Treacherous Ride

It snowed/sleeted last night, and then it went below freezing. So I wasn't sure if it would be wise to ride in today. This country is a swamp, and things don't dry out here; instead, they, including the roads and bike paths, always seem to be damp. But the first thing I saw when I looked out the window at 6:30 was my friend Piet riding by the house. Piet has been doing the commute to Amsterdam for many years, summer and winter. The only time he doesn't ride is when it's icy, because he really can't afford a fall. So seeing him ride by settled it for me. But it turned out that it was very sketchy all the way into the city, in part because over here, they don't send the salt trucks out every time there's a possibility of snow or ice. I made it into the city without too much trouble, but then went down twice in a row without having time to catch myself. It was as if someone just ripped the bike out from under me. Both falls were on my left side, on the last two bridges on the Singel gracht before my building. They just looked wet, but in reality they were iced over. In the shower just now I could see I have two nice bruises, one on my elbow and one on my hip. In the second crash, I also poked myself in the ribs, and that could well be a third bruise. When I get home tonight I'll have to call Piet, see what he was thinking. I hope he kept it upright all the way this morning.

[Evening update:] At 11:00, after my first class, I went for my cup of coffee at the corner place, which is right at the second place I went down three hours earlier. And guess what: the salt truck had showed up! I think they had just put the salt down, probably on an ice-free surface, given that the sun had been up for three hours and the temperature had risen well above freezing. I guess it's asking too much for the city to have these crews out before rush hour. No word from Piet yet, maybe I'll try to call him one more time. Bruises not too bad, although the rib cage is sensitive.