Every winter you’ll see the same phenomenon unfold in Amsterdam (and basically anywhere else in the country): the Dutch desperately seeking refuge on the terraces.

A people desperate for a shot of UV, specially near the end of a long, cold and dark winter, a real winter.

This one being the record-braker that it was, last weekend the sight of Amsterdammers scrambling for their spot in the sun must have triggered the curiosity of many visitors: “How can these people sit outside? It’s freezing!!”

As always, the answer is quite simple. Blue skies, the sun blazing and there was hardly any wind to speak of. All you need to temporarily escape the grip of a relentless winter.

Oh, and of course they will get to their place in the sun by bicycle. You could call that instrumental for a full recovery…and dream of the end of winter. And when you let people on bicycles be your seasonal talisman, you’d be convinced spring had already arrived ;).

Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to other kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth’s surface.

Activate frown to shelter eyes & in case you occupy the passenger seat: make good use of the rider’s back

Lean forward, hide your chin in your scarf. For psychosomatic reasons, at least one part of the body needs a dry simulation to feel some comfort

On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops of water heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated leading to rainfall: cooling the air or adding water vapour to the air.

Hat flaps come in handy when priorities shift & standard issue ‘urban rain gear‘ a la Amsterdam in his tracks. Argumentation: if you can walk it, you can cycle it.

Virga is precipitation that begins falling to the earth but evaporates before reaching the surface; it is one of the ways air can become saturated. Precipitation forms via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Rain drops range in size from oblate, pancake-like shapes for larger drops, to small spheres for smaller drops.

You cycle, it rains, you get wet, you dry up. End of story.*

*Tongue firmly planted in cheek*

Recently the Dutch government went down over the Afghanistan military mission, in a way only a Dutch cabinet can. Fingers were pointed, responsibilities were shunned, opportunism mixed up with historical revisionism, ‘lessons were learned’, the dust seemed to settle a bit, but stirred up again in light of the upcoming municipal elections and…not long after some back room tap dancing it has become crystal clear that the status quo will be restored between now and the new general elections in June.

However, there was one little, and dare I say it, revolutionary storm whirling around the Dutch Parliament building in The Hague…shaking things up, knocking a different kind of status quo….of course, I’m just kidding! We’re still talking about the Netherlands! Jeeeezzz…

Then again, it was a national news item (video):

Minister Donner (Social Affairs & Labor) was handed a new 3-speed bicycle as a gift last week. Now, don’t think that would instantly replace his trusty black old (some would say ‘vintage’), mint condition one-speed Gazelle bicycle. Like many of his colleagues and his predecessors he rides to work every day, and he doesn’t stop when he has to consult with the Queen at her palace.

“This is my first bike with gears. These days, with so much work to do, they will come in handy.” Acting-minister Piet Hein Donner happily accepted his new bike. “A new bicycle, a new beginning”, he stated optimistically.

The two-wheeler is a gift from the Employee Organization VNO-NCW. Chairman Bert van de Haar handed the bicycle to ‘the role model of Dutch cycling’. Donner always cycles to work from his home in Statenkwartier [neighborhood in The Hague]. The Christian Democrat does so on a very reliable model, the type of bicycle that people once called ‘the steel stallion’. “I keep it for my commute. It’s so old that it won’t get stolen’, the minister says.

He’d like to use his new bicycle (“Blimey, lights without dynamo”) for his rides between the House of Parliament and his ministry. He can’t keep the bicycle. “It probably costs more than €50. I will have to put it in the locker with all the other gifts for officials….or use it as an official departmental bicycle.” [which is most likely, as each department has a bike garage full of them]

There are 18 million bicycles in the Netherlands, says Donner’s colleague Joop Atsma. “In 2006 765.000 bicycles were stolen. It looks like that number has been going down by 100.000 each year. The next government needs to bring that number below 500.000. All new bicycles need to be registered and have chips installed. Police and parking facilitators need to be equipped with readers to track down stolen bicycles.”

So there you have it.

Often enough our leaders piss us off, disappoint us and we wish they’d just go away. But touch on a subject like this and for a brief moment they suddenly makes sense again.

Last Sunday I played guide for the Mobile Social Group Ride, organized by Byron of Bikehugger, as a prelude to his presentation ‘Changing The World With Bikes‘ at the FITC Amsterdam 2010 (- “Design, Technology. Cool Shit”) conference at the Felix Meritis European Centre for Arts and Sciences on Keizersgracht.

‘It’s prohibited to place bicycles against this building’s facade. Bicycles will be removed. This building has permanent camera surveillance.’

