Abandoned bikes take up valuable space in Utrecht. A few weeks ago the city government posted a notice — any bikes that appear unattended (i.e. broken, rusty, looking like crap) will be labelled with a sticker. If that sticker is not removed within fourteen days, the city will take the bike away.
Two weeks ago my bicycle went missing. I parked it in the same cage I’ve always parked it for the past nine months. Along the way, its gears started rusting apart and its brake cables became detached. Only packaging tape was holding it together. In other words, it was a deathtrap (but it was my deathtrap, dang it.)
The city must have mistaken it for an abandoned bike.
So I went to the impound in the city center. It’s not there. The supervisor told me to check out the impound in Kanaalweg, close to the university campus.
But it’s not there either.
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Losing a bicycle is heartbreaking as a student, even if objectively speaking, your bicycle is a steaming pile of junk. In the Netherlands, everything you do, everywhere you go is by bike. You do your groceries on your bike, you go to town with your friends on your bike — you can even peel oranges and make sandwiches while on your bike.
At first I was angry.
Then I was sad.
Now I’m just shrugging my shoulders. Some international students are on their third or fourth bike for the school year. At least mine lasted for nine months.
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So what are my options?
- Buy a brand new bicycle, starting at 200+ euros.
- Buy another used bicycle. During the start of the school year these can start at around 60 euros, but we’re in the middle of the last semester, so stores have raised their prices.
- Go to a corner along Voorstraat or the train station, wait around a bit, and buy a bike from a junkie for about 10-15 euros.
- Don’t buy another bicycle, and rely on public transport for the rest of the year. (More expensive and more restrictive than all the other options — and pretty lame in the Netherlands).
Many students at the beginning of the year will go for option #2 — buying a used bike from the store.
This changes when their bicycle gets stolen. Option #3 becomes more and more enticing, especially when people are living on a student budget. The thing is though, nearly every student who has lived in Utrecht for an extended period of time has had their bicycle stolen.
So at that rate, almost everybody will eventually go to option #3. It’s a vicious cycle.
My neighbor’s bicycle got stolen as well, around the same time as mine. Time to make another “visit” to town, he said.
“Don’t tell me that! You can do it, but don’t tell me!”
My other neighbor was not nearly as enthused. She keeps three different locks on her bicycle that her grandmother gave her.
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Sometimes I wonder if I’ll see my bike out on the street again. It’s definitely out there somewhere.
If I do see my bike, would I be angry? Would I be amused? Both, I think.
You could say this is part of the typical “Dutch experience.” Utrecht is a quiet town in terms of crime, especially by American standards. If bike theft is the biggest thing I need to worry about, then so be it.