Wednesday, August 31, 2011

New bike!

I got a new/used bike! It was only 6500円, which is roughly $85. It's cute and pink, but I can't ride it well =(
Although to my credit, the roads and sidewalks are so narrow here, and there are no bike lanes. Everybody bikes, so it's very crowded all the time and difficult to maneuver around obstacles. There are random poles in the middle of the sidewalks *everywhere*!Also, you have to learn traffic rules for a country that drives on the opposite side of the road.... To be honest, it's pretty dangerous and I'm scared for my life >_> but I think the commute from the seminar house to campus should be bearable....
Over here, there are a lot of different rules for bikes. It's illegal to ride one at night without a light. Initially I thought my light was broken, but I figured out you have to actually pedal the wheels for them to work. It's also illegal to ride a bike drunk! You can go to jail! 
They do have an interesting way of locking bikes here, though. You actually get a key which you use to drive it, and when you take it out, you can lock the wheel(?) . Anyway, it's complicated. But really cool!

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