欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

Goodbye my money! (See you again soon!)

I realized that I could not withdraw (cash money) more than € 5,000 from a bank branch at a time. If I need, say, € 10,000 of cash from my bank. I have to make a request for it in advance or go to two branches to get the money (5K each).

Does it have something to do with anti-money-laundering thing? I don't know. Is this only Luxembourg regulations or in any EU countries?

I knew that you can not cross the border into Austria with more than € 7,000 (I don't really remember the amount but ...) from neighboring EU countries. I learned this when I was living in Germany and went to my bank to do some money transactions. Luckily (or most likely unluckily) I did not have an opportunity to handle that much cash at a time while living there.

Well, I withdrew some cash money and brought it to another country because it was necessary. I am talking about completely illegal money transactions. If they were otherwise, I would not even mention them here. I am not incriminating myself. I am just describing things that I did completely legally.

This money was safely deposited in a bank account (may I repeat that all legally?), thank God! The money was part of the company creation process. In other words, the capital money for the company.

P.S. I wish I had so much money to worry about laundering it or hiding it. In reality I don't.


LIGUE NATIONALE POUR LA PROTECTION DES ANIMAUX ASBL

I found this site (http://www.deierenasyl.lu). I believe it is a pet adoption organization run by the state.

There you can find cats and dogs waiting for a host family. It is in French. As I have written earlier, French is the dominantly the preferred written official language here in Luxembourg.

There are many cats and they are all pretty. Reading their profiles, I realized that some cats are not recommended for family with small children or other cats or dogs. I see.

I am intending to have a cat as young as possible to train her/him to be car-travel-capable and bicycle-travel-capable. And importantly I want her/him to be gentle and not shy to anybody including small kids.

I don't intend to buy a cat from a breeder because there are too many cats to be saved from those impounds. Encouraging commercial breeders is not my intentions.

Naturally I think a tiny female cat would be perfect (as female cats tend to be smaller than male cats) but I know that in the end what really matters is my feeling. I should trust my feeling. In other words, I sense my way to the right cat. May the force with me!

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Banking system and Goodbye to my hard earned money]の続きを読む

1. 2016/01/26(火) 18:38:24|
2. Things European
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I SUSPECTED it as soon as I found the line - driving on the wrong side of the road - somewhere in earlier articles on cyclingnews.com.

For the first few days (or a few reports) the cause of the accident and the description of the driver were vague and sketchy. Accusing the unknown driver as a suspect of any wrong-doing was a no-no. You have to wait until you are sure of it. So I waited.

As soon as I found the probable cause of the accident - someone driving on the wrong side of the road, I suspect that the driver might be of those countries where the automobiles are on the left side of the road as in GB, Australia, New Zealand and some Asian countries including Japan.

When riding up or down a hill on a bike during Tour de France, I encounter people riding on the wrong side of the road. I gently point them to the right side (literally RIGHT as opposed left) of the road to reconsider their position. As they pass, they would say, "Sorry" in English. Then I knew they were from either GB or its old colonial countries. They can not help it. I don't blame them.

Now (25th of January) the crash report article revealed that the driver who caused the accident was a rather elderly British woman. Please don't blame me saying this. I am not sexist. Being a woman, I believe, did not have anything to do with the accident. Being a British possibly played a greater role in the matter. She could not help it. Being elderly also, don't hate me for saying this, played the role.

What a shame that John Degenkolb was involved along with many of his team mates. John, rather unusual name for a native German, is such a talented rider on the rise. Now his classic ambitions are greatly in danger. What a waste!.

I was in GB for a week or so in 2014 when Yorkshire hosted the Tour. As soon as I landed on Dover, I kept to the left. I had to constantly remind me of the right driving maneuver - keeping to the left. I had some experience, too. I am from Japan where for some reasons unknown the government adopted the British traffic system at the end of the Samurai era.

