention and running into her car door. But my thoughts cleared, my Chinese faculties returned, and I soon understood that she was apologizing profusely and offering to take me to a hospital. I told her, no, no need, I’m fine, really, I know you didn’t do that on purpose, I’m fine. After checking to see if I still had two legs, two knees, and two feet; inquiring after the health of the car door; and trying to convince Profusely Apologetic Driver Lady that a little blood was no cause for alarm, I hopped on my bike and rode off - only to discover that my bike was also in a sad state of affairs. I did manage to make it home alright, and I am happy to report that both Bike and I are making a swift recovery. I’m going to have several nasty bruises (which I plan on proudly displaying as signs of my traffic martyrdom), and I’ll need to make another Band-aid pilgrimage. But other than that, no harm done.
This is actually the second time I’ve had a minor bike accident, and my bike has needed to go see the bike doctor on multiple occasions. But I feel quite optimistic about the whole thing, and besides, me and Bike are becoming excellent friends, having gone through so much together. I look forward to another day of braving Beijing traffic.
-Bethany
(P.S. To the motherly/fatherly types among my audience, i beseech thee not to worry about me. Despite appearances, biking in Beijing is actually quite safe, as there are bike lanes just about everywhere. Small bump-ins like the one above are somewhat common, but major accidents quite rare. So begrudge me a bruise or two and don’t lose any sleep ^_^)