Things I Have Learned ...

... Riding a bicycle in Beijing.

• You shouldn't look at the girls in skirts riding the opposite direction.
• You shouldn't look at the girls in skirts walking, either. (All the girls are just too distracting.)
• Don't panic! It may feel disconcerting with all those people riding so close to you, but they are professionals at it.
• Even with that taxi about to clip your handlebars or in the process of cutting you off, don't panic!
• The lights, the police blowing whistles and the guys waving flags aren't very effective when it comes to traffic control. The seem to be looked on more as guidelines, really.
• That road you just passed that looked like the one you wanted, more than likely was.
• Your personal space on a bicycle in Beijing extends only as far as your handlebars and front and rear tires. And sometimes not even that far.
• It may all feel and look dangerous, but it all seems to work pretty well, actually.
• Bicycle lanes are a good thing to have, even if you do have to share them with cars both parked and moving.
• The people on electric bicycles seem to have a bit of a superiority complex over people on regular bicycles, as evidenced by the frequent use of their fancy electric horns.
• A foreigner on a bicycle apparently isn't such a big deal in Beijing. (Compare this with Korea where even in bigger cities, parents in cars will point you out to their children as they pass.)
• A squeaky bicycle may seem annoying at first but it lets others know you are coming up on them. Always a good thing when you are not sure of the proper "cutting off" etiquette.

All in all it wasn't a bad experience. My years of dodging road traffic served me well in Beijing. It was good to get on a bike again. Even a bike like that.