32.5 / 1.15

Zondagmiddag, maar kort tijd voor een rondje. Zon, heerlijk weer en daardoor meteen druk op de weg. Aan het kanaal verzeilde ik even op het parcours van een triatlon, waar de seinaangevers even dachten dat ik in de koers zat – wat grappig was, want dan zou ik de koploper moeten zijn (de koplopers kwamen een minuut later voorbij). Dwars de Bijlmer doorgestoken – ik heb steeds de indruk dat je daar uitstekend doorheen kunt fietsen, met brede vrijliggende fietspaden en veel groen, maar dat je wel de routes moet kennen, en die ken ik nog niet). Zo werd het een raar rondje, en toch nog 32,5 kilometers.

Marcusstraat – Ringdijk – Diemerpark – Electriciteitscentrale – kanaal – spoorbrug (kanaal over) – fietspaadjes richting Driemond – Gaasp – fietsbrug Gaasp over – Bijlmer – station Bijlmer – Arena – volkstuintjes – Overamstel – Amstel – Marcusstraat

cycling,nl | August 24, 2007 | 15:55 | Comments Off on 32.5 / 1.15 |

97,5 / 4.04

Zaterdagmiddag, 20 a 24 graden, bewolkt en soms zon, buien verwacht, maar het bleef bij eentje terwijl ik door het Spanderswoud reed. Eigenlijk uitstekend fietsweer. Ik was eigenlijk van plan om eens de gele pijlen te volgen die ik sinds een paar weken op de straat zie (van het type dat je in Belgisch Limburg en de provincie Luik tegenkomt), => — opte pikken bij Ouderkerk. Bij nader inzien had ik toch meer zin om via Muiden de Utrechtse Heuvelrug op te gaan, een zaterdagrondje. Tot mn verrassing kwam ik de gele pijlen bij Muiden weer tegen, toen ik eigenlijk al had besloten om een stukje Flevopolder te rijden. Wat blijkt: dat is de gele pijlen-route. Tussen Huizen en Eemnes raakte ik de route kwijt. (Ik leid hieruit af dat de gele pijlen je van Ouderkerk, via Abcoude, de Gein en Weesp naar Muiden leiden).

Marcusstraat – Ringdijk – Diemerpark – Muiden – Muiderberg – Almere – Huizen – Eemnes – Lage Vuursche – Wasmeer – St. Janskerkhof – Crailose Brug – Spanderswoud – Fransche Kamp – Naardermeer – Weesp – kanaal – Ringdijk – Marcusstraat

cycling,nl | August 24, 2007 | 15:55 | Comments Off on 97,5 / 4.04 |

33,5 / 1.15

Vrijdagmiddag, een klein rondje om wat zon te vangen, ik kreeg 3 zomerbuien op mn hoofd, van die fijne regen, Ierse zomerregen. Daardoor wel extra hard gereden. 22 graden. Ronde Hoep via Overamstel (ter afwisseling een andere aanvoerroute).

Marcusstraat – ri. Duivendrecht – Overamstel – Amstel – Ouderkerk – Ronde Hoep – Ouderkerk – Amstel – Marcusstraat

cycling,nl | August 24, 2007 | 15:54 | Comments Off on 33,5 / 1.15 |

Robert Millar

In the early eighties I was a ‘fan’ of the young English speaking pro-cyclists. With ‘fan’ I mean to say that I searched for their names in the results of Paris-Nice, the Criterium International and the Dauphine Libere. I’ve never seen them on the television, at least I do not remember seeing them. Their names: Paul Sherwen, Graham Jones, Robert Millar and Stephen Roche – a bit later also John Herety and Sean Yates and I could add Jonathan Boyer, but he’s American. (The poetry of names… I even remember the name of Alain de Roos, a South-African riding for Peugeot in, I think 1981).

I recently read [Brian, oops, no] Richard Moore’s biography of Robert Millar, entitled In Search of Robert Millar (as Millar disappeared, not liking publicity at all, cherishing his privacy), and while reading I realized that Millar is as much a cyclist of the late eighties and early nineties as he is of the early eighties. Yet for me he’s always associated with the years between 1981 and 1985, for me he stayed a Peugeot-rider. I’ve never been able to see him as a Panasonic-rider, a collegue of Eric Breukink, much less as a rider for TVM.

