Worldly Chatter

Well, I left you all thinking I would be starting work in Amsterdam, a little Italian place on Damrak. That has changed completely. I went to this agency Olympia on Friday morning after receiving an email from Olympia about a job Dutchie had seen for me. I handed in the email and inquired about it. It wasn’t going to be right for me but there were other positions available would I be interested. Always inquisitive I said sure. She offered me a seat and began telling me about a position here in Hilversum with Selektmail. I would be sorting and delivering mail around Hilversum via bicycle. It pays more, the hours are from 8 until I finish my deliveries which would run between 3 and 5 and I wouldn’t have to lay out travel expenses to get there plus I would get paid weekly and not monthly. It would have cost fifty euro a week just to get to work in Amsterdam! This felt right; it was something that would be better for me without a doubt. So I accepted and she offered me coffee; there was paper work to fill out and go over!

There was just one thing. I did not own a bicycle.

So after I told Dutchie about the job, which was even before she got home from work, we agreed to get me a bike. I can always put it back in the account once I get paid a week from Wednesday. So that is what we did Saturday, bicycle shopping! Yet, this isn’t just the bike you see. I now have a pump and two locks for my bike. I kid you not; two locks. One, which is in chain fashion so I can lock it to something such as a bike rack the other is a smaller lock which rests around the protective rim and the tire itself. When the key is in it the teeth are open so I can use the tire. When the key is out the teeth wrap around the tire and it isn’t going anywhere. Were two necessary? It is Dutchie states. Bike theft is something that cyclists have to combat regularly. Locks get more and more elaborate and difficult to break into all to save the cyclist from having to buy another one. The locks can cost up to and more than the price of the bike you bought!

I have my bike! I have two locks and am ready to conquer the bike paths. Almost.

I haven’t been on a bike in years! And before that several more years before that! I imagine you get the picture. So I was less than steady and needed to practice; badly. I had to find out where Selektmail was located so Sunday Dutchie was on foot and I was on my new bike with map in hand located my place of employment. After we found it and headed back I went back out to ride it on my own to see how fast I could get there so I knew what time to leave in the morning. It only took fifteen minutes by bike so I headed home. By the time I got to the bike rack in front of the house I was more steady and confident that I could handle the bike and traffic signs throughout Hilversum. Yes there are that many residents in our 7-appartment home that we need a bike rack to lock them all up and they still don’t all fit. Tells you how many Dutchies have a bike now doesn’t it. Picture China and all their bikes and you have a good idea of how many we have in Holland. Surveys suggest that one out of three have a bicycle and there are 17 million people in Holland.

Soon I will have a basket for the front of my bike and saddlebags for the back of my bike. Believe me when I tell you it is normal to have saddlebags and baskets on your bike. I have also been studying the traffic laws when it comes to cycling in Holland. I even took 3 kiddy tests on the rules to the bike path. It is just as common to ride a bike as it is to drive a car. There are three sets of laws when it comes to the road. Car, bike and pedestrian and you need to know them all. Markers on the road, signs and traffic lights are all over the place, and this is for the cyclist! I have a lot to learn here.

Yet now I feel a little more average here in Holland. I am just one more person out of millions who have a bicycle to ride to work or school, another person who has two keys on their key ring just to ride it. I am becoming more Dutch all the time!

Bicycle, Bike laws in Holland, Cycling, Worldly Chatter, Expats