The first time I rode a bike was Christmas day in 2008. I was six years old. I rode for the two weeks it took me to learn and then the bike went into the garage never to be touched again. Since then, I've been an avid walker. I walk for fun, for exercise, to get to places in a 3-mile radius. And I walk fast. However, upon my arrival in Amsterdam, I very quickly realized this city is NOT made for people who prefer walking as their mode of transportation. Here, the streets, the sidewalks, and the parking garages are made for one thing and one thing only: the bikes. In the Netherlands, bikes are first, cars second, and pedestrians last. I laugh thinking about a bike not being on my list of must-haves while studying abroad here. On my first day, my ignorance led me to believe my fast-walking legs could get me where I needed to go no matter the distance (Ignorance is bliss, isn't it?). Although this beautiful city is known for its widely accessible public transportation, the catch is you have to bike to most of the stations.
My walking only got me so far. In fact, only to my second day here because after a 25,000-step day, I knew my walking was a thing of the past. My last serious walk was to the SwapFiets store to rent out what would be my primary mode of transportation for the rest of my stay. Thank goodness muscle memory is such a faithful thing, because just from that brief biking stint I had at six, I was able to hop on the bike and start pedaling. Well, don't be fooled, knowing how to ride a bike is only the start of it. Biking in the Netherlands is like driving on the I-695 in D.C. during rush hour. When I first rented my fiet from SwapFiets (the cheapest version with no gears and back pedaling brakes) I rode around the city for two hours as I just couldn't figure out how to ride through the sea of bikers to make the mandatory left I needed to go home. After a couple weeks of getting cursed at in Dutch for accidentally cutting people off, and purposely missing my turns to avoid the swarms of bikes, I finally grasped the Netherlands cycling etiquette. And surprisingly to me, I was quite good at it.
Believe me, I've never been much of an athlete. But, after three months here, biking, real-Dutch biking, that is something I can do. I speed past crowds of tourists, dinging my bell at those in my way. I dodge through crowds of people along Amsterdam's canal-gridded streets. My friends want to pay for the 30 euro Uber to the bar? Nope, I'll meet them there on my bike. I would say rain or shine, but it only rains here. With 40-kilometer winds and constant rain, you will see not only me but hundreds of other cyclists powering through it. In the Netherlands, there is no such thing as bad weather, but instead only bad attire.
As I now know, sticking my left pointer finger out to signify "get out of my way, I'm going left‚" is what I was missing the day I couldn't go home; now biking has become second nature. From the grocery store, to campus, to the city center, the bike is what I use. As an avid walker, I never realized just how often I kept my head down, staring at my feet with each step. But with biking, my head stays up, and my eyes focus on the beautiful surroundings around me. I'm more aware than I've ever been. Not only are my eyes straight ahead to take in this beautiful city's architecture and charming feel, but to also make sure I'm not the one holding up bike traffic, because yes, in Amsterdam, bike traffic is a thing. Coming from a country where societal divisions are often tied to one's mode of transportation, the Dutch couldn't care less about the bike you have or the bus you take. No matter where you come from, or who you are, you have a bike in The Netherlands and don't even think about coming here without one.
Catalina Cowell
Fall 2023
GW Exchange - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Arts & Sciences Major