Adventures with bicycles.

Hey ya'll. How's everyone? Happy Friday!

So it's not that early in the morn there in the states, but I figured a new edition of thejellydonutnews was in order. We're heading into a really nice weekend here in Berlin--it's in the high 60's today and should warm up to the low 70's this weekend. Perfect for outdoor adventures!

Speaking of which, I had a fantastic time last Saturday. At the urging of our friends Monica and Steve, I (hesitatingly, at first) rented a bike and set out to enjoy the weather--and Berlin--from a perspective I'd not yet experienced. Perhaps I should give a little background to my bike-related anxiety: not only did I seriously fear for my life the last time I road a bike on the street in Chicago, I've also hit a biker. With my car. Ugh. Talk about traumatic. If you don't know the story, here's a little recap--I was driving eastbound on Wilson on the western edge of Uptown, making my way towards Lake Shore Drive. I pulled up to a four-way stop sign, stopped, and looked in order to proceed. At the same time I decided I was in the clear, a large white van going westbound on Wilson drove through the intersection, and just as we passed each other, a girl on a bike, headed southbound, decided that she could just cut through the intersection, right behind this white truck. I had absolutely no time to stop, and it was seconds before she, in slow motion of course, rolled up onto my windshield. Luckily for the both of us, I couldn't have been going more than 10-15 mph, so I didn't injure her. She immediately admitted (and I've often wondered whether she was stoned or something due to her lackadaisical response) that it was her fault; she saw the stop sign but didn't think she should stop. Ironically, I was on my way to see my therapist when this happen. Hah!

Okay, so you get it: bikes freak me out. But, observing how many people ride in this city, and how easy it is to navigate via bike paths and ACTUAL BIKE TRAFFIC SIGNALS (!) I figured, what the hay? Monica and Steve had been riding--they said it was great--so I'd give it a whirl. Jack and I rented bikes from Fat Tire Bicycles at Alexanderplatz, Monica and Steve met us there under the Fernsehturm, and we headed to Kreuzberg...and beyond!


Ohhhh, the freedom. The sights! The sounds! The feeling of pedals beneath you! Oww, my legs! Geez, this is hard work! But oh, the action! The wind in your hair! I can't tell you how refreshing it was to be on a bike and FEEL SAFE, like the cars and the people and the city respected my choice to get myself around. We road through Kreuzberg and down to Treptower Park, as Jack and I hadn't seen it yet. Then we rode to the other side of the park which extends along a river and found a biergarten to take a break in. Lemme tell you, this biergarten was HOPPIN'. And not with the clientele you'd expect: it was seriously geriatric in there. I mean, I'm not sure I've seen this many people over the age of 75 in one place, let alone all drinking beer. And dancing! They had a DJ on a stage, and when he started spinning the tunes, many couples came to the cement dance floor and started bustin' a move. Wow. All I can say is that I hope I'm drinking beer and dancing with their kind of energy when I'm that old!


From there, we found a place in the park to set up our new hobby (which I'll tell you about in the next post), and hung out for a couple of hours, practicing this new skill (seriously! I will tell you what it is once I receive the photographic evidence from our friends). Then, taking a new route home, we rode through Treptow and into Neuköln, and back up to Mitte, where Alexanderplatz is located. Ditching our bikes (and welcoming new butt bruises, haha) we ate dinner at a little place across the street from my language school, and rewarded all our hard work with pizza and beer. A seriously awesome day.

So! Although I don't own a bike and it really wouldn't be worth it to buy one now (idontwannatalkaboutit) renting a bike here was easy, fairly cheap, and I know I'll be doing it again. And I won't be fearing for my life. Although, I might get those damn internal butt bruises again! Seriously, I was waddling later that night. 

Who has a good bicycle story? Let's hear 'em!!!