Yes indeed... During my recent *(and first)* trip to Beijing I was deeply disappointed to see cars clogging the roads *(and noticeably absent were the Flying Pidgeons that for years supposedly outnumbered the cars)*. It's actually quite telling of how the growing Chinese economy has changed the transportation industry in China from bicycle to automobile... There have been approximately 500 million Flying Pidgeons manufactured *(more than the US population)*, making it the most popular vehicle of all time *(Source: Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Pigeon).*
On Saturday, September 28, 2013 6:18:03 PM UTC-4, Patrick Moore wrote: > > Michael: thanks for the photos -- very interesting indeed. To my own eyes, > the very striking thing was the total absence of Flying Pigeons -- those > imitations cranked out by the 10s of millions of the WWI-era British design > and that used to be like ants in pre-capitalist China; the English rod > braked roadster or Bobby bike. Where did they all go? Gad, the mere > quantity of low quality scrap steel must have been incalculable. As it is, > the photos look almost like NYC or Italy. > > FWIW: though I have a strong nostalgia for the Bobby Bike -- I owned one > (hot rodded with scarlet paint and AW hub), and rode mine and several > others for thousands of miles in my boyhood, including long, strenuous > 50-60 milers in hilly terrain climbing toward the Rift Valley at 6+K feet > under the equatorial sun (our askari's, single speed of course; wonderful > memories) -- I have to say that they are a hugely primitive and by modern > standards barbaric design, with their 50 lb weight, Penny-Farthing-modeled > riding position, high bb, excessively high gearing, and useless brakes. > IMO, tigg'd aluminum was the best thing to happen to cheap bikes. > > It is interesting to reflect on the attitude that many overworked and poor > riders and owners had to their roadsters: pure utility. They rode it, > considering things like chain and brake pads structural rather than > consumable elements. I've seen exceptions -- one of our cooks kept his in > gleaming, polished condition -- but for the most part, pure utility, a mere > upgrade from sandals made from old tires. > > > On Sat, Sep 28, 2013 at 3:58 PM, Michael <john1...@gmail.com <javascript:> > > wrote: > >> I was so impressed with the bikes there. >>> >> I just realized that I didn't get a pic of what I thought were the >> prettiest bikes there to be seen - The Guangzhou made bikes that look like >> old Raleigh three speeds. They had cassettes, though. But were those pretty >> black, dark green, and dark maroon bikes with matched color fenders. Very >> pretty bikes. >> >> Here is the set: >> http://www.flickr.com/photos/70237737@N00/sets/72157635988782516/ >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. >> To post to this group, send email to >> rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com<javascript:> >> . >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> > > > > -- > *RESUMES THAT GET YOU NOTICED!* > Certified Resume Writer > http://resumespecialties.com/index.html > patric...@resumespecialties.com <javascript:> > http://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/ > > Albuquerque, NM > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
