Seeing Shanghai from a Spaceship
I haven’t experienced anything quite like riding a fixed-gear bicycle through the streets of Shanghai. It’s a combination of pure fright mixed with immense excitement. And throw a dash of insane chaos mixed with complete control in there. I find myself on the cutting edge of the moment as I fly through streets, weaving between cars and passing scooters along the way. I become aware of everything around me. One second without focus and I’ll be bloody and beaten on the pavement. I have my fair share of very close calls throughout my stay but remain unscathed.
Two days before our expedition to Thailand, Garrett, Giuce and I go on a bike ride in search of an art gallery and some street art on the other side of town. The ride begins in the bustle of Hongkou as we make our way toward Suzhou Creek which we’ll follow to the gallery on Moganshan Road. After weaving our way through cars, bikes, scooters and pedestrians we’re happy to see light traffic and smooth pavement when we come to the creek (not to mention, a fantastic view of the Shanghai skyline). We cruise along at a steady pace and follow the silty stream toward the gallery. As with much of the city, the road we were riding is not quite completed and we come to its point of construction. Front brakes are grabbed and our knees quake to slow down our simple machines as we brace ourselves for a bumpy ride. The group consensus is to push through and avoid sharp objects on the way in hopes of smooth pavement around the corner. We cut back and forth between jagged rocks, wheel barrows and mini-bulldozers as our trail of dust follows us.
After about 150 yards of off-roading we again hit smooth ground and our pace speeds up. Garrett is in front as Gianmarco and I flank one another behind him. There’s an overpass approaching, then simultaneously we all notice the same thing in front of us: a small gap in the concrete, about a foot and half wide extending from curb to curb—there’s no going around it. Garrett doesn’t have time to slow down and braces himself as best as he can for the impact from his rear tire. It awkwardly catches the far edge and blows. Fortunately, Giuce and I have time to slow down and take one tire at a time over the gap. We all curse the gap in the road, get off our bikes, and walk our bikes to the closest potential repair shop—lucky for us we find a motorbike maintenance shop about a quarter mile down the road. Garrett uses just about all the Chinese he knows to convey the problem. The repair shop guy understands the issue, removes the tire, patches the tube and we move on. Back on track.
Spirits are high again and we move up the pace to a notch not yet matched as we make up for lost ground. We cover a good mile and a half, then I hear a pop and “steeesssssssss” as air leaves Garrett’s rear tire. Apparently, 10 RMB (a bit less than 2 USD) isn’t enough to buy yourself an effective tire patch in China. We get off our bikes and walk the remainder of the journey to Moganshan Road. It doesn’t take long before we arrive to the gallery. After locking our bikes to a pole, we enter various artist’s galleries—each are different and intriguing—then walk out to the street art. In its medium, the street art reminds me a bit of the East Side Gallery in Berlin—it’s a long wall covered in spray paint. But, of course, this Chinese version signifies only what is painted. We peruse the wall, then continue on to a park nearby. The day ends with a game of Chinese Chess played between me and Garrett in what looks to be a small Chinese Chess arena in the park. Chinese men gather around us as we play. They’re intrigued by our adoption of a traditional Chinese game, and also seem to be interested in the tactics of our particular game. It’s my first game of Chinese Chess in awhile so my moves are a bit rusty. A Chinese man leans over and points to a spot on the board. I take his advice and position my “knight” for attack.
Our battle ends and Gianmarco and I ride back to the apartment while Garrett attempts to hail a cab that is willing to put his crippled bike in the trunk. The ride back is without a problem and we arrive at the apartment a couple minutes after Garrett. Packing for Thailand begins that night.
Songs of Shanghai:
Notes
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