Get on yer bike

Beijing style, and

remember the kitchen sink

Douglas Wood

 

Photograph by the author

Until about 10 years ago it was generally quite easy to take a bicycle on a plane. After checking-in your bags it was sufficient to say 'and where should I drop off my bike?'. That would usually be the end of the matter. It is very different now. Every piece of baggage being taken on a flight is weighed and measured. If you are taking your bike you have to be prepared for unpredictable and fairly steep charges – unless a more focused approach is taken.
    A lightweight bike, dismantled and packed in a specially designed bike box, should fall within the standard baggage allowance for most airlines, and with a bit of discipline anything else you take will fit into a cabin bag and whatever deep pockets you have. It helps of course if you are heading for a warm climate. In this mode I travelled recently to Beijing, a city not only gridlocked by traffic but full of people on bicycles yet with no provision for cyclists.
     As we struggle with our government's action plans to encourage more people to cycle more often, aimed at segregating cyclists from traffic, the Beijing bikers weave in and out of traffic with passengers sitting side-saddle over the back wheel or indeed carrying large unstable loads – an interesting take on what our action plan refers to as functional cycling. There is not a cycle helmet to be seen: surely an opportunity for someone to corner the market when health and safety arrives.
     In China the bicycle is for moving people and things around, and some really bulky things at that. Some of the tidier models could be taken for a shed with pedals. Others might be carrying the materials for building a shed. It certainly takes some skill and effort to accomplish the average journey. Meanwhile we are grappling with the challenge of creating urban environments where cycling is a safe and convenient means of getting about, and encouraging the culture to allow this to happen.
     But I wasn't in Beijing to dice with the traffic. I was joining others converging from all parts for a triathlon being held some 40km outside the city at the venue used for the Olympic Games in 2008. There we were able to enjoy cycling on smooth traffic-free roads in a smog-free environment, a swim in the Ming Tombs reservoir and all the trappings of a high-profile event. And the Chinese participants had bikes designed for speed like the rest of us – no sheds or passengers. It was a great experience.
     But if you are looking for a truly great experience, perhaps the ultimate for the road-bike enthusiast is to cycle on a Formula 1 grand prix track. A stop-over on the way home provided the opportunity to cycle on the Abu Dhabi F1 track at Yas Marina, just a 45-minute drive from Dubai. It is open to cyclists and runners each week on Tuesday evenings and you can join others under the floodlights riding round the circuit past the stands and the pit lanes.
     The surface is immaculate, incredibly smooth and slick yet reassuringly adhesive for cornering. Warm and windless, minimal friction, not a sound from the tyres, total exhilaration. Even on a bike, and taking a wide sweep, you need to slow down going in to some of the bends; imagine what it must be like at 160mph. You begin to appreciate why there are sharp bends leading in to the pit lanes and negotiating them gives a new understanding of the skills of the F1 drivers and the cars' capabilities. I don't usually watch F1 on television but I will be taking a renewed interest when the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix comes round in a few weeks' time, hitting the corners and weaving through the chicanes on each lap with the best of them.

 

Douglas Wood is a chartered financial planner and former
academic registrar