I got my springy Gazelle last year, while here on an Erasmus internship exchange, and then left it here in the hope that I’d return to the Netherlands for my Master’s and a reunion with my bike. In the first days, a nasty accident happened – as I was not accustomed using the back wheel lock, I always left it open and left the key inside the lock. One nice spring day, I left my bike as usual in the train station and went to explore Amsterdam. Returning in the evening, with a heavy bag with supplies for the refrigerator, I was shocked to discover that the back wheel lock was closed and the key was left inside, but half of it was broken off, with no chance of getting it out. Shock and anger and silly me! Who would’ve imagined to do such a trick and why did I leave the key inside? These questions were never answered. It took me almost two hours to trudge home on foot. And then later my bike not only experienced a ride of shame home in the back of a car, but also had to say ‘good-bye’ to one of its body parts – the back wheel lock. But now I’m happily reunited with my companion, after a year of her being locked up in some backyard. Thanks to the weather over the past year, my bike now has its first rusty parts and a melodic noise coming from the front wheel, but nevertheless it’s still the best companion for my weekly trips around Delft.”
Prof.dr.ir. Wim Uijttewaal houdt op donderdag 3 december zijn inaugurele rede ‘Wervelend water’. Uijttewaal is sinds december vorig jaar hoogleraar experimentele hydraulica bij de faculteit Civiele Techniek en Geowetenschappen. Hij is onder meer gespecialiseerd in ondiepe stromingen rond kribben en dammen en in snel variërende stromingen bij bijvoorbeeld stuwdammen. De oratie begint om 15.00 uur in de aula.
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