05/31: Pesticycle

I think this contraption is meant to keep the bugs at bay.

05/30: Keeping fit

"Clear off that jungle gym Sonny, this is my turf."

Throughout town there is a variety of colorful exercise equipment in
use by older generations.

05/29: Mapping fool

I've been criticized for mapping "too much" (ahem, Anna), but then how else would I figure out where to go and how to get there? I WOULDN'T.

Sunday S and I rode to a bunch of places again.  Good, wholesome, cheap fun.

First we wandered off to find a small tucked away clothing market that was referred to in a blog as the "ironic sweater market" because of selection of unintentionally tacky items. After a little hunting, we found the inconspicuous entrance and then promptly bought Sierra a nice fitting jacket with an embroidered eagle and sequined skyline on the back. We bargained to essentially $6, but probably could have gotten it for $3. Silly foreigners.

We rode on and checked out a big park a few miles up the road. I thought it might be cool, but it was just crowded and really not pleasant, which of course completely defeats the purpose of a park. At any given location on the spacious grounds, we were accosted by the competing wailings of several amplified singers. Without amplification, one singer would have been quaint.  But with 2 or 3 in earshot at any given spot in the park, we promptly decided to flee.

We rode along and I failed to find a bike shop I wanted to visit, so we turned and headed to the art district. Before heading into the polished galleries, Sierra and I stumbled across a relaxing open field among crumbling ruins.

An unassuming entrance

Graffiti in the art district

I guess we didn't take any pictures of art inside the galleries. Some of it was intriguing, but I guess we're more interested in decrepit buildings.

One final self portrait on the way home.

05/28: Rent's due

The biggest bills used in China are 100 RMB... or just $15 USD. So
when we deposited 3 month's rent today, the wad was pretty fat. Check
out how loaded we are!

05/27: She's back!

S was out of town for a week, but it felt longer. Isn't she lovely?

05/26: Dirty habits

Shanghai has legions of cheap cleaning crews to offset the ugly
convention of casually throwing trash onto the streets. This will be
gone by morning. Think of it as curbside pick up.

5/24 & 5/25: True blue & Hell Track

Tuesday was ridiculously beautiful. Pleasantly warm and authentic blue

skies. This is not a filter, folks. Here's our office bldg from the

neighboring apt complex garden. 

A friend of mine set up an unsanctioned bike race through the streets of Shanghai. Inspired by races elsewhere, it's called Hell Track because the route is completely improvised and tangles with city traffic. Shortly after this photo, several checkpoint intersections were drawn at random, and after a few minutes of planning a route, we were off.

I snapped this after I arrived moments behind the leading pack.  I was fortunate to follow a fast and knowledgeable rider, or I would have arrived much later and would have struggled to put together a route. As it was, we rode up, down, left, and right through the congested streets, stopping for little and spontaneously turning whenever a straight shot wasn't available. I spent most of the time busting my ass to catch up knowing I had no chance of a top finish without a guide. No pedestrians or riders were injured in the making of this story. It may have been a bit reckless, but it was fun, and I haven't had 40 straight minutes burn like that since we arrived in Shanghai.

05/23: Ponchos and brellas

Rain shielding measures are taken by those on bikes and scooters, even
in a mild drizzle. Maybe the rain is toxic.

05/22: Fending

With Sierra out of town, I've resorted to cooking for myself. In an attempt to avoid having to do this again in the coming days, I filled our wok to the brim with vegetables and prayed that I wouldn't spoil the entire batch. Fortunately it was edible and I should be stocked for the better part of a week.

I doubt Sierra knew I had it in me.  Well, here's my proof.

Hong Kong vista

We are getting thunderstorms here in Hong Kong, but it's warm and
makes for beautiful skies when it clears a little.

This is a view from a lounge on the 25th floor last night.

05/21: Stay classy, Shanghai

The lion in front of our apartment is a nice reminder of how classy
our building is, in case I forget.

The weather hit 93F yesterday (with high humidity... yikes), and I
would have sworn that a mere 63F high would not be possible today. I
would have been wrong.

And for those interested, here is a little more on my fish-eye eating habit.

05/20: City of lights

Sierra is in Hong Kong for another week for business, so I went out
last night with some fellas. Despite several interesting destinations,
all I have to show for the night is this stupid photo. Ooh, pretty
lights!

05/19: Treasure hunting

How do I find things in Shanghai? I don't! Seriously, it's a pain to
track down specific items because many of the familiar stores aren't
here. Instead of hunting, I turn to Taobao, which is a Chinese eBay.
With the help of google translate, I can find what I need. The real
problem now, I've discovered, is that returning items is too daunting
when the seller sends the wrong crap. Darn, I knew that was too easy.

