What a glorious event, the reunion with my bike! On the evening of January 1, 2014, I returned to Leuven by train from Munich. I arrived in the evening and took the bus to a friend's flat who was out of town for the holidays. The next day, I walked to the place where I had parked and locked my bike 6 1/2 months earlier. Would my trusty steed still be there? Or would there be a gaping hole where someone had broken the lock, picked up my bike and taken her away.
As I crossed the small bridge over a stream, I could see the bike rack had been moved from the covered location to outside the small building. I peeked around the corner and there she was in all her glory. My grey and black bike with bright pink flowered saddle bags. She was a little dirty and of course wet, it is Belgium after all, but she was there and I could tell anxious to be on the road again.
I should stop here and explain how important a bike is to the life of a person in Leuven. Without a bike in Leuven, you are a walker and probably a tourist because everyone has bikes here. It is like being a cowboy without a horse.
The University has 43,000 students and I bet at least 75% of them have bikes and this does not include every person under the age of 18 and adults in the community. We have bike parking for 2,500 bikes at the Leuven train station and I can never find a parking place - that's how many bikes we have here.
And of course, there is the history that I have with my bike. I bought her in late September 2007 when I came to the University. I took the bus to a bike shop 15 minutes outside of town, because it was the only one I knew of at the time and picked up my freedom machine for about 450 dollars. Of course, like many businesses here, he would only take cash. So I had to walk a half a mile to a cash machine that did not work and then find a second to withdraw the money that I needed. But in no time, with a pair of saddle bags, I was on my way and the world around Leuven was mine to discover.
A picture of my bike in front of a holiday high heel (I guess this is art) with St. Pieter's Church in the background.
My first major adventure was when I bought a large wooden horse collar with hand wrought iron hinges at the flea market. This is a horse collar made for a draft horse and was a steal at 30 Euros ($40). It also weighed about 30 lbs. So I balanced the horse collar on the stem and seat of my bike and walked the mile back to my flat. The horse collar was part of my life the 5 years I was in Leuven and it now resides in the basement of a friend's home as I try to figure out how to get it back to the U.S.
My bike carried me through driving rain storms, stayed upright as I skidded on snow covered cobblestones and carried me along the canals and trails around Leuven.The saddle bags carried groceries, wine and picnic items and the various treasures I found at the flea markets.
I wore out the peddles, the kick stand, one pair of saddle bags, two dynamo headlights and two tires. I have added a bike bell and tire reflectors that I salvaged from abandoned bikes. The seat is held together with duct tape but she runs like a dream. And when I get on her during my visits to Leuven, I feel like a 10 year old flying through the streets and alleys of the city.
My first couple of days back, I had to work the moisture out of the seat. I think the bike had been sitting outside for a couple of months based on the water that kept oozing out of the seat as I rode which is why I tried to find covered parking. Though a wet rear end in the shape of a bike saddle is actually a badge of honor in Leuven as it shows that you are not a fair weather rider but will brave all the elements.
So, as I wrap up my time in Leuven, I have been scoping out a safe place to leave my bike. I have found a new covered bike parking location and decided to purchase a second lock to deter any would be thieves. She is not the prettiest girl in the bike rack but is reliable and with so many good memories, I cannot imagine a visit to Leuven without her to share the adventures.