Xiaoxinde – Carefully

Getting around can be very dangerous. There are millions of people in this city. The chief means of conveyance is either walking or riding a bicycle. There is also a very efficient bus system, and of course cars, trucks, motorcycles, and scooters. There is even the occasional horse or mule drawn wagon, all “sharing” the road. Maybe sharing is too generous a term. I think begrudgingly occupying simultaneously is more accurate. As with most traffic systems, there are traffic lights. Next to these lights there is a display that counts down the seconds until the light changes. At around 5 second, the green light changes to red and people begin to cross. This is not always the smartest thing to do. If one is not careful, they may get hit. There is often one last vehicle trying to get through the intersection, usually preceded by a continuous blast of the horn. You should see the casual way that the pedestrians react to this. You would think that there would be a mad scramble for safety, but instead they usually just slightly alter their course. It is almost as if they know that they won’t get hit or either they don’t care. I haven’t figured out which it is yet. It is a wonder that there aren’t more accidents. One day, while riding the bus, I saw two people almost get hit within an hour of each other. One was a lady who was sweeping the street. As the bus was barreling down on her, she was totally expressionless. She just stood there and watched. I guess she had total confidence in the driver’s ability to stop in time. Although I didn’t know the words but judging by the tone, she had more faith than the driver. Somehow he got the behemoth stopped; she continued sweeping the street. About 40 minutes later a guy walking a bike stepped out in front of the bus. There must have been about 20 feet for the bus to stop. We were travelling about 40 mph. Physics was not on his side, there was no way we were going to stop in time. Before we hit him, a guy reached out and pulled him back. Once again there was little reaction by anyone other than the driver. It is sad that with so many people around, most people seem to be myopic. They are in their own little world and they have little interest in noticing what is going on with others.

Amanda and I have had bikes for about a week now. I really enjoy riding it around. Even with all of the other bikers, pedestrians, and motorized vehicles on the road at the same time. There is an ebb and flow to things. I heard getting around compared to playing a video game. Amanda says it is like Frogger. You know, the classic Atari game about a frog trying to cross the street. Fortunately, I was really good at that game. Well, I have been getting the feel for the rules of the road. I will sum them up for you. Ride fast, don’t hit anything, and when you see an opening take it. Other than these, I don’t think there are any.

I remember when I first began driving. My dad showed me how to check the oil, transmission fluid, and tires on the car. He told me how important it was to do this so that I could make sure the car was safe to drive. When I was at the fire department, I actually taught new drivers to do the same thing. For some reason, I did not apply those lessons to riding a bike. I usually just jump on it and go. What can go wrong? Today, I paid for that hubris. I was riding along, following the rules of the road; especially the first one. There I was, standing up on the pedals, pumping my legs as hard as I could, and leaning forward to get as much momentum as possible. Everything was in sync. The bike and I were one. Then the chain came off. That small event began a chain reaction, please excuse the pun. The chain came off just as I was pushing down on the pedal. That made me lose my balance, and I fell into the handle bar. Falling into the handle bar made the front tire turn perpendicular to the direction of travel. Here is where physics was not on my side. WARNING SCIENCE CONTENT: Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of motion states “Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it”. With the tire turned sideways, friction caused the bike to stop. Unfortunately, with no such external force applied to me, I didn’t, at least not immediately. So, I flew through the air until that other discovery of Newton’s caught up to me: gravity. After an incident like this happens to you, what is the first thing most people do? Check and see if they are hurt or check on the bike to see if it is broken? Nope. Look around and see if anyone saw you! Whew! Thankfully, I was in the clear. I couldn’t believe that there was no one around. Truth be told, I was truly relieved that no one was around, because if it had been during rush hour, I could have easily caused a huge Nascar style pile up. All of this because the chain of on my bike was too loose and slipped off. I guess I learned my lesson. I will be checking my bike out from now on. I have got to be xiaoxinde. – Frank
We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it--and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove lid. She will never sit on a hot stove lid again--and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

PS - I am fine. Just a little sore. The only thing hurt is my pride. You know I have had writer's block for the past few days. It is a shame that I have to fall off of my bike for inspiration. Hopefully the next post will come at a lest painful price.