05/18: Modern cowboy

I rolled up behind this dapper fellow this morning. The cowboy hat is
nicely complemented by his fancy leather back support, and on a steel
horse he rides.

05/17: Liar's Dice

This game is quite popular in China. This is the same as in Pirates of
the Carribean. The Chinese bars (as opposed to the expat spots) are
often filled with rattling cups.

05/16: Rolling supermarket

Need something? Dishes? Potted plants? Flowers? Head down to the
nearest intersection where the inventory cycles. Literally.

05/15: Hungry hungry hamsters

For amusement, we stopped by a pet market on our ride.  Amidst the crowds and caged masses of giant, ugly, noisy crickets, we came across these darling little hamsters. They tried their hardest to bite a chunk off my finger while Sierra cued up the camera.

05/14: Impromptu touring

On another beautiful day, Sierra and I rode all around Shanghai.  One part of the route took us along Suzhou Creek, which was lined with small barges.  All in all, we rode about 40km Saturday.  Yes, I'm quasi-metric now.

05/13: The weather is here

Friday was a lovely and pleasant 80 degrees, and the evening remained warm and comfortable.

05/12: Trikes verboten

Cargo trikes are all over. But they are not allowed all over.

05/11: Sardines

I'm glad I don't take the rush hour subway often. Anna was with us and
her head was at an unfortunate armpit height.

05/10: Ride that train

My train is faster than yours.

Heading back into Shanghai now.

05/09: Fishy!

I took a 317km/hr bullet train to Changzhou this morning for work
today and tomorrow. We went out for dinner and I plucked out and ate
this fishy's eye.

May 21st addition:

I had a vague recollection of eating a fish eye when I was a kid. But it was so distant I couldn't be sure. Well, that moment was captured on film. It's strange remembering a specific event like that and then seeing how young I was at the time. More, compliments of Mom...

Troy,
Here is the photo of you at 3 1/2 eating a fish eye on 2/27/1981 at Grandma & Grandpa's beach house. I love the faces of everyone in this photo. My friend, Jane Dwyer and her daughter Amy, 6 1/2 years, both look horrified!  You should enter this on your blog as an explanation of why you like fish eyes now ;-)

Love,
Mom

05/08: Bike lanes are for everybody!

People jockey for bus loading pole position by crowding the bike
lanes... which are also apparently for scooters, taxi loading, buses,
and parking.

It was another toasty day and a very pleasant evening.

05/07: Muggy panorama

We rode to a friend's place for a party. It was 80 and humid, and it
never really cooled off. Here's the view from the 20th floor balcony.

05/06: Angry orb

Some days seem overcast, but when the sun falls toward the horizon the
unnatural red exposes the dirty truth.

05/05: Colors

We saw this colorful illumination on the way home from dodgeball
tonight. There is a little statue but who knows what for.

05/04: Dinner for a dollar

We often stop at this hole in the wall veggie stand on the way home
from work and get stir fry fixins for 6 RMB... or less than a buck. We
like this place because they're always friendly and never try to rip
us off.

05/03: I have to see this every day

The stadium we ride by has lit Kobe billboards. I see far too much of
his mug here. Here is a snapshot in honor of that chucker's late
turnover, inbounds flop, and last second miss in his latest playoff
loss. :)

Facing the wind

We revisited our favorite statue today. She's so carefree on her
bicycle, we know that she's a Shanghai native.

Title of the piece is "Facing the Wind".

0502: hole in the wall BBQ

We had a tasty lunch at a tiny place with no indoor seating. This is
the time of year to dine outside with the pleasant weather.

0501: Not your average Chinese bikes

Sierra has been using Project 365 to remind her to post a photo every
day and I've decided to get on board instead of just habitually
commenting on how great the idea is. Here's my first use of the app...
me on my bike.

Here's my ride.  It's a used aluminum Trek frame that a friend here had never built up.  It has been pretty abused, with scratches and dings, so I don't have to worry about being the first to mess it up.

Sierra's bike turns more heads.

Cages in the park

Last Sunday, we headed across the Huangpu to Pudong for a 30 km bicycle ride. We had a very full day which included impromptu races along the waterfront, food on the street, many wonderful sights in a crowded park, and exploration of a converted abattoir.

The video is of one section in the park where a bunch of older fellows seemed to have gathered their birds together. The cages are not much bigger than the birds themselves, but it doesn't keep them from singing loudly and clearly