Bikes not dead! Pedal power still lives on, despite the auto invasion

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Newsweek have an excellent article that details how the bike isnt quite dead yet in China, and the high cost of petrol may force people back onto their bikes. China Car Times is often found on a bike instead of in the car, hoping to set a trend amongst family, friends and neighbours who really don’t understand why I would cycle when I have a car at my disposal, pointing at my beer gut usually gets the message across however.

On the other hand, China Car Times can fully understand why some Chinese refuse to cycle when they have a car, some of the roads are so dangerous its a wonder we’re not dead yet. The last close scrap in traffic was when a bus clipped the handlebars sending me into the kerb.

(SHANGHAI, China) For a vivid insight into the clash of old and new in China, follow the bicycle.

Morning rush hour in Beijing and Shanghai used to be rivers of cyclists flowing in a majestic hush down broad bike lanes. Today, many of those lanes have been taken over by cars and buses, their roar and honk drowning out the tinkle of bicycle bells.

Yet despite China’s leap into modernity, the bicycle is far from dead — its numbers are growing. For many Chinese, pedal power remains a mainstay — for commuting, sending children to school or making a living.

And getting around the traffic jams.

As the Chinese fall in love with cars, and Westerners fall out of love with them, China is once again a winner. According to the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington-based environmental think tank, of the 130 million bikes manufactured worldwide last year, China made 90 million, and exported two-thirds of them. About nine in 10 bikes bought by Americans are made in China.

In China, the bicycle’s enduring role epitomizes the country’s wider transitions — from countryside to city, from planned economy to freewheeling capitalism. Multiplying cars may be a sign of affluence, but the bike’s staying power is a reminder that most of China’s 1.3 billion people have yet to make it into the middle class.

To read the rest, check out Newsweek