A Fine Cycling Sunday

The Sunday ride felt extra good, given that I had to work yesterday (and in the days before yesterday work hard to get ready). Lots of pent-up energy that needed to get out, and it did. The ride, "Nieuwkoop," also belongs in the book 100 Bike Rides out of Nederhorst den Berg, if one ever got written. I knew parts of it, but not everything. And I still don't know parts of it, because the first hour-and-a-half we rode in a thick, chilly fog. Two new (to me) members of the group, one of whom really could do his share of the work. I hope he comes back for more. Absolutely no climbing, only a few bridges and viaducts, but lots of little curvy dikes alongside little rivers and canals. They can say what they want over here, but what's left of the so-called Groene Hart (green heart) of the Netherlands certainly is worth protecting. We followed the Vecht river to Breukelen, then, by way of Kockengen, to Woerdense Verlaat (in the good winters of the eighties, I'd go there for excellent skating tours), then a little backroad, Kadewetering, to the road alongside the Meije to Zwammerdam, right turn, another right turn straight to Nieuwkoop where we stopped for coffee after about thirty miles. Fine local cafe with excellent apple pie, although the coffee was a bit weak. The sun was out when we got back on our way: Noorden and Noordens Dorp to Woerdense Verlaat, where we took a left turn to follow the Kromme Mijdrecht river through De Hoef into Amstelhoek. I used to ride this road in the eighties as a student but had not been there in at least ten years. It was great fun motoring through turn after turn there. A right, then a left onto the Tienboerenweg, a left onto the Veldweg, and eventually tracing the Waver river to Stokkelaarsbrug, and from there to Abcoude where we picked up the last little river: het Gein. I had almost 62 miles for the day, and the average was just about 20. Just before Abcoude we did lose two of our guys, but they were close to home, so I'm sure they were fine. Already before we sat down for coffee in the morning, Flemish t.v. had started its start-to-finish coverage of the World's. I checked in when I got home (nothing much happening yet at only 70 kilometers in), but when we returned from our Sunday pancake in the sun at the restaurant across the street (it may have been the last time this year, although one never knows) things were beginning to happen, and the final hour was pretty exciting. The Italians played it to perfection, the Belgians fought valiantly, so did the Danes and Robert Gesink, and Spain got outmaneuvered. I think I'm ready to get back to work now. (Whether after three weeks of excellent weather I'm ready for the wet, windy, and cool days we're supposed to get this week is another matter).

Off-Peak Bike Commute

That's really the way to go, if you can swing it. For one thing, you avoid the Dutch junior high and high school kids who ride to school in packs, three or four wide, taking up the entire bike path and only yielding, if at all, at the last minute. It can make for hairy situations. Today, I first did some work at home, then around eleven got on my way. It's mild fall weather in Holland (60s and sunny with little wind), and I rode in shorts again (long sleeves, though). I also finally took my friend Piet's advice and followed the Vecht river all the way into the city of Weesp. That way, you avoid riding the bike path (perfectly safe) alongside a busy highway. It's a slight detour, but Piet is right to say that it's more that worth it. He's been doing this for years, and it's clear he knows what he's talking about. On the other side of Weesp you pick up the little road alongside the Amsterdam Rijnkanaal (where I only saw one ship today, the entire way to Amsterdam; this made it less interesting; also, deserted, the canal looked not nearly as forbidding). The section behind the Central train station in the city was easier too, with not nearly as many ferry passengers trying to get across the bikepath. Tuesday is going to be different: it's supposed to rain, and I'll have to head out around 7 am.

David Brooks v. Volkskrant: 1-0

I only just saw David Brooks' column of last Tuesday with a useful broader perspective on the current financial-economic crisis--or, as one should probably say, financial-economic-political crisis. It's not new to suggest that politics (both ideology and practical legislative measures or lack thereof) have much to do with the problems in the financial sector. However, I found Brooks' analysis of how the crisis, and its probable resolution, is creating a new U.S. political-financial "establishment" insightful as well as somewhat reassuring. More insightful certainly than this morning's Volkskrant, which has several pieces on the crisis where a combination of resentment toward the U.S. and glee over its crisis outweighs careful analysis. I will name names, why not: Marcel van Dam, and the often more interesting Michael Zeeman. (I don't see these articles on the website, so you'd have to go out and buy the paper, which you should do with many different papers on a regular basis anyway)

The end of U.S. leadership?

