Friday, September 25, 2009

to bike or not to bike?

Cambridge is a walking and biking city. Everyone bikes. From 2 year olds to old grannies. When we first arrived here in our rental car from the airport one of the first things I noticed was how SKINNY the roads are, how much traffic there is, and how the bikers ride right on the edge of the road with all the fast-moving traffic. It scared me to be in a CAR in that situation, and I was far more afraid to be one of the bikes. There were many close calls and cringes as we passed through narrow corridors with a bike and a bus at the same time.

From blog photos

This photo summarizes all my fears. Yes, that says "bus and bike lane." The bus will win every time, right?

After much thought and deliberation we have decided that we do need to join the bike crowd, however. The city centre of Cambridge is only a few miles across but when you're carrying groceries it feels much farther, and it would be very nice to be able to zip over to visit friends or grab something from the market. We have been advised that drivers in this city are very used to bikes and bikers are used to, well buses. So, we will need your prayers as we attempt to "get back on the bike," and learn to ride under these circumstances. Hey, if those grannies can do it and survive this long, I should be able to do it too right?


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9 comments:

  1. quixoticSeptember 25, 2009 at 12:33 PM

    I have the same fear biking in Holland but you soon get used to it and begin to realize how well the cars look out for you...most of the time. You will also see how good you are at carrying copious amounts of groceries and other goods on your bike, it's amazing how much it can hold!! Goodluck.

    Britt

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  2. TmaiuraSeptember 25, 2009 at 3:39 PM

    Hey! Glad you guys made it safe and are enjoying it!

    Here is a tip for the biking thing–don't do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmHRnA780WM

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2009 at 4:06 PM

    they just look like grannies, really they are 19. they age quickly from all the stress of biking in bus lanes.

    h

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  4. UnknownSeptember 25, 2009 at 4:37 PM

    bike
    p

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  5. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2009 at 8:11 PM

    dear brandon,

    it seems like only yesterday we were full of angst and giggling like school girls at tomaz for being awake for no particular reason at 4 in the morning.

    you are all grown up now.

    please remember to sign your posts with -a or -b so i know whether or not to make fun of what you write.

    love you guys.

    jordan

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  6. Brandon DahmSeptember 25, 2009 at 11:43 PM

    Yeah, or you could read one line further and it says who wrote the post.

    It was always weird when he was awake looking at you when you woke up....

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  7. AnonymousSeptember 26, 2009 at 6:17 AM

    ah very nice, i did not notice that. oh geez.

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  8. Grandma BandstraSeptember 27, 2009 at 6:10 AM

    Sure, sure, go ahead and ridicule the grannies by using them as your measuring stick when you're half a world away from your own...

    Does Witherspoon offer refunds?

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  9. andreaSeptember 27, 2009 at 8:09 PM

    HAHA. you're a grandma not a grannie! these ladies are elderly, seriously it's impressive. oh i looked into it - no refunds. :) ~a

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