On cycling to work
While I’ve been cycling fairly regularly for the last two years, I never managed to muster sufficient courage to cycle by Amsterdam’s canals. As a pedestrian, the chaotic mix* of delivery trucks, cars, rash cyclists and tourists crossing the road with their noses buried in their maps, appeared too daunting to negotiate on a bicycle. Besides, my folding, gear-less cycle would never have been able to negotiate the steep climb that the bridges over most canals present. By getting a full-sized adult bicycle with 6 gears two months ago, I overcame (quite literally) the problem presented by the steep slopes of the bridges. Now all I needed was a little bit of encouragement to take it to the road.
When, after two years of struggling in the depressed job market here, the wife found a job, she was pretty clear that the public transport companies weren’t going to see a single cent of her hard earned money. She deployed her trusted bicycle right from day one. Since the route to our offices is about 80% common, I had no choice but to follow her.
The first day was a bit jittery, but within a week I have settled into a rhythm. It’s a brisk 20-minute ride through the picturesque, centuries old canals that reminds me each morning how beautiful this city is. Taking public transport, even on a day when the conditions aren’t ideal for cycling (30-45kmph winds and rain — practically every other day here), now feels like a fate worse than a Kafkaesque trial. Besides, it’s free exercise that I certainly could do with!
*Not chaotic at all by standards of Indian cities I’ve lived in. I guess which is why I never learned to cycle for so long in the first place - there was nowhere to go.
p.s. Pictures that combine two of my favourite themes — bicycles and canals - from the brand new Canon 5D Mark III:
p.p.s. These lyrics from the Company of Thieves song ‘Look both ways’ often loop through my head when cycling:
For so long you’ve buckled under a watchful eye Never feel alive until you are risking your life Risking your life, you’re Right
Look left, look right. Look both ways before you. Look left, look right. Look both ways!
p.p.p.s. I tend to give rather elaborate hand signals when taking a turn. I am afraid I’ll knock someone off the pavement one day. I even feel tempted to give the very same hand signals when I am walking. It hasn’t happened yet, but that’s only because of the considerable force of will I exercise on my arms each time I am close to a turn.