One way to look at the significance of America's financial woes (and how the rest of the world is affected by them) is to argue that the United States continues to be central to international affairs, in spite of how it has tied itself down in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in spite of the widespread anti-Americanism around the world. What America does or does not do, or what America goes through, remains of crucial importance in today's interconnected ("globalized") world. Another view comes from today's International Herald Tribune, which quotes Treasury Secretary Paulson on its front page as saying: "This is a humbling, humbling time for the United States of America," and which prints an excellent column by Roger Cohen entitled "The Fleecing of America." Its thesis is that where during the financial crises of the 1990s the U.S. almost automatically took a leadership role to ensure the stability of the international financial system, no other country is stepping up to assist U.S. authorities in coping with the current crisis, in spite of many shared risks. This thesis can, for its part, be interpreted in two--complimentary--ways: One, as Cohen writes, the world feels that the Americans have to reap what they sowed, it's their problem (no reciprocity, no acknowledgement of shared interests, instead: lots of Schadenfreude). Two, the fact that in this U.S.-made, international crisis no other power steps up to shoulder part of the burden shows that while the U.S. may be losing influence on all fronts (certainly compared to a decade or so ago), nobody can take over (or even tries to share) its international leadership role. No single country, no EU, no UN, nobody. National banks are intervening to prop up money markets, but that's mostly in the national interest. Private non-U.S. financial interests, meanwhile, are lobbying fiercely to get a piece of the proposed $700 billion bail-out package. In the end, therefore, we may return to the opening view here: America may temporarily be distracted and "humbled," in the grand scheme of things it remains the only power capable and willing to assume a leadership role.

Limburg hills

I got one today I had not done yet: the Fromberg. Nothing shocking, but a nice little climb, fairly steep at the bottom, then a long, much easier section (where you could really put down the hammer if you could make the switch from the steeper part). John, Olaf and I did it as part of a fifty miler which also included the Keutenberg, often the decider in the Amstel Gold Race, and the Cauberg (where the AGR finishes), along with lots of other little climbs. The Keutenberg I did in my lightest gear, 39x23, mostly standing up, the Cauberg too, but mostly sitting down. (Jeff, click on the links, and start studying!). Very nice day, and even though there were lots of riders out (there always are here), some part of organized tours, it was notably quieter than in our part of the country, also when it got to be late morning and early afternoon. Limburg is probably the only part of the Netherlands where cyclists don't automatically order apple pie. Instead, they order "vlaai," a local fruit pie specialty (also for sale at Schiphol airport). So we got cherry vlaai at our stop in Gulpen. They give you a tiny glass of water with your coffee. Other nice southern detail: with the coffee they brought out a shot glass of whipped cream with a little liquer. I didn't order coffee, but John and Olaf did. They both emptied their shot glasses and climbed the next hill like maniacs. They know how to live and how to treat their guests, down there. Next time, I'll order coffee too.

Team ride!

The weather has been very nice (no rain now for almost two weeks already) and after being cooped-up at the house working for the past two days I decided that today was the day I'd check out the weekly training ride of Wielerclub de Eendracht (sponsored by Viks, among others). They had e-mailed me that there were only going to be two more weekend rides before the switch to mountain bikes for the winter, and next week I know I'm not going to make it. Five of us, although at various points along the way we picked up other riders. We ended up riding for almost three hours, and with the out-and-back to the meeting point in Loenen, it was more for me (62 miles door-to-door). Nice guys, good pace, no coffee stops--what's not to like. I think I'll like this club, and they've already said they'd be happy to have me. We also did some roads that were new to me, which was hard to believe given how long I've been riding a bike through these parts (basically: Loenen, Loosdrecht, Hilversum, Soest, Soesterduinen, Soesterberg, Austerlitz, Huis ter Heide, Bosch en Duin, Den Dolder, Westbroek, Tienhoven, Breukelen). One had a little hill in it, and several of us rode up it pretty fast, which was fun. It's the club "my" cardiologist (of that wrecked Sunday ride a month ago) also belongs to, but he wasn't there because two weeks ago he broke his hip in a race (the Ronde van Hilversum he told me about at the hospital). It was wet that day, and the course had a shiny, cobbled section with a pedestrian crossing in it. There were several crashes that day, but his was particularly ugly. The hills of Limburg follow tomorrow on what promises to be another sunny and mild (though not warm) day.

