Cycling in Islamabad

I just got back from a short 15 mile bike ride.  I’m not allowed to ride up in the Margalla hills right now due to security threats.  So I rode along Margalla road down to F-9 Park.  It’s a huge park here in Islamabad.  It was a very busy day for all parks today.  It’s the end of the Eid Al Fitr weekend and this coming Wednesday is Pakistan’s Independence Day.  So traffic was epic.  I haven’t ridden in traffic this busy since Thailand or perhaps Indonesia.  I forgot how much I love riding my bike in traffic.  I suppose it’s from growing up riding a bike on the streets of LA.  I ride better in traffic than I do on mountain trails, and I’m no slouch on dirt trails.  Funny, most of the American’s I work with hate Pakistani drivers.  They complain about the way they drift about on the roadway and don’t seem to pay any attention to what might be behind them.  All those complaints and yet I feel safer riding along in heavy traffic in Islamabad than I ever have on the Pacific Coast Highway.  Yes Pakistanis drive much slower, but more to the point, they do pay attention to whatever is in front of them.  They look for obstacles, like pedestrians, goats, cows and bicyclists.  So it was a fun ride, and a relatively safe ride.

 

So many people were worried for me when they found out I was headed to Pakistan.  Americans seem to think I live in a land full of terrorists and Islamic fanatics.  OK to be fair, there are some terrorists and Islamic fanatics here.  Just as there are some terrorists and Christian fanatics in the USA.  Many of the people I ride by look at me with some suspicion.  No doubt I look very strange to most Pakistanis, wearing shorts and a brightly painted bike helmet, gloves and eye protection.  I ride an odd looking bike and go nearly as fast as most of the cars here.  So I can understand some suspicion.  What I didn’t expect is the number of people who wave.  Who say hello.  The parents who have their children shake my hand.  This city has a great many very friendly people.  In America we rarely treat visitors this well, especially those that don’t speak the same language.  I am enjoying my time here, half a world away from family and friends.  I’ll be back soon enough.  Not much will have changed where I work, in my home town, with my friends, but I will feel as if I’ve been gone for a decade.