Coming Up in Your Amsterdam Student Paper

An interview with me: blogger, cyclist, and, oh, that's right, Cold War historian. Tuesday at the P.C. Hoofthuis in Eindeloos I'm told.

Coming Up in Your Local Dutch Paper

A piece on the Republican party I wrote yesterday. It should be out on Monday or Tuesday. As soon as I find it on the web somewhere, I'll link to it.

Winter Arrived

But it's the early 21st century Dutch winter, so it is relative. Still, I was a little unrepared for low 40s when I got on the bike early Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after returning from the U.S. I was without gloves or a hat, which wasn't great, and the last 20 minutes into the city it also started to rain. A bit miserable, although I've seen much worse. It did mean another health hit, after the plane trip and time-difference, and in the course of the day I noticed an oncoming cold. You're supposed to listen to your body, and when it got to be time to go home, I really didn't feel like getting out there again, and the prospect of starting another commute at seven the next morning was even less appealing. There was also the chance of more rain, so I wimped out and took the train and bus home, and back again the next morning. Finished the riding Wednesday evening, this time wearing a balaclava and full gloves. I needed them--today also, when I rode in late (and pleasantly). That it has been a hard week I felt on the way home this afternoon, into a chilly East wind. Not much energy left. The good part in all of this is that if the past ten winters or so here are any guide, it probably won't get a whole lot worse this winter.

What is China Thinking?

Something I can't figure out. They just unveiled the largest statue ever of the greatest mass murderer of the 20th century at Chongqing Medical University, apparently one of the top ten universities in this vast, populous country. I guess being the founding father of the modern Chinese state outweighs things like the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution--economic and political strategies that cost millions upon millions of innocent people their lives and which, certainly as far as economics is concerned, have been discarded by the current regime. The authorities--local or national--must have approved it (if they didn't initiate it also), otherwise this thing would not exist. Not knowing much about China, my guess would be that the power of Mao as a national symbol continues to be so significant, and China's national cohesion so brittle, that the regime not only doesn't feel it can't allow an honest reckoning with Mao's bloody legacy, but that it actually actively needs to employ Mao's mythic persona to hold things together. Apparently, this kind of thing still works among the majority of the Chinese population. All this seems to indicate that there are severe limits to a potential Chinese leadership role in today's globalized world: for one thing, the regime has its hands full staying on top of rapid economic, social, and cultural change at home; for another, a regime that still derives part of its legitimacy from a tyrant such as Mao would have little credibility seeking a leadership role in an increasingly open and openminded world (which would be one definition of globalization).

2007 in Sardinia

You can read the official report on the PMVC website.
Below the version from my chronicle.

