欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

Version 5.7.1 crashed on me. It would not get passed the startup screen. Since I purchased Wahoo bike case (ANT+ function builtin) and it is now on my way, I was preparing this app on my old iPhone 4. When this 5.7.1 version first crashed, I deleted it and reinstalled it to see if there would be any improvement. It did not help at all.

Today a new update was made available and the feature section said that it included a bug fix for a crash report. I hope this fix was added when some existing (extent?) iPhone 4 users were taken by surprise when 5.7.1 did not work at all even though its previous 5.7.0 worked.

Now I installed 5.7.2 and learned that this version crashes also on my iPhone 4. Why? Is it only me or are other people using iPhone 4 experiencing the same?

I am very disappointed and now watching out for yet another update like 5.7.3.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Wahoo Fitness crash incident on iPhone 4]の続きを読む

テーマ:スマートフォン・ケース - ジャンル:携帯電話・PHS

1. 2015/10/30(金) 15:39:52|
2. iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
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According to an article on Wort.lu, the cell phone's loathed roaming fees might be finally done away with by June 2017.

It should have been abolished here in Europe long time ago. This was the original plan. This plan was abandoned about a year ago. At that time the reason for the halt was something like needing more time to have consensus among the countries affected.

This time I hope it holds. It will take one year and a half.


L-B-L Challenge 2016
According to a site (www.sport.be),

Liège-Bastogne-Liège Challenge will take place the 23th of April 2016. Registrations open the 1st of December 2015.

Auberge de Jeunesse (Youth Hostel in Frech) in Liège is very popular among cyclists who are participating in the LBL Challenge. Last year I saw many bikes and their respective owners there. I wanted to stay there on the Saturday before the LBL Sunday (professinal race version as opposed to amateur version LBL Challenge) but there was no room for me.

So this year (or next year) after receiving an email from a friend of mine who is visiting Europe for this so-called Ardenne week races (Amstel Gold Race, Fléche Wallonne and LBL, this time also Brabantse Pijl) saying that the vacation had been approved, flight tickets booked and hotel/hostel rooms booked already, I also started looking for the place to stay during that week.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Roaming fees to be abolished by June 2017? Really?]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2015/10/28(水) 16:41:47|
2. Things European
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I did not know. And now I know that Lubuntu 15.10 had been released on October 22nd, 2015.

One line in the "New Features in Lubuntu 15.10" caught my eyes. It says,
"The problematical iBus has now been replaced with Fcitx"

iBus has been replaced? I have been using and am still using iBus on Kali Linux and had no problem at all.

What happened? I will find out soon when I update my Lubuntu 15.04 system on my old laptop.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Lubuntu 15.10 has been released]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2015/10/27(火) 00:57:16|
2. Linux
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Garmin Map 2016.20
It came to my notice that the Map data for my BaseCamp (on my MacBook Pro 2010) and on my nüvi has updated to version 2016.20. 2016.20 is supposed to be the second major release for year 2016 version. Year 2016 has not come yet. The version number scheme is for marketing purposes, I think.

Anyway, the date size is around 4.3 GB and it is big. Actually the size does not matter (no innuendo inetnded at all). Downloading some files sized 4.3 GB won't be a problem at all these days thanks to the faster speed of the Internet traffic.

The problem is that while downloading and installing the map date on the device or computer the device (my nüvi has to be attached to the computer all the time). The rather fragile connection provided by the USB cable has to be NOT disturbed.

It takes a couple of hours to download the raw data. It takes some time to install it on the computer. It takes several (up to 8 or 9 hours?) to install the data on the nüvi. In all, the computer has to be on with the nüvi attached for more than a day!

This is a bit of annoyance. I did not use the words like continuously, uninterruptedly or so because once the date is downloaded on the computer you can interrupt the installation process by shutting down the computer.

On the other hand, this interruption maneuverer is bound to fail. When it fails, the the installation process has to be repeated costing me more time.

This time (Autumn - Winter) I will install it only on my MacBook as I don't plan to travel by car until next Spring. By next Spring the map data will be update to 2016.30, I guess.


Keep on Kovers and its copycats
Stay on Cleats covers! They are copycats of Keep on Kovers! I did not know that Speedplay pedals were so popular that their cleat covers market got so attractive for Taiwanese plastic part manufacturers.


Tour de France 2016 course layout in my view

-- Click on the image to magnify --
(a clip made from a screenshot - Garmin BaseCamp on my MacBook Pro)

This is what I am working on. You can get more elegant version of the same map from www.letour.fr but this home-made map is more valuable to me when planning the route I will be driving next Summer.

