“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” — James Michener
While waiting to begin my cycle trek along The Ancient Tea Horse Road through western China, I’ve spent the past several mornings rolling out on my trusty Salsa Fargo to explore the side streets and back alleys of Shanghai, an ultra modern international metropolis with all the latest fashion, but also a city rich in history, still bustling with daily rituals and ways of life thousands of years old. Exploring urban areas by bicycle is an excellent means to access authentic local color in a quiet, unobtrusive way, and to delve into the unseen nooks and crannies of the regional cultural fabric, so often overlooked smart phone clad, image obsessed world of today. Exploring by bike, enables me to cover more ground in a morning than I could in days on foot.
Bicycling has become my primary means of urban exploration. For the past three years, I’ve brought a bike with me to Shanghai, initially to ride for exercise, but now to explore unique and interesting places before they pass away. On my bike, I am able to cruise down back alleys, free to observe life as it is as it is happening, in its raw and unvarnished state. Exploring by bike puts me in direct contact with people, giving me the ability to easily approach others and others the ability to approach me, as they often do. On my bike, I am able to roll along unfettered through local longtangs, or little neighborhoods, that are steadily disappearing day by day, being torn down house by house, street by street, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, never to be seen again, and are being systematically being replaced by high rise apartments and modern office complexes. Exploring by bike allows me to see these special places first hand before they vanish forever.
Slowly riding or walking my bike through crowded neighborhood street markets, I am able to encounter hundreds of locals smiling and chatting each other up, greeting friends and strolling with family while catching up on the latest news or picking up fresh vegetables, fish or perhaps a freshly killed chicken for dinner. Outside of western society, most people still live their lives on the street. It is quite normal to pass a woman squatting on the curb brushing her teeth and spitting in the gutter or an old man in his silk pajamas standing on the sidewalk over a basin of an outdoor sink with is face lathered up shaving and washing to greet the day. Along worn sidewalks, little old ladies can be found cackling with each other while hand-washing their laundry as young girl fetches water in a plastic pale from a public faucet for her mother to clean this morning’s dirty dishes. People can be seen bumping into each other and jostling each other on their way. Fully immersed in local color, being hammered by the din of horns, ringing bells, and local merchants touting their goods, I can smell the pungent odor of fish, fresh durian and sticky tofu wafting up from nearby stalls to assault my senses. The piercing aroma of rancid fat and rotting garbage is present for my nose to experience as well. Street markets are a veritable cultural cornucopia of human activity, all made possible for me to see by my humble, trusty bicycle.
Urban cycling is a great way to photograph local culture, sights, and activities. Standing over my bike, I am able to capture the hustle and bustle of street life with my handy Nikon camera, and if required, I can quickly dismount for closer shots. Locals are always glad to hold or watch my bike for me while I make a few quick images, with most wanting to converse with me or to examine my bike. I can carry my camera in a pack on my back or secured to the rear rack of my bike along with my tripod. Gone are the days of lugging cumbersome camera gear long distances.
Exploring by bicycle it the perfect way to see. As a foreigner just passing through, the bicycle makes me highly mobile, giving me the ability to cover a lot of ground quietly, efficiently, and unobtrusively. On my bike, I am not treated with undo suspicion as I would if I were in an air-conditioned car trolling by peering through tinted windows. The bicycle provides an ideal segue for personal engagement and interaction with others and allows me to access interesting niches unseen by most.
So, what are you waiting for? Get on your wheels and get out there. It’s time to ride. The world awaits.
