The Curious Case of the Stolen Bicycle

When I first got to Holland, my friend and all-around-life-support, Sameer borrowed a bike from a friend for me. I used that bike about 3 times because it wasn’t very good and as soon as my roommate left for Spain I started borrowing hers. She was supposed to be back in a couple weeks…but that has turned into a couple months and now and I’m pretty attached to that bike (and I know that she doesn’t mind me using it). 

Well, when my sister came to visit I stored the Sameer-bike at Den Haag Central Station thinking that when I finally met up with the man whose bike it was, it wouldn’t be too difficult to pick it up from there. 

Well, about a week later when I checked on it …. the bike wasn’t there. 

THE BIKE WASN’T THERE!

This is what the bike rack looks like and this is about where I parked my bike
(photo curtesy of google images)

This was, understandably very alarming to Sameer. I went back to look with more time on my hands to prowl up and down the lanes of bikes outside the station. Nothing. Sameer had to tell his friend who was not happy. At all. 

BUT MIRACLES HAPPEN.

I happened to tell one of my intern friends about the incident. I showed him the place where I had parked the bike and he suggested that maybe the authorities had taken it because it sounded like I had parked illegally. He said to just talk to the transit people because they keep bikes that they confiscate and have a whole system. 

This lit a spark of hope inside me.

I looked online and discovered the Bike Depot. It’s incredible. A true public service. They have profile after profile of bikes that the police have picked up with a small description of the bike as well as a picture of it. After some clicking and searching and revising my search terms I found what could only be the bike.

Yes I parked it there like a crazy person. But look at the above picture! I thought it was normal! 

I called and left a message. I think I even emailed. It was too late to go get it on the Saturday when I found it. So I waited for Monday morning and ventured out to the South of the Hague to reclaim my borrowed treasure. I got lost of course. It wasn’t the best part of town and I had never been there before. 

I eventually found the place and discovered that there are adults in Holland who don’t speak English! This made things interesting but it all worked out. Upon leaving I found myself in the outskirts of The Hague with two borrowed bicycles. And I was running late for work. 

I walked the two bikes awkwardly down the road. I’ve seen people ride one bike while guiding the other with their hand. I tried that for approximately .3 seconds and then gave up. I wasn’t about to leave my newly reclaimed bike on the street somewhere in that sketchy neighbourhood—but it was a much less usable bike than my normal one! And I was so late! 

Well, I made my pilgrimage to the nearest McDonald’s and took my chances locking up my nicer bike there. I took a few pictures to remind myself where it was. And then I headed off on the little rescued red bike. It’s short, it doesn’t have breaks, the bell doesn’t work and I basically made myself very sweaty huffing all the way to work. 

Morning commuters at the bike rack

Thank goodness for the landmark of McDonalds!

Luckily, the OPCW has a garage where you can park bikes and no one cares if you leave them there for a little while. I took the tram home that day after work, walked back to McDonalds to pick up the first bike and then rode that home (it was like a logic puzzle getting all the bikes and myself where we needed to be!) 

When Sameer came back in town he asked me to leave the bike at a fitness center. So I rode the bike there last week after work and then jogged/walked back to the OPCW to pick up the other bike. Again, so many logistics involved when you lead a car-less life! 

My victory picture of the bike reclaimed and waiting outside the fitness centre!

I enjoyed my jog (let's be honest largely walk) back to work.

I just love the everyday architecture here.

I bike past this place often. It's on my way from work to the city centre!

Beautiful woods on the way back to work. Autumn is here!

And there is the OPCW. The excuse for all my adventures. 

Anyway, as The Netherlands are a dedicated cycling country and as cycling is probably the biggest cultural experience that I am having here it seemed worth sharing: that one time when I lost someone else’s bike, but then found it again and bailed it out of bike prison. 

The End.