5 on a bike

I saw a man with four kids on his bike today here in Amsterdam. Three in the front cargo space of his bakfiets. One in a backpack-like kid carrier. I wanted to get a picture, but he was biking too fast.

Amsterdam again

So I'm in Amsterdam again. On day five, I saw my first fixed gear bike. It wasn't like I was missing them or looking for them. I just find it interesting, one in five days. Meanwhile there are now hundreds of bakfietsen. In some ways, symbolically, a new bakfiets here is kind of like an overpriced double-wide strollers in Brooklyn. Practical, expensive, and yuppie. My brother has one. It cost over €1,000. But these bikes are not at all obnoxious. They're well built. And they hold two kids. I am pro-bakfiets.

And yes, biking here is generally as good as they say.

Pete of Dishwasher Fame

And his lovely wife, Amy.

You may know Pete Jordan as author of Dishwasher (and infamous Dave Letterman no-show). I went up to their bike store in the North of Amsterdam to meet them, drop off a copy of my book, and get an Egyptian bike bell put on my bike.

Peter wasn't in. But the bike store is great. And Amy is a gem. Best of all, she let me work on my own bike while she had to attend to other customers (she made clear that this is not their standard operating procedure). I wish I had had more time so that we could have had a few drinks and chat longer, but I had to get back into town for a 4pm meeting.

Amsterdam (3)

Approaching a bike parking barge of the River IJ (pronounced "eye")
The entrance to the bike parking.
Mural on the bike parking barge.
The lighting on this bike path going over a canal and under train tracks is so nice. And it could so easily be so ugly. What could be a scary place, is actually quite beautiful.
The famous multi-level bike parking garage by Centraal Station.
Bike parking on a barge on the Single near the Muntplein.

Amsterdam (2)

I'm in Amsterdam, trying to remember to take some pictures. There are so many sights that seem unremarkable to people who live here. But I've been gone for a while so things like this stand out. These pictures are from parts of town you won't see on postcards.

Here's an average Dutch street with an average Dutch bike path. Nice.

When they do construction (and they always do construction here, and it can take years), they set up a "temporary" bike lane. Note that it's still physically separated from car traffic. That's my brother, posing. I have to apologize for his stupid mountain bike. There's nowhere in the world a mountain bike is less appropriate than in the streets of Amsterdam. But it's not his bike. Really. He just wanted to test ride what he thought was a "nice bike." I mocked him.

A typical line of bike racks.
And finally, one of the many pedicabs you see here (or at least in the center). It's not clear if this will become a normal mode of transit for some of just a tourist gimmick. My brother claims they're pricing themselves out of the "normal" market.
They're kind of complicated machines. I haven't figured all the parts out yet.

Amsterdam (1)

I arrived in Amsterdam today. I'm staying on a houseboat where I used to live. Being on the water is good for the soul.

I've been away for more than a year, which is the longest I've ever been away. I was very happy to find my lovely Batavus Barcelona waiting for me. A little dusty, yes. But just a little air in her tires and she was ready to ride. That's always a great feeling.

Yes, it is a beautiful city. Yes, it is in many ways a bikers' paradise. But still, it's amazing how cars (and there aren't that many in the city center) manage to make everything worse.