I am on a mobike riding to Chaoyang park to meet Aidan and Lydia. The bike hits a bump and the basketball pops up from the front of bike basket. I catch and and place it back down all in a semi continuous motion feeling somewhat coordinated for once. And then focusing on not hitting another bump
I get to the park, a massive urban park on the order of Golden Gate Park. There is a sea of mobikes and other bike sharing brands. I notice people are dressing like it is summer which I like and why not, it is 85F outside.
Aidan and Lydia are already warming up on the court, waiting for me. They have the half court to themselves which surprises me in the complex of six or so full courts. I pay my 20 RMB and join them. I should be warmed up from the bike ride but I settle for taking set shots and moving in straight lines.
Lydia is dressed to play, she’s been asking me to help her with it and we’ve been doing some dribbling and passing drills after dinner. She is somewhat coordinated but struggles to dribble with her left hand and is pushing her shots. She does look the part, long and lean with black knee length shorts. Long and lean is relative when it comes to Allios and Aidan is more like me. Squat. But he moves well, zigging and zagging. He loves the step back three pointer and the underhanded driving layup.
We play a game of 21 and and game of red-white-blue. I win. Hey, I won’t be able to do this much longer. During the second game a few other people join our court and shoot around. I take same jumpers and make around five mid rangers in a row now that my knees and shoulders are warm. Aidan says, “wait, aren't you like 50, you shouldn’t be able to move like that”. Now, is that a compliment?
More people join our court and start a game of five and five without asking us. It is a bit rude but we are almost done anyway. I’m trying not to let others rudeness get to me these days.
I get a ride share car for Aidan and Lydia and they head to their mom’s home. I decide to walk home, past the park goers, kite flyings, roller bladers, and bikers.
It is labor day weekend here. The next day Sabrina and I would explore the forgotten and kind of forgettable Temple of the Moon in the west of Beijing. We then biked through the ulta modern western finance district, through hutongs, and then along the main East/West street that cuts between Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City. As we get close we can see the square and forbidden city are all decked out. Flags blowing in the wind and then a water fountain show not unlike one might expect in vegas. It was a reminder of what a cool place this can be.