September 14, 2026

Monday. Left at 9:54. Blacksmith. Fairly mild, light winds out of the south, mostly sunny, later clouding up with some vague gray cloud formations, then clearing again. De Bilt to the bricks of Bilthoven, then Den Dolder and the new trail alongside the railroad tracks. All pretty peaceful, but people. Amersfoortse berg "beste kant" torn up, but Hugo de Grootlaan wide open. Down Laan 1914 to Zeisterspoor, Soesterhoogt, and the airfield. Under the trees, the pavement still damp from yesterday's rain. Bosch and Duin torn up too, so Ruysdaellaan to the highway. De Bilt, Berenkuil back into town and Møs. The AD was there. It was full of sports, and virtually without mention (let alone discussion) of the Russian strike this weekend on a passenger train near the Ukrainian-Polish border. That's an escalation, though not unexpected, which is why the European response so far has been disappointing. Just to send Moscow a message--about this provocation, but also the armed drone earlier this summer at the Leipzig airport--Germany could change its view that "Ukraine no longer needs" its Taurus missiles. It could say that, while Ukraine remains capable of striking targets deep inside Russia, Berlin will still supply it with Taurus missiles, just to underline that Moscow should be more careful in its approach to Ukraine's European supporters (for starters). Given the recent domestic political developments in Germany--election victory by Putin's allies--we should not hold our breath.

September 12, 2026

 Saturday. Left just before ten. Blacksmith. Fairly mild, moderate winds out of the south. Mostly overcast, with gray cover, but also some woolly white, all of it with sporadic room for the sun. Late morning light beginning to get more interesting this time of year. Koningsweg to Vechten and Achterdijk. Corn being cut. Wildflower borders and fields, with sunflowers prominent. Werkhoven to Dwarsdijk. Pears beginning to come off the trees. Wijkersloot to Irenesluizen, then Lekdijk to Beatrixsluizen. The bend in its entirety, starting at the Beusichem ferry, spectacular: the view of the curve of the dike, and to its left the lower marshland, then the river. The marshland still very dry. Further on, the river also looked low. People out, but on the whole fairly quiet. Schipperspad to Merwedekanaal, where the whole world appeared to be out exercising. Into town and Møs. The AD full of domestic and local news, with some Saturday life-style articles added for good measure. If this, indeed, is how the population gets its view of the world, one wonders whether the government's willingness to assist Ukraine as a first line of defense against Russia will find enough supporters for very long. Fortunately, there was one report on the visit of the foreign minister to the Baltics, to receive the advice not to be intimidated by Russian provocations. Instead, immediate countermeasures are the way to show Moscow that Europe can actually stand up for itself--effective deterrence, in other words. Part of that is to maintain credible armed forces, sufficiently staffed. From other articles it appears that the military isn't confident it can find enough suitable volunteers to make that happen and is now developing ideas for some kind of return to forced recruitment; a draft, in other words. That would not be such a bad thing, because the chance that one, or one's child, can be made to serve in the military will at least place the growing emergency right in the middle of lives of people who, until now, blissfully live their lives pretending nothing that goes on beyond our borders (other than wildfires near your vacation address) holds any relevance.

September 10, 2026

 Thursday. Left at 9:54. Blacksmith. On the cool side. Calm. Very light winds out of the southwest. Mostly overcast. A gray blanket with some sunlit lines traversing through it. Toward the north clearer skies with  cumulus clouds on the horizon. Gele brug to 't Zand and Alendorp. Pavement still damp here and there. Rivierpad magnificent, with some barren fields, corn still up, and a pumpkin patch as if from a postcard. The land very quiet. Breudijk to Gerverscop. A few cars. The view west from Rodendijk and the poppy section on the Wagendijk. Schutterskade empty, workers at the Groote Heicop. Gunterstein, Strook, Bethuneweg--all quiet, save some other cyclists taking advantage. Oud Zuilen and Zandpad back into town and Møs. The paper (AD) beginning to commemorate 9/11, twenty-five years ago tomorrow. Also a report on how the latest war in the Middle East will make heating your home with natural gas expensive this winter. Given that stores are fairly low at the moment, how expensive is not clear yet. Letters-to-the-editor also concerning themselves with tight budgets. One writer arguing there is enough money, if you look at how much is being sent to Ukraine; another making the unhelpful suggestion that the EU should try to stop the war, since that would save a lot of money. By all means, let's just stop the war. Such people either don't understand or don't care about the war's reality since day 1: if Russia stops fighting, the war is over, if Ukraine stops, it ceases to exist as an independent nation. Given Europe's financial, political, and moral investment in Kyiv's survival as an independent, EU-oriented country, the latter outcome would be a major defeat, and it would not be the end of it. The Kremlin has a few other non-negotiable demands with its war, and it would surely be emboldened further to test NATO's (in reality: Europe's) ability to draw a line. Some Europeans would, others certainly would not, and so Russian probing in the wake of a Ukrainian defeat could easily lead to the break-up of the alliance. It is far from inevitable, but it could also happen next year. 

