If you have ever been to Amsterdam, you know that bikes are an essential part of life over here. Nearly every person that lives in the city uses a bike as their main source of transportation. Before I left, I had decided that I would definitely buy a bike as soon as I got here! Lucky for me, I found a guy selling one on Sunday. Check it out:
My Bike!
For only 40 euro I got the bike, a lock, and I have already lined up another student to sell it to when I leave at the end of August! I took it around the city for a nice ride yesterday, and let me tell you, it is amazingly fun to see the city by bike! Every aspect of Amsterdam is designed to be bike friendly, and it really is the most efficient way to get around.
Unfortunately though, I made an amateur mistake. It is pretty common to ride around with someone riding on the storage platform over the rear wheel. I offered
Kathy a ride back from the grocery store, and we made it 99% of the way back, but when I pulled into the courtyard I hit a bump followed by an unpleasant sound. As I continued riding, I noticed the back wheel was now rubbing on the bike frame with each revolution. Taking a closer look, the rim was definitely bent.
After spending about 20 minutes trying to bend it back, I gave up and decided to take it to the bike shop. Lucky for me, there is a bike shop that is about a 5 minute walk from my room, so I'm taking it in tomorrow to have it fixed. I also learned that even though it's fun to give people rides on the back, it's definitely not worth it when you're riding an old cruzer like this. I'm hoping that after it is fixed I will have many exciting bike stories to tell that all have happy endings!
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