Bike Rebel Without a Cause

Tijdrit Almere 2023 – ITT

April 12, 2023April 11, 2023

Last Saturday, April 8th, I participated in the individual time trial event “Tijdrit Almere 2023”.

As the name implies, it’s in my hometown and the long distance is 42 kms, or three laps of 14 kms each.

Until 2019, this event took place in my backyard, the wide open polder outside the city.

I participated only once in that, before it changed the location to the outskirts of Almere-Haven – the oldest neighbourhood of Almere – for the 2019 edition last minute.

It was cancelled in 2020 and the “Tijdrit Almere 2021” was in October, last year’s “Tijdrit Almere 2022” was a week later than this year.

The course is following the dyke along the “Gooimeer” lake and open fields on the other side, so there’s no hiding from the wind…

Garmin Epix

March 25, 2023March 24, 2023

This post is about why I bought a Garmin Epix Gen 2 Sapphire Smartwatch.

Well, changing gadgets and even the occasional impulse “buy stuff you don’t need¹” shopping spree is almost as much a part of my life as Paula.

Or cycling…

My first (ever) Garmin watch, was the Fēnix 5S, which was purchased at the Lisbon airport at a reduced price. That was still more than you paid for the average Apple Watch at the time, but that watch wasn’t capable of doing and recording all the cool stuff I have no clue of what they even mean.

So, I needed that and Paula was happy with my Apple Watch (Series 4, I think) – win/win, right?

¹ I mean, do I really need three pairs of Favero Assioma pedals, just because I’m too lazy to swap them from bike to bike (and in less than two minutes at that)?
Yes, that is a rhetorical question…

Tenerife 2022 – Best Of

February 21, 2023February 18, 2023

I may or may not have promised a “Best of Gallery” from our holiday on Tenerife last September, but here it is.

Half of them are taken by Paula, when she accompanied me on the – looooong – stage from Santa Cruz up El Teide.

Up there, the landscape is like the moon, only with color.

As usual, if you want larger originals, drop me a line…

Tour de France 2023

May 18, 2023February 13, 2023

As announced in an earlier post, I will finally get to cycle the Pyrenees during my Tour de France 2023.

Okay, that should probably read “in the Pyrenees” for I will mostly cycle the central part of the Pyrenees range.

It would be nice to cycle the “Raid Pyrenees” that is (also) available as a Tacx series of RLV’s.

This is covering many Pyrenees climbs, from East to West, and I’ve done that indoors.

New Tires With a Twist

February 21, 2023January 9, 2023

Or how I got a Giant Revolt with my new tires…

With the mileage I’m clocking, it is to be expected that you will need to buy new tires every now and then.

More tubes for sure, but the tires will eventually wear out to the point where you’ll need 3 tubes every ride…

Last Saturday, before going to the movies, I entered the LBS for a pair of tires.