Amsterdam

My first post! No canoeing action yet, though I'm already planning my next European adventure, which will be on the many bikepaths of Holland, and any other countries I can find them in. I'm in Amsterdam and the bike culture is truly inspiring to someone like me, who bikes nearly alone through the cold winter. Here, everyone bikes - though admittedly their winters are much less harsh. The overwhelming majority of bikes are heavy, one-speed, peddle brakers - the kind most people in Canada would never dream of riding, but they turn out to be the perfect bike for Holland. They're solid, reliable, inexpensive, and quite efficient on flat surfaces. Any little uphill, though, and they're almost useless. There's a few other kinds too: there's ones with a child seat built in up near the handlebars, with a little windscreen for the kid. Then there's cargo bikes, which have a large container built into an extended front. I'm told that these bikes are favoured by middle-class moms; a quintessential Amsterdam sight is a mother with one kid in the front container, another kid in a rear seat, and the remainder of the cargo container stuffed with grocieries. It's the Amsterdam equivilent of a minivan.

Sorry to keep rambling on about the bikes, but this is a dream come true for me. Yesterday I rented a bike and rode through the countryside to the nearby town of Haarlem. Even though I had no map, it was easy to find Haarlem because there are numerous signs along a network of paths, leading off in every direction, telling you which way and how far to neighbouring towns. Some of these bike paths are actually just very narrow roads, and the occasional car or scooter will putter past, as a few farms are actually serviced by these roads. To me, though, it looks like these beautiful old farmhouses are situated on bike paths. I can't even claim that this particular point is a dream come true, because i never even dreamed of something so good.

I've decided it would be smarter to do my trip in reverse - start in the Czech Republic and paddle back to Amsterdam. That way I'll be going with the current most of the time. The downside is I'll be going against the prevailing winds, but i figure that the current is more likely to be a better friend than the wind is a worse enemy. So tonight I'm off to Prague, in search of a canoe and a good point to launch it from...