A most peculiar sight last night while cycling home, a route I must’ve done more than a thousand times in the dark, & yet I’ve never seen this before.
A row of trees was illuminated with a ghostly glow and even though there was a building behind me with a fluorescent strip lighting its front door, I couldn’t figure out the geometry at all.
Still thinking about this article in #SamvirkeDK : it's a bit counter-intuitive but Danes actually cycle 20% less than in 2014. The article is clear that it's not because we're getting lazy but because we don't invest enough in #cycling.
The Netherlands spends 5x per head each year than #Denmark does.
Especially outside + on the edge of the big cities cycling becomes hard. Given #cyclingLife has so many benefits from health to clean air to congestion it's a scandal
Finally fitted the new 11-32 cassette & long cage rear derailleur to my bike, hopefully giving me a fighting chance of making it up some of the fiendishly steep hills around our new home 😬✌️
New chain follows tomorrow after degreasing & waxing 🥸
In other news, the FusionDrive of our 2015 family iMac croaked today when upgrading the OS. Have plenty of backups & am trying recovery now, but a whole new machine may be needed 😕
It’s all a bit meh out there. Wet paths after lots of rain, very damp air reducing the effective temperature, no sign of the Sun, & too many commuting cars 🚕🚙🚗
There are many mute swans nesting alongside the waterways of the Vlietland at the moment.
I stopped about 30 metres after passing one pen on her nest & the cob steamed up, patrolling back & forth in front on me, even though I was nowhere near the pen 🙇♂️
Even then, not nearly as aggressive as the many geese alongside the cycle paths protecting their already-born goslings 😬
As seen on this evening’s sunny if a bit windy 57km ride.
Was riding at 30kmh on the bike path alongside the N44 towards The Hague … and was passed by a ~13 year old kid slowly pedalling a low-rider e-bike going at >40kmh 💨
No licence plates & no helmet, as are mandatory 😡
And no handed, as is idiotic 🙄
I do hate seeing young kids riding e-bikes: it’s very common here in NL now & seems so unnecessary 😬
The Dutch undercover wielrennerpolitie (race cycling police) came to my house this afternoon, saying they had received reports of a middle-aged man in Lycra with less than perfectly locked-in cycling shoes when pedalling 🩴
They insisted on inspecting my cleats 😬
My punishment? Replacements to be fitted immediately & increased kilometres to be ridden despite the current windy conditions 💨🚴♂️
It may lack the mighty rock formations of Yosemite, but you have to think that Ansel Adams would nevertheless have enjoyed photographing the wide open landscape of The Netherlands & the endlessly changing skies above it 🤷♂️🙂