(no subject)

Today's apparently the day of the week where I eat everything not nailed down. Mind you, I eat pretty sparingly most days. Its complicated: not much for takeaway here, and without a working heater of food things....

Did saunter down Cronjestraat for bitterballen, did some browsing, noodled back to AH and grocery shopped ( on a saturday because I keep forgetting they're closed SUNDAY even if the website thing says they're open.)

Browsed some bike shops. I'm still obsessed. This one, the owner, she hand builds all of them, as in, they don't come partially pre assembled. She orders parts. SHE builds them. 200 euro for a fucking HAND BUILT BIKE with someone with 30 yrs exp, or the min wage doofus at canadian tire who can't tell his ass end from a wrench to assemble a shitty massmarket bike.

Seriously. City bikes ( aka, hipsterbikes in canada) go for twice what they do here. There MIGHT be a few places that sell them for less, but also, the color options! a deep burgundy wine, a ferocious pink, a blushy orange. No pale pastels here. Its swaths of color.

So yeah, I'm tempted and if I can make my luggages work, I'd take the bike as my excess, tho I am going to find a KLM agent in Amsterdam and see what exactly a Bike IS, in the luggage allotment.

Looked at the TO cycling maps and they're so much more extensive than vancouver, tho still rather patchy in spots. Hopefully we see more improvement. I still can't believe drivers think a 4 lane road isn't enough and woe that they had to lose a lane. Seriously? 4 freaking LANES isn't enough?

What I do notice here is a profound absence of cars. I mean, yes the highways have cars. But they also have bikes. Only once have I seen bumper to bumper and that was a saturday 27c, heading out to Zandfort aan Zee. ( the damn beach, as it were).

Car drivers would really do well to understand that bikes DO reduce their congestion. I gather that many anti cycling drivers think because we don't fork over car payment, gas, maintenance, parking, that we're somehow riding free of charge, and they always seem to think it's He who pays the gas tax makes the rules. But...bikes do less damage to roads. Its like if we're not punished with costs of getting around we don't count. But a reduction in cars on the road for you means more driving space, and more for me too. There's plenty of single lane roads here with one lane one way, and a bike lane. it simply isn't a big issue except the drivers want it all and no room for give.

I loathe when we have to drive in Toronto. I just detest it. its dreary, its dull. But people bitch about being on the QE or DVP in bumper to bumper, and well, where do you THINK more cars will go? You're too good for cycling or transit, so that's your choice.

Mine? I have made it 37 years without needing to drive. I think I can pretty much not bother at all.

(no subject)

Today's apparently the day of the week where I eat everything not nailed down. Mind you, I eat pretty sparingly most days. Its complicated: not much for takeaway here, and without a working heater of food things....

Did saunter down Cronjestraat for bitterballen, did some browsing, noodled back to AH and grocery shopped ( on a saturday because I keep forgetting they're closed SUNDAY even if the website thing says they're open.)

Browsed some bike shops. I'm still obsessed. This one, the owner, she hand builds all of them, as in, they don't come partially pre assembled. She orders parts. SHE builds them. 200 euro for a fucking HAND BUILT BIKE with someone with 30 yrs exp, or the min wage doofus at canadian tire who can't tell his ass end from a wrench to assemble a shitty massmarket bike.

Seriously. City bikes ( aka, hipsterbikes in canada) go for twice what they do here. There MIGHT be a few places that sell them for less, but also, the color options! a deep burgundy wine, a ferocious pink, a blushy orange. No pale pastels here. Its swaths of color.

So yeah, I'm tempted and if I can make my luggages work, I'd take the bike as my excess, tho I am going to find a KLM agent in Amsterdam and see what exactly a Bike IS, in the luggage allotment.

Looked at the TO cycling maps and they're so much more extensive than vancouver, tho still rather patchy in spots. Hopefully we see more improvement. I still can't believe drivers think a 4 lane road isn't enough and woe that they had to lose a lane. Seriously? 4 freaking LANES isn't enough?

What I do notice here is a profound absence of cars. I mean, yes the highways have cars. But they also have bikes. Only once have I seen bumper to bumper and that was a saturday 27c, heading out to Zandfort aan Zee. ( the damn beach, as it were).

Car drivers would really do well to understand that bikes DO reduce their congestion. I gather that many anti cycling drivers think because we don't fork over car payment, gas, maintenance, parking, that we're somehow riding free of charge, and they always seem to think it's He who pays the gas tax makes the rules. But...bikes do less damage to roads. Its like if we're not punished with costs of getting around we don't count. But a reduction in cars on the road for you means more driving space, and more for me too. There's plenty of single lane roads here with one lane one way, and a bike lane. it simply isn't a big issue except the drivers want it all and no room for give.

I loathe when we have to drive in Toronto. I just detest it. its dreary, its dull. But people bitch about being on the QE or DVP in bumper to bumper, and well, where do you THINK more cars will go? You're too good for cycling or transit, so that's your choice.

Mine? I have made it 37 years without needing to drive. I think I can pretty much not bother at all.