The next morning [May 19, after the near-epic Steven Rooks Classic--95 miles through between Maastricht and Remouchamps, Belgium] it was on to Brussels, where I hooked up with Steve and Dusty. After arriving in San Vero, we manged to do a version of the Cuglieri ride (46). I didn’t feel very good at first. Legs wouldn’t move and my shoes hurt my feet, a problem that would return frequently. But on the fast downhill sections, starting in downtown Cuglieri, I began to improve, and the three of us rode quite hard at times going home. One gelato stop. First full ride on Sardinia was the Ghilarza ride, which I had missed three years ago and which we didn’t get to last year. A nice ride with several medium long, not very hard climbs, and the weather was beautiful also. At 77 it would turn out to be the longest ride of the whole week. Monday we went to the East Coast to do a new ride from Nuoro. A bit busy going through Oliena toward Dorgali, but pretty also. From Dorgali we went up the hill, through the tunnel, and down the hill into Cala Conone, the first time I had truly reached the East Coast. Leaving after lunch, I lost the others and rode back alone, following, it turned out, a different route from the others who rode back the same way we had come. I instead took the steep, little road going north and then back into Dorgali through the backdoor. It was quite steep and I had to work hard to get up it in the 25, in part because the pavement was concrete plates, not asphalt. After the first pass, the road turned into asphalt for a little bit of downhill before more climbing. It was a cool road, even though the climb back to the tunnel would have been nice too (but more like other climbs we do on Sardinia). Getting to Dorgali, the water bottles we hadn’t quite finished on the way out were still outside at the supermarket, and I drank some and filled my bottles from them before continuing. Climb back into Nuoro—again I took a different route from the way out, this time inadvertently—was trafficy but also fairly steep (57 miles). Tuesday we went to Bosa where in the first town a few miles out Oscar asked for the keys to the van because he was feeling terrible. Couldn’t breathe, and later that night he ended up in the hospital for three nights. The rest of us rode on to Villanova Monteleone, seeing maybe two cars the entire way. Dusty, Michele, and I reached Alghero first, and we rode right through it (it really was too early to stop again). The three of us rode most of what is probably the most beautiful stretch of the entire trip together, causing me to take it easy, but I really wasn’t that eager to go hard or far all week (the Steven Rooks Classic definitely had taken the edge off). This way, I was able to enjoy the ride along the coast even more (68). Back in Bosa I had very little interest in riding back to San Vero, and unlike Steve (who was o.k. with it then) I still have no regrets. [o.k., now, October 2008, I do] Driving home, we took a different hill out of Bosa, toward Macoma, the one the Giro must have taken after arriving in Bosa. Wednesday was a rest day, in part because of visits to Oscar in the hospital. After accompanying Michele to the hospital in the morning I rode an easy, flat loop past Putzu Idu and Riola in the afternoon (26). Thursday we also stayed close to home because it appeared that at 2 pm we could take Oscar home from the hospital. We did the Paulolatino-Ula Tirso-Solarussa loop quickly. Michele and I hammered home from Fordongianus to get panini. I pulled the whole way, getting a little tired at the end, but we did get to the store just before closing time. (57). Friday was the actual day Oscar was released, but we did a full ride nonetheless, Teti-Desulo. I was getting tired—although riding with what now was just Dusty, Steve, and Michele really wasn’t hard. Enjoyed the Desulo climb the most that day. Just rode a steady pace in the 21. I had dropped Michele already before Desulo. Decided to stay out of the 23 all the way to the top, which wasn’t too difficult, so I cannot have been too tired (68). Initially we were going to do the Laconi ride on Saturday, but during breakfast it became clear that Michele wasn’t up for it. I really wasn’t eager for it either, especially because it would have meant riding pretty much the whole ride ahead of the other two, and on my own. There was also the matter of the van ride, which didn’t appeal too much to anyone. So the four of us ended up doing another Cuglieri ride, this time taking the high road all the way from Narbolia. Dense fog on the Cuglieri side of the hill. In town we ran into a wedding, with the bride leading the party on foot right through the middle of town. Things started to clear on the fast, downhill section to the little coastal villages. We stopped in the first one, and I had gelato at the same place as the first day. A very good decision to ride from “home” (50).

These are Dusty's mileage and climbing statistics from that blissful week:

monteferru 47 3440  (steve, dusty, ruud)
ghilarza 74 7500
calle gonnoni 55 5400
bosa 68 6175
tharos 46 862
paulilatino 52 3156
sarule desulo 69 6524
monteferru 48 3200

total 459
alt 36,257

Blindness to Nuance

InU.S. Third World policy during the Cold War (with "communism" blotting out local particularities and making for ugly interventions--see for example Iran, Guatemala, Vietnam), and today, in the "war on terror," for example in Somalia. We will argue for a long time over the exact role of the U.S. in the Somalia disaster (as we continue to argue over Cold War cases such as Vietnam), but Somalia is not the only recent case that makes one wonder about the extent to which a superpower such as the U.S. is able to learn from past experience. Remember, for example how unprepared the U.S. was for the occupation of Iraq (how many speakers of Arabic again, early on?) and, even more important, how irrelevant decisionmakers believed this to be? Granted that the choice in these cases often is from a range of bad options, but if you're considering steps with the potential of turning a society or government upside down, at least do your homework. As Vietnam, Iraq, etc. show, long term that's in your own interest also.

