The city walls of Xi'an date back to 1370. They form a rectangular 14km boundary around the central part of the city. We were able to hire bikes and go for a ride along the wall!
David's sense of balance and co-ordination is much better than mine. David was able to circle around on his bike whilst holding the camera and taking photos. By contrast I was more prone to grip the handle bars and look directly ahead.
The bikes were pretty old and rickety. The paved road was bumpy and uneven in places. I hadn't ridden a bike for years, so initially I was riding at a snail's pace (which didn't thrill David). But after a little while I got the hang of it and it was 'just like riding a bicycle'. Riding on the city walls ended up being one of my favourite activities in China.
David took the following movie when we first began riding................
Did you catch the two people ride past on a tandem bike at the beginning? It's cute, but we decided not for us. At the end David is trying to coax me to smile and I tell him I cannot because I really need to watch where I am going.
At the end of our ride I almost created one of those scenes you see in cheesy comedy movies. As I was pushing my bike back into the row of bicycles I accidentally knocked mine sideways. It toppled over into the next bike, but fortunately David and the 'bike attendant' reacted quickly and stopped the domino reaction that was about to occur.
Comments