[My Weekender]: with Tyler Bowa

Tyler Bowa is a bike dude who runs the ever improving and growing People's Bike website -- everything related to bikes and China. He also organizes a variety of bike-related events and weekly rides, so hit him up in the contact section there if you're up for some of that. Read and interview with him about Bike Polo here and something about the Shanghai Alleycat Race here.

In my eyes, being self employed means three things:

1. You can be pretty flexible and pretty creative with your time / facial hair

2. You likely live a random and unpredictable lifestyle (weekends starting on Thursdays!)

3. You have no money, are not related to Mr. Monopoly Man, but still like to party harder than everyone else

Luckily for me, living up to all three defining points is made easy here in Shanghai. It's probably one of the cheapest "big cities" in the world, and constantly full of new adventures around every corner. Shanghai is always swimming with potential disaster, which I like to take full advantage of and incorporate into my daily lifestyle. So dear SmartShanghai readers, I'd like to present to you my "better-than-your-weekend", on the cheap.

Thursday: -40rmb

Rise and Shine! It's 11am, and my weekend has officially started... Or so I tell myself. First thing on the list is to check some e-mails, write up a few very very important cycling stories, and ultimately make myself believe I have done enough work that I deserve to leave my home office by 3pm. I grab the camera gear and hop on my bike to head down to the corner of Jianguo Xi Lu and Gao'an Lu to consume all that is right with this city: 5rmb all-you-can-eat vegetable fried rice and tofu soup. Incredible, I know. I usually down about 10 bowls, then figure I've packed on enough carbs to last me the next few hours. From there I usually ride South-West through Xujiahui Park; take in the beautiful sights and sounds, spend 10 minutes to look distinguished while I read the next chapter of 1984, then proceed towards the Indoor Stadium to meet up with some of my unemployed friends.

Everyone always says that their local Xinjiang restaurant is the best, but I'm telling you now, I'd fight to the death to defend the Xinjiang restaurant at the corner of Caoxi Lu and Nandang Dong Lu -- that's just how good it is. They've got plates of 25 dumplings served fresh with home-made-special-in-house dumpling sauce for 8rmb, and their beef soup is so good that I even take my dates there... if they're lucky. By this point it's close to 8pm, so I make my way to People's Park to meet up with anyone who wants to join the People's Bike weekly Thursday Night Ride. We usually end up cruising in the city for about 1 to 2 hours, then gradually make our way over to the E-Store located on Taikang Lu. What, you've never heard of the E-Store? It's only the best and cheapest self serve bar in town. They've got everything from Belgian Beer, to American Beer, to Australian Beer... with an average price of under 10rmb per bottle. Typically I'll snag about 3 dark Belgians, and then sit and relax on their umbrella-covered patio with some friends. 12pm rolls around, I call it an early night and head home.

Friday: -60rmb

Nothing says "Friday" like an early morning Nicloas Cage movie. The Rock anyone? I usually browse the internet for a few hours, try to stay up to date with world affairs, and tackle a few design projects I've been working on that are well overdue. Sometimes I might even make my way down the street to gorge on some Chinese Rice Rolls which can be bought for 2rmb each outside of the Hengshan Lu subway station, exit 1. Like Thursdays though, I'm out of the home office by 3pm. I've already put in a phone call to order from my main man Steve, who runs Pizza To Go -- the best burrito, chili cheese fries, and pizza shop in Shanghai. I typically drop by twice on Fridays, because the 21rmb combo (which includes a huge burrito, chili cheese fries, and a drink) is just too good to pass up, and I know I'm going to need a solid base for a heavy night of partying. Which begs the question, where do I go on Fridays?

The answer is simple, the choice of champions: C's. Never, ever, have I had a bad time at C'S. Why ? Because draft beers are 15rmb, the DJ will play anything you ask for, the staff accommodate drunks, and the bathrooms smell like roses. It's also open late, until about 5am, so I can continue to sneak my beer mug outside and fill it up with Suntory at the All Day's conveniently located next door. Friday's usually end with my friends and I trying our best to ride our bikes back home, someone crashing, all of us laughing, then getting a good nights rest on the floor to prepare for Saturday.

Saturday: -50rmb

It's 12pm, I still haven't showered, but Pudong awaits me. I quickly fry up some eggs, rice and tomatoes, then get on the phone to organize a sporadic bike ride. By 1pm I'm standing at the entrance to one of the many Ferry Terminals located along the Huangpu River. That's right, you can walk or even take your bike to Pudong for 1rmb, while witnessing one of the best views you will ever get in your life as you float across the water. Pudong is great because the roads are all freshly paved, there is an abundance of restaurants willing to cook me Gong Bao Ji Ding, and I can visit the underground market at the Science and Technology Museum to buy more plaid shirts. Sometimes I'll make my way over to Century Park for a nice afternoon picnic, or sometimes I'll just sit along the shoreline of the river and slam a case of beer with friends. Either or, really.

Saturday nights are what I like to call, "we-have-no-idea-where-we're-going-so-let's-try-5-places" nights. I'm a lover of live music, so if there happens to be a show running on Saturday's Ill likely skip out on the regular bar tour and go stage diving instead. But if nothing out of the ordinary is happening, the night usually looks something like this: Bike to Logo, win a game of foosball, walk down the street to Dada Bar, take full advantage of the adjacent park, bike to Yuyintang, chat for a while on the outdoor garden patio, bike to C'S, then be convinced that it's a good idea to pursue girls I just met as they go to Muse... Or something like that. Just use your imagination to visualize me making bad decisions.

Sunday: +250rmb

Ah yes, redemption day. The birds are usually singing, the air is always fresh, and it's time to explore. Expo sites anyone? I hop onto my bike again, this time around 9:00am, and set off into the abyss without a map or sense of direction. There are so many interesting things to see and do on the outskirts of Shanghai, and I make it my traditional Sunday routine to try and visit and photograph them all. Things like organic farming, undiscovered swimmable lakes, beautiful gardens, and restaurants that would make Chef Ramsay jealous. Usually my friends and I ride about 50-60 KM, then venture back into the city for a few hard earned beers. Anywhere along the Suzhou River is usually a good spot to hang out, talk about what we just experienced, then part our separate ways. For me, that means recovering my losses of about 200rmb from the weekend so far... time to busk.

I'm pretty sure that I might be the first foreigner ever to busk in People's Square... A guitar, my voice, and an endless set-list of Hot Water Music covers. Exit number 19 is where I've had the most success, and also the only spot that the security guards will not ask me to leave. In an average 1 to 2 hour span I can wheel in about 300rmb in coins and small bills, and sometimes I'm even given beers from other foreigners. I can't play for much more than 2 hours because my hands start to bleed, so I jump back onto my bike and head home. Sunday nights end with me streaming another Nicolas Cage classic on Youku, reminiscing about all the things I did over the weekend, and realizing that I came out 50rmb on top. Yep, I actually made money, and probably had a better weekend than you did.

Cheers!