Glad you're okay.
this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2025
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So do I 😓
We don't mind. The dude probably just got scared. Keep practicing and pay attention to your surroundings. Read the signs and read other road participants. Glad to have you!
Thanks... I can imagine that it was very scary for him as well; randomly getting on the news for running over a bike rider is surely quite unwelcome 😂 I'll pay more attention on the road and try to stay in this world.
Every so often something happens that reminds us of our frailty. I'm glad you're still amongst the living, OP! Maybe use public transportation from now on, lol.
Just last week I almost ran out of air when scuba diving because we got caught in a moderate current... The reminders are not holding back at all 😅
From what I’ve heard having near-death experiences while riding a bike in Netherlands is the norm and the Dutch are used to it. Somehow they manage not to kill themselves all the time, which remains a mystery.
I think it's the attitude towards not having guard rails next to the canal: "Don't cycle through the wet bit and you'll be fine" 👍
That aspect seems very straight forward. Like you're trusted to behave as an adult.
I went to the Netherlands earlier this year, and the "freedom" was really refreshing. Not even really in the normal sense of the word, but like you say, just not having everything be idiot-proof padded safety whatever, being trusted to be an adult. The train systems, too, were great how you just walked through unobstructed and tapped your card on the little tower, again just trusted to do the thing. I went on a small-boat canal tour and I arrived a bit early and the guys were just lounging around and asked "You here for the boat tour? Yeah? Cool, we'll leave in 20 minutes, the bathroom's in the basement", didn't even check my ticket, just trusted I was supposed to be there.
I talked to a couple locals, and they basically all said the same thing, that the only real rules were "Mind your own business and don't be a dick", which I really honestly felt, and it was great.
I got on the topic of the pulleys on the front of buildings in Amsterdam with someone (I was there during a move-out day, so got to see lots in use), and they were like "Yeah, you could never have anything like that in the USA, people would just sue the shit out of each other for every minor accident", and I was a bit sad because yes that's exactly what would happen...
I really didn't want to leave.
I would rather not get used to that 😅.
The bike lane is amazing, it's just that sometimes they are one way at and at the outer side of both ways of the road, and some times they are dedicated roads with two direction/lanes. It can get confusing for newcomers.
Albert Hoffman had a near-death experience on a bike and things were pretty groovy after that.
Sounds reassuring, but I wouldn't count on the correlation 😂