It's a crisis of capitalism, so keep up with the Wall Street Journal

Not because they're always right, but because it's the paper of, for, and by the folks who own and run the country, so to speak. It's important to know what's being discussed in those circles, and how. (Once a week, Thomas Frank writes a pretty good column for them too). By all means, also read the New York Times, even the Nation or Asia Times On Line if you want, but they're serious folks at the WSJ, and they know their stuff. And yes, I'm talking as much about the commentary as the reporting. Take today's opinion page: the lead commentary about Treasury, the Fed, and the latest bail-out; the Russia piece and how thuggish Putinism is beginning to backfire; the Henninger column on how McCain should aim for really real reform of Washington; and the Zach Karabel (a history Ph.D., Cold War era, from Harvard) op-ed asking some good questions about the now near-universal call for more "regulation" are all well worth reading.

Pittsburgh Masters Velo Club puts it all in perspective

My Sunday ride remains a good one, but look at what PMVC did this past weekend. It is the Poverty Hollow version of Walton Tea Room Rd. ride (see Oscar's book and this map). It's about 5400 feet of climbing--which I may actually come near to next Sunday, when we'll ride in Amstel Gold Race land (or Zuid Limburg).

Ian Hibell R.I.P.

I learned this from this week's Economist. Mr. Hibell, the author of Into Remote Places (1984), was a near full-time cyclist who literally rode around the world several times. According to this week's obituary, in 40 years of cycling he encountered: hot desert sand; vicious mosquitoes; a great variety of jungles and swamps; many tricky traverses requiring two tries: one to figure out how to get across, a second to get the bike; a spear-throwing Turkana in Kenya; rocky tracks in Peru; soldier ants; real soldiers; sleet that cut his face like metal; all, I'm sure, among many other difficult challenges. So how did he die--prematurely--last month? Why, by getting hit by a car, of course. (And, also not surprising, rather unnecessarily: knocked out of the way by a car apparently chasing another).

Sunday ride--as it should be

We did the Amerongen loop today, which yielded me 72 miles (18.8 average). That's more like it, also because the route has a couple of "hills" in it and generally runs through terrain that isn't always completely flat. It's a pretty route also, as the other three members of the group (all new to it) remarked several times along the way. Through Hilversum and Soestdijk, you get the first little bump in Soest (Soester Eng). Then after the Amersfoort Zoo comes another little uphill section (Amersfoortse "Berg" ["berg" means mountain, hence the quotation marks]), after which you pass Leusden and enter Scherpenzeel through the backdoor. From there you can almost see the high point of the ride. I wasn't so good on the Amerongse "Berg": tried to do the whole thing standing up (I think it was 39x15), but the last 200m I had to sit down, and go up one cog. One guy who may have been doing hill repeats (we saw him turn around as we started our way up) actually chased me down (the horror: he had hairly legs and was big). When I turned around in Amerongen to wait for the others, Olaf and Wim were already in sight. I think it was a breakthrough moment for Olaf, who has had trouble on the hills. Coffee stop in Leersum, then back at a decent clip past Ginkelduin (third little climb), Maarnse Grintweg, Austerlitz ("climb" number four), Huis ter Heide, Den Dolder, Maartensdijk, and Hilversum. The other three had not been on the bike since last Sunday--I don't know how they do it. Beautiful day also: cool in the morning, and I rode in two layers of long sleeves. But at the coffee stop the knee warmers and the vest could come off, and we just had our post-Sunday ride pancake (giant, Dutch style; with bacon) in the sun, across the street from our house. If I could only get these guys to start the ride at 8 (this would require some interference with their active social lives, perhaps an unreasonable thing to ask--perhaps), we would also be back in time to enjoy a full afternoon of, eh, recovery mostly, I'm afraid.

Cycling on Flemish tv

It is all I expected it to be. Take this afternoon: at 2:30 they went live to Paris-Brussels, which they joined with 100 km to go. Except for a brief check-up on today's Vuelta stage (they were going to return to the final kilometers of that race after the finish in Brussels) they showed it non-stop until the finish. Tom Steels was there to give the perspective of a (recent) member of the peloton (Dirk de Wolf did the same thing the past 12 days or so in the Vuelta), and the commentary was unfailingly expert, to-the-point, and low key. The cameras were where you wanted them to be at all times, and the replays were always relevant too. Coverage in country that really knows the sport, for an audience that doesn't need any hype, that would not accept any hype or other bs. I could not watch the whole time, and by the time the finish of the Vuelta came around had to go on a little ride of my own, but it was great to be right there with the peloton in the rain. The image of a victorious Robbie McEwen gasping for air as he crossed the line was a perfect conclusion to what (sorry, friends in the U.S.) will probably soon be a pretty normal weekend afternoon in my living room.

