So, in the Netherlands you really need a bike. Everyone bikes everywhere and it is highly convenient. I loved my old bike. Until I loaned it to two guys and they somehow killed it. For about two months now I have been bikeless and I feel as if I’m only half a person.
That picture is of my old bike. Every bike in the Netherlands has at least two locks. You have one to lock the back wheel and another lock chain your bike to something. In some cases you also have bike bags (as nicely displayed on mine). My Dutch friends tell me that I will never get a boyfriend because I have bags. I love my bags. I will never get a Dutch boyfriend.
Anyway, so my friend let me borrow her bike because she is in the USA for a month. It was very sweet of her. Yesterday her bike was stolen. I was a dumbass and left the key in the back tire lock. I haven’t told her yet.
Now I have to go buy two bikes, four locks, and two sets of bike bags. Dammit.
Comments (1)
What a tragedy! Dawn's bike (and saddlebags) are gone...
I have lots of fond memories of Dawn's bike - having ridden it (with her on the back!), wobbling down Amsterdam's streets and alongside the canals. And ridden alongside her, chatting and laughing, as we went out on the town - having learned how to still ride after a few drinks.
Bikes and Dawn were always a key part of my Amsterdam experience: she helped me settle into Amsterdam, showed me around (often by bike!), helped me buy my "Flying Pigeon" bike - proudly all-steel, made in China! - from one of her friends, and I always looked around for Dawn's saddle-bags in front of the office to see if she had beaten me into work (this was usually the case!)
Some Dutch friends told me that you should expect your bike to get stolen every 6 months. Even with two locks. Which is why everyone has crappy bikes. Dawn's bike lasted longer than that, for which I'm glad. The fact that her time with her bike (and my time in Amsterdam with her) has ended is sad but perhaps inevitable.
My one hope: someday soon, some junkie comes up to Dawn, offering to sell her a slightly used silver bike - cheap. And throwing in the bright yellow saddle bags for free...
Posted by Dan | August 11, 2007 2:16 AM
Posted on August 11, 2007 02:16