Yangshuo: A Bad Day for Biking

After Pam left on Monday, I started using her bike to go around town - and yesterday, like usual, I took it to the market in the morning. Yesterday was a nice day finally, after about 4 days of rain. I did the shopping, sent the food back on a motorbike, then got some breakfast of noodle soup, then went to use the internet for a little bit before meeting up with the cooking school class. After going through the market with the cooking class again, I came back to where I parked the bike it was gone! (the back wheel was locked to the frame, but not to any solid object - but this is the same way Pam and I lock our bikes every day). I called Leo to come down and ask the people who were selling things nearby if they had seen anything, but everyone said they hadn't. I was pretty bummed out that the bike got stolen.

 

I got a ride back to the school in a van with the class - I participated yesterday so I could try out the duck dish which is the one dish I hadn't cooked yet. Then after class, I went over to the hostel nearby the school to rent a bike. I got a mountain bike, similar to the one I had during my first few days here. But when I headed into town later in the day, I noticed the back gears kept slipping - something seemed weird with the contraption that moves the chain between the gears.

 

I went to the market again with the afternoon class (I've now started leading tours of the market when there are big groups - this is a bit weird, because I feel like people who pay for a cooking class in China don't want an white American guy leading their tours of the market - but at the same time, going in a group of 8 is not as good as going in two groups of 4.....and I know what everything is at this point, so I think I do a pretty good job at explaining things and showing everyone around - plus my English is excellent :). But it's an interesting dilemma - back to the authenticity question here too: is it an authentic tour of the market if it's led by me?)

 

After the market, I hung out in town for a bit before meeting up w/ Richard and Chelsea, and American couple I met at the cooking school. Our plan was to bikeride back to Chaolong (where i live) to eat at the restaurant next to my house. The cook there is named Xiao Feng and she makes excellent homestyle food - when Pam and I ate there, we told her to just make whatever she wanted, and we did the same last night, with a special request for ma-po tofu (the best version I've ever had).

 

But anyway, on the way out of town, my chain was slipping down the gears again, and then I downshifted on the gearshift and suddently the whole gear changer on the back wheel flipped up and got caught in the wheel, causing the bike to suddently stop. It was very broken. Luckily I was right in town, and the guy who is one of my normal motortaxi drivers was right there......so Chelsea and Richard continued on their bikes, and meanwhile we tied my very broken bike onto the back of the motorbike, and I hopped on too, and I got a ride back to Chaolong.

 

Last night after dinner I rented yet another bike from the hostel, this time just a simple 1 gear bike - it's not very good, but it does the trick of getting to the market and back, so it will do. And hopefully no one will want to steal it!

 

Today it's raining again - but it looks like it *might* be clearing up. We'll see. More soon.