December 28, 2025

 Sunday. We left around 11:45 from De Proloog, Amerongen. Focus. Sunny and cool, but no longer cold, thanks in part to a much weakened wind. Through woods and along farms below Amerongen and Leersum toward Darthuizen, Sandenbrug, and Doorn. Walkers, taking advantage of the day, not too many cyclists. Asphalt alternating with unpaved, so much focus on what was in front, sometimes paired with more effort to avoid being blinded by the low sun. An occasional glance sideways to the small fields and farms resting in the sunlight. Ruiterberg, then right toward a beautiful part through the Boswachterij Leersum. On the other side of the freeway, below Scherpenzeel and Renswoude, asphalt with just very light traffic, the narrow trail alongside the Valleikanaal, and the dike of the Grebbelinie. Then past Veenendaal, right and up back to Amerongen. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president visiting Florida for talks with his U.S. colleague. The latter called the Russian president ahead of the meeting and they'll talk again when it's done. Supposedly European leaders will contribute by telephone too. Normally an American president touching base with all the major players would be how it is done; it's just that this particular president seems incapable of putting equal pressure on all involved. Europe gets plenty of demands, warnings, and criticism, and everyone knows how the Americans pressure Kyiv to accept an unacceptable peace. Moscow, however, rarely has to worry about Washington following through on an ultimatum, if one is even forthcoming. There are many ways to signal to the Kremlin that it can't expect to get its way here, but until the Americans will start employing some of these options (resumption of military aid to Ukraine would be excellent, for example) Russia will not budge, and the war will continue. 

December 25, 2025

Thursday. Left by 10:15. Blacksmith. Cold, and the moderate breeze from the east made it feel colder. Bright sun, crystal-clear skies. Berenkuil to de Bilt, with less shelter from the wind than expected. Few people out. Past Zeist toward Woudenberg. The woods helping with the wind. Then de Treek past Leusden and into Amersfoort. Hugo the Grootlaan to the train station, then Soesterweg. Near Leusden and in Amersfoort what looked like dressed-up church-goers on bicycles, young and old. The views from the Hilhorstweg brighter than bright from Soest to Baarn and further right Hoogland. Into Baarn, then left toward Lage Vuursche, Maartensdijk, Groenekan, and home. 

December 24, 2025

Wednesday. Left by 9:15. Nikor. Clear and cold, moderate winds out of the northeast. A blinding orange sun, coming in low from St. Jacobstraat over Oudenoord. Straatweg. Temperature gauge (in the sun) gave 4 degrees Centigrade, but some puddles were frozen, and there was some ice on the little canals. Shelter from the wind along the Vecht, less so along the Gein. Next Gaasp, Diem, ARK. 1980s territory, much altered. It being Christmas Eve day, and a cool one, it was fairly quiet everywhere, with the land and the resting farms in full light. The temperature suddenly and briefly went up a couple of degrees riding alongside the "orchard of the blessed" (Boomgaard der Gelukzaligen), which was getting nothing but sun. Newspaper at Javaplein with a story on a researcher who had looked into so-called disposable agents used by Russia in the West. Westerners, but also Ukrainians, who can be lured by a few thousand Euros to commit smaller or larger acts of terror in this part of the world. Recruiting happens in a way that allows for plausible deniability for Russia, though not always, due to their amateur status, the perpetrators. There's enough information available for a diligent researcher to point the finger at Russia. The fact that these activities have proliferated since Europe began to support Ukraine against the Russian assault in 2022 already speaks volumes. Moscow also has a network of agents in Europe engaged in recruiting what the article called useful idiots. This resembles the old Cold War, only today we're in worse shape because East and West are in an actual war here, and the sabotage and other shadow warfare are just an extension of what's going on in Ukraine. Not that everyone sees it this way over here. Another paper had an confusing op-ed by an anthropologist and author who essentially argued that because Europe doesn't always practice what it preaches--it, too, has to exist in the real world, with all the ugliness and compromises and dirty hands this involves--it's not worth defending. Don't serve, desert. No wonder the Kremlin continues to think it can separate the Europeans from Ukraine. It's not just (another report) the Czech defense minister whose pro-Kremlin party has banned him from being supportive of Kyiv, it's not just the pro-Kremlin prime-ministers in Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, and it goes well beyond the AfD, PVV, RN and like-minded parties. It's people who should know better, people who through their training and their craft should be able to distinguish between criminal regimes on the one hand, and the certainly flawed but nonetheless fundamentally different governments over here. Those people, for all intents and purposes, are useful idiots too. Not all of them come out and say positive things about the Russian regime, but, as in the Cold War, you don't have to be a party member, you don't have to speak openly of your allegiance, you don't even have to be sympathetic. "Down with us," or "nothing worth defending here," will do just fine on the wide-ranging menu of anti-Western forces. Piet Heinkade to Bushuis. Then Omval to Abcouderpad and Indijkweg. ARK with the tailwind to Breukelen station. A workday with most folks elsewhere. More tailwind toward Kortrijk and Gieltjesdorp. Haarzuilens to Smalle Themaat. Lint to 't-Zand and home. 