Driving through roundabouts was the most difficult part of the driving. After spending more than 10 years in Germany and Luxembourg (and driving all over the continental Europe), my body naturally got used to bending my neck to the left when I came to one. In GB, I had to forcibly bend my neck to the right where other cars with priority were coming.

The article tells that the woman spends six months there and the other six months in her native country (UK). Please don't drive any more.

If it were up to me to decide the fate of the woman, I would give her no time in prison or fine. I would strictly order her not to drive any more in any country. No more driving!

I just hope those riders involved get fully heeled and get back to races soon.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Giant-Alpecin crash caused by a British driver (I suspected)]の続きを読む

1. 2016/01/25(月) 19:02:06|
2. Things European
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I once lived in the States, that is the United States of America, for a short while. I have written about this adventure several times. During my stay there, as I lived in San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica, I witnessed Rodney King trial aftermath (curfews and riots), O. J. Simpson trial (I got back home while the trial was concluding. My memories of the trial consist of Marcia Clark, Judge Lance Ito, Johnnie Cochcran and the conspicuous 'Sony' logo on the Judge Ito's monitor which was later cover by a sheet of paper for some mysterious reasons, too much free publicity?), Northridge Earthquake, which was later renamed Reseda-Northridge Earthquake (within several miles from the epicenter). I also saw President Bill Clinton sworn in.

Anyway, that was the time before 911. Immigration business was a bit relaxed. Near on ramp of the highway, you could always find people (men) waiting there to be picked up by those who needed handworkers for hire for something like cleaning the yard, gardening or reroofing the house. Some of them had the signs that read 'Work for food' or so.

Now I work for food (food is a metaphor for money). I think I am going to work for a week starting next week. I just had a kind of confirmation e-mail. OK, I had something to do and this something generates some money. Good.

Where is my cat? Here 'cat' is not a metaphor of some other object but genuinely means a cat. I am hoping to move to a place where I can keep a house pet, a cat.

I am working on it.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ ['Work for Food' and 'Where is my cat?']の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

1. 2016/01/23(土) 22:46:09|
2. Diary
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Adobe Flash, a gigantic dinosaur?

I don't exactly remember when but I think three to five months ago. Or earlier?

I used to have them on my MacBooks until one day I decided to uninstall them. On Mac OS, there are not built-in uninstaller (like that of Windows systems) under "Control Panels" (Windows' terminology).

So I googled "Flash uninstall" or so and quickly found the right way to do the task. Now I am Flash free.

OK, well done! What I would like to write about here is that there are still a lot of sites that support Adobe Flash files. And there are many sites that support HTML5 files.

I thought Adobe Flash was a dying platform but it seems that it is still surviving.


I am between jobs

I first encounter this expression 'between jobs' long time ago. More than twenty years ago when I was living in the USA. I remember that it appeared on a carton or something. It was supposed to be a positive way of saying 'jobless' or 'unemployed'.

Well, I have been between jobs for many times in my life. I never got fired but quit the job because I wanted. Finding the next job was never so easy but I alway found ones.

I have worked in Japan (my native country), the USA, Germany and Luxembourg. The next job will certainly involve France, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. It is not completely clear about the legal situation. Anyway, it will be resolved soon. As I am not just a employee but also an employer (co-owning a company by paying the half of the company's founding capital), getting the permission to work will be a lot simpler and easier. It is just a matter of submitting a paper, I think.

I am planning to get Luxembourg nationality in near future. Once I get it, it will no absolutely no issue whether I work or live in any EU countries. For this I have to learn to speak and write Luxembourgish. I understand German and this will help.

NEO by Reelight

An update from Reelight via Kickstarter informed me of a piece of bad news. The delivery will be delayed further and this time it said it would not be before April.

Alright. I will wait.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [I uninstalled Adobe Flash (player / plug-in) long time ago]の続きを読む

1. 2016/01/21(木) 22:04:14|
2. MacBooks and Macs
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It is time. In Australia (or New Zealand, or simply put in the Southern Hemisphere) the road race season has begun already. The events on the Calendar will be followed by a series of races (stage races most of them?) in the Middle East area (there sunshine is abundant and you can race all year round, I guess).

