Bicycle No. 7: Wednesday December 20, 2006

Cycling in London is not for the faint of heart. What cycle lanes there are last for 10 meters, before merging back into the bus lanes. Cars pay scant attention to their two-wheeled foes. And taxi drivers believe that cyclists would deliberately throw themselves under cab wheels were the Dutch system of attributing automatic fault to the car driver in the event of a car/bike "interface" ever to be introduced over here. But the number of these hardy fools seems to be increasing; they're making their presence felt. If you click to enlarge the photo above, you'll see one cyclist powering his/her way down Gower Street, well-wrapped up against the bitter cold and trying to maintain a good distance ahead of one of London's bendy buses. Rather him than me.

Bicycle No. 6: Sunday December 17, 2006

Off to Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds for the weekend -- and a bike crisis. I saw horsies, I saw dogs, I saw plenty of 4x4s, but very few bikes. Irritatingly, I did see a group of cyclists prepping for a country bike ride -- flourescent gear, bike helmets, shiny mountain bikes -- but failed to take a picture of them, posed beautifully in Chipping Campden's historic market place. I dashed out of a boozy late lunch to find a bike -- any bike -- in the village, but this was all I could find. A fine bike used purely for advertising. Oh well, at least it's pretty.

Bicycle No. 5: Sunday December 10, 2006

For once this month, it's not raining -- but that doesn't mean you leave your bike exposed to the elements. As I strolled along the Brouwersgracht to Jo and Alan's to watch the football, I passed this bike wearing the traditional Dutch seat cover: an old Albert Heijn shopping bag. It's the only thing standing between a Dutch cyclist and a soggy bottom. Note also the three locks deemed necessary in this part of town: two hefty chains and a rear-wheel lock. We don't just attract the tourists round here, but also a number of light-fingered visitors. The swine.

Bicycle No. 4: Monday, December 4, 2006

This bike has been parked outside Keizersgracht 26 for the past year or so. It's the family estate car of bikes -- a Volvo, if you will, compared with the boxier SUV-style bakfiets. I love the color; this vibrant green is rather unusual for bikes around here, most being a combination of black, silver, rust, and accumulated Amsterdam filth. And I love the way the reflective paint on the tyres punctures the gloom of a December night. I've never seen anyone riding this though; it's either there or not there, never in the process of being put there. Strange.

Bicycle No. 3: Tuesday November 28, 2006

Are you in love yet? I am -- and I don't see how you couldn't be! Isn't this just adorable? I've often seen this gorgeous dog waiting patiently in a bike pannier outside the Dirk van der Broek supermarket on the Sloterkade, but have never had a camera with me before. Until yesterday. I can't stop looking at him -- so cute!

Bicycle No. 2: Saturday November 25, 2006

A stormy night left this bike upended outside Keizersgracht 24. I risked popular ridicule by taking this snap from our balcony, clad only in my purloined hotel bathrobe and fluffy socks. An hour later, as we left to do our shopping, the bicycle was upright again; order restored.

Bicycle No. 1: Saturday November 18, 2006

Canals, barges, and bikes? Got to be Amsterdam, right? Wrong. I took this outside the Narrow Boat pub (great food) on the Regent's Canal opposite the Wenlock Basin, just behind Islington. A lovely escape from the filth and fury of Angel.