Fiets

Today I am practicing my bike riding skills. The Dutch are crazy for bikes, learning to ride practically as they learn to walk. The Netherlands roads are very bike friendly, with separated bike lanes and special bike crossings. The narrow streets of Amsterdam are MUCH better suited for a biker than a driver. Rush hour looks like a Critical Mass convention.




The thing that amazes me the most are the women that strap their kids onto the bikes and head off. Probably because I am an unsure rider and a little unsteady, but I can't imagine having even one kid on a bike, let alone three! This photo is a very common sight!

by Bala Nallama

There are these great cargo bikes, which seem to be used very often in Amsterdam for actual cargo,  but also for more kids!

Here is the super fancy "fiets" that I am rocking at the moment. We are probably going to try to sell it and get a cheaper one (every euro counts when you have an unemployed slacker like me at home), but for now it is working. Notice the tulips in the basket. 

I was a regular bike rider in my early days, exploring my neighborhood and the streets around Colleyville, Texas, until the drivers license came along. The muscles one uses for riding are completely withered, so I am working on that. I intend to bike a few miles over to the one windmill in Purmerend and take photos soon, so that is my goal at the moment.

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Next, I will figure out if Atlas will behave himself enough to run along side the bike, but I am not holding my breath on that one. Maybe I will get a cargo bike just for him!
Tot ziens and happy riding!