My Bike

Just because people have been asking, yes, I did get a bike. I don't have a lot of pictures yet, or any live-action footage of myself terrifying Japanese as I barrel down the sidewalk at them screaming random American one-liners like "That's what she said!" (stay tuned, that should be posted in about a week), but I can tell you a few things about her:

She's a 20" folding bike. So basically the size of your average 7th graders Dyno. She weighs in at what I can only assume is somewhere between 42 and 58 pounds, and I'm fairly confident that if you were to find a saw powerful enough to cut through her tubes, you'd discover she's made of solid steel. She is "Shimano equipped" (It says so all over the bike) and has 6 speeds.

Basically, for the low low price of $138.00, I was able to get a cheap, easy and fun means of transportation. I have ridden it sparingly now because of the cold weather, but I can tell you it's probably a 1-hour ride from my house to school. On Saturday I took it for the first time from school to Shibuya (Tokyo's "Times Square") and it took about 15-20 minutes. From there it's about 20 minutes to Shinjuku (the business and entertainment district) and another 15 minutes to my apartment. When Spring rolls around, I'll be glad I have her...unless she gets ticketed or towed before then.

Sidenote: Notice that I didn't say stolen. First, everyone in Japan owns a bike. I'd imagine there are more bikes here than there are toothbrushes. They line every street and are on every block. Each bike has to be registered with the city by place of purchase, and every bike has what amounts to a VIN number. So if a bike is reported stolen, the 45 million police officers in this city go John McClain on everyone riding a bike until it is found. Consequently, no one steals bikes. Coming from the States, where it is common to see a bike with two locks and it's front tire removed before the owner leaves it at a stand, here, many choose not to even lock their wheel, let alone attach their bike to a post or rack. Sometimes the level of order and discipline and respect here is mind-blowing. I'm not saying I'm thinking about how much stuff one could steal (I'm a law-abiding citizen and a good Catholic), I'm just starting to wonder if I'll suffer any reverse culture shock when I get back...