Published by Swiss James on 15 Oct 2007 at 11:22 pm
More about riding a bike in Shanghai
Following the success of renting a couple of bikes in Suzhou, Emma has finally been convinced that this (and not the stupid ‘bus as she has previously insisted) is the only right and proper way to get around Shanghai. Yes there are scores of roads you can’t ride down, yes you have to have a bit of brass neck to be on the bottom rung of the Shanghai traffic ladder (blue trucks driven by shirtless workmen, finishing off a 12 hour shift being at the top of the pile)- but it’s still more fun than a barrel full of wet monkeys, and the best way to get to know your neighbourhood.
People I talk to are amazed that I still haven’t had my ride stolen in, what, 7 months? So I told her what I’ll tell you know- the secret to not getting your bike stolen in Shanghai: put loads of crap in the basket.
Old popcorn, broken chopsticks, empty carrier bags- throw the lot in there, you’re aiming for a look that’s somewhere between the front lawn of a council house, and a Jackdaw’s nest.
And with that, we loaded up our bikes and headed off through the streets, ringing out a peal on our bells in the clear Autumn air.
A woman collecting boxes. Jing-An district, Sunday afternoon.
Bike, 160RMB (plus basket) from Carrefour
I think she’s being a bit lazy - it’s obvious she could get quite a few more boxes on there!
I am guessing Emma will need further convincing come winter. And and I’d be curious to know if Emma thinks autumn should be capitalised, LOL!
WoAi- no comment about the apostrophe before ‘bus? I put it in just for your gratification.
I’m trying to be more laid back and tolerant [quickly goes to check spelling of "tolerant"] but you’re testing me, I can tell you!
“ringing out a peal on our bells in the clear Autumn air”
Who do you think you are? Enid Blyton?
Woooooooooooooow, totally screw taylorism
WoAi- what I mean is that surely “bus” is a contraction of “omnibus” and so the apostrophe is necessary. Discuss!
Neal- yes, I jolly well do think I’m Enid Blyton.
Shopgirl- you win the prize for most esoteric comment of the day!
I’ll save anyone else googling- Taylorism is the theory of breaking down any industrial process into it’s individual parts so that instead of having one master craftsman making a violin, you have one trained guy who knows how to cut the wood, one trained monkey who can attach the strings, one guy who can apply the varnish, etc.
Whilst it’s faster and more efficient, it is also accused of robbing workers of their dignity and reducing them to mindless automatons.
Class dismissed.
So it’s division of labour basically. Shopgirl is a mine of useful information!
The apostrophe isn’t needed James, as bus is now an acceptable word in its own right in the same way that “pram” doesn’t need an apostrophe. I bet you also put the extra apostrophe in “its” just to bug me so I am not going to comment on it.