Went down on the street for the first time....in China

Well, my little Rebel has many electrical gremlins, so I decided to head to the Shanghai moto market to see if my guy could find and exorcise them. Also the rear tire was not rolling straight.

Turns out my swingarm bushings were shot. And my guy wasn't there, so the other fellow had to try to exorcise the electrics. He was not successful.

Did tighten the swingarm pivot (should hold it for a week until I get the bushings replaced)(btw, now that it's fixed, I am noticing the odd handling was gone).

Anyways, coming down Gubei Lu, just north of Suzhou creek, I am going about 60. I shoulder check (thought a car was creeping up behind me) and then look ahead.

A guy in a brand new Honda Accord is sideways across my lane. He just pulled out and stopped. Typical China.

Even thought he is a shithead piece of human excrement who should never be within 500 m of a car and probably should be sent back to Hubei province or whatever and buried alive in his family manure pile, I suppose the rest was my fault.

I made a newb mistake, one I used to make years ago, but had not done since 2003. Instead of feathering the brakes and steering around (something I thought I had perfected) I locked the brakes and target fixated.

Dammit dammit dammit.

So now I am sliding along beside my bike. Double dammit. Luckily I don't hit anything.

I get up. My ATTGAT consisted of a half helmet, goggles, tweed blazer, cords and dress shoes.

Suprisiingly, all I have are ripped pants and some rash on my left leg.

I picked up the bike. The driver of the car gets out and gives me the Chinese goggle eyed stare. I call him something rather uncomplimentary in Chinese and start my bike. Keep in mind I didn't hit him. As I start to ride away, the construction workers across the road start yelling and pointing. Turns out the two bottles of coke at had on my rack are rolling away. And there is a broken turn signal there. Screw that. I am not hurt, there is no damage (except to my pride, my pants and my turn signal)(I managed not to hit the car in my slide). I am not waiting for the cops. Away I go.

So, what did I learn?

Pay attention. Riding in China is 100% serious.
Don't look back. In China, what is behind you is not you problem, what is in front of you is.
Practice emergency braking. Even if you think you nailed it. Your new bike might now have the grip and handling you are used to.
Now that the weather is colder you tires don't grip as well. Increase your braking distance.
No matter how stupid it is, Chinese drivers will do it. Even if they see you coming. Be prepared for anything. I saw the car, but I didn't think he would pull out, as there was lots of space and then he pulled out right in front of me.
Look where you want to go. Don't target fixate.
Even if the driver caused the accident, he will look at you with that fish stare that Chinese use on foreigners, even as you pick up the bike and call him a (insert insult here). Punching him in the face would likely be counter productive, although very tempting.

Sorry to hear about your spill but it will happen to the best of us. Just count yourself as lucky that your injuries weren't any worse and be sure to THOROUGHLY clean off and road rash. :deal:

I've always said, the best way to minimize accidents in China is 110% awareness, 110% of the time. I know it's not always easy but it pays off in the long run.

Your list of things to remember is also salient but I do disagree with one thing which concerns traffic behind you. Generally the traffic in front of you is the most important but in as much as you can have 360 degree awareness, I say go for it. It's ALL important and a dude with an onion stuck behind his brake pedal is still dangerous. :eekers:

Anyway, forget the bruised pride. Shake it off, sharpen the old senses and reflexes and get back on the road! :thumbsup:

CC

glad you came out of it with minor road rash

my last pavement crash ended up with a broken elbow.
I was stationed in Germany and was cut off in a blind corner by a Czechoslovakian trying to pass me, he took off....but the police later found him

really sorry to hear you went down, but glad you're alright. i have yet to crash in traffic in this country (i've already eaten tarmac a couple of times but all by myself and with no cars around), but i had a very close one recently that still gives me an adrenaline rush when i think about it.
some arseh**e blue truck (you know the ones) suddenly pulled across two lanes without looking, i was doing about 100 and it was too late for me to brake or swerve so i just caned it and went for the gap (bus on the other side). i missed him by a few inches. after that i had to stop on the side and smoke a whole pack just to calm down.

Sucks to go down, but at least you have the right attitude about it and are willing to share your experience with others. How many times do we hear "the guy pulled out and I had to lay her down", instead of "I locked the brakes and target fixated", which is usually the story. The feeling that you had and the minor damage to the bike will sit in the back of your mind for a while, but that's not a bad thing as you're that much more prepared for the next time some ass in an Acord is sitting there.

