F1

We headed to the outskirts of Shanghai to go experience F1. One of T's
work friend got a small group of us in for free, and seats in the
grandstand- right above the starting area and where the garages and
tire changing takes place! It was so cool! Super loud. I was thankful
we bought ear plugs outside. I was rather clueless about the F1 and
car racing and all looked forward to was watching them change tires.
(Which only took 5 seconds!!!)

Over 100,000 people head to the F1 in Shanghai for this annual event.
A 45 minute ride on the metro line 11 brought us the Shanghai Circuit.
On exiting the metro train, was an open air platform with a large
decorative pool of water and the huge stadium in the distance. People
had flags and their F1 Tees representing their countries. On exiting
the turnstile we were immediately chased by hawkers selling hats,
tees, tickets, and ear plugs.

I couldn't believe how huge the track was. Tiny people sat on the
grass in the distance, overlooking the track. And they had to go
around the track 56 times- how dizzying would that be? With the
unbelievable volume ringing in your ears. It shook your whole body.
Small children cringed. We saw a tire fall off the Red bull sponsored
car. We saw two cars almost crash. We followed the scared on the TV
screen - I was trying to figure out which drivers went with which
country, Russia, Switzerland, Australia, Britain, Germany.

The Hilton provided the food services... which explains why they
charge 30 rmb ($5 USD) for popcorn. For popcorn! Thats 6 times the
normal street price. Mercedes-benz was there with a few cars to
showcase- two antiques and two modern ones. One was a retro race car.
I wish I could've seen one of the F1 cars up close- they looked like
awesome aerodynamic forms.

Tire changing was cool- the 20+ pit crew with their matching uniforms
and shiny helmets moved like a machine, getting into formation with
the utmost efficiency, and doing their task in a blink of an eye. The
car drops to the ground with a bounce then speeds off.

After the 56 lap race, snacks, and photos, we got in the queue for the
metro. Huge pens herded people in groups of 50 to wait then proceed to
the metro, to prevent chaos. When we arrived at the platform it was
plenty full of patrons and when the next train arrived, I felt the
crowd lift and push me inside the train.

Upon getting back into the city where we parked our electric bike, we
found the batteries had been stolen. See photo of it smashed in, and
with our new batteries inside. It was 6pm then, the sun was setting
and we were still about a mile for our apt. So we walked the bike over
a bridge to the closest bike shop and ate street food while we waited
for him to fix it. The second photo is of the mechanic cutting a
cookie tin to cover the smashed hole in our bike, to prevent another
theft. what a day! We were thankful the entire bike wasn't stolen!
(And our fancy helmet)