Reading his biography – a good one, by the way (the only blemish: that Moore calls Lucien van Impe a Dutchman…) – the same happened. My interest slackened once Millar’s career gets going after the Peugeot-era. He then quickly discovers he is not a leader, his career becomes a string of good performances in the Pyrenees in the Tour de France, followed by either a nice ‘classement’ or abandoning due to sickness. Of course, he stayed the same Robert Millar, a real climber, but well, maybe it just was the ugly TVM-shirt… (But the story about losing the Vuelta is a classic one).

Millar – and Moore really brings this out in a good way, without ever falling prey to easy gossip – is a true ‘character’. He chooses his own route, radically, always, without ever reckoning on the help (or anything) of others. He was very private. It is this aspect the makes the biography ‘gripping’. The book is not so much a record of Millar’s career, as it is the sketch of a character, a certain way to approach life – one that not many take.

Can you learn from it? Do you recognize yourself? Is it an example of how (not) to live one’s life? Does it show how one can live one’s life? Does it tell you what privacy is?

Why do you read biographies?

(And yeah, allright, I have to say something about it: after reading this biography the question of Robert Millar is now a woman – a question that again popped up in the last issue of the German magazine Tour, has become utterly uninteresting. I don’t care. Nobody should care about that).

cycling,en,free publicity,reading matter | August 21, 2007 | 23:37 | Comments (2) |

Oorbeek @ W139

Check out Peter Luining’s blog for Youtube-footage and pictures of Oorbeek’s performance at W139: http://www.ctrlaltdelete.org/oorbeek.html

blogging,en,free publicity,music | August 21, 2007 | 17:53 | Comments Off on Oorbeek @ W139 |

Max Roach RIP

Earlier this week Max Roach died. It might have catched your attention, as the blogs are full of obituaries, reminiscences, short essays and mp3-excerpts of/about, well, the most influential drummer of the 20th century. He’s always been my favorite, as everything he plays is ultra-clear, and he thinks compositionally.

I don’t feel that there’s a need for me to write an appreciation of Roach’s work from his be-bop drumming with Parker, via Monk, to his own groups with Brownie and Booker Little, to the stunning duo’s from the seventies that I’m only now discovering; just start browsing here and you’ll find the rest: http://destination-out.com/?p=135.

(Free improv trombonist Paul Rutherford passed away as well earlier this week, and also as it seems bassist Art Davis).

en,music | August 18, 2007 | 19:13 | Comments Off on Max Roach RIP |

Oorbeek: Life in a Lamp

On Monday August 20th, W139 presents

OORBEEK: Life in a Lamp

doors open 20:30 | start 21:00 uur
Warmoesstraat 139, Amsterdam

Concept: Serge Onnen
Light: Tom Verheijen
Dance: Sandrina Lindgren
Sound: Oorbeek

(Thanks to Rapenburg Plaza)

http://www.oorbeek.net
http://www.w139.nl

en,free publicity,music | August 16, 2007 | 12:35 | Comments Off on Oorbeek: Life in a Lamp |

Mobile shelters and Dream Depot

There’s quite a bit of interest in “shelters” from the art scene, with exhibitions that cover that theme (like Shelter at Kasteel Nijenhuis in Heino). Well, let me then point you to the project Dream Depot that I naturally find very relevant, interesting and also well executed, as it is led by the Irish-born, Amsterdam-based artist Fiona Whelan. (Mostly referred to as F. on this blog).

In January she conducted a first part of this project in Kildare, with a group of youth. They (the youth themselves) developed, designed and built a mobile hang-out under the direction of Fiona Whelan (plus help from the Kildare Town Youth Project and a local carpenter). There’s nothing for these youth in Kildare, nowhere to go – so this is their solution and statement.

On the pictures you see them taking the hang-out through the streets of Kildare a few weeks ago.

More on Fiona Whelan and Dream Depot: http://www.xs4all.nl/~fwhelan/.



en,free publicity | August 16, 2007 | 12:26 | Comments Off on Mobile shelters and Dream Depot |

32,5 / 1.20

Rondje Amsterdamse Bos, weer om daar een uurtje of twee te werken. Via de Nesserlaan en Ouderkerk terug. Benauwd, bewolking na een dag die zonnig en warm was begonnen, uiteindelijk een hoosbui bij het binnenrijden van Amsterdam.

cycling,nl | August 16, 2007 | 12:19 | Comments Off on 32,5 / 1.20 |

23 / 0.59

Rondje Amsterdamse Bos, meer om daar een uurtje of twee te werken dan om de fietstocht. Lekker zonnig, 22 graden.

cycling,nl | August 16, 2007 | 12:17 | Comments Off on 23 / 0.59 |
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