I have seen the following things being done while riding a bicycle in Japan:
Holding an umbrella
Talking on the cell phone
Texting
Cleaning the fingernails of one hand with the nails of the other hand. Look Ma, no hands.
Carrying two kids in bike seats -- as well as their bags and some groceries. This is not unique to Japan -- daughter-in-law Liz does this in DC.
Playing a harmonica
Smoking
Carrying an 8 foot long Japanese archery bow
Carrying your boyfriend on the back of the bicycle, seated sideways.
As a high school student, carrying a large duffel bag on the back, a regular backpack on the front, and a medium sized bag from the handle bar.
As a middle-aged couple, biking together, each having a small dog in the front basket.
Carrying your girlfriend on the back of the bicycle, seated sideways -- with each of you having a back pack and a medium sized duffel bag.
With the typhoon coming, the carrying baskets had elastic-edged nylon or plastic covers like you can see on a backpack.
Carrying bags of bottles and cans for recycling. This morning a fellow came by on his bike with two gigantic bags strapped to the back, two very large bags dangling from the back of the bicycle, and 3 very large bags dangling from the front of the bicycle.
(Kids often wear helmets, adults do not.)
And today I saw two mothers, each with a child on the back of her bicycle, probably on their way to preschool. The mothers were chatting, and the children were content. The children's bike helmets were in the bike's front baskets.
Alternatively, I saw two children with their mother at the bus stop, and one of the children was wearing his bike helmet there -- no bike in sight.
Locking bikes:
Instructions from George Washington University:
"Know
how to properly secure your bike. Use a steel U-lock and consider using multiple
locks."
And to lock a bike in Japan, there is a flimsy lock ($2?) that keeps the wheel from turning. That is it. The bike is not locked to anything.
No comments:
Post a Comment