Catching up

It rained yesterday in Holland, but it didn't matter to me, because I was in Milwaukee, where the skies were mostly blue, the wind brisk, and the riding just right for late October. We had 12 or 13 people at Atwater Park, and together we inspected the nice new pavement on Bonniwell before turning North, and then back East to end up for a first coffee stop at the Alterra in Grafton. We even sat outside. Earned our keep on the way home (Green Bay Rd, River Hills) and assembled for a second cup at the original Alterra, on Prospect. At that point, there were still six of us. The riding (I also did a somewhat unusual Wednesday ride) wasn't the only reason for this trip; one would have to say that it wasn't even the main reason. The main reason was work: a conference on "1968" for which I'm one of the co-organizers. That's where the Cold War comes in again (and in a post, no less, which also deals with cycling!). But I'll have to write more about it later, as I'm just back in Holland, and a full day of teaching awaits tomorrow. But it sure was nice to be able to catch up a little with so many friends, on campus and out on Southeastern Wisconsin's open roads.

Good Fall Riding

Friday I got out for a quick 20 miler at the end of the day under a spectacular "big" Dutch sky: partly cloudy and a setting sun. The light is magical at those moments. Lots of poor commuters sitting in long lines at traffic lights as I spun by doing about 19 in the small ring, enjoying almost perfectly calm conditions. It's tights weather now, and Friday I was also glad I put on three long sleeve jerseys. Just made it home before dark, although I did have to turn on my flasher the last ten minutes or so. When daylight savings time ends, next week, these little rides won't be possible again until next March or so. Today, was another nice fall day. A little more wind, but also clearing skies half-way through the morning. The three of us had chosen to do the Nieuwkoop loop again, the same ride we did in foggy conditions a few weeks ago. Headwind going out, but really not bad. This time we could actually see the beautiful area surrounding Woerdense Verlaat, Meije, Zwammerdam, and Nieuwkoop, and for any visitors I think this will have to be a mandatory ride. Tailwind the whole way home, and even though it's fall, there were many sections where we happily did around 23. A strong wind at your back and nice road conditions can give you the feeling you're quite the rider, and there were several (short) sections where we succumbed to that feeling and took the speed up close to 30. I'm feeling all that now, but having this feeling (and needing a nap half-way through the Sunday afternoon) is a great privilege. Almost a metric century, almost 20 average.

The Always Present Horner

This year's Tour of Lombardy was a pretty moderate affair, in part because of the lack of stars at the starting line, in part because I'm sure for many riders it has been a long season. But it was very nice to see Chris Horner back in a European race again. As always, he was there to race. Whether he expected to contend for the win I'm not sure (he may have been trying to set things up for his teammate Brajkovic), but he did make a gutsy move on the penultimate climb, one only Cunego and one other rider was able to follow. And he was still in the front lines on the final climb. By that time, the only guy in the field I've ever been in a race with, Mike Friedman of Pittsburgh, had probably already abandoned.

