I finally mustered up the courage to ride up to the gate of nearest the expressway entrance two weeks ago. The nice looking girl just giggled at me after I said "ni hao" and a guy (maybe her superior) ran over flapping his arms, doing his very best to deter me and explain that what I wanted to do was impossible in every aspect of physics.
I didn't get on, or try to force my way on but I did...
1: force them to reroute about 3 articulated lorries and a dozen cars from behind me into the adjacent entrances.
2: get the girl in the booth at my gate reposted into another lane gate effectively closing mine.
3: have a chat with the guy and I explained to him that I'd read several documents and even spotted questions on my theory test that stated motorcycles were allowed on the Gao su lu if capable of following the rules.
"...Bikes just can't ride on expressways; they're not capable."
I replied:
I rode on expressways in the USA and the UK (a little lie but many have and one of them might have well been me).
"But this is China"
I replied:
"And I'm not Chinese"
"...Bikes just can't ride on the expressway; it's too dangerous."
I replied:
"All Chinese roads are dangerous."
"...Bikes just can't ride on the expressway; there's never been one bike go through these gates."
I replied:
"Today could be the first and nobody has to know"
Our little chat seemed to amuse him and he seemed to be quite charmed by my politeness + persistence. He asked me a few questions like where I'm from, what I'm doing here and how is it that I can speak Chinese.
I asked him if I could talk to his boss and he said that he wasn't there at the time.
"What if I showed you the test questions that state bikes are allowed on the expressway?"
He replied...
"Bring them with you to show him next time and he
might let you on"
I'm allowed on by law but it's still a random expressway entrance manager's choice? I feel like telling him to prove that I can't go on instead of asking me to prove that I can. How long will they stick to the things they think they know while avoiding their duties and ignoring the documents that clearly state national laws.
I've got the docs ready + the youku video about bikes on expressways in the post above by Steve_R.
I'm going to try again tomorrow.
MedMastery: Mastering Medicine...
Today, 03:26 AM in Off Topic Discussions