Perils of the morning commute
It was probably inevitable, but I had my first bicycle spill this morning.
It was a slushy day, packed snow and patches of wet ice that didn’t seem particularly slick. I was bouncing along the cobblestones along a side street when I reached across to move my recycling bag from one hand to the other, and suddenly the back wheel canted the opposite direction. The whole bike slewed, I went over the handlebar, and we both went hard onto the street. Landing full on the chest, it knocked the wind out of me, yielding have a palm full of pavement stones, some bruised knuckles, and a very skinned knee.
It brought to mind all of the perils of the typical Dutch morning commute:
Scraping ice off of the vehicle (I hate wet pants on a cold day). 
Dealing with traffic (especially younger drivers)
:
Finding a parking spot (arriving early doesn’t seem to help):
Being out before the road sweepers have cleared the snow:
Congestion at the intersections:
Deciding who has the right of way:
Labels: Everyday life in the Netherlands
posted by Dave Hampton at
6:16 PM
10 Comments:
The right of way challenge is the one that gets me the most. I'm still not use to bikes being considered legitimate traffic here. I tend to yield more often than I should and confusing the drivers.
The right of way challenge is the one that gets me the most. I'm still not use to bikes being considered legitimate traffic here. I tend to yield more often than I should and confusing the drivers.
I try to hang right of cars and get into the intersection beffore they do: I'm never sure if, as a bike, I can cross with the pedestrian or car lights, or only with the bike lights.
Ouch. At least no broken bones (I hope).
As a driver it is the double direction bike lanes at roundabous that cause me soem grief.
A tip: lots of Dutch people cover their saddles with a plastic bag if they are expecting rain or snow.
ouch!
use your seat belt when driving
no telephone when driving
should I mention a bicycle helmet?
The local habit in my dorp
"loop met de fiets als het glad is"
Thanks, Nick: no broken bones, just wounded pride. I haven't experienced the double-roundabout, although I try to give hand signals all the time to keep people appraised of what I think I'm going to do.
Tay, the other rule is not to take pictures while riding, and to consider paniers for parcels instead of trying to balance them on the handlebars.
sorry,
Im such a bossy britches,
take care
Hey, Tay: no worries, really. I was the idiot who fell: You are the smart one without pavement in his palm! I wouln't have us any other way...
her palm
'got me :)
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