Fietsen or Cycling

Our first weekend living in the Netherlands, Gearoid and I made purchases that have significantly improved our quality of life. We got bikes. With our car safely stored back in the States and the cost of the bus eating into our monthly budget, we embraced the Dutch way of life and got a new means of transportation. We knew all along we would get bikes before we even left the States. Even though I already had a bike back home that I got as a Christmas gift back when I was in middle school, Gearoid’s bike was unfortunately stolen last fall and my mountain bike was trapped in a container crossing the Atlantic with the rest of our worldly possessions. It made sense to get bikes.

When Gearoid had his interview in November he noticed all of the bikes and how most of them looked like they were from the era of WWII.  His estimation was that we would pay about 50 euros for a used bike. Wrong! We visited quite a few used bike stores with the cheapest bikes being between 200-300 euros apiece. For a couple of hundred euros more we could have gotten new bikes. Honestly, Gearoid and I don’t know what makes a bike good (although he may deny this lack of knowledge). Why did these antiquated looking bikes cost so much? Being close to succumbing to paying an exorbitant price for a used bike we asked around some more and found a little more-used bike shop with cheaper bikes. There we were able to get both our bikes for 210 euros combined! We were very happy with our finds and the fact that my gears are temperamental and when Gearoid rides it sounds like a grandfather clock is attached to the back didn’t bother us. We had embraced Dutch life and made getting around a lot easier with our purchases!

That first day we rode the 10 minutes home and the next day decided to go for a bike ride to explore areas of the town we hadn’t been able to explore yet. The 10 minutes the day before created a situation that Gearoid has dubbed “Dutch Butt.” We were inevitably tender in places that our usual car driving derrieres weren’t used to. Being naturally endowed in that area, my Dutch Butt only lasted a couple of days but it took Gearoid weeks to overcome the tenderness.

In the 3 months since being here, we use our bikes on a daily basis. Everything we used to do in a car is now done by bike. Meeting potential new friends for a drink or dinner- ride the bike. Trips to the market for groceries- ride the bike. Travelling to work, class, and volunteer locations- ride the bike. I honestly enjoy not using my car. It has been over a month since I have been in a car which is almost strange considering my former daily dependence on it.  On the bike I see things I would never see in a car. With the arrival of spring, I have been able to enjoy blooming flowers and budding trees at closer distances. I also notice odd random things I would never notice in the radioed –air-conditioning of my car. For example, the other day I took a street in a nice looking neighborhood that I normally don’t ride through and had to laugh at its name- Generalsmutstraat.

Riding bikes here is safer and more convenient than driving at times. There are specific pathways and roads for bikes (although scooters and electric bikes are also allowed on these pathways and can be quite scary when they zoom past you) and specific street lights as well. Parking can be an issue with a bike or a car. There are specific parking spaces for bikes but if it is sunny and nice parking is difficult to find because everyone else is taking advantage of the elusive sunshine. Some people risk just locking their bikes to a tree or just parking them outside a store. However, just as with parking a car illegally, your bike could be at risk of getting a ticket or towed (hauled off somewhere).  Plus, bikes get stolen daily here.

It’s not all sunshine and tulips though. There are definitely times when I miss my 2 year old Honda Fit. For example- after a tough workout from running club my legs are definitely wobbly and a ride in the car would be more appreciated than talking my legs into working more. Also- cycling in the rain when it is cold is not so fun. The other day I was caught in a torrential downpour and I caught every red light-which although annoying in a car is infuriating on a bike in the rain. I rationalized that I was heading home and it was late enough that I could enjoy my pajamas for the rest of the evening. However, the next day the rain hadn’t stopped and I had meetings to attend about immigration and a 20 minute ride to Dutch class. It is funny how the rain almost always is at its peak when you are nowhere near where you need to be and it stops when you reach your destination.  After cycling someplace, I almost always arrive sweaty and with a runny nose. I don’t know if it’s because I’m wearing too many layers of clothes or I am exerting myself too much. I’m hoping that as the weather gets warmer and I don’t have to wear Eskimo layers of clothing that the sweaty and runny nose arrivals stop.

One more thing- my body is not really bike friendly. The Dutch are supposedly the tallest Europeans and when they stop at one of those specific bike-traffic lights, they just have to rest a foot on the ground with their butts still on the saddle. When the light turns green they go. Being on the shorter side, I have to practically dismount and then kick start my way to go. It is inevitable that when I pull up to a red light, that as soon as my foot touches the ground to wait for green, the light changes.  I think I almost get more of a workout starting to ride versus riding itself.

Although I have been riding a bike since I was 5, it has always been recreationally and in the past couple of decades my riding has increasingly decreased. Other than a big cycling trip around Ireland in 2003, my bike has been capturing dust in the many places we have lived since then.  Before the trip itself, my bike which I had had for about 10 years at that point still had brand new looking tires. So although I can get to where I need to go and carry a bag on my shoulder without wobbling too much, I am in no way capable of performing the acts I have seen Dutch people do on bikes.

I can carry my purse on my shoulder and if it’s not too heavy ride a straight line. However, if my bag is uncomfortably digging into my shoulder I hesitate to readjust it because I am prone to wobbling into the people riding past me or falling entirely off the bike. I can also ride with my groceries in the back saddle bags if the weight is evenly distributed. Otherwise, too much weight on one side will drag me in that direction.  I have seen people ride with multiple children on the front and back of their bikes with groceries as well. Gearoid was very impressed with a man carrying a heavy suitcase and a cello. Some people without tying mechanisms for the racks on the back of their bike will ride perfectly straight with their arm bent behind them holding a full and heavy bag of groceries. A woman rode past me one day with a stroller in one of her saddle bags.

A list of the most impressive things I have seen people doing on bikes from impressive to amazingly impressive:

1.       Riding and talking on the phone
Holding an open umbrella while riding a bike (between 1 and 2)

2.       Carrying something heavy with one hand while riding

3.       Carrying children on the front and back of their bikes

4.       Riding with an adult (although a light one) on their back bike rack

5.       Eating while riding- sandwiches, ice cream cones

6.       Peeling and eating a banana with one hand while riding

7.       Texting and riding a bike

MOST IMPRESSIVE

8.       Using both hands to eat a full bag of potato chips while riding a bike- like no hands on the handlebars!
RECENT EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE EVENT ON A BIKE
A college kid moving a full size couch on a cart in front of his bike. At times his "assistant" would jump on and sit on the couch while cycling was going on!

I’m sure I will see more impressive things but being someone who can just now make hand signals indicating which way I’m turning without wobbling and who can check the time on my watch if the wind is blowing the right way and I’m gliding nicely along I am far from doing impressive things on my bike.