November 30, 2025

 Sunday. Left around 9:45. Nikor. Rain overnight, and everything sparkled in the sun. Some clouds, and moderate southwesterly winds which made it feel on the cool side. Singel  (leaves brown, yellow, and red high and low) to Koningsweg and Vechten. The entire Marsweg without any motorized traffic. Achterdijk fairly quiet too, and flat and open. The asphalt shimmering everywhere. Schalkwijk church spire in the distance. Hollendewagenweg even flatter, opener. The lone tree by the Tuurdijk. Nachtdijk to Goyerbrug and Beusichemseweg. Not a single motorized vehicle from there, all the way to beyond the railroad underpass. Wind, but otherwise a very quiet river. Not too many birds any more. Just five cars until Tull en 't Waal. Schalkwijk church from the opposite side. Approach to the Beatrixsluis fine, as long as you ignore the big boxes to your right, which is hard to do. Coming down from the Plofsluis a barge approaching the locks that was loaded to the point of its narrow walkways on the outside being under water. Merwedekanaal and bike path full of Sunday recreationalists, and who could blame them. Mos with the Saturday paper. A report on EU debates over how to finance the war. Belgium resisting simply using frozen Russian funds held there; Germany and the Netherlands, among others, resisting the Eurobond alternative. It's related to a recent debate in parliament over here, where the government doesn't yet want to release more money for Kyiv because some other EU members finally need to do their part first. All this as more confirmation comes in of Washington's willingness to support the Russian agenda and of the administration's indifference to Ukraine or European security. No wonder Moscow is not interested in serious peace talks--the war and the geopolitical context are going its way. It is too early to say that Europe is incapable of promoting its own security, currently on the line in Ukraine. If, however, the money can't be found soon, it will have failed a critical test, maybe fatally so. It is true that in Europe, stuff usually gets done slowly, and that in most cases, eventually, EU member states manage to act in the common interest. With 27 member states having a voice, and a vote, it is never easy. But today, there's even less time than, say, during the Euro crisis fifteen years ago. A crisis like that tends to focus the minds. It would be nice to see a little more focus soon.

November 29, 2025

 Saturday. Left by 10:15. Nikor. Roads mostly dry, but the wet leaves do not dry out very quickly this time of year, and not all of them have come down yet. Gray skies, not too cold, but the moderate southwesterly breezes made it feel on the cool side. Straatweg to Maarssen, ARK to Otterspoorbroek and Woerdenseweg. All more or less still traceable on the old Kuyper map from the 1860s (when there was no canal). To Breukelen, across the ARK and north. A large SUV alongside, very eager to go fast where it's not appropriate. We are fortunate with all of our separate bike paths here. Another uncharted road in the Angstelkade. The Kuyper map (Loenen) is from well before the old railroad (Aalsmeer-Nieuwersluis) was built. It has been closed for almost forty years, and there was no clear evidence that there was ever a bridge across the Angstel river, although the old railroad dike is still very easy to spot. Back across the ARK at Loenersloot. Through old Loenen past the excellent leaning tower to the Vecht, where it was quiet. Joined the Rocket Toupalik after Breukelen for a brief return to the racer universe until just before Oud Zuilen. Home by way of Rooie Brug and Cycleworks. By then, the sun was almost successful in trying to break through the cloud cover.

November 28, 2025

 Friday. Left by 10:45. Nikor. Much milder than expected, still damp and gray. Moderate winds out of the west. Gele Brug to 't Zand and Alendorp. Some good colors hanging on in yards, and on bushes, hedges and some trees. Rivierpad quiet. Breudijk to Gerverscop. Some cars, empty fields, save for a few sheep here and there. Looking toward the city, dark gray up high, light gray below, but the sun never made it through, and there was no horizon anywhere. All the cows seem to have been moved indoors. Rodendijk to Hollandse Kade, because Wagendijk closed off. What's not to like. Spengen and Geerkade and Portengense Zuwe--everything the way it was forty years ago, and probably earlier. New living structures, of course, but nothing too obnoxious. Portengen and Galgerwaard to Breukelen. Peaceful again through Gunterstein, Scheendijk, Veenkade. Maarsseveen to Oud Zuilen and Mos. In the paper a story about the disconnect between the daily experience in Ukraine, and the still widespread oblivion about the wider world over here. You do get the impression that, while political support for standing with Ukraine and against the Kremlin regime holds, too many people still believe the war barely has any relevance to their own lives. More encouraging was a letter-to-the-editor urging that national security be made top priority in the current talks on a new government. Meanwhile, also the news that France will recruit up to 50,000 volunteer military to supplement its professional forces. Elsewhere a confused column by a German academic, arguing against reintroduction of conscription, if only as a theoretical back-up to a voluntary scheme to boost the armed forces. Entirely certain, this one, of her own wisdom, as could be seen in her clumsy use of irony. Entirely uninterested also in any serious analysis of the nature and objectives of the enemy. She would reject that term, since all that's needed in the effort to achieve peace, finally, is "detente." Indeed, let's go to Moscow and talk detente. As a professor with first-hand experience with Nazi and Soviet invaders once said: detente to me is the kind of relationship as between a man and a piece of bread. Detente can have its place, but not at a time when one side is waging a war of terror, tied to a shadow war, against the other. The assailant needs to be put in its place before any meaningful relaxation of tensions can begin. More relevant was what came in the mail today: a booklet from the government urging citizens to prepare for an emergency situation. It will be disparaged. Civil defense is hard to do in a way that's credible not only to the enemy but also the population. However, it's part of a credible deterrent, like so many other things, including, indeed, a broad willingness among young people to serve.

