Back of the Bike--mobile store edition

People not only use their bikes for hauling stuff, but they will sometimes operate a store off the back.

Balloons!

 Hats!

 Shoes!

I've seen many more things being sold off the backs of bikes, I will try to get more of them on camera for your viewing pleasure. 

Yikes! What's that on the back of the Bike!

I've been collecting pictures of the things people carry on the back of their bikes.  In other countries people would need trucks, or vans to haul crap, but here, they just strap it onto their bike with bungee cords.  No trucks needed. I was just going to do one post, but I realized I have WAY too many pictures so I think it's going to have to be a series.  (missing from this series is the picture of the family on a scooter with a slaughtered pig on the back of their bike because I did not have my camera with me that day *Sigh* the things I miss because I don't have a camera or my camera is too slow)

I think this guy recycles cardboard, and has a pretty typical load.

I don't know if you can see it, but the guy in the middle of the picture (behind the traffic light) is carrying another scooter on the back of his scooter.  I have seen this more than once, so maybe this is some sort of towing service?

These guys are my favorite. The delivery guys, they often have boxes stacked super high on their bikes, all precariously balanced. 

They do it differently here

So in the US when you come upon a construction site you are expecting it.  There are signs, there are traffic cones, there are guys in orange vests standing around... you know warnings.  In Chengdu, you're driving along and-- Hey! There's a guy in the middle of the street spreading asphalt with a shovel! 

... and yes, that is regular traffic trying to figure out a way to get around the man with the shovel and the machinery. 

getting to work

One of the interesting things about walking down the street in China is transportation.  In America you basically see cars, SUVs, trucks, buses, and people on foot.  In China, you have cars, buses, bikes, e-bikes (bikes that run on electricity), scooters, three wheeled cars, three wheeled trucks, taxis, and all manner of hybrid vehicles.  So in answer to the question how do people get to work, here are some pictures:

 

You've got your chevrolegs.

 

 with your baby attachment.

 

 

Then your standard bike and scooter.  

 This is a Sanlun che (three wheeled car) it serves as a sort of low cost taxi.  These guys are cheap, but crazy.  I have only ridden in one once. They are crazy like taxi drivers but not bound to the street, they can (and do!) weave in and out of cars, bikes, and pedestrians... 

 If you look to the left of the 3 wheeled car you see the family bike.  I think it's also an e-bike which means you don't have to pedal.  This guy has his family out, wife, daughter, and infant child all on his bike (This is not uncommon, in fact it is fairly commonplace to see three or four people on a bike). 

I wish I could get a front picture of this... This lady is basically riding a bicycle with a back seat.  The front looks like a bicycle, and the back is a chair on top of two wheels.

 
 Which is different from this ladies 3 wheeled e-bike with chair. 

And you have your three wheeled delivery truck.  These are super common for hauling things here. 

Taxi!

Mianbao che (bread shaped car, kind of like a tiny van)

and bus

Looking at this collection I need to add a black Audi because anybody whose anybody drives a black Audi. 

DONG!

 

Last night as we were getting ready for bed we heard a loud "DONG!" and I said "that is the sound of some fool running into the pipe across the road!" We ran to the window and sure enough, there was a Niva smack dab in the middle of the pipe.
But wait, I have gotten ahead of myself. Yesterday morning I got up and looked out onto what could be called "confusion circle" and noticed that they had place a huge steel pipe across the road where the truck used to be. It looked pretty solid, and people did not seem to be trying to drive around it like the truck so I didn't think anything of it. Until last night. After the first dong we snuggled back down to bed, and then a few minutes later there was another even louder "DONG!" this time I didn't even get up. But it turns out that some poor fool in a Lada had hit the pipe and he was not as lucky as to be able to drive away. An ambulance was called, the police came, a crowd formed (all this is after midnight) and the poor driver was taken away. Now you might think, why did these poor souls run into the pipe. Well, here's the thing. The pipe is a dark copper color during the day, and at night is only a slightly darker black than the surrounding night. It is strung across an unlighted stretch of road. The pipe is layin in the road just after a curve in the road, so if you are speeding, the pipe is only visable for a few seconds before impact (to make matters worse, most people do speed up as they come around the curve since it is going uphill, and they want to keep their momentum). There is also no warning that there is a pipe ahead, no construction signs, no police cars, nothing. Even last night after two cars hit the pipe, and the police came to write a report, they still did not post a sign, or a car or anything. I did hear them yelling for a good ten minutes last night, and I asked about it this morning, but they were only trying to get people to move so the ambulance could get through. They didn't stay to warn other cars or perhaps set out some cones, nope, they just went home. *sigh* I need a life, I am finding this way too entertaining.

