I feel like I’m always writing blogs when I’m angry. I guess I need to complain to someone and the internet was pretty much invented for that purpose. The topic today: biking in Freiburg.
I got a bike about a month ago and I tried riding it when it was still death-winter but I haven’t done any real riding until this week. Since it suddenly became spring I’ve been going everywhere by bike. About half of Freiburg has lovely bike lanes and the signs are clear but the other half is just a HOT MESS. Perfect example: I was riding on a wide sidewalk because there weren’t any bike lane in the road and I saw other bikers doing the same thing. Some official looking guy (bike police? I don’t know.) stopped me and started going off about how I couldn’t ride my bike on this particular sidewalk. That would have been only minorly annoying if it hadn’t been for the THREE bikers that biked past me while I was being yelled at. Of course Mr. Official Bike Police didn’t say anything to them obviously. Fuming at the unfairness, I continued on foot until there was a bike lane at a traffic light. Stopped at the top line where you’re supposed to stop, I get passed by TWO bikes that go through a red light (this is a major intersection) and one squeezes around me to stop just above the line. What the heck? I’m just trying to follow the rules! It would be one thing if everyone were lax or everyone were strict, but this wishy-washy law enforcement rubs me the wrong way. And to top it all off, I found out last night as I was biking home in the dark that my bike light stopped working. If I had gotten caught (really surprised I didn’t) I would have had to pay a fine. Or maybe not. I seriously don’t know what’s going on.
If anyone knows how to fix pedal generator lights… Hit me up please…