November 23, 2025

 Sunday. Left a little after ten. Focus. Snow in the yard, but once outside, the roadways were mostly clean. Gray skies, moderate southerly winds; cold. Snow on the cars, on some parts of the trails, and in the fields. In the fields, the snow was enough to add some contrast to the mixture of green, brown, and black. It was especially beautiful as seen from the dike along the Tienhovens Kanaal. There, also the first bits of frozen water of the season. Through Voordorp--snow still on the residential streets--past the Hoge Kampse Plas to Beukenburg. Prinsenlaan to Maartensdijk and the woods. The cold seems to have kept most people indoors, but there were some dog walkers and off-road cyclists. Lage Vuursche and around Drakenstein back to the village, then north to the Wasmeer and back south. Eventually, across the freeway and the railroad to the Hilversum side. Long, clean, quiet stretches with sections where the snow had accumulated on the trail and white accents all around. Einde Gooi to Tienhovens Kanaal. From the dike, looking southeast, a narrow, yellow band of clearing just above the horizon. The dike almost deserted. Maarsseveense plas full of runners. Gageldijk and Klopdijk to the Vecht and Mos. 

November 21, 2025

Friday. Left around quarter to two. Nikor. Almost cold, sunny skies, light winds from the southwest. Sun already low, and still some leaves on trees to be illuminated. Biltse Rading to de Bilt, then Bilthoven. School letting out, so very different from a Sunday morning. Airfield fairly quiet, then Soesterhoogt from both sides and to the Zeisterspoor. The woods acquiring their winter look, but with the sun it wasn't dreary. Laan 1914 and Hugo de Grootlaan, then Soesterweg to Hilhorstweg. The view of the church in Soest. The light on the fields. Just a few people on the Eng, and the train rolling alongside to the right. Houses and apartment buildings on the way to Wieksloterweg, there a right, toward the non-stop rush-hour traffic on the Soestdijkerweg. Den Dolder would have been better, although on a Friday afternoon, it's hard to find a quiet road here anywhere. The repaved Lindenlaan to Groenekan. Home in the fast-fading daylight. The news full of Washington's latest push for peace in Ukraine. It's all depressingly familiar, particularly the starting point of "ending the war." Let's make it something abstract: two parties fighting--why, and why don't they stop? Unless you start talking about the kind of war this is, it's never going to end in a durable peace negotiated by the two belligerents. It remains impossible for the White House to accept that this is a Russian war of aggression, meant to end Ukraine's existence as an independent state, and that in itself it is part of a larger, zero-sum campaign against the West and everything it stands for (for better or for worse). That contest will go on in case of a Ukrainian defeat. As someone once said in a similar context: "it cannot be otherwise." It's possible, of course, that the administration understands this full well but just doesn't care for Ukraine, its people, and the wider implications of what under the current proposal would be a solid Russian victory. But if you care for Ukraine and what its struggle represents, the only durable way to end this war is to achieve enough military set-backs and economic hardship for Russia to cause a regime change in Moscow. Ironically, if one of Washington's motives for trying to broker an end to the war is the dealmaking that could follow it, with Kyiv as well as with Moscow, then backing Ukraine to the hilt could well achieve that goal. A new, less imperial-minded, Kremlin would somehow have to be engaged, maybe even actively supported. The long-suffering people of Russia certainly deserve better lives than they have now. The current proposal won't get us anywhere close, because many, likely most, Ukrainians will never accept it. The current crisis is depressingly familiar also for what it suggests about Europe's role. It's not just that, as the main funders of Ukraine's war effort, the Europeans weren't really consulted by the Americans. More serious is the question whether, in spite of all the professions of unceasing loyalty to Ukraine, European leaders that matter are willing, and if so, able, to increase their economic and military support should the U.S. pull back and Moscow press on with its terror campaign. Right now, and following Zelensky's lead, European governments call the U.S. proposal a starting point for further negotiations. That is surely an effort to try to avoid alienating Washington, and it has worked before. For all we know, by the end of next week the president will again enter one of his phases in which he is "very disappointed" with his colleague in the Kremlin. But if this time it's a real ultimatum and Ukraine rejects it, will European leaders be willing and able to mobilize their societies for quasi-war, as surely they will have to? They may be willing; whether they can succeed amid a shadow war and a public relations campaign (both ongoing for years already) by Russia and its useful idiots in the West is very much an open question. Many Europeans may feel uneasy with the drones, the incursions, the provocations; just as many are still inclined to believe that it's really all the result of our policies: expanding NATO, supporting Ukraine, sanctioning Moscow. If we only stopped doing these things, if we stopped "threatening Russia," the whole problem would go away. We would somehow be able resume "normal" relations with Russia (and, supposedly, it with us), we could just live our lives as if the outside world didn't exist. Russia's real war in Ukraine and its shadow war against NATO countries are bad enough, but the toughest battle may be at the European home front.

