I haven't got on a bike since I left Beijing for Hong Kong more than nine years ago. And I'm not sure if I'll ever ride one in the future. The reason: Beijing is becoming a less friendly city for cyclists and Hong Kong never was.

When I first set foot in the Chinese capital in the early 1980s, I was awestruck by hordes of cyclists riding along what I thought to be the widest roads in the world. It was also the first city where I saw special cycle lanes.

Years later, I did indeed get the chance to ride with some of the millions on the roads of Beijing. Not for nothing was Beijing known as the "bicycle capital" of the world.

It was a humbling experience to say the least travelling alongside people from all sorts of backgrounds. You met the same set of people pedalling their way to work. If you didn't meet them one day, an all-round concern of the fellow bikers confronted you the next day. An unwritten bond, maybe. Perhaps it was a sense of camaraderie.

Today, Beijing's streets are wider. They are also far better maintained. But they present, especially during peak hours, a picture of chaos, with people rushing madly to reach destinations on time.

Eleven out of every 100 people in this city of 12 million owns a car. That adds up to a whopping 1.3 million privately owned cars. Waiting in the wings are another 3 million people, already with driving licences, ready to buy their dream vehicle. There's more! The actual number of cars in the capital is a staggering 2.6 million and rising at a frightening rate of 1,000 a day.

They emit an enormous amount of pollutants, contributing to smog that sometimes reaches dangerous levels. And they add to the phenomenon of global warming. All this has transformed the "bicycle capital" into a "traffic jungle." This jungle's predators are cars and other fast-moving vehicles. So the prey, the humble bicycle, has to literally steer clear of these predators in order to survive.

True, cyclists have lanes demarcated for them. It's also true that Beijing has as many as 10 million bicycles. But as is the rule, the predators have "usurped" the territory of the prey. But let's be honest, if cyclists are facing "survival" problems in Beijing's traffic jungle, they are long "dead" in the vehicular labyrinth of Hong Kong.

Where in this city of skyscrapers can you take a leisurely ride to your local supermarket? There are those who do so, but at the risk of being knocked down by a speeding vehicle, as was tragically seen in the case of a talented cyclist last year. But he was not riding to the supermarket. Ironically, he was on his daily training round something he had managed to do for years.

But unlike the Hong Kong cyclist, most bikers in Beijing need their bicycles to get to work. And like the Hong Kong cycling star, they almost always carry the risk of being knocked down, due to rash driving or drivers' lack of experience to react to emergencies.

Many an old-timer on his bike today may be wondering what's happened to the streets of the capital that were once dominated by bikes and buses. What's the need of so many vehicles?

I feel sympathy for them. And I have good reason to do so. Bicycles are a pollution-free form of transport. They are also a fantastic source of exercise, which many Chinese, especially those living in cities, would do well to try. They can reduce pressure on the roads fewer cars and less-crowded buses. And they are by far a much cheaper mode of transport!1

Email: zouhr@chinadaily.com.hk

(China Daily 07/07/2006 page4)