Bicycle No. 17: Monday March 12, 2007

It's bin day on the Keizersgracht -- a day when a bike becomes a removal lorry. The canny Dutch, reluctant to leave a great (i.e., free) bargain behind, start loading up items onto their bikes. This old boy has got himself a nice glass cabinet, complete with light fixture in the top, has secured it to his bike, and is now going to wheel it home. Hurrah for proactive recycling! (PJ will be most annoyed; he had his eye on something rather similar in last Thursday's collection.)

Bicycle No. 16: Sunday March 11, 2007

I took this a couple of weeks ago on a stroll around Amsterdam -- it's actually two bikes, only one of which is attached to the rather large trailer. I'm impressed that anyone would even consider trying to cycle round with these ladders on a bike. The sharp corners and steep bridges of the Jordaan make it a somewhat treacherous endeavour. However, I'm not sure when the owner last attempted it; the back tyres look rather flat to me.

Bicycle No. 15: Monday February 26, 2007

OK. It's not a particularly interesting bike. But it IS where we will be keeping the bikes we buy when we return to the UK. One of the attractions of our new rented home is that it has a side gate, giving easy access for our bikes. Hurrah! Mind you, there are a few hills in Winchester, so I'm not sure how easy it will be to cycle around. Time for a bike with gears and a lightweight aluminium frame.

Bicycle No. 14: Sunday February 18, 2007

Twins: twice the work, the expense, and probably twice the number of stretchmarks. On the other hand, you get to cycle round with one of these specialist jobbies. It's just as well there aren't any hills in Amsterdam, as these things look heavy. You occasionally see them or the bakfietsen stuck at the bottom of a particularly steep bridge, the poor mother desperately trying to gain enough power to get up and over -- while the children are screaming in the front, oozing jam, and beating each other up. A recent newspaper article claimed that Dutch children are the happiest in the world, largely because of the child-centered nature of Dutch parenting. And they're probably right. After all, if you saw your mother sweating buckets "driving" you to nursery or to see Zwaarte Piet while you sat back like a little king in your carriage, wouldn't you feel loved?

Bicycle No. 13: Thursday February 8, 2007

Unlucky 13: well, unlucky for these two bikes, lying entwined on the plaza outside Amsterdam's WTC today. Their snowy embrace looks so ... intimate; I almost felt embarrassed at taking a picture. However, a Dutch woman was also amused by their display and took her camera out, too. I wonder if she has a blog called "Twee-en-vijftig fietsen"?

Bicycle No. 12: Sunday January 28, 2007

Despite the sub-zero temperatures, there are still a few hardy cyclists over here, attempting to cross the Charles River using pedal power (via the bridges, obviously). This lovely pink racer was chained up outside the Miracle of Science on Mass Ave in Cambridge, next to this "smoker's outpost" -- the designated spot for the nicotine-addicted and exiled over here. I can't wait to see similar posts springing up across the UK later this year.

Bicycle No. 11: Wednesday January 24, 2007

Finally! I've been so busy house-hunting that I haven't had time to take pictures of bikes. But the snow this morning prompted me to keep an eye out for something en route from Clive's pad to the bus stop, and I was rewarded with this. Not just snow on a bike, but the typical way of storing bikes in London -- chained to a fence and with the front wheel removed, just in case. What a relief!