Biking Chennai

It's 11:00 AM and I set away from my apartment toward the department. Ah, the usual stares come. This time the stares are more frequent. How odd must I look now? Well, let's recount the current situation. An extremely tall (relatively speaking) foreigner with funny facial hair (relatively speaking) and sunglasses (somehow the oddest thing about me) riding an indian bicycle with a backpack. I don't think anyone knows what to make of me. The journey continues. I need to cross the Thiravika bridge, but auto traffic can't turn right. Oh yes, I'm on a bicycle, traffic rules don't apply. I just go the wrong way! Of course, I go the wrong way actually on the sidewalk on the bridge. It doesn't make very smooth riding either.

SCHEW, dodged another cow pie! I get down from the bridge onto the street, but this time there is a barrier for a few hundred meters preventing me from going to correct way. No problem, a couple rickshaw, motorcycles, and even a van have noticed this same situation. What to do? I just follow everyone else going to wrong way. Finally, I find a way to cross to the "correct" (left) side of the street to go WITH traffic. This is interesting. I'm dodging lots of people and animals. Motorcycles and cars come from behind way too fast to slow down in case of an accident. A group of young men are waiting for a bus and standing right in my path. I veer away a little so as to avoid hitting them. They are really staring at me. One of them pushes another into my path. Ha! I saw that coming a mile away. Those jackasses have no idea that I biked through Strawberry Mansion in Philadelphia. People jumping out at me isn't scary anymore.

I make it past the people and some cars and some motorcycles. Now it's time to cross the freeway. Again, I cease being in auto traffic for a moment and cross with the pedestrians. I'll allow them to get hit by an overloaded bus that leans a bit too far for my taste. Made it!

Did I mention it feels like playing frogger, but the consequence if I lose is drastically different? It's sort of like that. I have to dodge a lot of things (I can't avoid the stares though) and be dodged by even more. The Indian mentality of might is right applies during transit more than anywhere, and bicyclists just aren't very important. I should also mention, for the time being I'm borrowing a friend's bicycle and he is 5'6" so the bicycle is fitted to his height. I feel a little like riding a tricycle. The bike is also really heavy, with a huge kickstand, a heavy carrier on the back, and extra features all weighing the bike down. All this taken into consideration means I'm not moving very fast. Every once in a while a little kid pedaling (no pun intended) with all his might catches up to me just to give a good long stare at the person who pedals a bicycles from the balls of his feet rather than from his heels (I still find that idea completely bizarre! Why pedal with your heels?).

The commute back to the apartment is somewhat easier at 1 or 2 or 3 in the morning. There isn't much traffic as Chennai sleeps early. I only see about a dozen cars during the entire trip, and it's about 5 or 6 km. The biggest obstacle is getting across the Thiravika bridge since it smells horrible. It sits atop the Adyar river which has essentially become a sewage drain instead of a river in which people can bathe and wash their clothing and cooking utensils. I make it back, time for bed, and I'm ready for the mosquitoes this time.