It's like riding a bike

It's true, in case you had any doubts, that you really never forget. Now that I kind of know how to get some places, sometimes, I absolutely LOVE riding my bike. Even when freezing, even if its kind of raining, it is just so liberating to get on my bike and get somewhere fast. I would add that I love my bike itself, but to tell you the truth it is kind of a piece of crap. When I bought it, I was still unsure about how much I would ride it, so I got a cheap one. And apparently it is too small for me, as I was told today. It doesn't go very fast at all, which is ok except when men with tiny babies riding on the back of thier bikes pass me on very narrow paths. One wrong swerve and I could potentially kill a baby! Not ok. Also, the back lock and key are rusty and bent, and I can only lock the back wheel half the time. So I went to the market where a man sells bike parts and fixes them, for free I was told, to try to replace the lock. My encounter went something like this:

"I can't get the key out to lock the back wheel. Do you sell replacement ones?"
The man leans down, pushes down the lever, and easily removes the key that I had been slaving over for 10 minutes the night before.
"There is nothing wrong with this bike," he says sternly in his Dutch accent
"Oh...well...the key is kind of bent and rusty and hard for me to deal with so I think I still want a new one"
"There is nothing wrong with this bike. Except that it is too small for you. Children's bike"

*To be clear,it does not look like any children's bike I've ever seen, if you are imagining me riding around Amsterdam on a pink Barbie bike with training wheels. It looks pretty adult sized to me...

He then pulls out a wrench and lifts up my seat.
"Um...thank you...I guess you are right..."
A woman rides up, says something in Dutch, and he pumps up her tire. No money is exchanged, and she rides away. I am still standing there, not really sure what to do. He looks at me and says:
"Nothing wrong with your bike. Come back when you have real problem."

I think I made a new best friend.