One of the perks of teaching at the Baoding Eastern Bilingual School is that they provide me with a bike.  I was really hoping for an authentic Chinese machine that are so very prevalent on the streets here.  My school did not disappoint.  I am now the operator of a Big Blue Bicycle....2 slowly leaking tires (perhaps due to the exceptional freight of an average American), front and rear fenders, a chain that skips, 2 hand brakes, a luggage rack aft, basket up front and rust all over.  The basket needed a little TLC as the bottom was falling out and I couldn't have all my goods (or my little dog Toto) falling by the roadside, thanks again to duct tape.

If I thought I turned heads while walking the streets and cruising the supermarket, I am a bona fide phenomenon while racing mopeds, taxis and other cyclists on the Big Blue Machine.  Very few of them actually realize they are being raced but that is beside the point.  Jaws go slack, friends discretely nudge each other, and the older folks grip their chests.  The shock is magnified when I return their gawk and let loose with a "NI HAO!!", and they realize that the Meiguo can speak their language.  Luckily for me I am down the road before they can answer back and discover that a simple greeting is about all the ammunition I've got.  I love rocking the ipod on my excursions, it provides me with adequate theme music for riding...one of the better albums is Superfly - Curtis Mayfield - it seems to fit all neighborhoods here and it also drowns out the noise of the taxi horns as they zip past me on the sidewalk.

Two of my goals are to bring riding a wheelie for a city block and endos to China.  Really want to be known as the Father of Old School Cycling Tricks when I go.  Am still looking for a horn or other noise maker to adorn the machine...if anyone is in possesion of something that makes the same noise as the General Lee let me know and I'll send my address.

Never imagined two wheels could be more fun.