Critical Mass Chinese style

In article <[email hidden]>,

Graeme Dods said:

I'm at the end of a long week in Hangzhou in China (work related
stuff) and I've finally had the chance to get out and about and it's
been a very enlightening experience. I'm sure it's nowhere near where
it was 10 years ago, but the sheer number of cyclists is amazing! The
number of cars/trucks/buses seemed comparable to many places in
Australia but given the almost total disregard for road rules (if
there are any! Traffic lights seemed to be treated as gentle hints
rather than instructions) the way the traffic integrates was mind
blowing. Bikes, cars, buses and pedestrians all weave their way along/
across the road quite happily and if one gets in the way of another,
one or both will give way to the other (regardless of size).

I nipped up to Shanghai yesterday and it's fairly similar there
(though maybe a little less laid back). Maybe if Critical Mass here
involved 50% of the road users and lasted all day, every day, then it
might achieve its stated aim :-)

Apparently they've banned wee 2 stroke mopeds so the place is over-run
by loads of almost silent battery powered mopeds. They're great wee
things, I've been tempted to buy one as they only cost about $200 but
the hassle of exporting/importing one to Oz would be too great fo my
level of temptation.

I've seen a couple of nifty Dahon folders ridden around which
apparently sell for a reasonable price here, but unfortunately I've
not found a bike shop :-(

I think the thing there is that just about everyone have commuted on a
bike at some stage of their life and have members of the family who
still do. So the drivers well know the perspective of cyclists.
--

Graeme Dods said:

Bikes, cars, buses and pedestrians all weave their way along/
across the road quite happily and if one gets in the way of another,
one or both will give way to the other (regardless of size).

US Bicycle designer George Bliss came up with the term "Critical Mass" via this watching this method of traffic movement, track down a copy of Return of the Scorcher for more. Until then proto-CM rides in San Fransciso were known as "Commuter Clod". (ecchh!)

http://www.tedwhitegreenlight.com/scorcher.htm

Artoi said:

I think the thing there is that just about everyone have commuted on a
bike at some stage of their life and have members of the family who
still do. So the drivers well know the perspective of cyclists.

That makes sense. Another thing that struck me was how much car horns
are used, but not in the typical western way of "out of my way
****er!" but a very relaxed "I just thought you might like to know I'm
here" style. You'd almost have thought that was what they were
originally designed for ;-)

Graeme

Graeme Dods said:

Another thing that struck me was how much car horns
are used, but not in the typical western way of "out of my way
****er!" but a very relaxed "I just thought you might like to know I'm
here" style. You'd almost have thought that was what they were
originally designed for ;-)

Yes, they like that horn. I was working in Fuzhou back in 1995. After a late
night at work I caught a taxi back to the hotel at about 2 in the morning. The
road was almost deserted, the nearest oncoming car half a kilometre away, but
the cabbie still leant on the horn before turning across the road into the hotel
driveway.

--
John
If you wanna end war and stuff, you gotta sing loud! - Arlo Guthrie

In article <[email hidden]>,

Graeme Dods said:

but a very relaxed "I just thought you might like to know I'm
here" style. You'd almost have thought that was what they were
originally designed for ;-)

Yes, it can drive you crazy if you aren't used to it. But the thing
about that is that the intended message varies by the length of the beep.
--

Artoi said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Graeme Dods said:

but a very relaxed "I just thought you might like to know I'm
here" style. You'd almost have thought that was what they were
originally designed for ;-)

Yes, it can drive you crazy if you aren't used to it. But the thing
about that is that the intended message varies by the length of the beep.
--

Was in PNG last year, and it seems to be a similar situation. Anything
is legal, as long as you beep first. But, you get used to it. And I
didn't notice any 'beep' related accidents. Landslides, rascals, piece
of [censored] cars, yes, but beep related, no. I guess you become more aware
and certainly pay a lot more attention to your driving, rather than
listening to radio, or relaxing with cruise control etc. How would it
work in Sydney, Melb, Perth?? Some would argue 'What would be
different?'

Brendo

On Mar 26, 12:03 am, "Graeme Dods" <[email hidden]> wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

Apparently they've banned wee 2 stroke mopeds so the place is over-run
by loads of almost silent battery powered mopeds. They're great wee
things, I've been tempted to buy one as they only cost about $200 but
the hassle of exporting/importing one to Oz would be too great fo my
level of temptation.

You can get them here in Australia already. There's two categories,
the "no licence, no rego or insurance, just wear a bicycle helmet"
crowd and the real 50cc equivalent electrics.

The 200W no rego, insurance or licence ones will have a place for
pedals, but because of the floorboards it would be horrendous trying
to actually pedal the thing. Unfortunatley becuase of the pathetic
200W output and relatively high vehicle weight (full of lead acid
batteries) they trundle along quite slowly and some pedal input would
be useful, particularly on hills. There's always tons on ebay at any
given moment.

The 50cc equivalent electrics are about 1500-2000W continuous
(electric motors normally peak at double their continuous rating),
require rego, CTP insurance and possibly a motorcycle licence (check
state regulations, you may only require a car licence). These can
maintain 50kph and will even climb a hill. There's no place for
pedals ;-) They start at about $3k which doesn't compare favourably
with comparable infernal combustion powered machines, but at least
when you ride past a cyclist they wont have to suck in any fumes.