Commute

One of the most difficult things for us to get use to since moving to Denmark has been not having a car. Before, running errands to 4 or 5 different stores could be reasonably done in a morning; now we plan an entire day around a trip to a single destination. We knew before coming that we would not be able to afford a car in Denmark, so we shouldn't complain about it, but all the same I think it is going to be awhile before we stop missing our van (if ever). Hopefully, once the weather warms up, we won’t mind waiting outside for the bus so much.

            One of the most disheartening realizations for me was how long it took me to get to work. It is only 9 miles from my house to work, but getting there involved a 2km walk (I could take a bus but I usually miss it and am not patient enough to wait 15min for the next one), a 30min train ride, a short metro ride, and then another walk. After all was said and done it was taking me about 1.5 hours to get to work. I was leaving at 7am and not getting home until 6pm or later and really only working normal hours. It was pretty frustrating knowing that I was going to have to spend so much time commuting.

My first attempt at a solution was to buy a bike. 

It is not a very nice bike, or and it has a bit of rust, but it runs…sometimes (having a beater might be good if it keeps it from getting stolen). The bike is kind of old; I have to reach down to the lower frame to shift, and I have never had a bike with curved ram-horned handle bars, so the leaning over is taking some getting use to.

            Right now I use the bike to cut the walking and metro portions of my commute off, still taking the bike with me on the train; maybe in the summer I’ll try to find a good way to ride the whole distance. One of the best (by best I mean most intense) parts is my ride from the train to work. It is downtown - the city is old and was not built for as much traffic as there is. Denmark has rules that cars yield to bikes, bikes yield to pedestrians and pedestrians yield to no one. Unlike the US bikes are not considered vehicles and have their own rules of the road (I am still trying to figure these out). A lot of streets have bike lanes and bike lights at the intersections (they are just smaller then car lights), but just as many don’t. Even with it being winter and freezing cold outside a lot of people bike to work. The road that I take is a busy two-lane road with lots of cars, bikes, and people. Bikers ride very close to each other and are constantly trying to pass one another. 

This is the intense part, everyone is huddled together trying to get out ahead while not getting hit by a car or running in to a bus (I went and bought a helmet at the grocery store after my first day riding). It is fun for me because I feel like I am in some sort of bike race and have to take first (my bike came with a bell and I am not afraid to use it).  Summer will be really fun as the number of bikes is likely to increases a lot. 

             I only paid $70 for the bike, so I don’t have very high expectations. The main reason that I bought it was that the seller was within walking distance from our apartment. The first day that I tried to take it to work the tire went flat and I could not figure out how to work the European air values or their bike pumps. I ended up taking it to a bike shop and was told that I should probably replace the tire and tube, which I did (costing me another $70). After two more days the plastic clamp holding the front derailleur snapped. Luckily I was able to figure out that as long as I don’t care to shift between the front gears (there’s only 2 and not a lot of hills in Denmark) then I don’t need it (it is about $80 to replace). The front tire is going to need to be replaced probably, and I am going to have spend more money make it street legal (Denmark requires bikes to have lights and reflectors and other safety things or you can get a ticket). So when all is said and done I don’t know if I will have really saved any money by buying a cheap bike. But for the moment, despite my face being frozen by the time I arrive and the possible money I may have to keep pouring into my ride, I am happy - having a bike has cut my trip down to about 40 minutes (and I bet I can do it faster once I get a little stronger and more confident).