Top 10 Things I Like Most About the Tues. Night Rides

A Tuesday night bike ride means sore legs on Wednesday, but it was another fun journey through the streets of Shanghai. Here are the top 10 things I like most about these rides:

1. People's reaction to a group of 50-60 riders cycling together. You should see the look on their faces! And drivers' expressions when they have no choice but to yield to us. Priceless.
2. The sounds -- or lack thereof -- when we reach empty streets, and when the sound of a pedaling bicycle replaces the obnoxious noise of a honking car.    
3. The smells -- some good (think: burning incense, food), most bad (think: food, trash, sewers, and exhaust fumes).  
4. The different languages I listen to as I pedal. Last night, I heard French, Italian, German, and Korean.  
5. The visits to parts of Shanghai I never otherwise would have seen. 
6. The feel of lycra biker shorts. 
7. The fun of gliding downhill after pedaling hard uphill. 
8. The feeling of pain.  
9. The feeling of accomplishment.
10. The reward beer at the end of each ride. 

Watch Factory Five's video for a visual (the last scene, especially).  

And in case you're curious, here are the stats from last night's ride (courtesy of Mike's new iPhone app): 36.6 km (but don't forget to add a few more for the ride to/from the start/finish) in about two hours.