Days 411-415 – August 23-27, 2012 – You see us rollin’…

Number of days in Amsterdam – 411-415

Number of days without a bike theft – 407-411

Days since it last rained – 7!

Joni Mitchell sang “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” Cinderella did it again almost two decades later, and were much cheesier about it. While both of them were correct, I’ll add an axiom to this that progresses the logic one more step:

Sometimes you don’t know what you lost until you get it back.

This was my lesson for this week.

Because of this:

With the new bike, we’ve been out for a ride every day (Probably the best reason ever for neglecting my posts). It’s been a beautiful week without rain – we’re finally getting a summer!

We’ve met Mama at work every day minus one (and that night she had a work function to attend, so we went on a bike ride by ourselves), and we’ve set out. We retired the Batman diaper bag in lieu of a backpack, and we’ve ridden through the city, we’ve gone out to dinner, we’re just rediscovering the joy of Amsterdam with a new found sense of freedom.

There have even been some picnics in the park.

I had no idea how much I missed being on my bike, how much I truly loved it.

I mean, I realized that I missed riding on the one night every other week or so when I got out, but I didn’t realize how much I missed having it as an option whenever I wanted to go anywhere.

And the Kitten had no idea how awesome bike riding can be.

Although she has made a new discovery.

Like her parents, she hates tourists.

Tourists just get in the way, and when she’s snoozing in her bike seat, leaning against dad’s arm, which she likes to do, and a tourist steps out in front of the bike because they are:

A. Drunk
B. Stoned
C. Not paying attention
D. Some combination of A., B. and/or C.

Well, then dad has to ring his bell furiously and grab the brakes.

This wakes the Kitten up.

The tourist is then reprimanded with not one, but two sets of dirty looks.

And a dirty look from a baby is quite a reprimand.

Stumbling tourists aside, we’re all enjoying the new wheels and the new sense of freedom.

And I’m once again embracing the fact that I live in a city where I can ride my bike anywhere and everywhere. Note that I didn’t say “I have to ride my bike everywhere,” but that instead, “I get to.” It’s how I truly feel, and embracing that distinction is one of the keys to my happiness in the ‘Dam.

Now it just remains that the new ride needs a name… any thoughts?