Bicycle Graveyards are Growing in China and Elsewhere

Do you remember your first bicycle? How old were you when you learned to ride without training wheels? Did you ever get so balanced that you could glide without your hands on the steering wheel? I did. I loved my bikes when I was a kid. My first bike was a tiny rainbow colored bike with plastic fringe dangling from the handle bars and training wheels that sounded like a train on the boardwalk at the beach. My next bike was a yellow banana seat bike with the groovy ram head curved up handlebars and the tall curved metal back post. After that, I got my first big name bike (A HUFFY!) and it was sooooo cool! Pink, my favorite color at that time with a fat cushion motorcycle-style seat. It was tough and hardy and the thick tires could handle multiple terrains from cement to gravel to mud. I could write a whole book on all the adventures I had on my Huffy. After that one, I got my "young adult" bike for my 12th birthday present. It was new and totally different from any of the previous bikes I had. A 10-speed bicycle with gears that changed and thin tires for faster speed. The ram curved handlebar style was flipped upside down so that my body leaned downward for aero-dynamics. It was cool. I learned how to balance so well on those thin tires that I could practically ride it like a unicycle, hands off the bars. I think the 10-speed bike was the last bike I ever owned that I actually got to enjoy riding, though I've had several bikes since that time. That bike must have cursed me because any bike I've tried to enjoy since that 10-speed has been some kind of nightmare. I wanted to share a bit of my personal feelings about bike ownership or biking in general before I talk about the main subject of my article: Bike Graveyards.

I have been to Car Graveyards and I find them fascinating. Most do-it-yourself fixer-upper types or standard auto mechanics look for Car Graveyards so that they can avoid overpaying for parts when they need them. The Car Graveyards do a big service to all auto lovers, collectors, and people in the business of cars. It's also another way to recycle besides just smashing up the cars for the metal which is basically what happens after all the parts are stripped off. I've never seen in person with my own eyes, a bicycle graveyard, and never even thought about it until today. Today I was looking at two broken bikes in my yard, and that's how I started thinking about it. I have a broken two wheel Shwinn bike that needs new tires, new brakes, and a new chain. Those parts will cost more than just buying a new bike. I also have a broken three wheel (trike) that needs a new wheel and two new rubber tires. I got the trike used (in perfect condition) for the very low price of $150 (new they cost $750 to $1500) and in less than 2 years (rode the trike about 5 times) the wheel is broken and the rubber tires need to be replaced. Those parts and labor will cost me more than $200, which is more than I paid for the trike. This is the sad state of bike affairs which is why so many bikes get dumped or end up in a Bicycle Graveyard.

I read a few short pieces about China's Bike Graveyards. The photographs are shocking. They have bicycle graveyards bigger than most of the cemetaries I've seen in my American travels. It makes me wonder is that a custom there? Are there more bike riders in China than other places? Do they often visit the Bike Graveyards to get parts they need to make repairs on their bikes? Americans are not in the habit of that. The best we can come up with is to use an old broken bike in some decoration like garden artwork, or as a tombstone at an intersection where an American biker got slaughtered by a motor vehicle driver who wasn't paying attention. We come up with ideas like "bike lanes" to support our citizens rights and desires to use and ride bikes, but our mental habits tend towards public transit or motor vehicles. Maybe that's why I've never been to a Bicycle Graveyard in America. To fix a bike or car is either going to require a lot of money (Americans are too poor) or a lot of know-how and hard work (Americans are too lazy?). I'm being mean to myself in sarcasm. Really, this American just feels like I got a stupid education that wasn't worth my time unless somebody actually tips me for this article.

Do you think it's a good idea? Do you think a Bike Graveyard is an Entrepreneurial Opportunity or just an attitude of neglect? Do you think that greed and high prices on parts supports the "dump it and buy a new one" philosophy? Is there any value or honor or ethical duty to fixing something that was loved and could be fixed? Sorry for hacking out the rhetorical, but these questions nag at me.

If you're looking for a new adventure this Halloween season, I recommend that you visit some cemeteries or graveyards - and not necessarily the ones where your old friends or family members are buried. Walk around the Car Junk Yard and ask yourself if you agree with vehicle prices and attitudes. Surf through online bike shoppes and compare the costs of parts for repairs against the costs of a new bike. See for yourself why so many bikes get dumped and buried.

Then you'll hear the sound of the ghost riders and maybe you'll even notice the lines on the road painted intentionally as the "bike lane".