In other early Cold War espionage news ...

... Morton Sobell confesses, this after a lifetime of denials. There are those who have argued in recent years that confessions like this one, and other evidence of espionage activities by U.S. communists before, during, and after World War II, vindicate Joe McCarthy and his campaigns. That is more than a little over the top. That there was communist espionage (mostly prior and during World War II), doesn't justify wildly throwing out accusations left and right, and it ignores the political opportunism which in McCarthy's case (and that of his party) was a major driving force also. A much more interesting question is how and why, during times of war and international crisis, the United States tends to get a little overzealous in its domestic handling of the situation. I'm not sure if it's just or even primarily an American phenomenon, but it has manifested itself in almost every crisis, from the Quasi War of 1798 to our current War on Terror.

Lance and I ...

... first met last June, when he joined me at the starting line of the Trek 100 charity ride near Pewaukee, Wisconsin. We made eye contact, and there was a very brief moment of mutual acknowledgment. If at that moment I had stuck out my hand, we surely would have sealed our friendship with a handshake. But the moment passed, and soon Lance was busy posing for photographers and signing authographs. During the ten minutes that remained until the start, however, I had his back, standing close enough to spot some light hairs on his calf. I later reported to my other friends that apparently my friend Lance wasn't a rigorous shaver any more, and maybe not a very serious athlete any more either. Shows you how little I had gotten to know him, because this week there was the announcement of his return to the peloton. I should have had some idea, because after they sent us on our way back in June, I was on his wheel the entire way out of the parking lot. And he looked sharp. I'm sure he'll hold his own just fine, next year.

Let us all praise the National Security Archive

True as few are to the ideal of a truly open society, they're relentless in their mission to gain access (for all of us) to secret government documents, especially those dealing with national security issues. This week, they've posted new documents on the Rosenberg case and on the U.S. involvement with the 1973 coup d'etat in Chile. Still a major resource for Cold War historians, the Archive's range of activities has long reached well beyond the old East-West conflict. They not only deserve many visits to their website, they also deserve our monetary support. Finally, they need other organizations to join them in their efforts to counter tendencies among those in power to keep secret from the rest of us much more than would be warranted by national security concerns.

PMVC news

Oscar is paying the price for allowing work to interfere with his life; Michele is currently in Belgium, also out of shape; Eric continues his recovery, and it appears his return to the Sunday ride cannot happen soon enough. For more PMVC news, click here.

Count your blessings

This is important, especially if all kinds of stuff either goes wrong, or takes longer to resolve than should be necessary. So here goes: the weather could not have been better, yesterday and today, for my first commutes into Amsterdam prior to my nine a.m. classes. Dry (not a given AT ALL in this country), not very windy, mostly sunny, and even at seven in the morning pretty mild. The route is just marvelous; today I didn't have to stop once between pushing off in Nederhorst den Berg and my building in downtown Amsterdam. The shower in the health club in the building is warm, and so far they have left my bike alone. The green/yellow Trek stands out a little amid all the classic Amsterdam city bikes, although you see other decent and more modern bikes in our basement. Even though I try to keep the stuff I bring to a minimum, between the street shoes I'm still bringing, a book and some papers, lock and cable, lunch, clothes, etc., there's still too much in my pack for all of it to be comfortably on the seatpost rack (as I discoverd yesterday). So today I divided the weight between the rack and a backpack, which worked much better. Another "blessing": tomorrow they will break open the street in front of our house to repair the cable. With a little luck we will be able to put that headache behind us also. A good thing, because having met most of my students now, there will be lots of work--the two Master's seminars seem to have excellent people. To use Robert Bork's phrase (he used it at the wrong time): it will be an intellectual feast!

Echternacher Procession

Those, if I remember, go two steps forward and then one step backwards. That's how I feel about this move. We did get a lot done this past week, and I've done two rides on the fine Colnago since the movers came, but now our modem quit again, and we're without internet access and without our land phone line. Meanwhile, the semester is underway but I can't communicate with anyone, also because my UvA username and password are now failing for some reason. Blogging is the least of my concerns right now, but if there are any students out there reading this: I'm sorry, it's not my fault.

