Ross & I left the house this morning with one goal: to buy bicycles (fiets). No problem, right? I mean, there's bicycles everywhere. Outside of every house there's at least two chained up. Outside of every store there's at least ten. All this city has is bicycles! There must be thousands of bicycles for sale, right?
Wrong. For some reason, nobody sells used bikes. We went to 4 different stores, and discovered that in all of Den Haag, there are only 12 used bicycles for sale--two of which are for kids--and these start at 200 euros ($300).
This is baffling to us, after all, the bikes that the Dutch are riding are not nice. They're cool, cause they're old city cruising bikes, but most of them look like they belong in a history of cycling museum. Most bikes look like they're about to rust through. (When I asked a Dutch guy about this, he explained to me "Bicycles are not about fashion, they're about functionality.")
So, where do the Dutch get their bikes?! If anyone knows, please tell us.
We want bikes!
5 comments:
i'll ask the the principal at my studio for you guys, he is friends with the people who run jorg & olif, they have 'bike connections' in the netherlands.
Ross! Email Brad, he'll know right?
Ok, so I know this isn't exactly kosher... but just "borrow" one. When Thomas and I were in Europe, in almost every city there were bikes with no locks that we dubbed abandoned. Now, I know Thomas was a bad boy, and he stole his breakfast every morning, but I did it too. And no one missed them, and they were pretty crappy, but they worked. So, keep your eyes out for abandonded bikes. (I know you won't do it, but I thought I would be the bad-ass and suggest it.
XOXOXOXOOXOXO
Like Gill's comment, when I was in Amsterdam, I had many young men offer to sell me a "used" bike. They would ask you what colour you like, and return a few minutes later with a bike. I never took advantage because riding a bike in A-dam is like russian roulette! You are taking your life in your hands!
Most of the used bikes are out in the country more. That being said, like Gillian said, steal one. If the owner misses it, they'll just steal another. It's like recycling. Or if you want I can find a more legit used bike dealer for you...I have friends in Utrecht and one of them is from Den Haag so he may have the inside track for you.
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