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. 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. 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. 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. 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.