During our city’s smoggiest days many Beijingers deem cycling to be unsafe. This is completely understandable, but Ines Brunn begs to differ. Her stance shouldn’t be surprising – after all, she is the founder and CEO of NATOOKE, a bicycle shop and sporting goods store in Wudaoying Hutong, and a noted cycling enthusiast whose gravity defying bike tricks are frequently covered by Chinese media outlets, including TBJ. Please click here to read the full article.

“Some people are under the impression that if the air is bad, you should be in a taxi or drive a car rather than ride a bike. And that is completely wrong, because in a taxi car or bus you’re still going to be breathing the bad air; you haven’t gotten away from the pollution just because you’re in this metal thing,” she says, adding: “You should be wearing the same mask that you would have to on a bike. Plus, you’re contributing to the pollution with the car’s exhaust fumes, which I don’t think is a good solution.”

Before cycling off into the smoggy distance – atop her bright purple bike that smartly matches her jacket and specialty helmet, that protects against concussions – Brunn tells us more the virtues of pedaling through haze, how she copes with red alerts, and more.