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Stephen Kastner


Last Updated: 10/1/2009

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Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 100
Sign: Scorpio

City: Fish Creek WI
State: Wisconsin
Country: US
Signup Date: 11/26/2006
Sunday, February 25, 2007 

Current mood:  happy
Category: Travel and Places
I took the bus to Xiaguan a month ago to search the Sunday flea market for an old used bike. I had a dream bike in mind, a new one I saw in Xizhou several days before, but the dealer wanted 450 Kuai ($65 US) for it. My friend Xiao Yun came along to negotiate in Chinese for me and to bargain for the lowest price. Lots of bikes new and used lined both sides of the alleyway. I was searching though fancy mountain bikes when I spotted it - the exact same bike I saw in Xizhou, a "new" green classic Yongjiu single-speed, with rod brakes, upright bars, with a rear rack and fold-down bag supports. When Xiao Yun told me we could get it for 180 Kuai I was stunned and quickly closed the deal.



I rode the bike down the street to another vendor who had all sorts of used tools and I bought a few wrenches for less than a dollar to adjust the seat. I was ready to start the 20K ride home to Dali after I stopped at another vendor to buy a cable lock. On the way home I had to stop a few times to tighten things like crank arms and odd nuts and bolts that were all coming loose.

It turns out that my new bike is actually what is known in China as a "Postman Bike"... and it is 1940-50 old, but the game here is to completely strip them down to the frame, repaint and replace all of the original decals, polish the chrome, put on new rubber, all so it looks at first glance to be brand new. I have purchased, in essence a completely restored bike from another era. It's like a owning a classic car, and there are many tired old ones like it on the streets of China, well worn work bikes. I am so delighted to ride this vintage machine.



I went to the local street mechanics and bought a basket for 18 Kuai and he even installed it, included in the deal. Yesterday I was meeting up with Brian and Jeanee Linden to see some antique fabrics marketed by two Miao women who were traveling through Dali and as I parked and locked my bike on Hu Guo Lu (Foreigner Street) the local Chinese merchants were laughing at me for worrying about security...

"Nobody will want to steal that bike," they giggled in Chinese.

A few weeks ago it was the new moon. I was feeling shaggy-headed and decided to get a haircut. Another Chinese friend was hanging out listening to tunes with the hairdresser girls as I walked by a shop on Ren Ming Lu (People Street) and, since he speaks English very well, I enlisted his help in making a cross-cultural values statement. Most of the trendy hairdressers often take their beautiful silky straight black hair and curl it, streaking it in all shades of amber and even bright red. I asked Yao Ming to find out how much it would cost for a haircut... and to permanently dye my hair black! They screamed and laughed and then proceeded to search for the unknown substance, a bottle of black hair dye. For 30 Kuai (less than $4 US) I got a shampoo, more like and extended scalp massage , detailed black dye treatment and the haircut... All foreigners who come to China should consider getting their hair dyed black and becoming Buddhist. Take the plunge.

Now I am a perfect match for that bike I bought, a 1946 model Youngjew - sixty years old, completely restored, and disappearing into the folds of Yunnan, China.

I have been riding my China bike for a month now and the very best thing about owning and using a vintage machine (much like a Volkswagen in Germany) is that there are hundreds of thousands of them on the streets all over China, a country that has a huge tradition of applying pedal power to get things done economically. Consequently, like bakeries in Paris, there is a tiny bike shop or a street "fixer" on almost every block. When a part falls off, breaks or wears out everyone has replacement parts on hand.


6:54 AM
 
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