I think I'll pass on that idea...

So...
I was thinking about getting (rent, buy) a bike...
Before you collectively freak out, I'm talking about a bicycle, not a motorcycle. Even I wouldn't try riding a motorcycle here. If you thought Athens was a nightmare for driving, you wouldn't believe Beijing.

Anyway- I was thinking about a bike. I even went and looked at a couple of them in the Carrefour and a little bicycle shop. Prices were reasonable, a nice heavy-duty bike for about $70USD.
So- I've been toying with the idea, the only holdup is economics.
Taxis are costing me $5UDS a day- and I don't have to deal with locking a taxi to a lamppost everytime I walk away from it. Also, the bike isn't airconditioned, a big consideration here.
On the plus side- I could sure use the aerobic exercise. Wouldn't hurt me a bit.

Until this morning...
I saw a bicyclist get nailed by a taxi. Hard. I mean, the dude on the bike hit the taxi hard enough to break the windshield and still flew another 20 feet before coming to rest in intersection.
The scary part was the reaction (or lack thereof) by the other riders and pedestrians. They stepped over or around the guy as he sat on the road bleeding. Traffic did the same thing mostly, just swerved around him. They just took it as another normal day-to-day event on the way to work.

(Although, it might be interesting to see what would happen if I got hit by a taxi...
I have a feeling that the auto might suffer more damage than I would. I could almost guarantee that the driver would get the short end of the stick.
If the realization of who/what he hit didn't kill him, I would turn him into a pretzel... or I guess it would be a jin ban wa here...
But I digress...)

So... Based on the fact that traffic is crazy, and you can wind up as a dark spot on the road at a split second's notice, I think I'll take a pass on the two-wheeler and stick with the greenies. At least for the moment.

TBG out. Cold. (heh.)