Mo Ped

The streets in China were filled at all hours with all sorts of mopeds in conditions that seemed to defy not simply road worthiness but the ability to roll under power at all.  Apparently cash for clunkers has not yet hit the mainland.  This is the only new moped I saw on the entire trip, and it was a beauty.

Mopeds abound in China in the city and in the country and are used for all sorts of human and goods transportation.  They are the original two wheeled sport utility vehicle, transporting whole families, man drives, wife on the back and baby in front of him.  I have seen a moped carrying a sheet of glass with the driver balancing it under his chin, don't brake/break.  Another time a driver was transporting 2 large tanks that could have been propane.

The mopeds are electric.  Which makes them pollution free, ignore the power generation ;-), silent, and all the more deadly.  Because they run on battery power the drivers of these already stealth machines do not use headlights at night so as to extend their range.  It was an experience for all to put on the night vision for these cruise missiles.

You have seen this image before.  This Mo is in middle of the road condition.  I regret that I did not capture more moped with my camera.  On our last full day in Shanghai I saw one that took the cake, pulled out my camera and as I waited for it to power up, it's undertaker boarded it.  What a coincidence and what a missed opportunity.  I did not have the nerve to snap the pic, I really should have.  If he pursued I could have totally outrun that thing ;-)

The rain brings some much needed color to these machines.  Because the lights display countdown timers the Mo's have determined that they can jump the gun at t-10 seconds.  The greasy streets brought on by the rains do not seem to slow these guys down.

These are really great transportation devices and extremely durable in function even if a bit abused in form.

Keep on Rollin'