On Saturday my niece and I decided to go for a bike ride. Since she lives in downtown St. Paul, we arranged to meet at a parking lot on Shephard Road and bike along the Mississippi River. When I arrived, I noticed that one of the tires on my bike was running a bit low on air.
“No problem,” my niece said. “There’s a bike repair station down by the riverboat dock.
Having lived in China for nearly thirty years, when I heard the words “bike repair station,” this is the picture that formed in my mind:
However, when we arrived at the location of said bike repair station, this is what I saw:
Remember, folks. Living cross-culturally affects the pictures that form in your brain, which is to say, it affects the way you think!
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Easy to see why the Twin Towns always get a great rating for cycling! Missing the convenience and local color of the once ubiquitous outdoor bike repair stations here in China though, at least in Shenzhen. On the other hand, I discovered yet another good bike shop on my way home this evening. The auto may hold sway but the bike is back in China.