Sorry about the road rash, hope you and the bike heal quickly and I'm glad it wasn't more serious.

Cheers
ChinaV

Gr88 .... glad to hear eveythins welll ... nuthing serious :)....going down is tough and standing bakk is tougher ... congrats :thumbsup:

Went down again on Wednesday. Has not been my week. This time an electric bicyclist surprised me by going down the street in the left lane, against traffic without lights. I nearly avoided him but he swerved at the last minute and clipped me. I grabbed too much brake again and down I went.

I will have to get out and practice emergency braking as well as check my front tire and see why it's so slippery.

Ummm...how fast are you going when these events happen? :confused1:

CC

First time I was going a bit fast for urban China. About 40-50 km/h. The second time around 20-30 km/h. The first accident was my fault. You should always expect the car to pull out in front of you, even if he appears to be waiting. It's not their fault they can't drive.

The second was hard to avoid. Just put it at that. Would have got him at walking speed.

Don't feel bad. When I first started riding in China I had a few spills like that. One of them was an impossible situation and very nearly cost me much more than scrapes and broken bike parts.

One thing to keep in mind is the poorer quality of asphalt out here then back home. Even the best of roads out here do not have the same grip factor. Finally, when temps drop the grip factor reduces more than the equivalent of back home.

That is definitely a relevant topic in China

I have had such bad experiences a few times, partly because I never really learned (=took classes) how to ride a bike, just got the 125cc french license after two years having the car license (yea we used to have that regulation:rolleyes1:). I do plan to take a few lessons on emergency braking and shunning (and other important stuff) next time I go home for the holidays.

Still, I have already riden in BJ (about 20,000 km, mostly urban) and one time it was definitely the guy's fault (a cabbie, of course): a wonderful cut-in, just like in the movies when they try to whack the good guy. Fortunately, I had time to brake and was only going about 20km per hour when I hit his bumper and fell on the side. No serious damage (indicator broken and some bruises) but I dont wanna imagine what would have happened if cars arriving behind were a bit closer. Of course - again - the cabbie only left his car to check his bumper (not interested in me lying on the ground).

To me, a good way to read the traffic is thinking that all pedestrians and light vehicles wanna use your bike to commit suicide, and all cars and bigger vehicles wanna end your life. And they're gonna use the element of surprise. Of course it's not true, but I keep finding it surprisingly relevant.

And I agree that attention should be maximum: if I am tired or just out of bed, I drive 20km/h slower. And yea, I agree that most attention (not all) should be towards what's ahead, not behind (every driver seems to follow that logic, which gives it sense somehow)

As close as you can come to 360 degrees of awareness, 110% of the time the better!

Also important is to use the bikes maneuverability advantage to control your position in traffic. Too much defensive riding can be a bad thing at times. Be where YOU need to be in position of the traffic...putting along and hoping someone will not run you off the road because they're too busy being big man on the cell phone is a bad idea.

CC

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Originally Posted by French_Rider

That is definitely a relevant topic in China ...

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Not only in China :eekers:

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Originally Posted by French_Rider

... I do plan to take a few lessons on emergency braking and shunning (and other important stuff) next time I go home for the holidays. ...

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We are holding safety trainings to practice exactly that before and during every riding season. PM me your cell phone no and e-mail and you're in :thumbsup:

Yea you're right, it must be true everywhere; actually I only have riden in China, never in my country... India and maybe Bangladesh in March may change my opinion about the traffic situation in China/Beijing, I expect the worse there:eekers:

I sent you a PM but dont know if you received it, the website says I have no sent messages...

Hey I got that "fish stare" too recently. A guy in a red cadillac swerved right and hit me. Luckily I didn't fall over but my ankle got pinned against my front fairing and was sprained. After I got off my bike and hobbled over to his car he didn't say anything but "what" and just stared at me like I did something wrong!

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Originally Posted by iamcanjim

I get up. My ATTGAT consisted of a half helmet, goggles, tweed blazer, cords and dress shoes.
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You guys seem to have missed an important point, giving the absolutely crazy driving condition here in China. What did you have on? "..tweed blazer, cords and dress shoes.." in such a nightmarish traffic? My suggestion is always putting on your best protective gears: full helmet, riding jacket with protective pads (mesh in summer), riding pants or knee protector, and riding boots. I leave my office costumes in the office and ride fully equipped ALWAYS. Those protective gears do work. This is a hard lesson I've learned in China after many bruises, road rashes, swollen knees, and sprained ankles.

