Biking

Biking in this city is just dang hard. Before I came, I thought, "Oh, yeah, I know how to ride a bike. I'll be fine."

I was so wrong.

I feel less confident about biking now than I did when I got here. For some reason, when I was here with my dad in the first few days, being on the bike was fun and exciting. Perhaps it was because the bikes we rode were properly fitted to us and were worth more than 10 euros.

The first bike I was assigned, once I had moved into the community house, was a child's bike. That was the only one available to me at the time, so it was temporary and I would get a better one soon, since there were a few girls moving out. 

Riding the small bike was a challenge. Firstly, I looked ridiculous on a bike made for a 10-year-old. Secondly, it was impossible to get up the hills because the wheels were so small and I couldn't pedal hard enough. And, since the wheels were so small, I was traveling at a generally slower speed than the rest of the biking population.

The Dutch are not patient people, especially when it comes to biking. So, throughout my week of riding the kiddie bike, everyone was extremely rude and impatient as I tried my hardest to keep up with the pace.

So, when a larger bike came available, I was stoked. I could finally fit in with the rest of the biking population!

The bike was left for me in the bike room at my house, so before work one morning, I went and got my "normal sized" bike. I was able to get on the bike, but the only problem was that my feet did not touch the ground when I was sitting on the seat, and there was no room to lower the seat. So, every time I had to stop, I had to get off the seat to be stable on the ground. This would be okay if you were biking on the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville, but in Amsterdam, you spend a good bit of time starting and stopping. 

I got used to getting on and off though. I developed visible definition in my leg muscles, so I wasn't complaining. Until one day...

I was biking to work in the afternoon, just cruising along, when I came upon an SUV parked in the street. If you have ever seen a picture of a street in Amsterdam, or better yet, have actually been in the street in Amsterdam, you know that the streets are barely wide enough for an SUV. I really don't know why anyone would choose to own an SUV in this city, but an SUV was taking up the entire street, so I had to get on the sidewalk to pass it. The sidewalks are also quite narrow, maybe a meter wide at some points. So as I was passing the vehicle, someone opened their house door in front of me, and since I was unable to put my foot on the ground to catch myself, I fell in to the SUV.

Probably a really hilarious mental image for all you readers. The man in the SUV rolled down his window and yelled at me in Dutch. In moments like that, I am glad that I don't understand Dutch, since I probably dented his fancy car, and he didn't sound pleased. Most of the driving population here is in the extreme upper class, so I have yet to see a car that I would feel comfortable touching, much less crashing my bike into. 

I decided that it was time to either go back to the kiddie bike, or ask if there was a smaller one for me. Thankfully, Hector, my house parent, had one that was a good size. This bike is more of an American bike with hand breaks and has three different speeds.

While I still am uncomfortable getting up to the normal speed of bikers here, and crossing a big road is still scary, this bike suits me much better than the other two. Now, I can focus on the art of biking in this city, rather than focusing on just comfortably riding the bike.

Here are two videos of my bike ride through the city on a more calm day, in a more calm section of the city:

It's quite enjoyable if you know what you're doing! I'm starting to get the hang of it.