When the sun hits Mina Glynou’s new bike, heads turn. The bike is a black beauty, in mint condition that looks as though it just rolled out of the showroom.
Name: Mina Glynou (Greece, Biomedical Engineering, Masters Student)
Price: Least expensive new bike in the shop
Brand: Formula
Striking feature: The perfect condition
In fact, it did. Glynou’s new bike is only one week old. Its gleaming chrome accents, leather seat and metal handle bars have yet to experience a Dutch winter. “I bought it from a bicycle store in the city centre. I picked this one out because it was the cheapest new bike they had,” she explained. However, upon further investigation it became clear that price was not her only criteria. “I had a hard time in the beginning because all of the bikes were so high. I had to find one that would fit me.”
If the height differences between petite Glynou and the average Dutch person weren’t enough of a challenge for her, she also had to relearn how to ride a bike. Although people do use bikes in Greece, Glynou comes from the busy metropolis of Athens. Glynou laughed when asked if she had biked much back home, “In Athens it is not safe to cycle anywhere. I stopped riding a bicycle when I was ten years old.” While you may never forget how to ride a bike, your skills can be very rusty when it has been more than 10 years since you were last on one.
Glynou uses her new bike everyday to go to and from work. She really likes biking here in the Netherlands because she thinks it is healthy. She said, “It is really nice that everyone bikes here. There is no pollution and the air is fresh and clean.” With a wave goodbye, Glynou biked off with some friends to enjoy the last bit of not too cold weather before winter really begins.
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