yikes on a bike!

Fixed gear bikes are about to go mainstream in Tokyo, and looking at how this bike is made and run, I think I'll end up with shins speckled with bruises or worse! First, this bike does not have breaks, the handle bar is as simple as it can get. Fixed-gear means you can't freewheel or backpedal! This reminds me of my kiddie bike, I could really go fast if I pedal quickly, then my feet starts flying off the pedals, and as I try to regain a foothold on the flailing pedals, they keep hitting my shins! OWWW!

I guess biking in Tokyo on a fixed gear isn't really that difficult, you have the option of the sidewalk or to run wild with the super-cool masters of the fixed-gear, the bike messengers. The sidewalk will test your patience more than your navigation skills as you weave through slow moving armies of lolas and lolos, then you also have to dodge the other bikers in the not so cool but super sturdy and practical mama-charinko (yung may basket sa harap o likod).

At night, there are more people to either hit or miss, drunken salariman (sometimes passed out on the street), harried OLs toting their Hermes or LVs and stabbing the pavement with stiletto heels and flocks of college kids popping out of a karaoke bar, ready for the nijikai (2nd round of partying). Not much oil slick on the pavement but expect more "street pizzas" (puke) on a Friday night! Now try to break on that on your fixed-gear!