The end of Chapter 5 "Farewell the Dragon" Leaving the Friendship Hotel After a Long Evening of Drinking

 My bike, a well-oiled, fat-tired, solid machine, pedaled easily. Zhou
rode on the handlebars, fearlessly, expertly. The night was beautiful as
we rode away from the hotel.

Recently I had been taking my bike to an old street tinker who oiled
and adjusted it. He worked off of a blanket where his well-used tools
were laid out clean and straight. He never set up in the same place, and
he fit his shelter and tools on his bike with intricately designed baskets
and bars. The tune-up cost me fifty mao, half a yuan, about a nickel
in dollar value. I paid him twice that, a whole kuai, and refused the
change. I remember the old street vendor gave me a smile that promised
something extra for the tip.

The night air was cool and the crescent moon was suddenly very
close. I leaned back and my well-oiled machine took off for the stars
and soared above the earth. My bike handled perfectly, banking from
one side to another, seeming to lose all attachment to gravity as we
flew into and then out of a cloud bank. I looked down and could see
the Great Wall at Badaling to the north and the Forbidden City to
the southeast. We dropped down to flying at treetop level and Zhou
relaxed and leaned back on my handlebars and I stood and pedaled
hard, and we were riding fast,  cheek to cheek; the thick-framed,
fat-tired bike was a magic carpet, sailing us through all time and space
with ease. The night had cooled off after the hot day and I knew she
wasn’t thinking about her fiancé. I made her laugh somehow as we breezed
down The Western Gate Road and past the Beijing Zoo. 

The moon was  still bright, bright in the clear open sky, and a little breeze picked up, making the temperature so comfortable that it seemed like a crime to
go inside even for sleep. We turned at a little hutong (胡同) and went
down a construction road past a half-finished apartment complex. Just
beyond that there was an old wall that looked to be half torn down.
The wall was hundreds of years old and would soon be bulldozed. Time
stood still and we stood at the edge of her hutong village, next to that
crumbling wall. We kissed, just kissed. It was so nice in the summer
breeze under the splintered moon. I said good night and rode home.