October 23, 2026

Friday. Left at 1. Nikor. Mostly cloudy with rain on the way. Stiff breeze from the southwest, but not cold. Overvecht to tweesporenpad and Korssesteeg. A few caravans left, and one lone little tent at the end of the field. No people other than a girl exercising a couple of horses. On the last bit toward Egelshoek the first moisture in the air. It kept threatening to rain, and occasionally drizzle, but it never really got wet. Meanwhile, the bike paths were fairly empty. Bad weather, or the threat, keeps a lot of cyclists away. Hollandse Rading to Maartensdijk, then east. Embranchementweg still closed. Right toward Bilthoven. Lots of leaves, branches, acorns, and the like on the pavement. F28 rapid bike route through De Bilt, then Groenekan, Blauwkapel and home. In the news, the contrast becomes stark: with the U.S. in Russia's camp, Ukraine's prospects for the upcoming winter are ever more dire. This will require the Europeans to make good on their repeated assurances to do whatever it takes to sustain Kyiv, all those bear hugs for the Ukrainian president. But looking at Europe's streets, the war might as well not exist. Even the indirect cause of much of the social unrest--that other war so arrogantly and ignorantly begun by America and Israel--seems very far away. The demands are directed at Europe's national governments, some of them quite hapless, and concern resources for education, health care, and so on. People would also like some relief from high gas prices. It is those same hapless, besieged governments that will have to ask people for additional sacrifice, perhaps even military involvement, in the conflict with Russia. All this while friends of the Putin regime could come to power in several countries sooner rather than later. As has been the case since early 2022, Ukrainians will bear the brunt of the misery. But the rest of Europe will feel it too--ready or not.