Where have all the bicycles gone?

I used to be amazed when I saw the pictures of hundreds of people riding bikes in China in a massive column.  I often wondered how a person who needed to make a turn could safely maneuver out of the crowd without running into anyone.  Unfortunately, I missed the era when the bicycle was king in China.  Yes, there are still bicycles but many have been replaced by cars.  I did see a lot of pretty neat electric bicycles and electric scooters. One has to be careful when walking because electric bikes don’t make any noise to alert you that they are behind you.  But as I watched traffic move as a passenger in several friend’s cars, I think I discovered how the bicycles were able to move in and out in traffic.  For I think that they maneuver cars a lot like they used to maneuver their bikes.  What I mean by this is that when someone wants to turn or change lanes they just do it with little regard to who is already there or coming.  Most people who drive cars in China have only been driving for a decade or so.  Before that time there just weren’t that many cars on the road.  This means that many went from riding bicycles to driving cars in a very short time span.  People cut in and out in front of others in a most entertaining manner.  The amazing thing is that I saw few accidents and no road-rage.  From my observation, people are much more patient when driving in China than in the U.S.  When someone cuts right in front of them many don’t even honk their horns.  If you are coming to the U.S. to drive better give a little more space and use your signal because some people can really get angry when they are cut off unlike the patient drivers in China.  

Sorry for the poor image.  Here come some trucks deciding to merge into traffic.