Doping, Cycling, and Germany

If there's one thing we've learned about professional cycling in the past year(s) is that if a rider's performance seems to good to be true, it probably is. Think of Basso in the 2006 Giro; or Vinokourov's "gritty" victories in last year's Tour; or the cases of especially Ricco and Schumacher this year. Kohl, I guess, too, although I personally didn't immediately suspect him last summer. Too good to be true on the face of it also means: never having a bad day, which reminds me of another prime example: Emanuelle Sella in this year's Giro, especially these back-to-back stage wins in the mountains. All these guys, and others have been caught, although I'm sure there remain others who still get away with it, in part because this will always remain a game of catch up between cheaters and inspectors. There will always be new means to boost performance illegally, and there will always be people willing to try them. But there's no question that cycling is working very hard at making it difficult and potentially very costly to cheat (much harder than many other disciplines). Here's a good source to keep up with the latest on all this (not that I always do). In fact, the tolerance for any infractions has become so limited, that genuinely honest mistakes now also tend to be punished very harshly. What's the name again of the Belgian rider earlier this year who got banned because of a stupid mistake by his doctor or soigneur? I think that's been reversed recently, as it should have been, because in a sport where so much is asked of the body so frequently athletes will always need to rely on doctors and pharmaceuticals just to stay healthy enough to show up for work. (Given the various interests at stake, not showing up for "work" is often highly undesirable, although it should probably be made a little easier at times for a rider just to sit something out, as some of the multi-day races should also be made just a little easier to handle in terms of distance and maybe total number of days). The bottom line is that cycling is doing a lot to make things more honest and transparent. But it doesn't get enough credit, certainly in comparison to other sports. Take the recent developments in Germany, where the main tv organizations now won't televise next year's Tour de France; where the Stuttgart Six-Day track event has just been canceled; and where they now won't have their national tour, the Tour of Germany, next year either. This is all because the sport has lost credibility in the eyes of many Germans, and down with it has gone sponsor interest. Germany is an exceptional case, perhaps because it doesn't really have a long, deeply-rooted cycling tradition. There have been many good German cyclists, but the sport didn't really acquire a mass audience until the 1990s when Jan Ulrich began his tragic rise. It's hard in Germany to put cheating (always has been, always will be part of the sport) in its proper, wider context. Of course, the English-speaking world hasn't really been part of the hard core of the world of (road) cycling either (France, Italy, Belgium--maybe Spain and the Netherlands), but there sponsors seem to view the glass as half-full: much concern about doping, but much support for new anti-doping policies. I'm sure both the German critics and the Anglo-Saxon optimists see themselves as realists. For now, I'm going to side with the latter. With more than 24 hours to go, I'm already excited about watching the Tour of Lombardy tomorrow afternoon.

The Problem with Ayers

Thomas Frank has a characteristically forceful and well-reasoned column in today's Wall Street Journal on his friend Bill Ayers, of Weathermen fame. It is a good piece, and Frank succeeds in adding nuance to the Ayers picture, certainly the one we've been getting recently via campaign rhetoric. There's one weak passage, however, which points to the reason why Ayers still poses problems, also for Obama:

I do not defend the things Mr. Ayers did in his Weatherman days. Nor will I quibble with those who find Mr. Ayers wanting in contrition. His 2001 memoir is shot through with regret, but it lacks the abject style our culture prefers.

It's a weak passage, because the rest of the piece really ignores the issue of contrition, to the point of implying that it's pretty much irrelevant. Without expecting what Frank calls "the abject style"of contrition people today may expect from former terrorists, would it have been terribly difficult for Ayers simply to come out and say that it was plain wrong to bomb all these sites in the 1970s? And if so, why? It clearly was difficult for Ayers, to put it mildly, because in 2001 (before 9/11, not on that day) he said that he had no regrets, that the Weather Underground should have planted more bombs. I have no reason to question the multiple accounts of all the good works Ayers has undertaken recently. But especially for such an upstanding citizen, why no clear repudiation of the bombs? Frank is right, the Republicans have exploited the Ayers connection in a "vile" manner. But this lack of a clear repudiation of the bombings continues to be a problem; also, whether he likes it or not, for Obama.

If Nixon Were Alive

Looking for other stuff in Nixon Project papers some years ago, I came across an order from the president to (I paraphrase) "cut off everything we do with Sweden!" This because of open criticism by the Swedish government of his Vietnam policies. He might want something similar today for all of Scandinavia, because the Swedes and Norwegians who issue the various Nobel prizes, but especially the Peace, Literature, and Economics awards, seem to have taken it upon themselves to voice anti-American sentiments shared by many on this side of the Atlantic. If not outright anti-Americanism, then certainly anti-Bush-Americanism. See the Peace Nobels for people like Jimmy Carter and Al Gore; see also what a member of the committee for the literary award said about U.S. authors (they won't win, essentially, because U.S. literary culture is too insular); and see now Paul Krugman's award. Aside from being a not too predictable columnist who is almost always worth reading, Krugman is a serious and very reputable scholar. Still, it's interesting how the BBC today identifies him primarily as a fierce critic of the Bush administration, and it can't perhaps be ruled out that this has played a part in the Nobel committee's evaluations. It's their award money, and they can do with it what they want (and they often to admirable things with it), but it bears repeating perhaps that especially these Nobel awards for non-exact fields tend to be a reflection of the political preferences of a small, Scandinavian elite. Of course, Bush could still be wrong, and it can't be ruled out that Nixon was wrong about a few things too.