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Originally Posted by Wrangler

Hey I got that "fish stare" too recently. A guy in a red cadillac swerved right and hit me. Luckily I didn't fall over but my ankle got pinned against my front fairing and was sprained. After I got off my bike and hobbled over to his car he didn't say anything but "what" and just stared at me like I did something wrong!

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Yeh, he doesn't want any trouble and he's daring you to cause any. Pretty typical asshole maneuver in China. Did you let him get away with it or did you call the police?

I was riding to the mtns with my gf at the time in Chengdu a few years back. Two up on a 150 with bags and not going very fast. Total dick head in a big white iveco van friggin straight up hits me with his mirror and the side of his car pushes into my knee. We almost whet into one of those meter deep concret?e drainage channels on the side of the road...that would have been so much fun!

Luckily I keep it upright and manage to catch up with the guy and get him to pull over.

Douche bag driver gets out and starts checking his vehical for damage. I was totally out of this world irate and wearng full roadcrafter suit. I don't think I've ever been so close to straigt up crushing a guy in my whole life. :taz:

After a few seconds of blowing steam and seeing the guy was actually quite scared I eventually cooled off and was simply glad noboby was hurt. Best part is there was a lady in the van reading a news paper the entire time who not once bothered to see what was going on!

Themz is the days you count your blessings and do you best to nt crack someones head open with our helmet.

CC

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Originally Posted by Nuhaus

Yeh, he doesn't want any trouble and he's daring you to cause any. Pretty typical asshole maneuver in China. Did you let him get away with it or did you call the police?

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I walked away. I don't have my license yet (still in class) nor plate (just got a bike and getting the plates now) but at that time I thought it wasn't worth calling 110 and taking a chance that things would work against me.

I was ready to hit the guy but his car had 3 other guys. I heard there doors pop open as soon as I started yelling at the guy. Two guys I can maybe handle but not four. In case anyone does decide to hit someone, hit him in the stomach. Their is no distinction of self defense or aggravated assault here in Shanghai. The wimpy police pretty much act as mediators. Typically after the police arrive at a fight they pull everyone apart, send to the police station to take report, both parties go to the hospitals to get checked up, then back to the police station. Bills of bodily and property damage are added up and then divided in half for both parties to pay. Sorry, I digress...

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Typically after the police arrive at a fight they pull everyone apart, send to the police station to take report, both parties go to the hospitals to get checked up, then back to the police station. Bills of bodily and property damage are added up and then divided in half for both parties to pay. Sorry, I digress...

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Good news ! Many times I feel I would start a fight if only I could speak enough Chinese. Thinking I need to explain why I'm punching away... But now i see it doesn't make much difference. Thanks.

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Typically after the police arrive at a fight they pull everyone apart, send to the police station to take report, both parties go to the hospitals to get checked up, then back to the police station. Bills of bodily and property damage are added up and then divided in half for both parties to pay. Sorry, I digress...

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Good news ! Many times I feel I would start a fight if only I could speak enough Chinese. Thinking I need to explain why I'm punching away... But now i see it doesn't make much difference. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by CrazyCarl

Luckily I keep it upright and manage to catch up with the guy and get him to pull over.

After a few seconds of blowing steam and seeing the guy was actually quite scared I eventually cooled off and was simply glad noboby was hurt. Best part is there was a lady in the van reading a news paper the entire time who not once bothered to see what was going on!

CC

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Had a very similar situation last April when I actually went down on my bike and cracked my arm. I picked my bike up, started it then caught up to the guy who had cut me off on his Ebike. At this point I was very close to beating the snot out of him but he was maybe a foot shorter and 80 pounds lighter. After yelling at him while holding him by the scruff of the neck for a few seconds he actually started crying and I let him go. I still feel bad about it and my only excuse is that I was pumped up with adrenaline after the tumble.

Buddy of mine has a knack for smashing off door mirrors with his gloved hand when a car gets too close, but generally I try my damndest to avoid all confrontation. There's just too much at stake and no real way of winning those conflicts.