November 16, 2025

Sunday. From the Houtplaats, Rheden. We left around 11:20. Focus. Overcast and a chilly wind out of the east, gradually diminishing. At first into the wind to De Steeg, there left and up, into the woods. Dark, quiet, and damp. Shoots of deciduous trees still carrying bright leaves amid tall, barren conifers. Lots of wet leaves on the pavement. Sunday walkers and riders out, but not crowded. The route led through Loenermark toward Beekbergen. Good views of the fields from little roads on the edge of the woods, such as Hulhorstweg. Asphalt to and through Hoenderlo, where they were open for business. Asphalt also past heathlands and fields and the Deelen airfield. Stunning view of the Rozendaalse Veld and the north side of the Posbank, first from the Koningsweg and then from the bike path along the Veld. The rolling heathlands alternatingly brown/yellow and a deep, dark purple, with here and there the yellow or red of a small tree. Back down through more fallen leaves and leaves still hanging on into the pastures at the bottom of the moraine. 

November 15, 2025

Saturday. Left around 2:30. Nikor. Rain on and off in the morning, light winds out of the east, and a lot cooler than it has been. Tights, shoe covers, and full gloves. Solidly gray skies, providing a fine backdrop to the leaves still on trees, but also to the green fields and yellow reeds and grasses. Yellow bridge to 't Zand and Alendorp. The latter still very colorful, and calm. Rivierpad cut and bare--no reeds, corn, or tall grass. Then Kortjaksepad to Gerverscop. Nobody or nothing at Gerverscop, just a lone tractor in a field. After the freeway at Harmelen what seemed like a rain shower up ahead. U-turn and Reijerscopse Wetering to Nedereindse Berg and Jutphaas. Merwedekanaal behind a scooter to Leidseweg. Cycleworks. The news a mixture of more Russian targeting of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, on the one hand, and corruption cases and presidential overreach in Ukraine itself, on the other. As long as nobody tries to use the credible evidence of the latter even to begin justifying the former. The real story is how for almost four years now, under Russia's relentless assault and suffering unspeakable losses, Ukraine has continued to function and, by and large, maintained a coherent society. Corruption can be found in societies and governments everywhere; government leaders seeking to centralize political power are a dime a dozen. It would be good if there was more transparency in Ukraine's government dealings, and it would be excellent if the country could hold regular elections again. But when day after day, month after month, you're fighting off a big bear trying to crush you and finish you off, good governance can go by the wayside. Not the best way to apply for EU membership, but certainly not a reason to stop the admission process, let alone the flow of aid. 

November 11, 2025

 Tuesday. Left a little after 9:30. Nikor. Cool with light southwesterly winds. Shifting, multilayered skies, mostly gray, but with the sun peering through, sometimes clearly, sometimes still behind a thin veil of cloud cover. Roads still damp from overnight rain, in some places even a bit wet. Groenekan to Korssesteeg. A weekday morning and hardly anybody out. From the Korssesteeg the colored view of Einde Gooi is no longer visible. Generally most of the leaves are now off the trees, although what's left still looks fine. Loosdrecht did have its share of cars, then the emptiness and the peace of the Loederveenseplas. Vecht, Scheendijk, and Veenkade and Bethuneweg. Some activity. Can't blame people for trying to take advantage of a beautiful fall morning. Oud Zuilen toward the Rode Brug and home. 

