The Netherlands - cycling

Cycling day today. How can I come to the Netherlands and not go cycling? Femmie, a biologist at the University of Leiden, led me by bike to lovely Leiden today.

There are excellent bike tracks all over the Netherlands and the journey from Alphen aan den Rijn to Leiden was picturesque to say the least. Cyling along canals, large and small, pretty farm houses with Freisian cows (those black and white ones) and sheep in the meadows. Colourful blooms in gardens, groves of shady willows and birches. You get the idea.

Having not cycled for over ten years my bike skills were a bit shaky. The ride took us just over an hour (usually takes Femmie about 45 minutes), old ladies on bikes with wicker-baskets overtaking us in the overtaking lane. An additional challege was that I haven't quite mastered the important mounting/dismounting technique. Stops at junctions were a bit harrowing and I had to wave other cyclists ahead while I get the bike going again after stopping. It was sometimes easier to just walk and wheel the bike across traffic junctions. How embarassing.

Perhaps the real damage wasn't to the ego but more physical. The bike that I rode is normally used by Femmie's husband Ken, who like many Dutchmen are six-foot something. And dismounting from a tall bicycle with the wrong technique can be rather damaging to certain parts of the anatomy. The seats can be cruel, especially that hard pointy end.

"No children for you," says Femmie. Ouch.