December 20, 2025

 Saturday. Left around ten. Nikor. Foggy and chilly, light winds from the south. Visibility very poor, though usually sufficient on the roads and bike paths. West side of the Vecht, all the way to the end of the Daalseweg and de Verlengde Molenweg. Bicycle bridge to Oostwaard and Zuylensebrug. Maarssenbroek toward Vleuten and around the Haarrijnse plas. Nothing much to see; glasses also partly fogged up. Nature path to Laag Nieuwkoop. Pretty peaceful everywhere; some cyclists, more runners, a few birdwatchers. Gerverscop quiet. Harmelen busy with Saturday morning, then Zandweg back to the city and Cycleworks. Negotiations led by the U.S. continue, but the other day we also got to witness the Russian president's annual press event. No indication that he's ready to give any ground in the talks--quite the contrary. Meanwhile the Ukrainians have scored some good hits, for example the Russian submarine and a ship in Russia's black fleet. These reports amid other news, of how the Russian economy is under strain, how ordinary Russians feel the downsides of this war more and more. And the European choice for an EU loan to keep Ukraine going for the next year or so. As so often in the history of European integration, forward motion only comes when all other options, including inaction, have proved infeasible. In this case that included, at least for now, the use of Russian funds parked in Europe. That option always had a lot of drawbacks, in spite of the significant amount of money sitting in these accounts. People call it a defeat for the German chancellor, and in terms of rhetoric at least he, and the Dutch government, did have to abandon a long-standing priority. Eventually this may look more as yet another step through which EU members genuinely pool their resources in areas where it matters. However, if it was a victory for European integration, unfortunately it was one marred by the non-participation of Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. It is also a result that will provide ammunition to anti-EU populist nationalists in member states. Geert Wilders this week posted a selfie with the Czech and Slovak prime ministers--brothers-in-arms. The sooner Putin's solid grip on the situation will prove hollow, the better. When that time comes, we'll have to hope that he--or preferably someone who takes his place in the Kremlin--will decide to negotiate seriously instead of doubling down by reaching for even cruder, and crueler, military options than he has thusfar. Ukraine's financial future became a little less dark this week, and the Americans are still very engaged in seeking an end to the war. But what remains prominently on the table is the question of "how does Russia lose?" Lose it must, as in accepting Ukraine as an independent state and part of Europe; as in realizing that NATO is not going away; as in coming to grips with a non-imperial future for itself. It is true that a "total" Russian defeat will mortgage future Russian relations with especially the West, but somehow the country and its people will have to come to the conclusion that the imperial power trip Putin has led them on is worse than a dead-end. Failure in Ukraine is an absolute pre-condition. 

December 16, 2025

 Tuesday. Left a little before ten. Blacksmith (which turned out to be a mistake). Mostly overcast, but some apparent clearing to the south. Cool, with moderate southerly breezes. Pavement dry in the city and along the Merwedekanaal. Around Jutphaas suddenly a very light drizzle; on the levee toward Jaarsveld damp pavement. The narrow canal after Klein Scheveningen still cutting a yellow swath through the green field. And to the south, behind Lexmond, a beautiful, yellow-orange clearing above the horizon. The light was always there, but so was the raincloud hovering over Lopik. Light rain all the way past Montfoort. Then it gradually stopped coming down, and it started to clear everywhere. Roads gradually turning just a little damp. Back in the city it was hard to imagine there had been a good hour of riding in the rain, on wet roads. 