How do I transfer from Tourmalet to Arcalis, Andorra?
Friday, July 8: Stage 7 - L'Isle-Jourdain --- Lac de Payolle - 162 km
Saturday, July 9: Stage 8 - Pau --- Bagnères-de-Luchon 183 km
Sunda, July 10: Stage 9 - Vielha Val D'aran (Spain) --- Arcalis (Andorra) 184 km
Monday, July 11: Rest Day in Andorra
Tuesday, July 12: Stage10: Escaldes-Engordany (Andorra) --- Revel 198 km

On Stage 6 (as it is a flat stage) I may be somewhere close the the feed zone. I will drive to Arreau (town at the foot of Col d'Aspin) to park and rest. It could be a drive up to 300 km long. I will have to pay for the toll if I want to get there quickly.

I want be on Col d'Aspin on Friday morning. When the race passes I would ride down the hill toward Arreau to rejoin me with my parked car there. From there I would like to head to Tourmalet. Which side of Tourmalet?

I want to be on Tourmalet on Saturday morning. As soon as the race passes, I will drive to Arcalis. Let me visualize the situation.

-- Click on the image to magnify --

There are lots of things to consider here. Where to dirve to?
1) Sainte-Marie-de-Campan (the other side of Tourmalet, La Mongie side)
2) Luz-Saint-Sauveur (the side where the race climbs)

-- Click on the image to magnify --

Driving from Arreau (whre my Ka most likely will be) to Sainte-Marie-de-Campan will be shorter even though I have to wait for some time for the traffic to clear. The race traffic (teams, officials, caravan and part of general public) will be using the road connecting Lac de Payrolle, La Séoube and Sainte-Marie-de-Campan to head to the direction of Pau.

I can probably follow this traffic in the evening (25 km) but the route will be off limits to the general public until all the official cars get through to the bottom.

It might be wiser to drive the other way to Bagnères-de-Bigorre before arriving at Sainte-Marie-de-Campan (59 km).

Driving from Arreau to Luz-Saint-Sauveur is less convenient but feasible (96 km).

-- Click on the image to magnify --

1) Driving to Sainte-Marie-de-Campan
Good: Shorter (economic).

Bad: This side is not used by the race.


2) Driving to Luz-Saint-Sauveur
Good: This side is used by the race.

Bad: More to drive.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Garmin Map Update 2016.20 available now]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2015/10/25(日) 15:53:19|
2. GPS Navigation
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Winter time
Winter is coming to Luxembourg (and most of the places in the Northern Hemisphere, of course). What does the arrival of winter mean to me?

1) I own a car (or Ka) but I don't own winter tires. I don't drive my Ka during winter. I'd rather ride my bike.

2) Some winters are cold and snowy/icy while others are just wet and chilly. I prefer snow/ice over rain because you (at least I) can ride the bike on snowy/icy roads without getting wet.



Keep on Kovers
I purchased two sets of Keep on Kovers Z.3 on ebay. They came from Taiwan and they were cheaper than the ones sold at www.keeponkovers.com.

Garmin BaseCamp
The mapping software program has been updated. I don't immediately jump to the new versions as I once had a terrible disaster because the updated version had some serious bugs. It happened two or three years ago, I think. It was totally Garmin's fault. They released a buggy version to the public.

When AppStore notifies me of an update, I go to the Garmin Forum to see if some users are reporting some bugs. If there are no serious bug reports, I will go ahead and download the new version.

As for the version 4.5.2, users are not alarming other users for the moment so I will update it later.


Tour de France 2016 course
I resumed plotting the locations related to the Tour de France 2016 after A.S.O. revealed the rough layout of the course.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Winter is coming, KOKs for Speedplay Zero pedals and Garmin BaseCamp]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2015/10/23(金) 20:06:24|
2. Tour de France
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TdF 2016
The course layout has been revealed in Paris this morning. There were no surprises as I had been tracking the rumors at velowire.com for some time by now.

The information collected by velowire.com turned out to be almost correct or precise except for some minor corrections.

I will look at the details later and plot waypoints on the Garmin BaseCamp.

iPhone 4
I have been using iPhone 4 for more than 5 years by now. I purchased it at the Apple Store ( located at the entrance area of the Louvre Museum) in Paris on the way home from the start of Paris-Tours waaaaay back in 2010.

It is fine. No noticeable damages at all. Its screen (I have always used film protectors) is just fine, there are almost no scratches (I have always used a case) and it works fine. The home button has been unresponsive for a long time.