I checked the race calendar section of Trek-Segafredo's site. I noticed some editing errors. For example (they will be eventually corrected and won't be noticeable as we speak but...) the retirement race for Cadel Evans was going to take place in Austria (according to the flag the site attached to the event). Austria? It was (is) supposed to take place in his home town and I strongly believe that he is from Australia not Austria. Anyway, it is still early in the race season and I am not so picky.

I checked for race events taking place in the northern part of Europe, which includes Belgium, Luxembourg, upper France, the Netherlands or upper Germany, where I can drive to within 3 to 4 hours.

Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne was on the program, to my great joy. I used to go drive to this event until Leopard-Trek or Trek Factory Racing stopped participating in this early Spring one day race. I had fun watching Team CSC riders suffer (I mean 'struggle' because in some years, it was too cold and rainy that most of the participants just abandoned the race).

Before KBK, there is Omloop Het Nieuwsbald. I have never been to this event because it takes on Saturday. I would very much like to watch this race.

I am not sure if I will be already working full-time in early March and if I can take time off, I would like to drive to Paris to watch the prologue of Paris-Nice and the next stage if possible.

February 27 (Sunday): Omloop Het Nieuwsbald
February 28 (Sunday): Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

March 6 (Sunday): Paris-Nice Prologue (near Paris)
March 7 (Monday): Stage 1 (not far from Paris)

For the moment, these are the target events.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [2016 Road Race Watch Plan Part I]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2016/01/19(火) 17:29:44|
2. Bike Races
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Esch-sur-Alzette in 2017

Today, I noticed something. A small paper news media in Luxembourg, L'essentiel, caught my eyes this morning that had been placed on the table. This was an edition from the previous day.

There was an article in it that the fate of hosting of a stage of TdF 2017 in Esch-sur-Alzette might made known by the next day, which was Today. Naturally, I sought for a follow-up article. That was why I searched for its site.

L'essentiel is a media site in French or German. Let me remind you that in Luxembourg dominating language in use is French followed by any of English, German, Portuguese and so on. Luxembourgish (a dialect of German heavily modified and influenced by French) is also among the secondary group but it has a different position than any other languages.

According to the follow-up article, unfortunately no official confirmation had been made at the official announcement that named Düsseldorf as the Grand Départ location of TdF 2017.

In this article it was suggested that Esch-sur-Alzette may host a finish and Metz (France not far from Esch-sur-Alzette) may have a start in 2017. As I had speculated and written that a reversed stage course of 2006 (where Esch-sur-Alzette saw the peloton off and the stage ended in Valkenburg, the Netherlands). I think my speculation was not too wrong.

URLs
www.lessentiel.lu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27essentiel_%28newspaper%29

Snow in Luxembourg
It snowed for two consecutive days and Today (16th) it is getting thawed. Some snow may stay for a couple of days that had fallen on the forest trees or similar places. The sky may stay blue for some days and the temperatures will stay low during the day and freezing during the night.

I don't have a job for the moment. I have to survive.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Esch-sur-Alzette - Finish and Metz - Start in 2017?]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2016/01/16(土) 22:43:56|
2. Tour de France
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This morning the door bell rang and after greeting the local mailman, whom I regularly greet in the morning on my way to work, I received the package I was expecting to get.

A package from Magnic Light that had two items with their accessory parts. To cut to the chase, a light stay for the V-brake system and a light stay for a front fork (or similar tubular structure).


("adapter" from Magnic Light for V-brake / Cantilever brake system)


("adapter" from Magnic Light, Small Clamp)

Fact 1:
This V-brake / Cantilever adapter was too short for my use as the target area on the seat stay is already occupied by my Ciamillo Negative-G rear brake.

