the Zen of cycling in Amsterdam

The date part of the ISO date today is 06-11. In a staggering coincidence, this was also the Dutch emergency telephone number between 1990 and 1997, before it changed to the European-wide 112. Just seven years, and I still remember it.

In 2016, I worked for the ING offices in the South-East of Amsterdam, which for me was a 16 km bike ride (32 km both ways) that I did four times a week. Consequently, I consumed quite a lot of podcasts in those days, such as the “You are not so smart Podcast” by David McGraney.

thefoggiest.dev/content/img/daily-bike-ride.jpg my daily route to work

It was a good thing that adjacent to the bike parking in the office basement, there were showers. This allowed me to change into office clothing in the morning and change back to my cycling outfit at the end of the day. ING also had a tax-free bicycle benefit, which allowed me to get a very nice bike, one with the not over simplistic name “Gazelle Orange T27 2016 Heren 57 cm - Romantic Orange Grace Silver”, in which “Heren” is Dutch for “Gentlemen”.

The T27 specs are as follows:

• Gears: Shimano Deore 27

• Type of lock: Trelock Ring lock with mortise option

• Lighting: Via Hub Dynamo

• Brake Type: Hydraulic rim brake

• Pedals: Shimano XT T-8000 SPD MTB Pedals

• Saddle: Brooks England B396HA07202 Men's Flyer Leather Saddle

thefoggiest.dev/content/img/gazelle_orange_t27_heren_2016_grijs_zilver.jpg The ride of a gentleman

The pedals and saddle (not in the picture) are my own additions. The pedals allow for normal shoes at one side as well as my Shimano SH-RT82 SPD Shoes at their flip side.

The T27 is so nice that, since I own it, I use it to get to any destination in or around Amsterdam. I prefer cycling over any other mode of transportation. No traffic jams, no delays, just the rain and the wind, but those never double your travel time. With some music, a podcast, or just the sounds around me, it is a healthy and, outside of downtown Amsterdam, fast way of moving aroud.

Cycling through downtown Amsterdam, though, with, for example, your ten-year-old son on his own bike at your right, on your way to his weekly bassoon lessons, will obviously mean that you not only obey any and all traffic laws, but also that you behave like a true gentleman, because he must be taught the ways of the bike path, and what better way to teach than to show, even if you have to make a mandatory stop for a zebra crossing while going uphill. That’s what gears are for.

thefoggiest.dev/content/img/uphill-zebra-cossing.jpg Crossing a canal bridge with a popular zebra crossing

Amsterdam, while world renowned as a cycle haven, in reality, is a jungle when experienced from a bike, just like any other city centre in the Netherlands. Bikes in many forms, shapes and methods of propulsion, come from all directions, applying laws and regulations wherever convenient or when the opponent is a tram, and all are in haste. Trying to keep your son, not to mention a very expensive musical instrument, on top of his bike is challenging on any day.

Still, there is a Zen quality to it all. When mastering the bike path, one can navigate even the most intense of traffic situations on a bike, not by applying rules, but by making contact, leaving room for others or asking for it, sending an apologetic or forgiving smile, like you would when on foot. Communicating like this tends to come natural when confronted with humans, instead of cars.

I seem to have digressed for the entirety of this post. I was going to write about how I maintain my bicycle, how that feels and what it means. I suppose all that will have to wait for another post then.