On Bikes

You may recall me from my earlier posts as "Scared-to-bike-Betty" but my time here has altered my perspective. Bikes are not to be feared. (Cars are to be feared). Bike culture makes people see the world as people. Back at home, people get in their SUVs and barrel down the road as if they are the only ones out there. If they swerve because they're on the phone, it's "YOU SON OF A BITCH. Bob, it's these asshole drivers..."

Bikes mean you see people, not cars. Putting bike lanes next to car lanes show social approval, government support, which makes people comfortable. The ubiquity of bike pumps and repair shops all over town make sure that bike riders can get to and from where ever without having to worry about bike failure. Plus the trams and buses fill in the gaps nicely.

Bikes also make people human. Everyone in this city has fallen off a bike at some point or another. You can't ride a bike without falling off at least once. Picturing someone falling off a bike is the same as trying to picture them in their underwear. It makes people instantly human.

Even old people ride bikes. Grandmas with little bones on rickety wheeled contraptions passing spry looking mothers with babies on their handlebars. How can you not smile?

If you're going to come to Amsterdam, you gotta get a bike. Otherwise, you're just another tourist.