Today I invested more for this phone. I just bought a ANT+ case from Wahoo Fitness. It is a ANT+ bike case for iPhone 4 or 4s. It has been discontinued for some time by now. It was not so expensive as the price had bee slashed. I am expecting the LIMITS powermeter by the end of this coming December (delivery in January maybe?). I can now use either my Garmin Edge 800 or this iPhone 4/Wahoo ANT+ case for the power readings.


(image of aforementioned Wahoo Fitness ANT+ iPhone 4 (4s) bike mount case)

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [TdF 2016 revealed and iPhone 4 (not even 4s)]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2015/10/20(火) 14:34:13|
2. Tour de France
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The course overview at the www.velowire.com (http://www.velowire.com/) is almost complete.

A couple of days remains before the real show takes off in Paris, France but I think I know what is going to happen that day.

Please take a look at the site to pay respect to the author of the site.

The Tour de France 2016 (103rd edition) will be, in my eyes, a very kindly tailored one as long as its course layout is concerned.


Two big transfers for me:

1) Home to Mont Saint Michel: 680 km
2) Morzine to Paris (Stage 20 finish to Champs Elysées): 600 km

Otherwise, the consecutive finish and start the next day will be close to each other so the daily transfer will not be so great. This is a good piece of news.

Except for Mont Ventoux, there are not so many known climb finishes or mountain peaks that the peloton will climb. As the highlights of the stages (or the entire Tour) will be those climbs, I have always tried to be on the climbs.

The planning of the Tour has been always how to get to those climbs in time without spending too much time, money and energy.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [TdF 2016 rumors revisited II]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2015/10/18(日) 21:10:56|
2. Tour de France
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I have been checking velowire.com for some time by now for the updates. There have been a lot of updates since I last wrote here.

For example, now the site author believes that the town Les Gets does not play a role in the TdF 2016 but in Critérium Dauphiné. The penultimate stage may not be an individual time trial stage but a normal stage, etc.

Bern, Switzerland is definitely in but maybe no Italian stages.


Trek Factory Racing has announced that the roaster of 2016 was complete.

Returning (18 riders)

Eugenio Alafaci
Julian Arredondo
Fumy Beppu
Fabian Cancellara
Marco Coledan
Stijn Devolder
Laurent Didier
Fabio Felline
Markel Irizar
Bauke Mollema
Giacomo Nizzolo
Yaroslav Popovych
Grégory Rast
Fränk Schleck
Jasper Stuyven
Boy Van Poppel
Riccardo Zoidl
Haimar Zubeldia

New (7 riders)

Julien Bernard
Jack Bobridge
Niccolo Bonifazio
Ryder Hesjedal
Kiel Reijnen
Peter Stetina
Edward Theuns

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [TdF 2016 rumors revisited]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2015/10/13(火) 00:22:48|
2. Tour de France
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Stage 4: Mons - Tournai
I have been to this stage, the last stage, several times. 4 or 5 times? When the Tour de France had a stage finish in Tournai (slightly different finish than Circuit FB), I was there. So I have been to Tournai many times.

I drove to Mons to see the start and then drove further to Tournai to see the circuit course and the finish.

There were changes in the race from previous years.

1) The team bus parking was moved closer to the center of the city (Old city)
2) and other small changes.



Next stop. Paris - Tours Sunday, October 11th.

2015's edition starts in Chartres, west of Paris about 90 km from Paris.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Circuit Franco-Belge a.k.a. Tour de l'Eurométropole]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2015/10/06(火) 14:17:47|
2. Bike Races in Belgium
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I read this article on cyclingnews.com and now we know that Düsseldorf is the possible (probable or definite) candidate for the Grand Départ in 2017 after London decided to drop off the race (to host the event).

I have never been to Düsseldorf before. I had lived in Germany almost 5 years before moving to Luxembourg in 2009 (actually I came to Luxembourg on January 1st). I had heard of Düsseldorf during my time in Germany. I knew that a lot of Japanese company had their office there. Consequently, a lot of Japanese people live there and many of them with their family. I heard that there was or were schools for those Japanese kids. I also heard that at the city hall they had a lot of documents in Japanese so that Japanese people could easily submit needed documents.

I could go visit there if I wanted. I did not. I tend to avoid going where Japanese nationals gather.

If (or when) Düsseldorf get the GD, what would it be like? I think the GD would be like that in Utrecht. ASO wants to take the most of the money that this rich German city is willing to offer on the table.

I imagine (based on what I have heard) that after two German stages the Tour will visit Limburg area (Maastricht and Valkenburg). Where will it go after? Clockwise or counter-clockwise?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Düsseldorf gets the Grand Départ in 2017 or?]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2015/10/03(土) 23:18:04|
2. Tour de France
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