Monday

It really has been an uneventful weekend. I told you all about buying the bike on Saturday. I've been riding it around, trying to get used to the madness that is traffic. I was waiting on my bike in the middle of an intersection this evening, when a bus coming in the opposite direction clipped my backpack. I've seen three bike accidents so far. Actually, I never saw anyone injured, just a crowd of people standing around a fallen bike in the road. By the time I had stumbled upon these accidents and joined the gawkers, the rider was nowhere to be seen. Just the bike, and what I suspect were some people from the "bike market" waiting for the rest of us to look away.

Traffic here is hard to describe. Americans, by and large try to be aware of all that is going on around them while in the car. They check their rear-view mirrors, adjust their visor for a better view, watch the upcoming side streets for cars, and keep a healthy distance between themselves and bicyclists or pedestrians. The opposite is true in Chengdu. People don't drive defensively, they drive offensively. They don't hesitate while crossing the street, they don't look in their mirrors while they swerve through traffic. It doesn't matter what the guy in front of you is doing, because you can swerve around him. It doesn't matter what the guy behind you is doing; he'll swerve around you. Lanes don't matter. Riding a bike feels like a game of dodge. It doesn't matter how close I come to a person or car, what only matters is that I don't hit them. The same is true for vehicles. It doesn't matter how close they come, as long as they don't hit.

The road in front of my apartment complex is probably one of the most treacherous. When I cross it, I don't look to make sure the entire road is safe, I only look at the first lane. Can I make it? I'll walk as far as I can go (usually the center line), and then brace myself for the inevitable bus that will go speeding by behind me. I've even thought of taking off my pack so that it doesn't get caught on a speeding car. The cars speed by so fast that I have to brace myself against what I know will cause me to jump. After crossing the street, I'll step over a small barrier and into the bike lane. The bike lane is always crowded with people, motorcycles, bikes and cars. It is almost scarier than the road itself.

I want to take some video of the traffic so I can show you all what I mean. Words just don't do it justice.