September 7, 2026.

Monday. Left at 5:45. Blacksmith. Still on the warm side, but clouding over quickly. Breezy out of the northwest. To the east still some blue sky visible over the horizon, but opposite already some dark gray rain clouds. Eventually there were a few brief and light showers, not enough to wet the pavement. Blauwkapel en Groenekan to Kooijdijk, then past the angry farmers of Westbroek. Dutch dinner time made for fairly quiet roads. Nedereindse vaart to Molenpolder and back to Tienhoven. Then Middenweg to Griendweg, where, it appeared, two drivers blatently ignored the one-way traffic rule. Strook to Veenkade and Bethuneweg. There the showers were starkly visible just to the west. The rain that fell wasn't even enough to produce a smell. Herenweg and Groeneweg to the Vecht and back into the city. In the news more depressing reports on Ukraine's desperate need for air defense, and more military aid in general. The two American mediators just left Kyiv feeling optimistic, but the Ukrainian president predicts war through the upcoming winter. It appears he listened more closely to the Russian president than the peacemaker-businessmen, since the man in the Kremlin this weekend repeated his standard line that for the war to end, Russia's basic security demands will have to be met. He may be able to intimidate NATO and divide the alliance, but how he thinks Ukraine and its people is ever going to submit after more than four years of terror and murder is incomprehensible. Except that the Russian president probably just assumes that Ukrainians can be intimidated--terrorized--into obedience the way the great majority of Russia's population has been rendered passive and harmless. One could go on wondering what it is the U.S. administration and its higly successful peacemakers (Gaza; Iran) really think they are accomplishing here, but energy is better spent on the factors that matter in this war, which aside from the main players, could still include Europe. At least some European governments are preparing to see what more they can do to help Ukraine, which is a good deal more than can be expected from Washington. 

September 2, 2026

Wednesday. Left around 11:15. Nikor. Nederhorst den Berg, after a lake swim. Lake quiet and cooler, Ankeveensepad a little greener than last time, which was still before the rain. Same for the fields and roadsides on the way to Amsterdam. Mostly cloudy skies, but with lots of variety, including some very dark gray clouds. Blue patches also, and the sun did interesting things with it all. Moderate winds out of the southwest. Pleasure boat season seems well past its peak. Quiet in Muiden, but still some vacation groups on the trail to Overdiemen. Coffee and the paper at Javaplein. The German government is calling out Russia for its drone provocation at Leipzig earlier this summer. There are some countermeasures also, and Moscow has said it would retailate. Whether all this is a big theme in the upcoming state election in Saxony-Anhalt is not so clear, but a victory there for the extreme-right, pro-Russia populists would still indicate that at least in that part of the country people either don't care about Europe's involvement in the war with Russia, or actually believe we should just work things out with Moscow, Ukrainians be damned.  In the war, the slugfest continues, but it can't do so forever. The Ukrainian president faces all kinds of internal challenges; it's not clear if the same goes for his colleague in Moscow. Ukraine is doing pretty well with its strategically aimed strikes at Russia, but how can it hold out in the face of Moscow's escalating drone and missile strikes? European leaders continue to pledge support, whatever it takes for as long as it takes; they may soon realize that more is required. How they sell that to their still mostly disinterested populations is anybody's guess. Perhaps that the growing Russian provocations against NATO countries will help make the case, but just as likely these will strengthen the opportunists arguing these are all problems of our own making. The city full of locals and tourists. Bushuis, and back out. A brief see-through to the water at the Diemerdammersluis, but what you see now is the new part of IJburg. Then the trail runs below the dike, although there's a brief rise, with another limited view, just before the start of its latest addition. Zuidpolderweg and Keverdijk. Heintjesrak- en Broekerpolder majestic from the bike path after Uitermeer. Back in Nederhorst den Berg, everything the way it always is.

