Monday, January 1, 2007

Bike lanes and skateboarding

A majority of Beijings streets are extremely wide. In addition there are many side road channels for taxis and bikes. It is an ideal environment for skateboard commuting. This morning I went out at dawn and made a short video to illustrate these lanes. I was filming so I was not moving as fast as i would have been otherwise, but pay attention to the separation of the lane I was in from the actual road the cars were on. Also note the density of bicycles. People stare when I skate past, and many children smile and shout and point, but people are very used to loose traffic rules and are very used to heavy bicycle traffic, so skateboarding around is shockingly stress-free. I cannot imagine another major urban environment like this where this is possible.