A blog about bicycles needs a bike.

At some point you have probably heard that Amsterdam has a lot of bikes, I too had heard this and I'd even perused videos and articles about Amsterdam and it's multitude of bikes, so I thought I had a good idea of what to expect. However, nothing had prepared me for just how many bikes there are, they are literally everywhere you look.

They swarm down the streets, they congregate on the bridges over canals, they have whole parking lots dedicated to them at every train and bus station, they come in all shapes and sizes but are mostly sprayed flat black, they get stolen often and if abandoned they slowly get stripped of their useful parts, they all have bells and most of them have a basket, pannier bags or a baby seat or two, some have all of the above.

If like me, you consider some bikes to be eye candy, then you will love Amsterdam because it's the land of stunning bikes. I have seen bikes that a few months ago would have had me running down the street for a photo opportunity, but now they are completely normal and everyday.

It has taken me about 10 days to stop commenting on each bike as it passes, a habit that couldn't die quick enough for Kyle. There was a point when we were walking down a street in Amsterdam when he turned to me and said "I know, I see them too, they are all lovely, you don't have to keep talking about it!" We had a bit of a chuckle, but I sensed he would have tossed himself in a canal if I hadn't of stopped. 

Of course as I have previously mentioned, we had to sell our bikes to move here. This was somewhat of a tragedy in my mind, especially as I had heard inexpensive bikes are easy to come by here, which they are not. We perused a few bike shops and I began to realize the reasons I loved my Yuba Bikes more and more, I mourned their absence.






About the 7th day of being here we acquired a traditional "Amsterdam" bike- it literally says Amsterdam on it. It had a front mounted bike seat that we squeezed Jack into so we could make it back to the station a little quicker. It's a back pedal brake bike, has a wheel lock like every other bike here and appears to be in decent shape. I like it, but feel like it's very cramped to ride, ultimately not a bike I would be inclined to ride daily.

A few days later I started a little side job to bring in some cash, ironing for an expat family who live in a stunning home facing a canal. I knew they had a nice man's bike for sale (with a toddler seat on the back), but it was out of our price range so I disregarded it, then they messaged me that we could have the bike for free! This experience continues our excellent luck in meeting warm and kind hearted people, even when our other experiences have been less than perfect.



When exploring the streets I had seen a particular bike that I was really drawn to, it looked very sturdy and seemed to more often than not have a few child seats attached to it. We were walking past a bike shop when I noticed a used one for sale, after three attempts at wheeling and dealing we were able to reach an agreement on the price. It's a little beaten up, pretty rusty (like every other bike here), but seems to be in fully functioning condition and will ultimately be a money saver. I got the sense that the shop we purchased it from would have looked at me oddly had I asked to test ride it, they seemed very busy, had happy customers and offered a 3 month warranty covering everything but flats so I just went with it. We bought it, then put Jack in the seat on the back (which they threw in to sweeten the deal), it was kind of bizarre to have my first ride be after the money had traded hands, something I would never have done back in the U.S. or the U.K. We found a street that was a little quieter than the others, I hesitantly mounted the bike, wobbled into the path of a more experienced rider with her two kids on board, apologized profusely whilst she muttered under her breath and then proceeded on for what would become an eye opening bike ride with a sea of other cyclists at rush hour to the Amsterdam central station. I had a few moments of awe, a few of fear, but mostly an overall sense of accomplishment that I was most certainly ticking off a bucket list item.

The bike above is a Batavus Delivery Bike- this is NOT my bike. My bike is green, has a lot of dings, dents and rust, has hand brakes and a child seat, plus a double kickstand. I also paid about 15% of what they go for new! The only changes I need to make- adjust the brakes, toss on some inexpensive panniers (you can buy them for about 10 euro here!) and get a cushy seat because my bum was complaining the whole ride. I also managed to buy the only bell-less bike in Amsterdam, so I will get one of those too. Not having a bike bell here is actually dangerous. What I really love about this bike is I got on it and immediately knew we would be friends, it simply felt like a perfect fit.

