In Beijing we live in the little neighborhood of Xingfucun Middle Road. Our neighborhood sits in an area boarded to the north by Dongzhimen Wai Dajie, to the east by Xindung Road, to the south by Workers Stadium North Road, and to the not too far west by the East 2nd Ring Road. Our neighborhood is home to a number of high rise multi-use buildings and several apartment towers...
Of note, the Beijing Bentley, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce and Embraer showrooms are in one such building two small blocks to the east of us...
The Chaoyang Experimental Primary school is across the alley from us; we can gaze down at their sports field and classrooms from several of our windows. Our neighborhood is also home to to a number of small restaurants, and bars, a french bakery and butcher, and other establishments, such as the famous "Frost Coffee Nails Cocktail Waxing" store and "Bob's Wine"...
There is a shop selling CD 's and DVD's, a shop selling sex paraphernalia, two corner magazine and newspaper stands and several other small businesses and shops. During the day and at night, vendors appear in the small alleys and on the street corners, selling fruit, flowers, hot sweet potatoes and chestnuts, and other snack foods offered to residents and pedestrians. At least once a week a vendor pedals or walks his bike up and down the street offering to sharpen knives or other kitchen utensils. It is a lively neighborhood, kept in good clean order, with a fair amount of pedestrian, vehicle, and bicycle traffic at all hours of the day...
Both sides of Xingfuncun Middle Road are lined with numerous bike racks set out for residents and shoppers to use to park their bikes. The bike racks get used; most are filled 7x24 and many of the bikes show signs of wear and tear due to their being left out in the elements day and night. However, none of the bikes are what I would call neglected, or derelict, and all seem to be in reasonable, if not functional, shape. It is obvious to me that the bikes see regular use, as when I walk thorough the neighborhood the bike racks empty during the day when people go to work, school or run errands and then fill up again at the end of the day and into the night...
 |
Rental bikes provided by the city government...
|
 |
Bikes parked in one of several racks located outside apartment complexes and storefronts..
|
Sometimes, early in the morning, when I walk about the neighborhood, I notice many bicycles laying on the ground or perched precariously in the bike racks. I waggishly attribute this to an epidemic of kickstand failure on a scale of biblical proportions. However, I surmise that a strong overnight wind coupled with inadequate placement in the rack caused the bikes to be knocked over. Or in the alternative, a delivery person or groups of pedestrians walking along the narrow sidewalk might have bumped into the bikes and failed to reposition them. But in all cases, the bikes do get repositioned and are once again put through their daily paces...
 |
This picture was taken in early morning this past March... The bike in the
back of the picture is the subject of this post...
|
All except this poor soul, which nature appears to be slowly camouflaging from the other two-wheeled residents of the neighborhood...
We have lived in this neighborhood for almost 7 months, and I pass this bike several times a day. While other bikes seem to come and go, as their owners put them to daily use, this bike stays put, in the same position, never moving. A U-Lock goes through the rear wheel and the seat stays, but the bike is not locked up to anything. I never see anyone tending to the bike and, by the looks of its broken fork and the amount of rust on the chain and other moving parts, it would need a lot of TLC to get it into serviceable condition. It spends its days, leaning forlornly against the tree, which seems to be slowly reclaiming it, day by day...
 |
By September, the "abandoned" bike rests against the tree,
which has begun to camouflage it...
|
 |
| The bell still "dings" and the rubber bar grips are intact... |
 |
| Rusted steerer tube, broken fork crown and fork... |
 |
| The fabric seat pad is in surprisingly reasonable shape... |
 |
| Rust on the chain and single chainring, as well as on the chain stays... |
 |
| A trusty, rusty U-Lock... |
 |
The single sprocket is rusted, as are the
bolts and other rear wheel fittings...
|
 |
The rack springs still snap back but there is lots of rust on the fender....
|
 |
The rear reflector has seen better days...
|
9/8/13 PS: In an email, my Mom asked what I planned to do about this deserted and forlorn vehicle; would it be possible for a happy ending. I am not sure how to respond... First, this is not my bike and I can only assume that it belongs to someone. Second, as we live in an apartment I really do not have the space or tools necessary to rebuild or renovate the bike. But, certainly the bike should have a future beyond its current state or the scrap heap.
 |
| Is this what happens to forgotten and forlorn Beijing bikes? |
Maybe there is an organization that reclaims abandoned bikes and rebuilds them for donation to families or migrant workers in need of transportation. Maybe this could be set up as a school project for one or more of the western international schools, kinda like a cross between a community service activity and shop class... Not sure what is possible, if anything, but worth looking into. After all, the bike does not appear to be going anywhere...
 |
As of this morning, it is still leaning up against the tree,
becoming more invisible by the day, even to the bike parked next to it...
|
All pictures taken with an iPod Touch.
