Before leaving for the Netherlands, I promised to share mistakes with you.
I’ve made plenty.
The biggest one may be overdoing things. At 70 you need recovery time. Walking or even bicycling is exercise at my age, and too much will wear you down.
The second may be thinking I could quickly get up to speed on cycling here.
As you can see from this picture, cycling in Utrecht is like cycling nowhere else. The closest comparison I can make is to the Atlanta Beltline, only without as many walkers. You need your head on a swivel, and when you don’t know the street names it’s easy to become confused.
I was constantly stopping in the path, to check my route, to avoid other bikes, just to catch my breath, while people whirled and twirled around me, many with one hand on the handlebars, some holding a partner’s arm or back, some starting to look at me strangely. I wasn’t signaling turns and I was moving very slowly. They quickly gave me the nickname “Opa Fiets.” Opa means grandpa, fiets means bicycle, and, yeah, I was the old man on a bicycle.
What was a fountain of youth in Atlanta became a crutch in Utrecht. I wish I had taken more pictures but I was holding the handlebars for dear life.
On the Road
Once out on the road, I quickly learned the differences between Dutch and American e-bikes. One thing I didn’t know, at first, is that the electric Swapfiets I am renting is almost identical to the manual bikes Dutch companies have been using for years. The controls are the same, the gears changing at the right wrist, the lock and chain under the seat. The seat is also the same, which prevents long rides. Fortunately, a friend was able to lend me a more comfortable “noseless” seat. The saddle sores are going away.
