Two wheels, unlimited freedom

I learned to drive to read Los Angeles in the original. - Peter Reyner Banham

In our first couple of weeks here we were feeling incredibly anxious. If you know us you know we are do-ers. Research. Go. Do. Check it off the list. So many things that were on our list were out of our control. There's a pretty relaxed vibe in this country around all things, including bank paperwork, real estate, and job onboarding. Our aggressive Type-A mentalities meant we were constantly stomping our feet wondering why everything was taking sooooo.loooooong.

Finally, after two weeks of this unpleasant moodiness, we took control of something and bought ourselves bikes.

Game. Changer.

Disclaimer: We both rode bikes pretty regularly in Chicago, on city streets with bike lanes and without, on lake front paths full of tourists, and surrounded by some of the most aggressive drivers and distracted pedestrians in the world. This experience meant we were incredibly prepared for biking in Amsterdam. I can imagine that if you only equate bike riding with summer vacation and lazy country roads, biking in a city that has built an entire persona around biking would present a serious learning curve.

Everything became more accessible to us once we had bikes. Destinations that took an hour to walk, or 35 minutes on a tram were suddenly 15 minutes and a nice calf workout away. Looking at apartments, running errands, and just experiencing the city all felt like adventures rather than obstacles.

Amsterdam is a city that was meant to be seen by bike. It doesn't lend itself to public transit like Chicago or New York does. And while you can do it on foot or by car, neither is going to leave you quite as satisfied as a bike ride. Almost every road has a corresponding bike lane, often with street lights specifically for bikes (and lights for bikes turning left!! miracle of miracles!), and the bikes truly do rule the road. Cars and pedestrians are both expected to wait for a bike before turning or crossing. Its quite amazing to see when it works correctly.

After an unrequited love affair with a beautiful mint green set of wheels, I invested in a practical, used black bike to prevent the inevitable heart break when it gets stolen/breaks/gets dirty from being out in the elements forever. The bike doesn't have gears or hand breaks or a basket (yet) but it has been my trusty companion as I have earned my bicycling in Amsterdam merit badges including:

• Biking with a shoulder bag full of groceries (I only brought the one bag in our suitcases, so have had to make due and have yet to have an issue)
• Biking in a skirt (and biking in a too-short skirt, which whoops, but also modesty doesn't seem to be high on the list of priorities in this city)
• Biking while checking my phone (this actually makes me incredibly anxious and I only did it when I was completely lost and had already taken several wrong turns, I literally needed to watch the little blue dot move forward to make sure I was heading the correct way)

I'm still working on efficiently parking and unparking my bike (between getting the bike in a spot and getting my lock on/off I'm averaging about five very ungraceful minutes) and using my bell effectively. While the vast majority of the city is full of people who takes bikes seriously, it is also has its share of idiots (both on bikes and just walking around). I often find that when someone has stopped directly in front of me, I am far quicker to just yell, "Hey Asshole!" than ring the bell. The yelling is generally less effective but more mentally satisfying?

I am patiently waiting before committing to bike accessories. Always the most impractical person you know-- I fell in love with this beauty and can't seem to talk myself out of it even though size-wise and logistics-wise its pretty useless. I also have a very beautiful (but completely impractical) bike basket in our storage container which I'm also going to try out before I take the plunge on something new.

Fun Netherlands Fact -- they're so pro-biking in this country that most companies (including mine and Danny's) offer some sort of rebate/tax bonus for buying a bike and accessories. Mine is going to equate to free vacation hours equaling both the cost of the bike and up to 80 euro of accessories. 

The bikes have helped us feel far more connected to the city than anything else thus far and were one of the best parts of our first two weeks here.