Sometimes I chuckle at the silly things that the Chinese do. But I think the reality is that I am at least as silly. I also think the better part of wisdom is noticing the guy doing something silly right before you were about to do the same thing and changing your course in a knick of time. Sometimes life is a game of inches.
Riding my bike on the side of the road, I came across a simple row of bricks strung across the side lane. This is pretty unusual in Changchun in that the Chinese do not normally put up ‘hazard ahead’ signs or markers. So this made me at least look ahead to see what the warning was for. It looked like the road had a 3 foot section cut out of it and was filled in with gravel. I was on my mountain bike so I thought this would be no big deal. Then I noticed that a mini-bus in front of me had the same idea. That’s when I realized his rear tires were 12” down in the ‘gravel’. That would make the ‘gravel’ freshly poured cement. Now I don’t know how he got his front wheels through the cement, but his rear wheels did not have the same luck. So I locked up my brakes and came to a stop at the lip of the cement. If that van wasn’t there, I’d still be picking bits of cement off my bike.
So now the issue is how you get a mini-bus out of quickly setting concrete. This is where I have to hand it to the Chinese. There are a lot of Hummers, Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne, Land Rover, and every other SUV made by every automaker in the world in Changchun. But when there’s work to be done, you don’t call one of those pretty boy rides with leather interiors. You call the guy with the Jeep who’s not trying to get other people to do the heavy lifting in order to keep the dirt off his hands.
So this beautiful 4X4 Wrangler with oversized tires rolls up and out jumps a guy who is used to getting things done. I was watching an American TV commercial in the middle of China and the Jeep marketing department never had to pay a cent. It was just the engineers at Jeep that took care of this one. He hooks up the tow strap, engages the 4 wheel drive, sets tension in the strap, and then lets the growl of the engine take over. Even in Changchun, people know who to trust when they need to get things done.
I'm very impressed with your observancy and that u actually stopped before attempting to bike your way through. WTG!
ReplyDeleteI have just stumbled upon your blog and would like to offer a hearty thank you. Learning a little about Changchun has just become fun. Thank you.
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