Rush Hour

Yesterday I was bicycling home during "evening rush hour" which I'd estimate be between 5 pm and 8 pm here on Penang Island.

I have yet to find a road in Penang that isn't crowded during rush hour. I'd like to think the remote hilly area far from the big cities isn't affected. One day I will venture out that far during rush hour just to see.

If you were to come from the USA and experience rush-hour traffic your first day here, you'd think everyone is crazy. You'd wonder how there aren't dozens of fatalities everyday from the insanity. If you've ever driven in New York City then you have some idea of what it is like.

But somehow the density of traffic moves along in all of the chaos as if everyone has a force-field that repels others and nobody can get hurt. Busses, trucks, cars, motorbikes, motorcycles, bicycles, people and even animals are part of this crazy flow.

I've slowly learned how to go with the flow and become one with the traffic. Riding in slow moving traffic is actually one of the more thrilling things a person can do on a bicycle. A bus may stop because there is not enough room, but a small truck could make it. Where a truck would have to stop, a small car could fit through. Where it is too narrow for a car, a motorbike could fit and where it is too tight for a motorbike, a bicycle can fit. Bicycles have their limitations too and people have the ultimate ability to move thru tight spaces.

I was in the crowded city and up ahead the light turned red and everyone slowed to a stop ... except me. I kept my speed up (about 15 mph) and jumped on the side-walk which had these fun dips where I could get some air. Finally I ran out of side-walk and had to jump back onto the street where a motorbike was unable to squeeze between a parked car and a truck but I zipped right through.

Finally I would pile up at the intersection with the other motorbikes and await the green. You would know it was about to turn green because the roar of the motorbike engines would grow as the anticipation grew. Little by little their impatience with the long red would grow and they would start to inch forward. By the time it turned green, the front of the pack was already half-way across the intersection.

I'd stand and start pedaling hard to keep up with the acceleration of the motorbikes but eventually they'd get going too fast and I'd have to move over and let them pass, quite out of breath from pushing myself too hard.

I was moving at high speed and coming up to a parked-car so I glanced behind me and saw that I had enough room to move into traffic and go around the car. When I did, the motorbike behind me beeped at me. After passing the parked car, the motorbike came up next to me and matched my speed. As we came up to the next parked car, he did not allow me to move over so I had to back-off and get behind him. He felt I cut him off and slowed him down so he got me back. They have road range here too.

I was passing another parked car and the door opened. I narrowly missed it. People lack common sense even here in Malaysia. Obviously if it's rush hour, you don't just open your door into traffic without looking but some people are idiots and I almost got hurt because of it.

Animals also lack human common sense. A large dog leaped out in front of me while I was going about 20 mph. I skid and the noise startled him and he jumped out of the way. That was another close call I could have gotten injured.

I came along side a bus and matched it's speed. I grabbed onto the high rear bumper and got a free ride for a while. It got going too fast for me so I let it go and later regretted it since I had to climb this long steep hill. It would have been awesome to have been pulled up this hill which took me about 30 minutes to get over. I ended up walking the upper half.

It took me 2 hours to ride home and the traffic never let up. It's a good thing most people ride motorbikes otherwise the congestion and pollution would be much worse if everyone drove a car. At first I was annoyed by so many motorbikes. It seemed so dangerous the way they weave in and out of cars but now I realize it's a necessity. Many people here cannot afford a car and besides, there's not much parking and with a motorbike you can park almost anywhere.