Twas the night before 30 Days of Biking - A Poem

Twas the night before 30 Days of Biking, when all through the town
The snow was a falling, the drifts did abound.
The ponchos were hung by the door with care,
In hopes that no rain would find them there.

The cyclists were nestled in bed for the night
While dreaming that they would peddle with might.
My son's helmet's ready, and so is my cap,
Now, just settle our brains for some wintery crap.

When out on the bike path there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a magnificent group of cyclists of good cheer.

They gathered from everywhere, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment they must have commit.
To the 30 days of Biking in two thousand thirteen,
They whistled, and shouted, in support of me!

"Now Commuter! now, Mother! now, Child and Father!
On, Cruiser! On, Single Speed! on, Mamafiets and Road Racer!
from the top of the porch! to the top of the hill!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So throughout the 30 days they did glide,
With the joys of their freedom, on their bicycles ride.

They rode to the mountains, to work and to school,
They made a statement together,  they yelled one and all.
That whatever you do, and wherever you glide,
You will make a difference with the smallest bike ride !



Happy 30 days of biking everyone, I can't wait to share my journey here again this year, this time from The Netherlands. Thanks for joining us, supporting us and making a difference!

P.S. no actual snow drifts here, just taking artistic license.

Take a lane or make a lane?

A few days ago I shared what I considered to be the best video about bicycle infrastructure, here in the Netherlands. Having made my rounds in various cycling groups over the years, I'm familiar with the groups and individuals that would prefer we do away with separated bike paths in favour of taking the lane, but I was still taken back when a few people commented that they saw the video as a warning of what not to let happen in America. To be honest, I was more than taken aback, I was irritated.

Part of the infrastructure in the Netherlands, a parking lot for bicycles outside Amsterdam Centraal Station.

Let me first say that I see completely that common sense dictates that in certain situations, more often than not in fact, taking the lane is the key to survival on roads without bicycle lanes. However, that being said I'd still rather cycle on a segregated roadway that provides me with a "protective barrier" than share the lane with a lump of steel on wheels.

I'm not by any means as fit as I'd like to be, so for me maintaining a decent speed on a roadway is difficult at times, especially if you add a passenger, an incline and a head on wind, but I do probably represent a great deal of the population. I'm a parent and someone not in the peak of physical fitness so I could represent the young, elderly or infirm for arguments sake. To me if we want cycling to be a part of the masses daily lives, then what is wrong with building, creating and re-claiming space dedicated solely to that end. I firmly believe that if we build it, they will come and really, that's exactly what the video was saying; the Dutch built it and the people came, they fought for it, they worked for it and they created an amazing legacy that I firmly believe could be replicated throughout the world if the people want it, fight for it, work for it.

Red paved lanes on a busy street in Amsterdam.

I'm neither a statistical annalist, nor an expert by any means, I scoured the internet for reliable sources of information, I found this blog to be full of eye opening facts, which included:

Cyclists Injured per 10 million Km (source)

• US 35
• UK 6
• Netherlands 1.4 

I also found this blog to be full of interesting information and would encourage you to take a look. One excerpt I must include would be the fact that you are more likely to get murdered in the United States than you are to die on a bicycle in the Netherlands.

Another attributing factor the low death rates associated with the Dutch system is highlighted in the video below, remember too that if young cyclists grow up to be drivers they are more likely to be understand the needs of cyclists. Here about 1/2 the population cycles on a daily basis and yet you are more likely to die of drowning than you are whilst cycling.

Puppy in a Bakfiets and other neighborhood sightings

Adorable Puppy in a Bakfiets, oh my! Really I could stop here and it would be a worthwhile post, does it get any cuter?  Kyle and I were standing outside the bike shop discussing something or other about bikes when I saw this nice lady and her adorable puppy riding along. Of course, I forgot everything we were discussing and we all swarmed her to pet her sweet 8 week old puppy! I feel bad I didn't get any names, but we greatly appreciated getting a little doggy time in as we all miss our Beatrix so much.

I could just squeeze those little cheeks!

 

Jack helped us load groceries, as we forgot to take bags we loaded from cart to pannier, then pannier to fridge. It worked out well. There were more bikes parked outside the shop than cars.

Just a small array of lovely bikes available less than a block from our home at Thomas Bikes, they currently have a used box-trike (The Christiania above) for about 600 Euro to give you some idea of going prices.

This is my current obsession, the Urban Arrow, isn't it just dreamy?  I get the feeling nothing has been spared when creating this bike, it looks and feels like quality. It also looks pretty lightweight in design, of course I could do a much better review if I could ride one for a week or two...hint hint! Hey, it's worth a try, right?

EDIT:
You can hear more about our friend Tinus at his Mum's blog HERE. Don't speak Dutch?
Utilize google translate!

The unveiling of the Batavus Delivery Bike and the BSP X frame

My new sweet ride and some other lovely bikes in the background!

Here it is, my new bike, it's a Batavus! It's still my favourite colour, has plenty of cargo space and is very comfortable, has a front wheel lock to stop the wheel flopping around, dynamo lights, 3 gears and a wheel lock! I took it to my closest bike shop (there are 3 within about 2 blocks of our apartment), which has a large selection of family bikes and trikes.  Before it was even through the door the shop keeper, Lars, said "oh this is one of my favourite bikes", he went on to say they are really well built, are designed in Holland and said he would look it over for me if I left it over night. Lar's also showed a great interest in the cargo bike movement in the United States, you could tell he is passionate about his products and very honest, so we feel fortunate to have him and Thomas Fietsen so close.

The bobike from Kyle's bike, fitted on mine- this one also has wheel shields for toddler toe protection! Did you notice my bike is in the kitchen, again?

We went back to pick it up my bike today and they had been nice enough to adjust the brakes and gears for me, inspect the lights which are on a Dynamo, and get them working for me, all for free! They said it checked out great and would be good to go for a while. I had to get a nicer saddle for it but the shop had a used one they sold me for a cheaper price and I had to buy new grips because the old ones where loose and worn out, but by the time I re-sell the Amsterdam bike, I should easily cover the extra costs and most of the purchase price. 

Kyle's lovely Pastoorfiets/X frame that was gifted to us, it's a 1970's BSP, made in Holland.

I've just finished switching out the bobike seats from Kyle's sweet BSP to the bobike that came with mine, I think mine was an older model, so I thought I'd keep the newer one that has a large reflector on the back and wheel skirts. We also fitted our new pannier bags and ring-a-ling bell to mine!

So now we have our transportation and it will save us a lot of money, buses cost about 2 Euro each one way to the station. So every time we head to the station we will save about 8 Euros, which when we start work will most likely be a daily trip, unless we get local jobs and then we'll use our bikes to get to them.Now I just need to secure a decent job, so please send me some work ju ju juice! Thanks for reading, L.

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.