Grandma's bike

I bought a bike. Or it’s more like I happened to buy a bike.
On the way to the market, I stopped by a bike shop someone recommended me to check out. I just wanted to know what my options were. I had no intention of buying one at all… but I got trapped in the end. I was almost forced to go for a test ride. I was not in love with the bike, but once I went for a ride, I was saying out loud, "Check me out!" I was feeling so good about myself riding a bike in Amsterdam. I think I said it like 5 times during a 2min ride.

This bike has a nick name, “grandma’s bike.” Because I am short, typical Dutch bikes are not for me. As a matter of fact, I cannot reach the ground even with this grandma’s bike. When I stop at a red light, I have to jump off my bike. Otherwise, only my toes are touching the ground. I asked the shop girl if this bike was made for kids. She says, “It’s for about 10 to 16 years old.” I do not know if she was joking or what, but I believe (or am trying to believe) that it is made for adults.

The most difficulty I have with this bike is a brake. As you can see, there is no grip for brakes on the handle. I thought this bike does not have brakes. Of course, there is, just in a different way; back-pedaling. What it is is that when you brake, you pedal backwards, then you slow down or stop completely. Okay, I am certainly not used to that. The problem with this is that when I am about to stop, I have to keep my feet on the pedals to brake until a complete stop, but I have to jump off when I am about to stop. This is very difficult to do. It’s like Indian drivers who drive stick-shift car when they are constantly honking and sipping coffee at the same time.

Another problem with back-pedaling is that with a Japanese bike, when I’m waiting for a light, I used to turn the pedals backwards in order to set them to be at the right position (right pedal being higher than the left one) so that I can easily accelerate when I start biking again. With my new bike, I cannot set the pedals to the right position (because of the back-pedaling brake) unless I physically move the bike back or forth. I can’t believe I still have to practice how to bike at this age. It’s been ten years since I rode on a bike. It’s just like when I just started riding a bike in my childhood. Because I barely touch the ground with my toes, I try not to stop. Because I don’t want to stop, I bike very slowly, especially near the lights. Slopes are just nightmares.

I used to think that I would not need a bike in Amsterdam because I can walk everywhere. But once I get on a bike, I can’t believe I used to walk that far in distance though riding a bike is also equally tiring. I realized myself breathing hard on the bike.

Besides a bike, there is another item to buy when getting a bike in Amsterdam; a thick strong lock. As you can see in the picture, I bought a chain-lock. There are many different kinds. The one I bought was about 50$! It is really heavy and strong. The bike shop girl taught me how to hook the lock around the bike. Unlike the back wheel, the front one is very easy to come off. So, I need to put the chain through the front wheel, and put it around the bike itself and connect to a pole. It’s not an easy job… or am I just being lazy?