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London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
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@one1
I went there last year on a cycling tour. Yes, the cities can appear mad, however once you're in flow it feels "relatively" safe, just follow eveyone else and do what others do, you'll be fine. Don't freak out, don't try and cycle fast and surprise dirvers of mopeds, cars, trucks and you'll be fine. Bicycles are a way of life in Vietnam, a certain amount of cycle sense is in built to most Vietnamese as soon as they are old enough to ride. Once you're out of the cities however, its a different world, calm, relaxed, people are very freindly and like to wave and say "Hello" in English, school kids like to race you and just generally look at you. Most cycle at a very relaxed pace and its rare to see a race bike on the road - most cycle out of necessity, not for fun. Yes, on youtube you may find many amusing videos of the 5 way intersection with seemigly no traffic control, but it works for them - how many accidents are prevelent in these videos? On the flip side vietnam sees about 33 road fatalities a day, compared to about 8 per day in the UK, you can see that there is an increased risk (Google the stats yourself). Riding fixed (if you do) would work well in the busy streets as you could tender you flow accordingly. Have fun. Stay safe.
-o1
The infamous hanoi intersection seen from a cafe above:
Sharing the road with this little lot can be interesting!