FUBAR revisited

This morning my hubby says "hey there's a huge pileup of cars waiting to drive on the sidewalk out here!" So I had to go check it out, and then I was stuck at the window for the next hour watching the clusterf*&k unravel. I know I get way too much pleasure out of this, but I couldn't help myself this morning. I just had to stand at the window with my camera and take some pictures. It was great! Ok, so you know how they are fixing the pipe up the road and the north bound lanes of our street are blocked off by a giant flatbed. Well I guess this morning they forgot to post a sign or block off the entrance to the north bound lanes from the gas station so the drivers, in their infinite wisdom, seeing the traffic in the south bound lanes (which both north and south bound traffic are sharing) thought to themselves, well I'll just go over here on this street which is all empty and has to be loads faster! Then they get to the truck. Well most people just hopped the curb, and drove through the narrow gap to get to where they could drive again. This worked pretty well, except that only one car can get through at a time so by the time 9:15 rolled about there were cars piled up four across ten deep down the street, each vying for their shot at the one car passageway over the sidewalk. Then, some guy going to the military complex across the street from us parks his car on the sidewalk in front of the one car passageway (I didn't see how this happened, and how he didn't notice the steady flow of cars trying to get through, but whatever) and a minibus gets stuck, can't go forward because of the parked car, can't go back because of the traffic jam of cars four across ten deep, and now everyone is stuck. Some guys in the middle of the line kept trying to get people to back up, but Azeris have an awesome sense of entitlement "why should I move for you, I've got every right to be here." Plus, cars kept piling up in the back.
Finally, someone gets the bright idea to move the truck. So about 15-20 Azeri guys get out of their cars, suits, pointed shoes and all, break into the truck, and start to push it out the way. Well they don't get to far, so they come back with boards and sticks to shove under the wheels and this time they finally get it moved about a foot so the minibus can make its way through and traffic can flow again. By the way, during all this I saw at least five or six cops standing around watching the mess, not getting involved because it's not their jurisdiction, I've also got a picture of a police mobile going through the one car passageway over the sidewalk. HA! Anyway, I took a bunch of photos, and I have to say that these are definitely worth more than my descriptions by far.

FUBAR!

Ok, so it's not a real FUBAR situation (if you don't know what FUBAR is ask around), but it is totally hilarious! Most of the time I hate living on one of the main streets of Baku. The honking horns and revving engines all times of the night is enough to drive anyone bonkers. BUT when it snows, or on days like today when they do something odd to the traffic patterns, the window onto the street is like a microcosm of the society as a whole.
Let me explain. I guess there is some pipe somewhere further up the road that is not doing so well, so they have ripped up the road to repair it. In order to do this they had to shut down one whole side of the street. Earlier today they came with a flatbed truck and placed it across the affected lanes and had some police guys blocking the way. Now in case you haven't lived in the developing world just because there's an obstacle and people are telling you you can't go this way doesn't mean that it necessarily applies to you. In fact, despite the HUGE truck blocking the way, and the sign and the rest of the traffic going the other way, about one car in ten tries to come down the street anyway. They drive up, drive past the sign, get to the huge truck and then have to turn around. The other drivers are either not paying attention or don't really care because there are often two or three cars trying to turn around at the same time.
Since this street is a major artery, they can't just close it off completely, so they have both directions of traffic going on the same side of the street. Which means on a four lane road you have three lanes going north and three lanes going south. (I'll wait while you think about that) Add to that one lane blocked off both ways for stopping mini-buses and parked cars and you have a street that is FUBAR.

Road Rules

So after living overseas in two different countries I have noticed some things that Americans might not know.
For instance:
1. The proper way to run across the street through traffic is to: lean forward slightly so that your head is in front. Then hold your arms stiffly to your sides but angled out slightly behind you so they look a little like wings. Finally, don't take wide steps, but shuffle quickly.
2. In your car, instead of signaling a lane change, drift slowly into the lane beside you until the car in that lane is either a) forced off the road or b) forced to slam on brakes
3. Signs, general road rules, traffic lights, those are for the other guy, not you.
4. Lanes painted on roads are purely decorative.
5. Do not spend more than 2 seconds parking your car. If it doesn't quite fit on the first try, leave it.
6. It is unnecessary to pull over to stop and let people out of your car or talk to your neighbors.
7. Major traffic maneuvers should be made while talking on the phone.
8. As soon as the light changes you should blow your horn so that the person in front of you knows that it's time to go.
9. As a pedestrian you should wear the darkest colors you own while crossing the street at night.
10. Your horn is a very important piece of car equipment, it should be as loud and obnoxious as possible.