Bike Riding Adventures: Part 584.5a

So I was biking to school today by a spot which brought a smile to my face. It brought a smile to my face today only after having many laughs over it with a Mr. Bryan Burgers. Yet, at the moment, while comical in a way, no laughs were had. Apologies were present, once again I reverted to my childhood ways which consisted of me saying “it was an accident, I promise!” in my most sorrowful tone of voice. Anyway, here is what happened.
Bryan and I are biking to school like any normal day, and we are getting pretty good at it. The paths are only so wide and all the native Netherlandic people ride two by two. Now this gives one very little room for error, and upon first arriving we made the trek in single-file fashion. Yet, we have now been here for a while, and our confidence has risen to the point were we blend in with the natives much more. Heck, we can ride side by side, and we did. This worked well for a long time. No problems there, until.
At this part of the story I would like to insert another story; a story involving the characters of Juliet and Maggie, the truly original girls who experienced with me the adventures of Paris. It was one day after school when we didn’t feel like biking back to Hattem that we decided to go pick up a couple drinks at the local pub. We decided to explore a new one and walked into what was an oldmans haven. We received odd looks upon first entering and I realized they had probably not seen women of this age in here for a while, probably ever. Still, we were cold and sat down at a table. I approached the bartender and asked for three beers only to find out they had no wonderful Heineken but only grolsch. I was disappointed but he said it was better and I therefore returned with three for our table.
Anyway, the conversation began to flow and if you know Maggie and Juliet, when they get excited their voices tend to rise. Somehow we got on the topic of the horrible agony which is sure to make you want to scratch your eyes from their sockets if you would happen to be one of the most unlucky soles on the face of this green earth who happens to walk in on his/her parents. Well Juliet was getting super into the conversation and begins to yell, I tried to settler her down but it was too late. The entire bar filled with 75+ year old men put down their glasses and turned their heads to gaze at the voice which just uttered such words. I don’t remembered what was exactly said, but I do now know that 75+ year old men sure turn their heads quickly when they hear a young woman talking about the topic (Apparently the pill is working). Anyway, the point of the story is that the beer was bad, I hated it. And that is that.
So there Bryan and I are biking to school and a sign appears advertising Grolsch beer. It is then that my hand flies into the air as I point out and begin my warning to him never to try such horrible stuff. I was just getting to the pivotal point of my argument when I realize that my traveling companion is gone. I look back and see him lying on the ground behind an elderly woman. I was very confused, and Bryan must have been too because he just laid there on his back for a good minute pondering his current situation. The best part of it was the old woman whom Bryan landed behind. She didn’t even turn around until a good 30 seconds into Bryan’s minute of pondering (which began after his awkward and loud dismount from his bike), and when she did finally see a young man on his back with his bike awkwardly lying on the street she just turned around like it was nothing at all. The moral of the story is that apparently my story telling can be dangerous, so if you are ever riding on a bike with me just ride behind me and let me swerve and point wildly to allow the full effect to hit you metaphorically and not literally.
Another interesting Netherlandic biking fact is that they often enjoy riding two on a bike. Clearly my experiences so far on the bike has proven that the dangers are present even during a solo run, and thus I had spent much of my time avoiding this attempt at a double riding adventure. Yet, our friends Tymona & Pumba (Jenn) had ridden into Hattem from Zwolle and were complaining about their ride and wanted a rest, and they then asked to ride on the back of our bikes to the next house we were supposed to travel too. Being as we were once taught how to double ride by our host sister we promptly agreed and began our travels. Now double riding brings a whole new eliment to bike riding. The balance is thrown off dramatically when the person mounts and dismounts, plus you need to attain the proper speed before the other rider decides to jump on. The first part went fine, and all was ok as we took off from our house to Juliet and Maggies. Tymona and Pumba were safely on the back of my and Bryan’s bikes respectively, and the girls were happy they didn’t have to pedal. This ease of their life led to increased conversation being as they were not gasping for breath, and this ease of conversation prevented Bryan and I from taking the proper turn. Therefore, we soon realized we had to turn around and Jenn and Bryan were unable to take the turn together and Jenn was forced to dismount. Now this is not all that uncommon as intense turning is difficult to balance when another person is perched on the rear of your bike. Yet, what is different about this situation is the fact that Jenn, promptly after dismounting, decides to quickly jump back on without warning Bryan. The balance was quickly lost, and Jenn ended up with her butt in a pile of dirt because the location of your legs while riding on the rear of a bike prevent you from catching yourself if you fall to one side. It was this event that made it apparent that Jenn was clearly ignorant about the rules of life. One of them being completely explained during this situation. You can’t just mount a guy without proper warning!