no bike

well, it was fun while it lasted.

there are two types of bikes in nepal (imported from the only two countries that nepal borders against): indian and chinese. the chinese are all flashy, have gears, and are not made from a single cast of iron. this is the bike i bought: flashy. but as i learned yesterday, in nepal the philosophy for bikes is the opposite of bikes back home: heavier is better.

ok, so maybe i didn't mention that on myu maiden bike ride the seat actually bent into two and i spent the last five minutes riding a very uncomfortable seat. then, yesterday (only the second time i've taken the bike out), as i was bombing down to pattan to look at some flats the entire pedal fell off right on one of the busiest roads in kathmandu (which is pretty busy). i held back traffic, collected the pedal and errant bolts, and managed to screw it back on with some local help.

across the bridge into pattan the handlebars started rattling. by the time i stopped, the front bolts had almost shaken entirely loose. losing your handlebars, with most of your weight on them, is not the kind of thing you can recover from gracefully. unless there's a graceful way you can land on your face.

heavier is better. after viewing the flat (nice but a little far, thank-you), i went back to the place that sold me the bike. bleagh. they had me. after some v. broken nepali i communicated to them that i wanted to trade it in for an indian bike, which is some 1000 rp cheaper. they not only wouldn't budge, but wanted me to pay an extra 400 rp because the bike was dirty. bastards.

it was getting late, i had no helmet, so i gave in and now have a very sweet, cast iron bike that is solid, solid, solid. and has no gears.