Spring Ramblings... kinda

Lesson of the Netherlands #11:
Drivers here look for and yield to cyclists. As a cyclist, you start taking for granted that most of the cars see you and are aware of how big (well, more like small) they are and start becoming accustomed to cars passing you very closely. Like, 6 inches between the mirror and your handlebars.

The busses are really bad about this.

There's a section of my commute to school that passes through a little town called de Zweth that is basically a 1 lane road with two speed bumps and a reaaaaaaaaally narrow bridge. One of the main bus routes between Rotterdam and Delft drives along the road every day, and, somehow, I manage to meet it almost every day.

One of the bus drivers recognizes me and nods as he passes, imprisoning me between bus and retaining wall with pretty much no space on either side.

If I really nail the timing, I get a bus going in both directions (you can't have two cars in there at once, so there's lots of yielding. It's actually way faster to bike through de Zweth during rush hours)!

But anyway, it's surprising how quickly you adjust to cars passing in extremely close proximity when you're biking.




I'm so going to get hit by a car when we move back to the States.


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There are signs of possible movement towards the mythical season known as "spring." Alaska doesn't do "spring" so much as "break up," when the ice and snow melts and the roads turn into slushy, rutted messes of potholes and awfulness. Spring in Alaska is when you're grateful for your 4 wheel drive.

So, like our first experience with fall as a season not a week, it's novel seeing things that are stereotypically "spring" outside of a kids book or the internet.

Like daffodils. And crocus (which I keep not getting off my bike to photograph). And little lambs cavorting around fields and tripping on themselves. And ducklings (with slightly grouchy, protective parents).

Despite the fact that I haven't taken a day off of school/work since this quarter started, yesterday was so very nice that I called it after 5 hours and went for a meandering bike ride with Ev. It was really nice to stop schooling for a few hours and experience this "outside of school" I hear so much about.

Note the 2 functional bikes! A huge step up from last week.

Plus, I'm pretty sure Ev was thrilled to have some real interaction with me.




In the next couple weeks the parade of people who love us will begin. Also exams. Jesse arrives mid-March, then Colin mid-May, then Tae, then exams, then we go to Kalymnos, then home and get to see the guys and families (yes, Chris and Aud, you count as family) and puppys....

Yeah, can it be summer yet? I'm ready for a long dose of free time.