We ended up with the four of us. I rode alongside Rick from Toronto and Byron and his wife Pam. We blamed the poor weather conditions, not everybody’s cup of tea. Or some were just aiming for other destinations. Byron and I joked about how the weather’s always crap when he and Pam hit Amsterdam. And when it’s not raining, snowing or frogs falling from the sky, when we start riding, it eventually will. It’s a given. ;)

FITC provided two, very artsy/colored beater bikes for the ride, put together by Champagne Valentine, one more crooked/bend than the other. Very cool. Still, we needed one more bike, so we thought we’d head over to Workcycles (where a small reception would take place later that afternoon) and see if we could borrow one. Henry hadn’t arrived yet, so we pedaled on to MacBike at the central station. And by ‘pedaled’ I mean that Byron was sitting side saddle on the back of Mr Freight. Not an opportunity to waste, of course:

We rode on to the Plantage buurt (near Artis Zoo) and forced by a downpour we fled into a nearby cafe. Cycling in the rain ain’t a biggie, but if there’s no absolute need to torture yourself, treat yourself to some nice beers instead. It was equally nice to just talk about stuff that transcends the act of cycling, aka our professional realms. I discovered that I had even more in common with my guests than just the love for bicycles/cycling. Yeah, always funny how that works.

The final stop was at Henry’s, who had provided for great finger food and more beers. A setting for lots of (real) bike geek talk and showing off stuff, as you can imagine…but with items you might not have guessed. :)

Meanwhile in the city, things transpired as usual, people going about their way.

(Yeah, I know, it’s not raining in those pictures. But for editorial purposes, this just will have to do :-p)

You look here, you look there and you’ll see them everywhere. All ages, all sizes, all shapes, any purpose. A city that breathes, in and out, never stopping. Embrace the humanization of the city fabric. Simple & beautiful.

Daniela & Camilla

Staying ahead of a serious snow storm, Lauren arrived in Amsterdam one day early to spend a short week with me…in a city that had just welcomed a new white coating.

Leading up to this, she was very excited about the prospect of riding her new bicycle around. Not the omafiets I had bought her around the holidays, but a different one, the very special Workcycles Secret Service I had won in the BicycleMania photo contest. All that was left for her to do, was hop on the back of my bike and ride with me to the place where the small prize ceremony would unfold.

We were welcomed by Eduard Planting of ‘Fine Art Photographs‘, Bert van Essen of The Expat Journal, the publisher of BicycleMania and Henry Cutler of Workcycles, who sponsored the first prize.

I can safely say this bicycle found its rightful owner.

Meeting up with Daniela and her Camilla

This stylish and dependent new friend will be waiting for Lauren when she returns in May, this time to stay.

A sunny yet cold and windy day will give you the chills. Good thing you get to keep warm while on the move. Wordplay of the day: icycle.

Or you can just warm up with the thought of water-skiing on the Amsterdam canals this summer…

Stop at any junction in Amsterdam, and instantly you’ll feel like you’ve entered the realm of a busy beehive. These bees, however, won’t sting.

Cycle Chic bees doing the side saddle hop & go

Mobile buzzing

Talkative bees

Wind so cold, it would turn any bee purple

Always anticipating bee

Pets included

Bee friends buzzing their goodbyes

A bee facing fashion & the most joyful smile you’ll ever get from a cycle chic bee

Busy bees are of the hungry kind

They sure are a happy lot, those cycling bees

See all of the Bicycle Beehive here or here.

On very rare occasions I’m forced to take a tram. Rare, because cycling in town will always be better, faster and more fun. Duh.

Trams and bicycles have a few things in common. They beat the car in efficiency, in making cities livable and you have time to relax, absorb and observe. Duh.

Electric cars are not the future, they are a disastrous step back. Duh.

At first last weekend looked to be a dreary one. Cold, a thick fog and a tedious drizzle. The rain moved away, the grey blanket stayed put. Doing my cycle rounds in the city I quickly realized this could be the perfect time to switch my camera to monochrome. I wasn’t disappointed.

‘Giggle’

‘A bachelorette party spotted me’

‘Inter-Cycle-Section’

‘Ta-Di-Da’ & ‘Underestimated Temps’

‘Wheels & Silhouettes’

‘Shop’ & ‘Doucement’

‘Decisive Moment’

‘Men Can MT’ & ‘Style’

‘Smile’

‘Smooch’ & ‘Hm?’

‘Time Is Relevant’

‘Double Energizer’ & ‘Fwd’

‘De Blauwe Duim / The blue Thumb’

It was all thumbs up.