Orphan Ride Pre-Departure

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So this is my first entry on my three day bike ride. Tomorrow, Gordon and I will be betting on bicycles and riding to the town of Langfang. This town, while of relative importance to the local Chinese, does not seem to appear on the tourist spectrum anywhere. Ali found an impressive orphanage there by means of an NPR article she heard. As we were setting this thing up, Ali decided she couldn’t go, but we stuck with the orphanage nonetheless.

These guys can be found at www.chinaorphans.org. They have more than one complex and house more than 200 orphans. They also specialize in housing orphans with disabilities that other orphanages are ill equipped to handle. We contacted them about two weeks ago, saying we’d like to organize this ride for charity. My schools gives us a modest travel stipend for this May Holiday, and I decided to commit my whole budget to it, and then organize my trip with the funds of my team mates. Since our trip was whittled down from four to two, that donation has similarly shrunk, but so its goes.

The journey to even get to this point has been enlightening in and of itself. First, this particular charity appears to be relatively well funded, so with our modest donation, we don’t seem to be very high on their radar. Second, we are in China, so normal things have proved to be, well, different than they would be in the States.

For instance, when we tried to rent bicycles, we first found a place that offered us very good bikes at a very good price. When we went back, they said they could rent those bikes. So we went to another place which had decent bikes for sale, ones that looked like they’d get us from point A to point B. Well, upon inspection, the rear tire promptly popped. The bike man said it was because it was over inflated and the heat was making it expand: a good explanation, but still not good for my confidence.

We also had to go on somewhat of a mission to get helmets. See, a lot of people ride bikes here, but helmets are still a luxury item. So in the neighborhoods where we reside, these are not everyday commodities. We found a mall, a Chinese mall, where we bargained for helmets. While we got a good price, when it came time for the receipt we needed for university reimbursement, we really got into it. See, most shops offer hand written receipts, but it you want an official invoice, then they have to go through a bunch of official hassle for the sale. So usually, the price goes up. In this case, the shop in the mall couldn’t even issue one, so they took us to the basement and showed us to a four toothed man in a uniform behind a screen who would make the invoice. This man promptly told us there would be a fee, but that we could make the invoice out for any denomination. Its like Arthur Anderson relocated to China, and all is well.

Since then, we’ve printed pages of maps, have had lots of support, and tomorrow will be heading out. My Chinese host family keeps saying, “Tomorrow, you’re going to be very tired.” I hope they’re right. I just hope we don’t get lost. From the directions provided to us by the orphanage, it seems that this town is big enough that there will be many signs along the way. I can’t imagine this will be the norm in my bike rides to come.

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