Sunday Ride on Quiet Fall Day

Dry, mild, overcast, and little wind. Only after a day like yesterday can these be somewhat disappointing circumstances for a Sunday ride in October. Three layers, with long sleeves on top, and knee warmers felt just right when I got on my way to meet the rest of the group in Vreeland. My first day in the Whisper Power kit ("smart energy solutions"). We followed the Vecht river further than I ever had, through Maarssen and Oud-Zuilen. Along the edge of the Utrecht neighborhood of Overvecht, alongside the Karl Marx Drive (it's really there--not that there's anything wrong with that), Fort Blauwkapel, a little bikepath through a recreational area, and de Bilt/Bilthoven, where we did a lot of expert twisting and turning and eventually found the straight-and-narrow to our regular coffee spot in Lage Vuursche. This inspired us to make a bit of a sprint of it for the "city" limit sign. We happened on an old friend there-- actually, he found us--who was on his own Sunday ride. He and I have known each other since elementary school, but I had not seen him for years, maybe fifteen. We twisted and turned our way home by way, mostly, of roads and bikepaths tracing the A-1 interstate and were able to open it up a little here and there. Fifty-one miles for me, with about a 19 average--all this on the Klein, the winter bike, which I pulled out last week thinking we were done with nice weather. Shows how much I know.

Perfect Little Ride

It was a day for a longer expedition, but there isn't always time, and there certainly isn't these days. Close to 2o degrees celsius (about 70 F), little wind, sun. A real gift in Holland in October. Did a loop through Vreeland, Kerklaan, Loenersloot, Baambrugge, Abcoude, and Weesp. Looked for the little road between Baambrugge and Abcoude that runs through the fields, but failed to cross the water, so I ended up back on the main road (still a nice road to ride on). Reaching Weesp I decided to go through town so that I could ride home along the Vecht river, the way I go on my commutes to Amsterdam now also (this as opposed to riding alongside the highway). It was there that I got passed, first, by a moped with two guys on it. It went a little too fast, so when the kid on the back just threw his empty can off to the side of the road, all I could do was shake my Dutch finger at him from a distance. But a second moped--only the rider--went a little slower, 27 to be exact. This I was able to confirm after making the jump to its rear wheel after a brief moment of hesitation. Had to do 29.9 (maximum speed for the ride) for 100 meters or so to get there. But I got there and it was great, even though we went our separate ways after half a mile at the Fort Uitermeer.

What's the Real Crisis?

A reader suggests an answer.

Hazardous Prediction

Because at the speed things are currently moving, all predictions are hazardous. It was less than two weeks ago when the "crisis" was still primarily a U.S. crisis, not just because U.S. financial institutions were in trouble and the U.S. government could not get a rescue plan passed, but also because presumably the Americans had some uniquely American flaws (greed, for example). The implication was that in other parts of the world (virtuous Europe) stuff like that could not happen. Turns out, things are a little more complicated than that (even though U.S. financial and economic stability remains extremely precarious). Turns out, we're in the first true financial crisis of the current era of globalization, where everything is connected. Uncharted territory, just like the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s was new. Back then, national approaches (as opposed to joint, international responses) made things worse before they could get better. One way they first began to get better was because individual governments passed systemic reforms to counter market unpredictability, imbalances, and volatilty (in the U.S.: FDIC, SEC, Social Security, etc). After World War II, the beginnings of this for the world as a whole were also introduced (IMF, World Bank, Bretton Woods system). It appears we need a new round of reform, but we're not there yet by any means (think of how for example Germany refuses to go along with a joint EU response, where it should be leading such an effort). But back then leadership also made a difference--think FDR in the U.S. and Adolf Hitler in Germany. As you can hear everywhere, a big part of the current problem is a crisis of confidence--who is in charge, who has the vision to turn things around, who can give the impression s/he can lead? This we don't have right now, and we won't have it at least until the U.S. presidential election. So here's the hazardous prediction: to great cheer all over the world, Obama will win the election, next month, and thanks also to the fact that the collapse of the global financial system and stock markets everywhere will have had time to reach rock bottom (only four more weeks of this!), his victory address will mark the beginning of a turn-around. His inaugural address next January will add a little steam, as will the first 100 days of his administration (which will hit the ground running). It will be an entirely new situation (or so it will seem), except, of course, that all eyes will continue to be on the U.S. Toward the end of Obama's first term the world may be on its way to some kind of recovery. In other words: in our lifetime!

