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May. 6th, 2020 08:35 pmIt's been a month since I injured my left knee. The weather has been warm and I cannot tell you how much I want to be riding again. However, when I called to ask my very, very brief employer whether my bike was still locked to the rack outside, they said it was not. I'm not at all surprised it was stolen; it was a month in an industrial/commerical area. But I am sad.
Still, we can afford a replacement so I talked with Danae about it. She was strongly against the idea of me riding until I could get looked over by a physical therapist. She is a former athlete and knows about chronic injuries. Still, I felt so many kinds of stress. I was wasting all this warm weather, being completely sedentary because of the quarantime, and missing my chance to see any of the Netherlands. And beyond that, biking regularly makes a real difference in my mental health. The whole situation was contributing significantly to my depression and anxiety. I was talking to Erik about the it and he suggested renting a bike. What a good idea!
Yesterday I rented a bike for 24 hours. I only rode back home from the rental place and then back to the rental place today to be kind to my body, but it was the happiest and most peaceful I've felt in some time. My ankles and muscles are sore since I haven't been using them, but my knee is fine. So now I'm picking out a bike!
---
I never did get used to my former bike here. The thumb lever gear shift was fine, but the coaster brakes were not. I tried. I really did. I *hate* coaster brakes. I can't reposition the pedals before climbing on. The back wheel skids before applying as much force as a front brake can. I'm used to coasting with my feet at 3 and 9, but if I don't have my feet at 12 and 6 on a coaster brake, I accidentally engage it. I hate them.
Looking at used bikes here, it's amazing how limited your selection is when disregarding anything with a coaster brake. The Dutch love their coaster brakes. They're a simple, low-maintenance choice for trips around town. But even bikes with hand brakes don't tend to have rim brakes; they're almost all Shimano's drum brake solution, Roller Brakes. I'd prefer V-brakes on the rim; I have more experience working on those. But my second bike in the states has Roller Brakes: as long as it's not a coaster brake, I'm good.
---
I've been looking around at places to go by bike other than into the city. I have to admit to a minor fear of the city after crashing there twice. I'd like to avoid any large numbers of people too. So the first place I'm planning to visit is https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Waver-Amstel. Its a defensive earth and stonework about half an hour from home by bike. During World War II, occupying Nazi forces stripped it's big rotating and retracting gun emplacement for metal, but it's otherwise pretty intact. There seems to be a winery in it now.
It looks like a number of similar forts of the Dutch Defense Line are close enough for me to get to by bike too, so maybe I'll see more of them. But for now I have to find a bike!
Still, we can afford a replacement so I talked with Danae about it. She was strongly against the idea of me riding until I could get looked over by a physical therapist. She is a former athlete and knows about chronic injuries. Still, I felt so many kinds of stress. I was wasting all this warm weather, being completely sedentary because of the quarantime, and missing my chance to see any of the Netherlands. And beyond that, biking regularly makes a real difference in my mental health. The whole situation was contributing significantly to my depression and anxiety. I was talking to Erik about the it and he suggested renting a bike. What a good idea!
Yesterday I rented a bike for 24 hours. I only rode back home from the rental place and then back to the rental place today to be kind to my body, but it was the happiest and most peaceful I've felt in some time. My ankles and muscles are sore since I haven't been using them, but my knee is fine. So now I'm picking out a bike!
---
I never did get used to my former bike here. The thumb lever gear shift was fine, but the coaster brakes were not. I tried. I really did. I *hate* coaster brakes. I can't reposition the pedals before climbing on. The back wheel skids before applying as much force as a front brake can. I'm used to coasting with my feet at 3 and 9, but if I don't have my feet at 12 and 6 on a coaster brake, I accidentally engage it. I hate them.
Looking at used bikes here, it's amazing how limited your selection is when disregarding anything with a coaster brake. The Dutch love their coaster brakes. They're a simple, low-maintenance choice for trips around town. But even bikes with hand brakes don't tend to have rim brakes; they're almost all Shimano's drum brake solution, Roller Brakes. I'd prefer V-brakes on the rim; I have more experience working on those. But my second bike in the states has Roller Brakes: as long as it's not a coaster brake, I'm good.
---
I've been looking around at places to go by bike other than into the city. I have to admit to a minor fear of the city after crashing there twice. I'd like to avoid any large numbers of people too. So the first place I'm planning to visit is https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Waver-Amstel. Its a defensive earth and stonework about half an hour from home by bike. During World War II, occupying Nazi forces stripped it's big rotating and retracting gun emplacement for metal, but it's otherwise pretty intact. There seems to be a winery in it now.
It looks like a number of similar forts of the Dutch Defense Line are close enough for me to get to by bike too, so maybe I'll see more of them. But for now I have to find a bike!
