Green Light

So you've got a green light - lucky you. But what does a green light here REALLY mean?
Simple. It means that somewhere at the same junction 6 bicycles and a couple of scooters are jumping a red. THAT'S what it means.

Little Old Lady With Bloody Great Sword

As The Crash Test Dummy is still off bikes for a few more days we thought we'd take the opportunity to blog this clip of tai chi practice in the local park.
Very beautiful, very graceful.
A friend of ours tried this in a park in London once and nearly got arrested.

Off Games

Thanks to a torn ligament The Crash Test Dummy is off games (and bicycles) for a few days. We could say we were para-gliding or skydiving but actually we were playing laser tag with Wingman (see sidebar photo page link) and his friends - damn, those five year olds make small targets!

Our having to work from home was compensated, however, by finding our photo on the comingsoon.net website. We spent a fun couple of days as a film extra on The Painted Veil last year. The film, with Edward Norton and Naomi Watts is due out in December and we will be very disappointed if The Crash Test Dummy's credit doesn't read "Blurry Balding Guy in Tux".

Bus Stop Bungle

Bus stops. I hate bus stops.
The buses have to cut across the bike lane then load and unload passengers into it (and anyway, on this occasion, spot the car parked in the cycle lane / bus stop.
So do you get caught up in all that - or do you overtake the bus on the outside, dodge the 3 girls jaywalking past a police car, get cut up by a red moped, get squeezed between said cop car and a black sedan while trying to get back into the cycle lane then get squeezed between the next bus and a taxi - only to have the cycle lane vanish at the next bottleneck anyway?

Drummer Girls (OK, Ladies)

Public spaces in China get used for all sorts of groups in the mornings doing tai chi, fan dancing, wushu, ballroom dancing and drumming.
These gals have usually just packed up as I pass their rehearsal space in front of a department store but one day last week
Wingman's school bus came early so I got a head start and caught their last few bars.

I Love the Smell of Adrenalin in the Mornings

Ah, yes - adrenalin. It works twice as fast as caffeine and it's cheaper than anything they sell in Starbucks. You get plenty of it on a Shanghai bicycle commute to make sure you're fully awake by the time you reach the office.
Did you see that taxi coming? No, nor did I.

Wheelchair Chicken

A man in a motorised wheelchair makes a dodgy left turn, playing chicken with an oncoming taxi. I think I see how he ended up in a chair in the first place!

What's a Computer Delivery Guy to Do?

I often see guys on mopeds delivering computer equipment. But what happens if they have one box too many?
Here, our delivery guy just can't quite fit himself plus all 3 boxes on the bike so heputs 2 boxes on the bike, puts the bike on
a delivery trike then adds himself and the 3rd box to the trike. Presumably he needs the moped to get back again.
Trike guy is game at the start but soon hits a gradient and computer guy has to take a walk.

Rain Again

More like rain at last! Shanghai summers can be hot and sticky but they are usually punctuated by weekly thunderstorms which clear the air for a bit and cool things down. This year it hasn't really rained for weeks so today's downpour is a relief.
Perhaps now we can get the temperature back below 90!In terms of rain capes I count 22 blue, 8 red, 5 yellow, 2 green and a girl in a wet t-shirt (just watch those youtube stats soar!)