August 17, 2018
Into the saddle again
Look Mum, no helmet!
As is traditional, our first ride in foreign parts is to a bike shop. This is only our second trip with bikes and there is obviously still much to learn about reassembly, especially those darned brake pads.
The mechanic at the first store took one look at our knobbly-tyred, big-framed steeds and redirected us to another store a few blocks away. (You don't see many off-road bikes on the streets of Amsterdam, funnily enough.) There, the mountain bike expert sorted out Tour Leader's brakes in no time and we were ready to continue our circuit free of excruciatingly embarrassing brake squeal.
Details of that ride have long since faded, so I will call upon my blog to rekindle the atmosphere we encountered in this crazy, kinetic city:
"This city is a visual symphony. Colours bleed from bridges, from painted doorways, from the flower markets, from the marvellous works in the Van Gogh Museum, and from stylishly dressed locals. Amsterdam is so colourful, in fact, that tourists constantly put their lives in danger. Ooh, look at that view over the canal! I'll just step off the footpath and take a pic… Remember, bikes rule. Trams are next in the pecking order while car drivers know their place. Tourists are easily recognisable as the camera-toting chumps standing in the cycle lane. (Tourist tip #1: Do NOT step off the footpath without first looking left.)"
Today's ride: 23 km (14 miles)
Total: 23 km (14 miles)
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