Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Bike Tales

I now feel truly inducted into Dutch culture: The Dutch ride their bikes everywhere and all the time, no matter what the weather is like. There are rarely any parking lots but the bike lots abound, and are always full. In SAT style, Bikes are to Holland like Asians are to Asia. Seriously, they are everywhere (even many are dumped in the canals).
A couple days ago the wind was extremely strong. I did my usual ride to the train station to head to work; about a 10 minute ride. The wind blew into me so strongly that it took me about 15 minutes to get there and my legs were like jello when I got off the bike. Also, a guy pulled up right behind me so he could use me as a wind-block. I was mad I hadn't thought of it first.
Yesterday when I got off the train on my way home from work I was greeted by very cold snow (with of course a lot of wind behind it). The Dutch weather is crazy at this time of year; you literally have all four seasons in one day. It only snowed for about 20 minutes, and of course that was the time I had to ride my bike home. It was so cold and I was freezing and soaked to the bone by the time I got home. Luckily I have the best housewife ever and Brent had turned up the heat and had a nice hot cup of tea ready for me when I walked in the door. I've survived the worst the Dutch bikerides have to offer!

1 comment:

Melissa and Aaron said...

How bizarre about the weather there! And that man who used you as a wind block...he should have at least traded places with you so you could reap the benefit as well halfway through! Since everyone uses bikes so often, do they have a lot of unspoken bike rules you've found out about(no tailgating, etc.)? I'm glad you made it home...Brent sounds like a sweety!