Drilling, or something else?

Just a couple of articles in today's Volkskrant (Dutch paper--traditionally Catholic, long time ago, now somewhat left of center, though not as far as twenty years ago): the release of a big study done on behalf of the government on how to prepare this country (one third of it below sea level) for rising sea levels due to climate change. There will be some big projects in the next decade or two, very big, but potentially we're talking about an increase of several feet in the next half century. Then there was a piece on how members of parliament want improve their carbon-neutral travel program and have it work only with credible projects. There has been this program (to offset the production of greenhouse gasses when members of parliament travel on business) since 2005. I certainly had never heard of it. I don't think Congress has one. The example the article gave was of a windmill project in Turkey that's going to receive support whenever a Dutch parliamentarian travels on business. The Dutch, another article reported, are also becoming more open to revisiting nuclear energy as an alternative to oil and gas. Even the left Socialists don't want to rule it out. Of course, Holland is in Europe, and Europe has made itself a little too dependent on the mobsters in Moscow for their energy needs. Still, it was interesting to read this stuff while listening to radio reports on the Republican convention. Energy policy for them, it seems, is still mostly synonymous with finding new places to dig for coal and drill for oil and gas. If these are party leaders, they're not doing their followers a service.

First teaching day and four new bikes

Yes, sometimes the Cold War and cycling do go together (if you try a little): yesterday the Global Cold War and the Making of our Times class managed to meet after running into a double booking of its lecture hall. We had to improvise, but with the help of several kind people, we found an empty room nearby. The students were great sports, and it should be a good semester with them. We will soon add Blackboard to our conversations. How does cycling come into it? I rode in on my brother's city bike, missing all the showers on the way (though on the 10-15 minute ride to the history building after class I got pretty wet in my shirtsleeves), and I also stayed dry on the way home into the wind. They have a health club in our building which I joined for 200 Euros a year so that I can shower upon arrival from now on. I plan to go in three or four days a week when school is in session, so it should break down to a little over one Euro per shower). Do have to carry my clothes in a backpack, but that will just make me join the small army of people riding to work that way every day (even though on the bike paths they're still few and far between). I'll soon resemble them also because I'll be riding an old racing bike. Today our stuff finally came, including four bikes: the girl's bike, the old tractor, the Colnago, and the old Trek. The last one I plan to ride into the city from now on--if it survived the move inside its travel bag. Haven't taken the time to look yet because it's been non-stop boxes since the movers came this morning. But our three months of moving are almost at an end. It's about time.

Georgia and the "new" Cold War history

So I thought I'd do something a little different with my Cold War course. I thought I would have my approach reflect recent developments in the field of Cold War history, especially the redefinition of the Cold War as a genuinely global conflict, one in which the Southern hemisphere (the "Third World") figured just about as large as the "North." I picked a text that essentially argues that the Cold War was about the Third World, and tried to learn about countries and regions that for a U.S./Germany/Soviet specialist were rather obscure. (Zanzibar, anyone?) If "globalization" is the defining (albeit vague) characteristic of our time, a global Cold War should go further in helping to explain its characteristics. I still think this global view is instructive for us today, as I continue to believe that one of the more interesting aspects of the post-World War II era is the many ways the East-West conflict on the one hand, and the break-up of the old, mostly European colonial empires, on the other hand, influenced each other. In the meantime, however, just as I got to my new academic home, Russia has invaded a neighboring country. The West is indignant but virtually helpless; and other countries in Russia's traditional sphere of influence worry they're next. This of course is very reminiscent of the "old" Cold War, which was mostly about Russian (Soviet) expansionism and Western efforts to oppose it. As many people have pointed out, the differences may be more significant than the similarities (a more apt analogy may be 19th century power politics, with only a small dose of ideology), but that we're back in the "North" is hard to dispute. Back in the North certainly when you observe transatlantic debates on how to deal with the new situation in Georgia (and Ukraine), but back in the North also because just like Stalin (although not in identical ways) Putin acts out of a mixture of great power aspirations and hostility toward Western ideas. It becomes global again if you realize that Russia is both a European and an Asian power, and that Putin has a seat on the security council of the U.N.--a forum where he can make great mischief, because the U.N. has many member-governments which, just like he, find Western ideas threatening to the way they run their own countries.