November 9, 2025

 Sunday. Left at 9:50. Nikor, but it turned out to be dry everywhere. Cool, with light southwesterly winds, clearing skies. The low light beginning to do its magic throughout the day now. Vechten to Achterdijk. Fields very green in the sun, and some wildflower patches hanging on. Werkhoven and Leemkolkweg with a group. Watertorenweg toward Dwarsdijk, then Kapelleweg. Goyerbrug to Lekdijk. A crew at work on a Sunday morning to raise a wing on a new wind generator, watched by a small crew of elderly men. The river quiet, Culemborg in a light haze. Brown reeds below the levee contrasting with the grass. Everything still. Little motorized traffic. Beatrixsluis to Schipperspad. Big, working ships by the shore, and smaller barges, apparently also still in use. The difference between the mid-20th century and the 21st exemplified; human versus overwhelming dimensions. Merwedekanaal full of rowers, city full of runners. Mos. In the Saturday paper a report on the growing use by Russia of glide bombs directed at Ukrainian targets. (I'm reading Putin's comments from 2000 on the war in Chechnya, and today is no different: opponents have no legitimacy--"bandits"--and they will be made to submit, no matter the cost). These glide bombs are almost impossible to counter and extremely damaging. Ukraine has become good at dealing with the kind of damage caused by Russian terror bombing, but the country's friends can do more to assist. The best way to counter the use of these bombs is to hit their production facilities inside Russia. Let's just hope that soon, we'll get reports about a successful strike or two. 

November 7, 2025

 Friday. Left a little before ten. Blacksmith. Clear, cool morning, nothing but blue skies and just light winds out of the south. Merwedekanaal to Vreeswijk, then Lekdijk. Plenty of water in the river, and some on the lands below the levee. River very peaceful. After Klein Scheveningen a beautiful strip of low green reeds, illuminated by the sun, in between two black, recently plowed plots. On the other side, a group of tall trees still half full of yellow leaves, also lit up. On the estate before Jaarsveld, one tree full of yellow leaves amid the rest. Lopik to Oudewater. Green fields, mostly empty (all the corn long gone) with still cows and also plenty of sheep. Snelrewaard to Montfoort, then Harmelen, de Meern, and back into the city and Mos. In the paper a discussion of the drone interference at all kinds of European locations. No clear proof of a Russian operation, but, as the article notes, when viewed from a Russian perspective, this would be an excellent way to wage a shadow war against NATO and possibly prepare for a more traditional conflict. This on top of the shadow fleet, and social media campaigns and the mobilization of useful idiots to influence Western public opinion. Getting NATO and the EU to abandon Ukraine would just be one goal, although probably the most urgent one. But it's not as if the Russian president and his circle haven't repeatedly designated the expanded NATO as the enemy--Ukraine or not. "Root causes" of the current war, after all, include the alliance's inclusion of members of the former Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact and its presence in these countries. Another driving force, of course, is the EU's existence as a fairly successful collaboration between (mostly) open and prosperous societies. And let's face it: for the current regime in Moscow, in power since 2000, the West, as an alternative system, does pose a threat to its stability and legitimacy. Ukraine's aspiration, going back to the 1990s, to become more like the West, perhaps even join its institutions (and Western encouragement of it) is the threat's most urgent manifestation. But even if Russia succeeded in forcing Ukraine to submit to its demands, nothing fundamental would change in the Kremlin's view of its relationship to the West, which it views as a zero-sum proposition. The struggle would continue. For the West, it really isn't too different--at least not for Europe (Washington has become a wild card, at best): Ukraine needs to win, and Russia needs to change to the point where it can live with itself in a way that doesn't require a foreign enemy or an imperial self-image. To achieve the former, the West could do more than it does right now; and if Ukraine can maintain its independence, we might be closer to achieving the latter because Putin's war would be exposed as bloody, expensive, and pointless failure. 

November 4, 2025

 Tuesday. Left at 9:30. Nikor. Fairly mild, especially on the way home, when the sun had also come out. Moderate southwesterly breezes. Zandpad and Vecht all the way to Nederhorst den Berg. Roads a bit damp, here and there, but otherwise dry. Still a good deal of color on the trees and bushes. Some other riders and walkers, some cars before Breukelen. After Nieuwersluis calm. Home by way of the Horstermeer (where apparently one can't get a place under half a million any more--how things change in the course of a lifetime), Herenweg, Kwakel, Emmaweg, Kerkelanden, airfield, and Korssesteeg. Soggy corn field (corn all gone now) alongside the bikepath running from Egelshoek; quite a few campers still at the farm, but no tents.