Back again

Well, I've been gone for well over a month. First to Washington DC and Vancouver for work, then off on holiday with Jen to China.
China was awesome, especially since I got to skip those stupid tours that most people take. Instead Jen's family and friends took me around and showed me the real China.
Bikes are not too numerous there anymore, well there are a lot compared to here, but way less than what I always used to think. Also in the cities I was in 75% or so were electric bicycles... actually pretty cool.
I managed to buy some bike parts there. 2 folding side baskets for mounting on my rear rack 10 RMB each ($1.30) and nylon belted commuting tires 15 RMB each ($2.05).
I must say most of the beer there is decent, but there are some excellent ones in Shandong province. It was overrun with Germans 200 years ago, and they left some wonderful churches and small cathedrals (a few left today) as well as some great brewing tradition. At $0.16 for 500ml of fresh beer with great flavor you just can't go wrong. Though my favorite was one called Kritzer that was almost triple the cost, it even won a gold medal in Munich.