The less you speak the better. You will never win an argument against a local, have you seen how long they can keep going? It's insane, they will keep shouting for hours whether they are right or wrong or have nothing to say. As the saying goes: "never argue with an idiot, they'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience."

It can be hard to resist the urge to break someone's nose at times, god knows some of them deserve it, but the thing is nothing will be gained and they won't learn anything as they'll always assume they did nothing wrong. It's infuriating, but it is what it is.

I must confess though i did lash out once, a car pushed me into a ditch even though i was right alonside the front window beeping and he'd clearly seen me. I caught up to him, broke the mirror of the side and sped off. I'm not proud of it but it did feel good.

I dont know this is relevant, but i learnt something from it. My dad's car was hit by some semi-drunken guy who entering the straight road on his small truck, end up ugly. the Q is who paid the damage? the drunken guy only has 交强insure and he is unwilling to pay his responsibility(he need the insure to repair his wreck truck) by blaming the other side was driving too fast.
The traffic police came for the unsolved incident, they didn't intend to solve the problem, they kept quite and wait. Both party didn't give in end up both car tow to traffic police station, where they kept for a few days. and yes, both have to paid fees.
over the years, our subconsciously is to blame the other party if unfortunate traffic incident happen, if the other person was tough enough, than it would gets more complicated, the worst thing is end up paying more when lend to police's hand. We have a choice to make b4 fight, win over the other party meaning more resource has to spend, or give in for less price tag?
so who wins? the traffic police. Drivers always lose. but try lose less and not paid the price for real unnecessary like righteous.
p.s. there is another kind of vehicle the driver don't mind paying damage (not on his own of course), if you can identify them.

ride safe with eagle eyes. td

I started out on a Ebike (better to practice on one of them)
I have been pushed in to ditches and forced to do some crazy moves to avoid being splatted. still, iv learnt to ride here and know its safer to ride in the citys than in these small towns. people out here dont seem to have driving licenses most of the times and there are a hell of a lot of cars without plates.

Any how, I have some good news. I was riding home from work on my little 125, There was a pack of us (maybe 6 bikes in total) stuck behind a slow moving lorry.
one of these impationt a$$h0l3 drivers on a bike (the sort that does not mind cutting you up to get 2 meters ahead of where he was) tried to over take several times, then decided to undertake. after a lot of beeping I moved a bit more to the left so he could undertake me and the lorry. unfortunately for him he chose a place to undertake in front of a load of shops. even more unfortunately he choose to over take where there is metal storm drains going along the entire road. even more unfortunate was the shop keeper how had cleaned his for court a little time before.

So I move over and he revs the hell out of his lovely new honda. goes to undertake the lorry and rides on the wet metal that has its bars going the same direction as he is going. rather spectacularly the front of his bike whips round to the right hitting some thing and sending it flying, the rear of his bike catches up to the front of his bike and keeps going. during the tumble im guessing he held on for dear life and pulled the accelerator all the way back. even high revs, the bikes now hitting the ground,
he somehow manages to get off the bike and keep a hold of the accelerator handle.
bikes scraping against sidewalk.
5 bikers are riding past all staring at him.
owner of fallen bike still just about standing, still holding on to the bike and chasing it.
people in from of the row of shops are staring at him.
I look ahead to make sure truck isnt doing any thing stupid and try and watch in my mirror, didnt work due to vibrations.

some times you have to sit back and appreciate the finer things in life.

overtaking is risky enough. undertaking? go straight to the undertaker!

thanks for sharing, and for updating your avatar with your location. i presume there's some excellent rural riding near you.

cheers

suicidal chinese HAHAHAHAHA
thank you.
humm, maybe, i just ride to get to work and a little exploring. (when it was hotter to ride to a unused river and have a swim away from the crowds.
just trying to update profile photo now.... give me a week ;-)

Undertaking can be fine here, i did a lot of it on my recent recent trip and found it was safer at times than overtaking. Just need a clear view of what's ahead, on open roads it's no problem.

lightend, i HIGHLY recommend this road! It's only a short blast away from ningde. I was on it last week and it was the highlight of that day! Adorable little road, with the smallest damn i've ever seen in china and a waterfall too!

hey Felix,
umm the road that been highlighted, it does not seem to have been built yet?????? is it a cross country little path?

ohh i see, its map displacment.. got it :-) its on the same round that i live on:-) just a few miles away.
i'll check it out.
thanks