June 21, 2025

 Saturday. Left at ten. Blacksmith. Clear blue sky (later some very vague, distant whiteness to the northeast), warm, breezes from the southeast. Vechten, Achterdijk, Hollendewagenweg, Nachtdijk. Goybrug with Ellen van Dijk passing on the roadway. Lekdijk with a few too many motorcycles. Recreational area at Tull en 't Waal busy, with lots more cars on the way. Plofsluis to Merwedekanaal, and a second Ellen van Dijk passage, this time she came up from behind as we merged at the Structuurbaan before the Blauwe Brug. Merwedekanaal back to Mos. Too sunny, too warm, too busy to see much that was interesting. In the news the kiss-of-death for the NATO 5% goal, since not only Spain, but now also Washington seeks an exception. Never miss an opportunity to throw a spanner into the works. This could be a way out: everyone seeks to match the current U.S. level of defense spending; this way the U.S. can continue to cover its many global commitments, and the European allies can use the extra funds to boost their own, collective defense while making the domestic trade-offs a little less daunting.