When I tell people I have a bike with a box in the front - a bakfiets - they can never quite visualize it. This is an Amsterdam minivan. There is a little bench in the box with two seatbelts for your kids. Now I ride with the baby's carseat in front with a child's seat on the rack behind me for V. I have thighs of steel.
We had a graffiti artist make it a little more "us" with a skull and crossbones on the front, flames on the side, and Amsterdam's triple-x shield on the back.
I don't know what I'd do without my bakfiets. It has given me more mobility than a car would and it's free to park. People consider it sort of an Amsterdam yuppie status symbol (no wonder, considering how expensive they are), but it's really a necessity for me. They make much bigger ones with three wheels. It is a common sight here to see tiny Dutch women pushing around 3 or 4 kids in one of these rolling living rooms.
I have actually taken my cat to the vet on this bike with my son's feet on top of the carrier, while I was 7 months pregnant. My partner said if I'd have sent a photo of that to Immigration, they'd have granted me permanent Dutch citizenship.
If I ever find the bastard who stole my first bakfiets, there won't be enough of him left to bury. That's why the Dutch invented bike insurance. Cue Goldmember "Isn't dat vierd?"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
That is a hot ride! Maybe I should get one of those instead of the Ducati....
Frickin great.
couldn't live with out my bakfiets either... once I got over the sticker shock!
Love the paintjob, and I've really enjoyed reading through your archive. Amsterdam is a lot like Brighton, with the same dickhead Brit stag parties, unfortunately. Still, just like Amsterdam, you can escape them pretty easily.
BTW, if anyone else is lusting after a custom paintjob, but doesn't have a friendly local graffiti artist, I see www.bakplakkers.nl do some pretty cool bakfiets stickers, and you can use your own images.
Post a Comment