Two Small Windows of Riding Opportunity

And I did not take advantage, this weekend. The first chance, and best, was yesterday morning, when until I had to leave the house around 11 I probably could have gotten a completely rainless ride in. But I slept a little longer than I should have, then ate a full breakfast instead of just getting out, and after that the moment had passed. (The afternoon was mostly good too, but there were places to go, people to see--too many people, as during our two hours at IKEA). Today is very windy and wet, so we basically canceled the Sunday ride last night. And when I was up at 7:30 (briefly) the rain was definitely hitting the window. Yet, checking the radar around 10, it was clear that in our area, there was a decent gap between 8:45 and 10:45. The roads would have been wet, but there would not have been much water coming from above. Now, at 3:40 in the afternoon, it's just raining and raining and raining. The rain should move away later, but I doubt if it will happen before dark. In Holland in the fall, you really have to grab your opportunities whenever you can ("ride the weather," in Danny Chew's words), or you're stuck in the house or--to underline the lack of options--end up accompanying your spouse on her daily walk. This is not in accordance with the way a proper cycling Sunday should go.

The crisis and U.S. leadership

My take this week in GPD papers, if you read Dutch; today the Twentse Courant Tubantia. Translation of the headline (not provided by me, but it does capture the essence): No Alternative for U.S. Leadership.

Learning more about the commute

For example: I got rained on a couple of times today and yesterday, but it really wasn't too bad. When a shower approached (on three of the four legs) I quickly pulled out the rain jacket (both my jackets fit over the backpack, though not together, although I haven't tried that) and thus managed to keep my upper body dry. The showers didn't last longer than 5-10 minutes anyway. More encouraging: the combination of fenders, mud flap (on the front fender--still without seated female figure, the way you see them on trucks) and the excellent Sidi winter shoes kept my feet dry. I'm sure if I had non-stop rain the entire 55 minutes into Amsterdam eventually they'd get wet, but today the last ten minutes it rained pretty hard, and it really didn't matter. What does matter, I'm afraid, is that the chain etc. are totally exposed. I heard squeaking this afternoon, on only the second rainy day. I think I'll be cleaning and lubing my chain on a regular basis. Other discovery: I think I've got a pretty good parking place in the basement of my building in Amsterdam. Not only has my bike not been messed with in this first month, today I forgot to take off my nice bungee cord, which I use to tie my slippers to the seat-post rack (I use the slippers to walk from the locker room downstairs in my building to my office, where I keep a pair of regular shoes). When I returned to the basement early this evening I found it hanging off the seat, in full view, exactly where I left it this morning. Final conclusion (something I've know for a few weeks now): this little 14 mile commute is actually hard work in my current set up of 28 mm wide city tires (Continentals), seat post rack (with lock and cable), fenders and wind-catching mud flap, and backpack. Whenever I get passed by guys commuting on actual racing bikes with none of these accessories (except a little backpack), I just have to remind myself that the old green-yellow Trek really isn't a racing bike any more. Instead, it's a steady-pace bike ("doorfiets fiets," not a "hardfiets fiets"--in Dutch). I haven't taken it off the small chainring, for example, and I doubt if I ever will on these rides. Still, has to be pretty good base miles.