April 9, 2025

Left around 9.15. Nikor. Mostly overcast, chilly northeasterly wind. Still no rain; it's starting to feel wrong. Full gloves and headband entirely appropriate. Ondiep to Straatweg to Nieuwersluis. Vecht to Nigtevecht. Rapeseed abundant now. Bridge open in Vreeland, larger sailboat motoring to wider, deeper waters than its home base of Loosdrecht. Velterslaan, Driemond, Stammerdijk, Overdiemerweg, ARK, Javaplein. Outside; not warm. In the paper the news of a U.S. arms build-up in the Persian Gulf. The report cited experts who fear a strike on Iran may be imminent. What a disaster that would be. Unfortunately, with the current people in charge in Washington and Jerusalem, it can't be ruled out. Iran has been weakened in the region, and possibly at home, and thus the hawks may think it's time to press the advantage. It's also possible that the build-up is just in support of the imminent talks with Teheran, but how do you not use all that assembled firepower when negotiations fail? We went down this road in 2002-2003, and this time could actually be worse, judging from some of the wargaming we have become aware of a long time ago already (I remember reading a report on that in the Atlantic, some two decades ago). BG2. Around noon it started clearing. The ride back with summer gloves and ears uncovered. Amstel, quiet side to Ouderkerk. Several koots nesting near the shore, and a family of geese by the side of the road. Ronde Hoep West, past the pretentious, ugly new mansions. More on the way, it appears. Botshol, Vinkeveen, and just after Donkereindsebos a hare in the field. A little later, in Portengensebrug, I spotted two hares to the right, when one of them shot across the road and took off toward the east. By then, the tailwind and the sun had made it comfortable. Haarzuilens, Hermelijnvlinderpad, and the rest.

April 6, 2025

 Left a little before nine. Blacksmith. Very sunny, quite cool. Winds out of the east. Straatweg to Breukelen. Fruit trees now also showing blossoms. Short wait along the Vecht; you see new things that way, such as half-hidden beautiful little lanes alongside the big old houses. Kortrijk, Haarzuilens, Harmelen, Benschop, Polsbroekerdam, Oudewater. Center shielded enough to sit outside comfortably. Lange Linschoten very manicured with its new wooden sheet piling supporting the dike on both sides. Lots more cows out now. Woerden. A guy on a regular bike wearing street clothes (cycling gloves) asked the way to Utrecht. He had come from Hoek van Holland into that stiff, cold easterly wind, and needed to go back there still. Any particular reason? No, he does these outings regularly. In case we thought of ourselves as tough. Kromme Rijn. Lots of light green willow trees, and more and more tulips. Harmelen, de Meern. First they went after foreign aid, but I'm not a needy foreigner, so I didn't speak up. Then they came for migrants, but I'm not a migrant, so I looked away. Then they came for federal workers, but I don't work for the government. Next they came for the law firms and media companies, but I don't care for lawyers or journalists, so I said nothing. Then they came for Medicaid, but I have my own policy, so I let them cut that too. And so on, and so forth. 

April 3, 2025

 Start at Houtplaats, Rheden/Posbank, around 10:30. Blacksmith. Green inner tube peeking through the surface of the tubular, flat after a few hundred meters, on the Heuvenseweg climb. The woods were still barren and fairly quiet, the open areas showed some yellow leaves on scattered bushes, apparently gorse (gaspeldoorn), not forsythia. A little lizard crossed the road right in front of us in the noonday sun. Cars were allowed on the ridge, but it really wasn't bad. Up and down and around sections such as Zijpenseberg, Lange Juffer, Rozenbos. A little cool at the start, but it warmed up quickly--summer already before 12. Tariffs all over the news. By all means, let's keep breaking lives, let's satisfy that need to throw our weight around. It's the only way we can begin to feel remotely secure. 

April 1, 2025

 Left around 9:15. Nikor. Chilly morning, winds out of the northeast. Could have used full gloves on the way up. Straatweg to Loenen. Bridge open (the pleasure boats are coming back), so west side of the Vecht. Vreeland bridge open too, so outside route back to the Vecht. Nigtevecht, Gein, Gaasp, Diem, ARK. Javaplein with the paper. Op-ed by a student arguing that if the government is going to encourage her generation to consider serving in the military, there has to be some quid pro quo--in effect, what about the priorities of our generation? It's the kind of thing too many potential Democratic voters said last year, before sitting out. Look where their priorities are now. It's not illegitimate to advocate for your own causes, far from it, but this is a big picture issue, or one of taking things in the right order. There are imperfect outcomes and then there are catastrophic ones. On to BG2. Then quiet side of the Amstel to Ouderkerk (scooter), to west side Ronde Hoep. My Ouderkerk knowledge has become very rusty. Ronde Hoep never disappoints with its spectacular vistas. Also some baby geese in the water. New white-grey mansion on its hill sticking out like a sore thumb of obnoxious ostentatiousness. Botshol, Donkereind, Portengensebrug, Haarzuilens, Gele Brug. Temperatures rose, but it never really warmed up.