{"id":3428,"date":"2012-10-10T10:53:36","date_gmt":"2012-10-10T10:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.justcharlie.com\/?p=3428"},"modified":"2018-04-17T04:46:03","modified_gmt":"2018-04-17T04:46:03","slug":"my-new-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.justcharlie.com\/my-new-ride\/","title":{"rendered":"Flying Through Chengdu on Two Wheels"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-3430\" title=\"New Bicycle\" src=\"http:\/\/www.justcharlie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/new-bike.jpg\" alt=\"New Bicycle\" width=\"305\" height=\"406\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justcharlie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/new-bike-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.justcharlie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/new-bike-448x598.jpg 448w, https:\/\/www.justcharlie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/new-bike.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 305px) 100vw, 305px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After much deliberation, I committed to building a custom bicycle about one month ago after meeting (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.chengduliving.com\/chengdu-fixed-gear-bikes-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">and interviewing<\/a>) the proprietors of the Natooke Custom Bicycle Shop in Chengdu. The interview illuminated a lot of interesting points about bicycling in Chengdu which I hadn&#8217;t thought about previously, namely the advantages that this city offers to cyclists. Here are a couple.<\/p>\n<h2>Conditions Unique to Chengdu<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Totally flat terrain which means multiple bicycle gears aren&#8217;t required, reducing bicycle weight and maintenance<\/li>\n<li>Bicycle lanes along all major roads in the city which reduces the risk of being in an accident involving motor vehicles<\/li>\n<li>Temperate weather which allows for year-round bicycle commuting, even in the winter<\/li>\n<li>A resurgent and exploding community of cyclists in the city, upon the backdrop of a country that is famous for bicycles<\/li>\n<li>An increasingly serious traffic situation, due to major construction along the city&#8217;s arterial highways<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With these factors in mind, it wasn&#8217;t difficult to commit to the bicycle as a transportation platform. Although the longboard (skateboard) that I got over the summer has been a blast, it isn&#8217;t practical for traveling distances of more than a mile. My goal is to commute to and from my office by bicycle daily, which is a trip of about 30 kilometers (roughly 19 miles). It&#8217;s no small distance for someone like me who&#8217;s not experienced in long range bicycling, but I feel that for the first time in my life, I&#8217;m up to it. This isn&#8217;t just a bike, it is a lifestyle choice.<\/p>\n<h2>More Information<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The brand of the bicycle is Flying Banana, created by a German woman living in Beijing<\/li>\n<li>This bike is the first one out of the new Natooke shop in Chengdu, located down the street from my house<\/li>\n<li>The frame of the bike is aluminum, it has front and rear brakes as well as front and rear lights (not pictured)<\/li>\n<li>The entire bike is matte black with blue rims. I selected the color scheme and wanted just a dash of color<\/li>\n<li>I spent over $100 on an imported lock from Germany that is serious business. I will be vigilant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here&#8217;s to a kind of health and enjoyment that I haven&#8217;t known before.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After much deliberation, I committed to building a custom bicycle [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[324,14,20,30],"tags":[427,429],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Flying Through Chengdu on Two Wheels<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justcharlie.com\/my-new-ride\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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