Fact 2:
This small clamp's plastic part turned out to be one of Cateye's clamps. How did I know? Because the rubber part had a distinct logo on it. It can attach itself on a round tube (its diameter 2 cm or bigger). It does not sit well on my Cervélo RS's seat stay. It is an oval thin tube (its bigger diameter 1.5 cm).

As the V-brake / Cantilever adapter was too short, I gave up the idea of using it on the Rixen & Kaul MiniMount on the seat stay.

Back to square One!

How did I solve the puzzle? Yes, as the title suggests, I relocated the Rixen & Kaul MiniMount on Acor Sports Mudguard and bolted the V-brake / Cantilever adapter on it. Now the Magnic Light rear light sits comfortably on my bike. doe it work well? I think it does.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ

[Magnic Light rear light perching on the Acor Sports mudguard]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車用品 - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2016/01/14(木) 21:04:52|
2. Bikes and related things
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They arrived this afternoon. I opened the package and had a quick look at them.

Verdict: Rixen & Kaul MiniMount fastens itself better than the other

Rixen & Kaul MiniMount

Pros
Fastens itself very well

cons
Needs a nipper (tool) to cut the think stainless metal band or some other tools.
Once mount, it is not too easy (not too difficult, though) to completely dismount it.

Zéfal Gizmo Universal Bottle Cage Holder

Pros
No tool needed (maybe just a pair of scissors).
It is very easy to dismount it completely quickly.

Cons
It does not fastens itself tightly on the tube.

The plastic band does not bend so easily. It means that the band won't wrap around the tube, especially when the tube is smaller in diameter, not round or the surface is hard and slippery.



Now the Rixen & Kaul MiniMount is on the seat stay of my Cervélo awaiting the arrival of a package to be sent from Magnic Light. This black product is not too big and not too conspicuous.

I will take some pictures of the products to supplement this entry later.

Now I finally uploaded the images from their installation instructions.


(image 1: From Rixen & Kaul MiniMount installation instructions)


(image 2: From Rixen & Kaul MiniMount installation instructions)


(image 3: From Zéfal Gizmo Universal installation instructions)


(image 4: From Zéfal Gizmo Universal installation instructions)


Small note:
The thin stainless metal band was long enough (Cervélo's seat stay is thin, as you may know) so I used only half of it. The half of it is reserved for future use.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Rixen & Kaul MiniMount VS. Zéfal Gizmo Universal Bottle Cage Holder]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車用品 - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2016/01/13(水) 23:52:08|
2. Bikes and related things
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This was one of the items that arrived with other things part of which I had already written about.

I wanted to wrap Vision Mini-TT Clip-on bars with something. First I tentatively tried a used bar tape to see if it fits. It did not.

It turned out that the plugs (bar end plugs) were too tight, even loosening the bolt all the way, to tack the bar tape (corkish material used for popular drop bar handles) in to fix the loose end.

I thought that a thin cotton bar tape might do. That was why I ordered this Zéfal Veloplast Cotton Bar Tape (black). It turned out that the plugs were too tight even for this thin cotton material. I doubt a thin paper could be tacked in.

Anyway, I wrapped it around the bars. It (Cotton fabric) feels good. The back side of the cotton tape is sticky. It is easy to snuggly and tightly wrap around a bar. I will see if it will last long and how quickly it will dry up after soaked in the rain. As the material is cotton, it will certainly absorb water on contact.


I am sorry to say that I did not take pictures of Zéfal Gizmo Bottle Case Mount, Rixen & Kaul MiniMount or Zéfal Veloplast Cotton Bar Tape on Vision Mini-TT Clip-on bars. I will try to do it Tuesday.



In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ

[Zéfal Veloplast Cotton Bar Tape]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車用品 - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2016/01/11(月) 23:23:28|
2. Bikes and related things
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Today (January 9th, 2016) I updated the Garmin Map on my MacBook Pro. I had this entry written on October 25th, 2015 that I had noticed that the Garmin Map Update 2016.20 got available. At that time I did not have the time to update the map.

