
If you're a city-streets cyclist, at some point you encounter the feeling of triumph that occurs when you can whiz right past an automotive traffic jam. Here in Shanghai, where there aren't as many huge (multi-lane both directions) roads as most US cities and traffic can get jammed fairly easily, I think cyclists and motorcyclists are used to this feeling... but apparently they don't always escape the misery.
I walked right past this mess and still couldn't figure out exactly what the problem was -- I think it might have had something to do with the van, and perhaps another car next to it, but it wasn't an accident or anything. Almost all of the traffic was two-wheeled vehicles, and even the bicycles couldn't slip by. This street features a ton of food vendors, so maybe one of the cars was stopped to buy something, or maybe the two cars just couldn't pass each other because either a food stand or foot traffic had narrowed the road too much. Anyway, there was plenty of yelling and beeping from the riders, and plenty of amusement for the pedestrians.