Sanctuary Of Random Keystrokes

Here are the latest additions to our family:

The one on the left (Limit) belongs to the wife. She picked it up on Craigslist for a song. The one on right (b-fold) was purchased first-hand yesterday. It’s a very basic folding bike with no gears, no pedal brake, no carrier and no chain guard. And it’s this very minimalism that I loved about it. The more complicated a thing is, the more likely it is to go bad in a way that you can’t fix it yourself. The other factors that influenced the purchase:

1. I’d like my bike to be a backup bike for my wife. The non-folding men’s bikes here are just too high for her to be comfortable. The Dutch are amongst the tallest people in the world and the bicycle designs merely reflect that. Besides, I learned cycling just a month ago on a very similar bike so it just feels safer.

2. The brands that are considered decent here can cost a lot (upwards of € 400). A bicycle here is probably something you invest in once in 10 years. I don’t quite know where I and cycling stand. This is perhaps a good bridge between the bicycle I started on (second-hand, and after 2 months of use involving at least one hard fall, road unworthy) and something more serious.

3. We do hope to carry these bikes with us to other places – at least to other cities and towns in the Netherlands. The folding bikes go for free on National Rail, the big ones need a € 6 day ticket.

PS – Did some serious cycling on the road today. Cycling is bringing a fresh perspective on distances. Like that breakfast place which is a 20 minutes’ brisk walk away from home, is now a 5-minute ride on the bicycle and barely requires any consideration.

PPS – Theres something all mushy and romantic about parking your bikes thus:

You’ll find bicycles everywhere in Amsterdam and indeed in the Netherlands in general. If you see a wall or half a wall, chances are you’ll find bicylces propped up against it.

And then there are ways to park even when you cannot find a wall.

Cycling is actively encouraged too. There are dedicated lanes for cyclists and at places even dedicated traffic signals. It is also common for supermarkets to have a section dedicated to bicycle spares and DIY kits.

We were visiting Amsterdam in January – the weather on most days was cold and windy. While we were having a hard time getting to use our limbs properly from under multiple layers of clothing, the cyclists seemed to have no problems maneuvering their bicycles. Even rains weren’t much of a deterrent. As someone who hasn’t yet learnt to cycle, I could only look at people who cycled with an umbrella in one hand and the handlebar in the other with a blend of wonder and envy. Other brave souls cycled while chatting on a cellphone in one hand. Fortunately I didn’t come across anyone accomplishing the unique feat of cycling with an umbrella in one hand and a cellphone in the other or my self esteem would now be that of an amoeba.

While for most people bicycles are nothing but practical means of getting from one place to the other, for others a bicycle is a personal artifact that bears a stamp of their personality.

I’ve been thinking about my resolutions for this year. May be learning to cycle won’t be such a bad start.