Interesting.

There is some big gov't mtg about to happen in Beijing (September/October), so we're back in crackdown mode. The Chinese motorcycle forums in Beijing are exploding with stories of police checks, seizures, etc. Interestingly, Beijing TV ran some news reports earlier this week about the "serious problem" with illegal bikes in Beijing. Essentially, the report was saying that because it has become so difficult to plate a car in Beijing (>1 million hopefuls in the plate lottery this month, vying for 20,000 plates), people are purchasing bikes. When the reporter interviewed a police official, he said "the illegal bike problem has become difficult because those people who ride illegal bikes are also the people who are breaking the laws and making it dangerous on the roads."

Yesterday was one of the rare days I drove my car. I crawled past two motorcycle check points (one can only crawl in a car in Beijing). I couldn't really see what was going on, but I did notice several unhappy faces in the assembled crowd.

I wish my Chinese language ability was better - using Chrome translator, it seems that there has been a spike in negative posts about a "foreigner on an illegal bike" pervading the Chinese forums. Can't blame them, actually. I often see unplated R9s, with an unhelmeted foreigner riding like crazy in the emergency lanes of the Ring Roads. Pisses me off, too. Those morons are F'ing it up for the rest of us ... but I am sure they think they are the coolest, most bad-ass rider ever.

Sigh, where's my blood pressure meds?