December 14, 2025

 Sunday. Left at 9:45. Blacksmith. Overcast and gray, but not foggy. Light southerly winds. Damp: in spite of no rain for several days, pavement still not entirely dry everywhere. Overvecht and Groenekan to Hollandsche Rading. Wide winter views to the West before Maartensdijk, although the fields still quite green. Hilversum quiet. The old road through Anna's Hoeve has been turned into gravel, so Larenseweg and Vredelaan to freeway and the overpass back to the Anna's Hoeve road. Left toward Baarn, left again toward Eemnes. At the crossings, it appeared to be busier in the woods and on the gravel trails than on the roads, which was was just right. Anna Louwenweg toward Eembrugge almost deserted. Freeway just within earshot, but to the left and up ahead the views were not any different than they were in the eighties. The haziness probably helped. Same for the roads and trails tracing the Eem on the other side, not counting the new and very deserted bike trail connecting with the Krachtwijkerweg. Headwind there, and the dampness made it feel like winter a little. Soesterweg to Utrechtseweg and up. Detoured onto the Prins Frederiklaan and Emmalaan. Down Laan 1914, Zeisterspoor next, followed by the airfield and Bosch en Duin, all Sunday quiet. De Bilt to Mos and yesterday's paper. Still a good deal of discussion of the NATO Secretary General's warnings this week. This being his home country, there is extra attention to his flattering of the U.S. president. Others also argue that in the face of a capricious regime this gets you nowhere, especially because the regime in word and in deed is openly hostile to the values the alliance is supposed to defend. All that may be true--I think generally it is--but that still doesn't mean that as the head of the alliance today, one should not try to hold things together, even at a cost to one's personal reputation. As viewed from his position, it would not just be irresponsible but outright impossible to say even the things the German chancellor has said about Europe being in a new era, one in which it really can only count on its own resources and its own resolve to defend its democracy, even though those things are correct. Not only is the U.S. still a member of the alliance, "Europe" cannot defend itself alone and won't be able to for some time to come. Part of the reason is precisely what the Secretary General emphasized in his speech this week: the absence of any real sense of urgency among Europe's population, at least in the West, and especially in the South. "Europe" may not be able to help Ukraine hold off Russia's assault, really its first line of defense, and it may prove incapable, say, to keep Russia from overwhelming one or more of the Baltic states. Also, and this is something all European leaders should keep in mind, even those who believe that Washington is no longer a reliable ally, it is actually a real risk today that the current administration will come to see the old allies as adversaries, at least until the likes of Wilders, Weigel, and Farage run this part of the world. To avert this imaginable worst-case scenario, and perhaps to retain Washington's cooperation here and there, it is very much worth it to have some European leaders who manage to get the White House's attention from time to time. And in the meantime, it is highly significant for a complete view of the Secretary General's views that in his speech the past week he urged Europeans far and wide to take the threats to our comfortable lives here a little more serious than thusfar has been the case, to underline, in other words, the fact that Europeans need to do a lot more themselves to deter the great enemy in Moscow. 

December 13, 2025

 Friday. Left a little after nine. Nikor. A gray day, with light southerly winds. Along the Straatweg, one temperature display gave 10 degrees, but the dampness made it feel cooler. ARK from Maarssen. Hardly anyone there, but all the way to Amsterdam barges large and small, though none so small as to have no space on deck for a car. Nederhorst den Berg visible from before Indijkweg, thanks to the barren trees. The much-improved route into the city to the Bushuis. Home by way of Weesperzijde, the empty spot where the Omval used to be, Duivendrecht, Abcouderpad, past Abcoude.  It is all built up, but at least one can get through it very efficiently, and with some shelter from southern winds. Slightly milder than in the morning and a semblance of light in the southwest, but never any clearing--just gray. At Indijkweg toward Baambrugge. Straatweg to Loenersloot fairly quiet. The big bend with the traffic in the distance--the world of misery far enough away. Loenen and the Vecht in the dusk. Detour at Maarssen due to a Christmas market. Oud Zuilen and into the city. 

December 7, 2025

Sunday. Left at 10:20. Nikor. Gray, on the mild side, with light southern breezes. Pavement damp; wet when covered with leaves. Most leaves on the ground now, little color left on the trees and bushes. Berenkuil to de Bilt and Zeist. Mountainbikers around the Beauforthuis, some road riders out also, but not busy anywhere. Woudenberg to Griftdijk and Haarweg. Few cars; the hill also fairly fume-free. The field off to the left before Overberg very still. Quite damp at the top of the ridge. Toward Leersum, then left: Amerongerwetering and Gooyerdijk. The land and the farms idle, but many farmers will sell you fresh eggs. New asphalt on the Rhodensteijnselaan. Langbroekerdijk and Zuwe toward Werkhoven. The sun making a feeble and unsuccessful attempt to work its way through the cloud cover. Nothing doing in Werkhoven; Achterdijk not busy either. Marsdijk and Koningsweg back into town. The trees along the singels still showing some good colors, especially combined with the leaves already on the ground. Yesterday's paper at Mos. The White House's a-moral transactional approach to foreign relations, as laid out in the new National Security Strategy, as clear as ever. Today a report that according to the Kremlin the two sides see eye-to-eye. Of course they'd say that, but it also happens to be true. For one thing, they are both  hostile to the EU and everything it purports to stand for. As if to confirm, the American president's son publicly shows his contempt for Ukraine and its leader. "Europe," meanwhile, can't get its act together for all kinds of reasons, even though its leaders (some of them) continue to pledge unconditional solidarity with Kyiv. It hasn't kept a Dutch national security talking head from hawking a new book in which, apparently, he tries to show that Europe, if it plays its cards right, can play a leading role in a world in which it is no longer allied with the U.S. One can dream, but it would be better--especially for a self-avowed Realist--to point to the perils of division, populism, and self-delusion. Push may come to shove well before most Europeans are caught up on how their world has changed.