One of my first fist-air-pump moments in the Netherlands came when I realized I would have a bike for the 30 days of biking in April, last year it was literally in my top 5 highlights of the year, I absolutely loved it! In fact I'd go as far as to say it was the catalyst that made me realize I had what it took to move to Europe, to pursue so many dreams. I don't think the 30 Days of Biking will be popular in the Netherlands, it seems like they would wonder what all the fuss was about, why celebrate in one month what you do every month anyway? I imagine them reacting the same way the average British person would if there was a 30 Days of Tea event.

Because I could apparently write forever today, I shall force myself to sign off and I ask that you celebrate with me that once again I can state this is a blog about bicycles and other stuff that is written by someone who actually owns a bike!

-L.

Jack's Bicycle Basket

The perfect two minute project for the sick mother of a toddler, he's been toting his teddy bears around in it ever since.

This project certainly doesn't need a video tutorial. Zip ties and a milk jug, he loves it.

Kyle's new transportation

We sold our gas hog SUV about a month ago now, then we got Kyle a bike for commuting, but we still needed a vehicle replacement that would be suitable for work on the days when he has to cover a lot of ground. There are times when Kyle has to get out of the office and visit local businesses all over the valley, we needed his vehicle to be as economical as possible.  We came up with the idea of a moped and found quite a few on Craigslist, obviously we didn't have a way of picking one up other than by bicycle so I tried to keep my search local. When that didn't come up with anything we could afford we searched surrounding areas and found a nice scooter that was relatively close but too far for us to cycle (60 miles). After emailing back and forth a few times the sellers were nice enough to deliver it for us for a little extra charge, so yesterday Kyle got his new wheels!

We picked this scooter up for about the same cost as my Yuba Mundo (it's about the same length too). It has a one gallon tank and gets 80-90 miles to the gallon, and with gas prices going up this will be a nice savings. Kyle has a friend who has a scooter too so he invited him over and they both went for a rural drive, Kyle was able to get some pointers and practice in before Monday when he returns to work.

The people that sold it to us were a very nice family and even threw in a helmet for Kyle, interestingly they we're selling it to buy a bicycle, so that was pretty cool!

Kyle is really happy with his scooter and I think he'll like it even more when summer rolls around.  Compared to last year when we both drove the SUV we are probably saving about $120-$140 in gasoline (petrol) plus another $60 a month in insurance. So that's  total of $180-$200 a month which does not include oil changes and maintenance, and trust me that vehicle was a constant source of headaches.  The scooter in comparison is only a few years old and has less than 900 miles on it, has two locking storage areas and I have to repeat- gets 80-90 miles to the gallon!

It didn't feel right to have a post without a picture of a "real" bicycle, so here's an update on Jack's little one. I peeled off most of the stickers and removed the plastic shroud, today I intend on delivering it to some friends from my local bike group who will be chopping the seat post off and putting the clamp below the top tube, rather than above it.  This will give me about a 4.5" drop which should make it about perfect for Jack's little legs. Having the bike unfinished in the spare room has been a source of tension because Jack can't get it off his mind and keeps taking me by the hand and leading me to the door of the spare room where he say's "door" and motions for me to open it. As he can't ride it yet I have to say "no" and he immediately throws himself sobbing to the ground!  Poor little guy, I feel so bad.  His birthday is just a month away now but the "terrible twos" arrived early!

Car-free for now & another bike in the kitchen!

So Kyle and I have our two bikes now and the little guy gets to pet them and tell them how much he loves them (yes he actually does both of those things daily), but honestly it seemed like something was possibly missing in his life...

 

Yep, another bike in the kitchen!

Jack couldn't be happier in this picture but as his precarious sitting position demanded constant supervision it wasn't long before I had to separate him from his beloved blue bike...that wasn't pretty.  We picked up this little bike from a local lady for free and I intend on attempting to convert it into a balance bike.  It also needs some repairs to the chain so that should be a good little project for me. I'm so happy for Jack, he's going to love venturing around the field opposite our house on his little bike.

It seems odd to me, but I do believe I forgot to mention that we have been car free for 2 weeks now.  Kyle's been commuting to work and even did all his local business calls on his bike.  The weather has been pretty miserable and I'm not convinced he's enjoying it, but he isn't complaining.  However, we can't remain completely vehicle free and are at this moment shopping for a moped for Kyle, as he needs to be able to get to all his businesses in the surrounding areas a few days a week.  Our last vehicle got about 10 miles to the gallon!  I think we should be able to blow that out of the water with a used moped.