2:00 pm

I have a theory that the Dutch are always cheerful and good-natured because they spend so little time in their cars. Think about it. It’s a Saturday afternoon, warm out, so you load up the car for a trip to the beach. Of course, once you get on the road you realize that everyone else had the same idea . You end up sitting in traffic for an hour, the beach a ten minute walk away, all the while getting angrier and angrier that you’re in your car instead of on the sand. The Dutch neatly avoid this problem by bicycling or using public transportation to get everywhere.

This theory occurred to me as I was bicycling home from the beach yesterday afternoon. I went down to fly my kite (because truly, nothing gives you wings like watching that frail nylon bird sailing across the sky) on a beach that wasn’t quite jam packed but was still pretty crowded. By the time I left, almost everyone else was leaving for the day. I zipped out of there in five minutes, as the line of cars waiting to exit got longer and longer. I rode home with the wind at my back, enjoying the fresh air and the feeling of being alive!, aside from one brief bit across the cobblestones that rattled all my bones against each other.

Try it, if you don’t believe me. The next time you plan on taking a little trip, see if you can ride your bike or take the BART. And tell me if you don’t have a much nicer time without the hassle of road stress and idiot drivers.