Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

This is my bicycle. I had a little accident with it the other day.

If you notice, the back tire is warped and bent. Now my bike drags on the floor and cranks out a terrible screech if you try to ride it.

How did this happen? Well, I wasn't hit by a car or anything. Actually I was just riding along like I usually do. But for the first time ever, I had a friend ride along with me. She sat in the back on a metal grill above the back tire, like bike passengers often do in China.

My friend couldn't have weighed much at all. But I guess that was enough. After riding for an hour, my bike suddenly tipped to the side and we fell to the ground; the tire buckling under the pressure of a skinny girl.

There were no injuries, although I was a little embarrassed. A group of old men were walking by and began saying, "Your bike is lousy, you can't ride that."

We went back home by taxi, putting the bike in the trunk. Seeing my bicycle's bent tire, the taxi driver said: "Bikes used to be made to last for 10 to 15 years. Now they are only made to last for a year or two."

I suppose this was bound to happen. Back in 2004, I had one in Beijing, and only after a month it broke down on me, the pedals coming apart. I had it repaired, but soon it began falling apart on me once more. You get what you pay for; that particular bicycle had only cost me around $17.

Wanting to avoid that, I planted some more money on this green bike when I came to Xi'an, hoping it would last. And it did for the most part, although I was always worried it would fly apart while I was riding it.

It's my own fault. The prevailing wisdom is to always buy a used bicycle. One that you now has been tested. But there not always easy to find. Plus my green bike looks so cool.

I was planning on giving my bike to someone. But now with it broken, and after proving how unreliable it is, I think I'll just have to throw it away. Sigh...