Let’s raise our glasses to adding another fabulous year of world wide cycling, exchanging ideas, meeting interesting people, riding along and just having good fun living our lives on two (or more) wheels!

Thank you for continuing to visit this blog & share your thoughts. I couldn’t do what I do without it. Cheers! See you in 2011!

Riding home on a late afternoon I lost track of Lauren around Nieuwmarkt square, I rode on, figuring I’d meet her out front at home. Then she called me, saying I should return to Nieuwmarkt. When I did, I saw her sitting on one of the marble benches. Mind you, it was a very cold afternoon, and Lauren doesn’t do cold, so to speak. She quickly corrected my confusion: “Just look at this, these trees are so cute & beautiful! and they smell great!”

Another example of this Dutchie taking things for granted. The scenes that unfolded prompted me to take off my gloves and slip into the role of bicycle culture photographer. This culture would have it that people pick up Christmas trees by bike, just as they pick up their kids, groceries or any other item. It’s the convenient thing to do.

We didn’t end up buying one ourselves, as we’ll be spending the week around Christmas in Milwaukee. I plan to smell their trees, too :).

Sinterklaas & his Zwarte Pieten arrived in Amsterdam two weekends ago. Tradition has it that, after docking his ship (coming from Spain and all), he gets on his white horse and joins the welcoming parade around town. The Zwarte Pieten (singular=Piet) complete this festive scene, handing out peper- and kruidnoten to kids.

Of course, Amsterdam is the bicycle capital of the world, hence, many of the Pieten move around by bike. They know what’s good for them. Which naturally also applies to the parents and kids who came out in droves to join to the celebration. Albeit, on a very wet day.

And a thing that’s become part of this tradition, which you might have noticed in the pictures, is that the bicycles were sponsored by Workcycles (Sinterklaas’ market share is still big, but he probably suffered some collateral damage with his derivatives portfolio :-p). And here’s Henry Cutler’s own take of it all, much more detailed, not surprisingly, as he does have kids. For now, I’ll have to do with my own childhood memories :).

My hiatus is over, the new year is already 7 days old, time to move. What I’ve been up to you, you ask? Oh, you know, the usual. Kicking back in my peculiar way, seeing relatives for xmas, spending quality time with Lauren and celebrating that big ol’ street party with friends and some more unwinding. A few excerpts of all those things related:

Lauren stepping up after stepping down from the plane

Post-Xmas city cycling

Street/bike view from Cafe 't Smalle in the Jordaan

Traffic heating up on Dam Square at 20 minutes to 12

A few minutes into the new year on Nieuwmarkt

Blurry canal tour boat view on some bridge bike parking

Colder, but the same

Colder, but the same

Colder, but the same

Waving their goodbyes

Air trail

Two fathers, three sons

King of the world

Take your banana time

And of course there's only one way to get there

Transport modes crossing paths at winter dusk, Leidsestraat

And just when you think it's all winding down…

Here’s to nothing but the best (cycling) for you and your loved ones in 2010.

I went around town for some serious Christmas shopping, but not without stopping and getting off Mr Freight to click away at a few familiar cycle scenes.

T minus 10 seconds

Had je me maar – If only you had me

Give your cycle life some color

My crate was full, time to go home

This leaves me with one more thing…

Starting Amsterdamize in the summer of 2008 was great, 2009 proved to be even better and 2010…well, I’m not in the prediction business, but as long as I got you as my audience I know it will be awesome!

So I say thanks for your passion for cycling, sharing your stories, enjoying mine and making my journey ever so interesting!

See you here and on Amsterdamize in 2010!

Cheers,

Marc