"It’s got a basket, a bell that rings and things to make it look good". This is pretty much essential for getting around Songjiang. Bikes are plentiful and reletavely inexpensive when compared to the prices back home, this one set me back the ¥500 aka £50.
The terrain around Songjiang is completely flat which makes it ideal for cycling. Having a basket and a bell is the norm here, in no way does it de-masculinise the bike or the rider, it’s just an accepted way of transporting all your crap and alerting inattentive road users to your presence.
The bikes are pretty basic, only one gear, no suspension, and a retro style band brake on the rear. It takes me about 10-15 minutes to get to work in the morning depending upon how lucky I am with the lights, not that traffic lights mean much to the local drivers who seemingly cannot distinguish between red and green, however my English sensibilities dictate that more often than not I will stop when the lights turn red.
Splendid. If you can't get an elephant then a velocipede is the next, next, next, next, next best thing.
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