August 19, 2026

Thursday (and KU arrival day, 1988). Left at 9:51. Nikor, because a chance of a shower. Mostly cloudy, many different, still mostly white clouds everywhere, also room for the sun. Moderate winds out of the west. Damp pavement here and there, but otherwise dry. Gele brug to 't Zand and Alendorp, Rivierpad. Suburbs still looking dry, in spite of the recent showers. Breudijk to Gerverscop, where it was green and quiet. Rodendijk and Wagendijk. The views. Alongside the latter also a newly erupted stretch of poppies and other wildflowers. Schutterskade, then left toward Zuideinde. There, Eendracht sighting (Onno). The views north from the Groote Heicop; cows down below in the land behind the canal. Breukelen and Gunterstein, then Scheendijk and Strook. All fairly quiet as more gray clouds appeared in the west. Bethuneweg, Herenweg, Oud Zuilen, and Møs. AD with two stories on Ukraine. The arrest of a second suspect in the 2022 Nordstream explosion. Germany is prosecuting, while continuing its support for Kyiv. Also a report on a new corruption case (and dismissal) close to the Ukrainian president, this when the open challenge to the president by the former defense minister (his call for elections) still resonates. And, in other news, last night the bigger Russian attack on Kyiv we could have seen coming. Ukraine has hit another Russian oil depot and refinery, Russia is now importing fuel, and reportedly Russians are withdrawing their money from the banks, in fears of government confiscation. Domestically on both sides, things are deteriorating, and meanwhile Rumania has had to strike and destroy a marine drone armed with explosives which was headed for one of its oil fields, currently under construction. And Moscow has warned London of unspecified consequences for Ukraine's use of one of its drones. Every month, NATO countries are pulled in a little further, without much awareness of this among the public. Since Ukraine's needs are only growing, and both sides are escalating, it is high time that European leaders go beyond the EU Commission president's warnings to Russia about its escalation; it is high time that the public gets told directly that there's a war going on and we're in it. Two drivers ignored the do-not-enter sign during the half hour at Møs (one more as I rolled home), and during that time the first shower also arrived. 

August 16, 2026

 Sunday. Left at 9:30. Blacksmith. A new test for the knee. Mild, sunny, but the sky full of stretched out white clouds. Light winds from what appeared to be the northeast. Berenkuil to de Bilt and around Zeist. Under the trees, the pavement still damp sporadically from yesterday's rains. Otherwise, little evidence of that rain, although without it, it would probably have been a lot more dusty in the woods. Sunday riders out in force. Past Woudenberg and Griftdijk, Haarweg. The by now usual picture of stunted corn near the more fully-grown kind, cut fields partially yellow, trees and bushes apparently in survival mode. Not too much motorized traffic on the Amerongseberg. Back up in Leersum, toward and past Ginkelduin. Pretty quiet also, until the Haarweg running alongside the closed freeway, where there was notably more car traffic than usual. Hoogstraat, Ruiterberg, Zeisterweg to the top. No power, but the knee seemed to be holding up. Back around Zeist to de Bilt and Møs. Yesterday's AD, where they don't really cover the world. In other news, reports on various Russian strikes on Ukrainian targets, and Ukrainian strikes on sites in Russia. In greater Ukraine, Russia seems to hit mostly civilian infrastructure, but in the Donbas (Kramatorsk and Slovajansk) the bombing supports military aims, which seem to be coming into view, given that there, too, Ukraine mostly lacks defensive means against Russian air assaults. For its part, Ukraine seems to be hitting all kinds of sites essential for Russia's war, which may explain why the current Russian attacks aren't as large as feared. Today perhaps the largest drone attack on the Moscow region of the entire war, while the Kremlin faces growing difficulty in recruiting enough men for military service (in lots of cases the equivalent of a well-paid premature death). There is growing speculation over a new, national mobilization, which surely will cause a new mass-flight, which for its part could also further weaken Russia's war economy. If Ukraine's strategy is supposed to pressure Russian elites finally to take a stand against the president, his people, and his war agenda, it's perhaps better that NATO continues to respond in a low-key way to Russian drone incursions, as last night over Rumania. A firmer response--against Kaliningrad, for example--could have the effect of rallying Russia's elites around the Kremlin; it would confirm the Russian president's line of being faced with an aggressive, hostile alliance. Hostile, let's hope so; aggressive not so much. In the thirty-odd minutes on the bench, two or three drivers ignoring the do-not enter sign at the Kievitstraat.