Foggy Riding by the Canal

The past few days have been rather quiet and foggy, especially yesterday. Not great riding circumstances, except alongside the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal. Riding by it several times a week, the canal and its ships ("binnenvaartschepen"-- inner-coastal cargo ships) are both endlessly fascinating and deeply familiar. My connection goes back to the time we moved to Weesp, in 1966. At that time, we could still see the canal from our second-story apartment, about half a mile away, the business district that would come to block our view a few years later not having been built yet. I remember my mom taking us swimming there--or at least watch construction workers go for a swim on their lunch breaks. They'd try to climb onto passing ships, ride along for a little ways before jumping (or being chased) off. Occasionally, my mom would let me in the water near the shore. When a ship passed, the current would pull you back, or forward, parallel to the shore--you'd be passing your group on the shore without having to swim. A little down the road from where we used to go, near Diemen, a older cousin and his friends had a rope tied to the freeway bridge with which they'd "Tarzan" themselves far into this water highway. These days, the traffic often is so heavy, that it's really not a place for swimming any more. But there are still days, just like in the 1980s when I would ride my bike here as a student, when, if they asked me what I want to be when I grow up, I'd say: "binnenvaartschipper" (skipper on one of those boats). I'm sure the reality isn't nearly as romantic as one imagines it from a distance. Speaking of distance: yesterday, in the fog, it was difficult to make out anything. Often, the first thing you'd notice was the sound of a bow pushing through the water. Looking over, all you could make out was a vague, dark shadow passing by. Tonight, visibility was a little better, but after dark in the calm weather the scene was still strangely quiet, almost intimate. (Especially because I wasn't sniffing and coughing and spitting too much any more: got over my cold without missing a ride!)