Blog - Crazy bicycle drivers
Crazy bicycle drivers
"Be careful!... Light off, mobile phone, double riding.
If you're riding a bicycle, you too are a driver!"
... says this sign printed on the sidewalk in front of a bicycle parking in Itabashi-ku.
These are some typical bicycle riding public threats in Japan. I found these images quite funny since they're not something you'd see in every other country, though they reflect reality here.
Other bad bicycle habits seen regularly include smoking, old farts ringing their bell non-stop, and also mothers riding with 2 or 3 kids on board.
Not to mention that most people ride on the sidewalk so walkers have to watch their back for coming bikes.
Posted on February 26, 2004 at 23:07 | Tweet
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when I lived in Kanazawa, I loved the bike bell. Everyone used it just to warn that they were coming, and it gave enough time for pedestrians to get out of the way. The world was harmonious. Happiness was super-deliciousness for the future.
in Gunma, nobody ever uses the bike bell... so I end up not using it too. It kind of sucks, though i've never had any experiences with any o-jiisan overdoing it.
Posted by Brent on February 28, 2004 at 01:49
Don't take me wrong, I don't have a problem with bike bells at all. :)
I definitely prefer hearing a bike bell from behind than hearing bad brakes a foot behind me. Some people seem to think that's an added feature of their brakes once they're a bit old, I think they really need to drop by their jitensha-ya.
Around here it's quite common on a quiet Sunday afternoon to hear "ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-..." on a road where there's no one else (and it's not because you're in the way). You look up and it surely is some ojiichan or obaachan. Oh well. :)
Just while on the topic I'd like to point out this very good blog called ChariOtaku (http://www.chariotaku.com/) by a bike-freak foreigner in Japan.
Posted by Patrick on February 28, 2004 at 11:53
haha! nice find. I've got a crazy friend who lives in tokyo (is there anyone in japan who can't say that?). Anyway, after work one day (late night shift at an izakaya) he got on his bike, and rode to Kusatsu (a couple hours north of me here in Maebashi, if you go by car) to take a dip in an onsen. Then he jumped on a train and made it back to Tokyo just in time to start his shift at another izakaya. I didn't believe him until he showed me his cell phone pics.
Posted by Brent on February 28, 2004 at 13:20
I'd rather they use a bike bell than not... as most people seem to do in the Shinjuku/ Waseda area. I've seen all the same horrible bike scenes including bike/pedestrian bike/car accidents. Once or twice I've seen seriously visually impaired people (with eye patches or lazy eyes) biking haphazardly right through the middle of pedestrian traffic.
UGH.
Posted by Schoolgirl on March 1, 2004 at 21:35