Of bicycles and beligerence

It's a stupid thing, really, but I always park my bike at a signpost on the sidewalk by Janel's apartment. There's a bike rack not 4 or 5 meters away, but it's the crappy kind where you're supposed to put your front wheel in it to keep the bike upright. And since I have a non-functional kickstand, I have to use it that way or the bike falls over (I've tried) and the gears and brakes get mashed. Unfortunately, this means I can't lock the front wheel AND the bike frame to something - it's an either/or situation that I'm not comfortable with, considering I can't afford to replace the bike if it's stolen. I could use the bike rack if I had a second lock but those things are expensive - 20-30 euros a piece, so rather than shell out the money, I use the sign - as do many other people - it's not illegal by any means and is on public property.

As far as I can tell, I'm not blocking anyone's way by parking my bike there - the sidewalk is huge, the sign's out of the way, and the worst problem appears to me to be that I make it slightly more difficult for the cars that park illegally on the sidewalk to navigate.

However, I am apparently pissing off Janel's neighbours. Back in the spring, an older lady approached Prilly (another carpooler) to ask (in Dutch - I had to get a translation) that we use the bike rack rather than the sign. So I tried it - that's when the bike fell over. I went back to the sign and I didn't hear about it again until a couple months ago when Bob, one of Janel and Marco's neighbour friends, mentioned to Marco that the same old lady had been complaining. We laughed it off because it seemed like such a silly thing to be worried about - evidently she thought the bike was an eyesore in a parking lot. I find this sardonically amusing as I park my bike right next to where the mound of garbage appears every week and only a few meters from the bike rack - changing locations hardly improves the view. It also seems incredibly ironic that she's offended by the sight of a bicycle in the Netherlands.

Again last week we got a message through Marco that Bob had been hearing comments again from the same old lady - and they laughed about it again. Marco told him that I'm only working for another week so it wouldn't even be an issue soon. Not once has Bob or anyone else approached me personally to discuss this - and Bob is fluent in English.

So today I leave my bike where I always do and get a visit from Janel this afternoon to tell me that Bob the beligerent jerk had removed the bolts from my front wheel. He passed Marco today and told him that he'd done it and if I didn't like it I could call the police. Another neighbour had been there at the time and he and Marco both told him that it was private property and he shouldn't be messing with it. Didn't help.

I was pretty upset when I heard all this this afternoon and didn't have a fantastic day at work as a result, but I was willing to concede that we could both meet our needs here - I needed a safe way to lock up my bicycle where it wouldn't get stolen or damaged and Bob evidently needed the old lady to stop bugging him by my bike moving. I figured if he wanted to lend me another bike lock for the rest of the week, we could work this out. So I went to his apartment (Janel and Marco backing me up as moral support), knocked, and calmly said I'd like to talk about my bicycle. He asked if I wanted the pieces back and I said yes, and then said that I wanted to talk about the situation.

The man wouldn't talk. He wouldn't tell me WHY they didn't want it there, or listen to any of my explanations about why I choose that spot or anything. He started yelling, saying that he's lived in my country for 12 years and he knows how the rules go (well, no - he lived in the US, and as far as I know, it's legal to park your bike on signposts in Canada unless there's a sign saying not to! However, there are laws against vandalism!), and that "they've" asked me dozens of times to move it (again, not quite) and that if it reappeared there tomorrow that the whole thing would disappear - that I believe.

Marco, who is usually a very mild-mannered soul, actually yelled back in Dutch, making reasonable arguments about it being a legal thing to do, but to no avail. I actually had to jam my foot in the door at the beginning of all this to attempt to continue asking to discuss it reasonably.

So I got my bike parts back - turns out he'd also removed the steering column bolt, and he didn't let his dog eat us, but that's all I can say for him. I burst into tears in front of the man, I was so frustrated and upset, but he didn't seem to even notice.

I cried at Janel and Marco's for a good hour before I calmed down enough to bike home - thank heavens for Marco reassembling my bike! And then I came home and cried for another hour for good measure. I was calm, but writing this has got me all agitated again and my nose is starting to hurt from blowing it.

I'm particularly bothered because this is someone I sort of knew - I had joked (I thought!) with him before about my taking my bike seat off because I'd already had one stolen and petted his dog, and then to have him turncoat so fast and not only vandalize my bike but threaten me with its theft, all the while yelling at me! I was shocked, and so were Janel and Marco, who've shared dog-sitting duties with him and had him over for dinner.

So much for the famed Dutch consultation method of problem solving. With this in mind it feels much more like a fabled method. Kanaleneiland, Janel's neighbourhood, is largely populated by foreigners, many from Morocco or Turkey. Because of the growing prejudices against North Africans in the Netherlands, I heard lots of warnings from people who heard I was biking through there and leaving my bike all day. However, the only untoward experience I've had there was this - and I doubt all my well-intentioned warners expected I would be threatened by a retired Dutchman with cancer. But I am getting bitter. I have met plenty of very nice Dutchies, too. I'm trying to remember that and not let this one stupid incident colour my whole experience here.

So for the rest of the week I'm taking the tram to Janel's. I frankly don't trust the safety of my bike ANYWHERE in that vicinity. As much I hate to give the impression that i'm giving in to this violence, I don't want to pay for another
bike.

Bah humbug.