“It’s as easy as riding a bike” --So they say..

So I recently moved to Belgium, land of the bikes, trams, scooters, mopeds, skateboards, trucks, planes, trains and automobiles.  Literally, all at the same time.  Piccadilly Circus has NOTHING on Belgium! I have practically lived my entire adult life in New York City, so you would think I would be accustomed to the traffic and loud noises that automatically comes with a large metropolis.   Yes and No. 

First of all let’s just say that I needed to learn how to walk first before even thinking about riding a bike.   Yes, that’s right. Walk.  Crossing the street in the center of Gent was quite an ordeal.  You have the trams simultaneously whizzing by in both directions, then the buses trying to maneuver in between the lanes on the same track and then there are the cyclists speeding by as if it was the practice course for the Tour de France. And lastly of course are the cars. You should know that Europeans like to drive fast.   

Once I mastered walking in Belgium, I turned to the next best thing. Riding a bike! You’re not European unless you’re riding a bike complete with a mini bell, front and back head lights and of course a basket or bike satchel of sorts. Seriously though, everyone here does it so why can’t I? 

I hop on the bike (more like climb) and realize that my feet barely touch the ground.  Is that the way it’s supposed to be?  Have bikes gotten higher or have I just shrunk?  I always remember my feet flat on the ground.  Of course I do, because the last time I was on one I was about 3 feet shorter, wore little pony tails and had training wheels on my bike (I may have been 7) .

So here I am teaching myself to ride a bike again. I rode around a few times, but I still managed to fall on my ass riding at the coast this past weekend.  Actually it happened moments after I took a cheerful picture on my bike before crossing a 4 lane highway.  The first photo was for the cool factor and the second, well just proves that it’s not always "as easy  as riding a bike".