It is truly a logistical nightmare. I have been cat-sitting a cat in Wageningen for three weeks. I am paid to feed and keep the timid animal company, which, theoretically, is a wonderful side job for the average cat-lover working on her thesis. I cycle to the cat in the morning, attempt to pet it before it flees, then cycle to the library to work on my thesis proposal and then return to the cat in the evening (dinner and another attempt at petting) and eventually return to my own home and bed, The cat lives on a hill. And I go everywhere riding my feeble student bike.
In addition to its numerous malfunctions, the bike is extremely loud. The chain is in urgent need of lubrication, but I lack the time; there is a dynamo (which is great as I really don’t feel like having to change the batteries in the lighting), but the dynamo sounds like a motorbike and fat bike rolled into one. And finally, there is the flapping mudguard over the rear wheel. If you squeeze the right handbrake, the bike makes such a deafening screeching noise that everyone turns to see whether an ancient dragon may have been woken (on the wrong side of the bed). There is a lump in the rear tyre, causing me to wobble up and down as if I were riding horseback. However, the sound contributes to my safety as I cannot go anywhere unnoticed.
The last time I had them fixed, the bike mechanic inquired: ‘Are you sure you want it fixed? I would rather declare it a wreck
The bike may be some twenty years old, and I got my hands on the second-hand item for a little over one hundred euros because it has three gears. Useful, especially when going up Wageningen Hill. The gears usually work but need fixing on a regular basis. The last time I had them fixed, the bike mechanic inquired: ‘Are you sure you want it fixed? I would rather declare it a wreck’. Hell no! Fix the thing! I am cat-sitting at a different address next week. Although I probably shouldn’t have agreed to it, as another address has now been added to my logistical nightmare.
But I keep trusting my terrible but still functioning bicycle, which has carried me for numerous kilometres over the past five years. I will have to cycle (rattle, growl, flap, beep, wobble) back and forth between two cats, the library and my bed till I drop dead. Or my student bike does.
Ilja Bouwknegt (25) is a master’s student in Forest and Nature Conservation. Ilja is interested in the relationship between humans and nature and prefers to try every hobby at least once. Currently, that is crochet, but writing remains the undisputed favourite.
