Spring — it’s happening, finally. The mornings are still cool and crisp, while mid-afternoons can actually be hot if the sun is beating down on you. It’s been fairly windy recently, which means it’s cooler than it could be, but also clearer. Not-too-chilly, bright blue sunny skies … only one thing could make this time of year better: a bike.

I’ve been thinking about getting a bike for a while now, ever since I moved to the east side of town. Everything was closer — the bars, the restaurants, my hair salon, friends and, finally, my office. But Beijing’s rather inconvenient public transportation meant it would still take a while to get somewhere, and often I found myself thinking, “If only I had a bike!”

So this morning, bright and early (on a Saturday, no less!), I woke up and met up with my friend (he has two bikes!), who hauled me to a place with several shops. I was hoping to get a Giant, but they are pretty pricey and I wasn’t wild about many of the colors or styles. With bike thefts being pretty common, and considering how I might get attached to a Giant bike and not want to leave it when I eventually move back, I decided to go with what can only be a Chinese brand. There were a black chrome, dark blue chrome, yellow and pink one. Guess which one I chose!