Patience

I think that I have it figured out finally. I would not have thougt of it but there is a purpose to the uni-speed ghetto bicycles that abound in Holland. In one word, patience. Yes, you need this in life. You also learn this biking around the city on a Dutch special.

Also I know why the bikes have the flat ungrooved pedals; so your feet can slip off when they are a bit wet. (It is wet quite often in Holland.) It is a lesson from Kindergarten that I forgot to remember. When it is wet you need to exercise more caution; something you would do had you more patience about you.

I know why the seat on the bike is loose. It acts as a sort of suspension. See, and I thought that the bikes were so ghetto. No! The loose seat makes up for the lack of suspension. I would not jump to rash conclusions if I had more patience.

The bell takes up a lot of the handlebar. This is so that I do not grab hold of too much of the handle bar. When one has patience, they do not grab more than what they need. (A person acting rashly hoards half of the handlebar with their hands.)

Also, the bell dings when I hit an irregularity in the road. (It happens quite often in Holland.) Because I am an American I do not sound the bell enough. As an American we think that people just know that we are coming. But here in Europe we need to give them the courtesy of ding on the bell in alert of our encroachment.