So Today I had time to update my map version 2016.10. I noticed that the map update available was yet another newer version, 2016.30.

Anyway, everything went smooth and the map on the MacBook Pro is now version 2016.30. I did not update the map on the GPS device since this process takes really really long time.

Have I noticed something? Some changed routes? Not yet of course.



In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Garmin Map Update 2016.30 available now]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車用品 - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2016/01/10(日) 23:51:40|
2. GPS Navigation
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I should have known. I should have been more curious and inquisitive.

I regularly check this site (www.letour.fr), of course. I see if they have posted anything new related to the route info. I had not noticed anything new since last (late) November or December until just by curiosity I clicked one (http://www.tourdefrance-manche.fr or http://www.tourdefrance-manche.co.uk) of the links shown there.

URLs:
www.letour.fr/us/

http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2016/us/

http://www.tourdefrance-manche.fr
or http://www.tourdefrance-manche.co.uk



This site show the routes of the first three stages. I did not know. Since when had they been showing this?

This site has more of practical info other than the race routes like accommodation booking pages and so on. I am, of course, interested in the race route info.

This site tells me:

On 30 June 2016, the ‘presentation of teams’ ceremony will be at Sainte Mère Eglise. This event will be open to the public and broadcasted live on television.

So now I know exactly where the Team Presentation Ceremony will take place. Almost. What or which Sainte-Mère Eglise (= church) do they mean? There is a church named like that in Saint-Lô or the city (Sainte-Mère-Eglise) located North of Saint-Lô at about 37 km? The reference is too vague.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [TdF 2016 La Manche Stages]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2016/01/07(木) 01:08:04|
2. Tour de France
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RoadLink is a small part that goes between the rear derailleur hanger and the rear derailleur. It makes the rear derailleur a bit farther from the rear cassette. By doing so it helps the derailleur accommodate a bigger cog.


Please refer;
Lindarets (www.lindarets.com) and Wolf Tooth Components (www.wolftoothcomponents.com).
They have products for MTB components, too.

RoadLink, as the name suggests, is intended for road bikes or rear derailleurs for road bikes. It is compatible with Shimano derailleurs. The compatibility list says it is not for SRAM or Campagnolo derailleurs. I use SRAM components by the way.

I have been thinking of using a bigger cassette (12 - 32) for some time. Why? Because using the Osymetric inner 38 chainring with my current cassette (11 - 28) is not very comfortable in the mountains. In 2015 I started following the Tour de France with a set of Osymetric chainrings (52 / 38). After climbing some hills, it became clear that the inner 38 ring was too big. I switched back to the 34 chainring, which I had in my tool box just in case. Chance favors the prepared mind.

Technically spoken the combination of front 34 / rear 28 is roughly the same as front 38 / rear 32.


To accommodate the 12 - 32 cassette, I would have to buy the SRAM Wifli combo; a middle case rear derailleur and the cassette. Together they will cost me around 130 euros here in Europe.

Doesn't RoadLink work with SRAM components? Can I save some money by doing this?



The official tech notes suggest that using it on SRAM or Campagnolo won't destroy them but might actually help. Of course, the manufacturers won't guaranty anything other than its intended and proper use.

Reading between the lines (of the tech notes), I had the feeling that it actually works on SRAM derailleurs. It may not work as snappily or snugly as it would on Shimano derailleurs.

And again the main purpose of using the RoadLink is accommodating a 36 cog or a 40 cog but not a 32 cog.

What would happen if I used it on my SRAM derailleur with a 12 - 32 cassette? I am curious.

Here in Europe, a RoadLink costs about 24 euro. It is cheaper than a SRAM Force Wifli derailleur, of course. Is it worth daring the odds?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [RoadLink by Lindarets / Wolf Tooth Components]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車用品 - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2016/01/06(水) 01:14:36|
2. Bikes and related things
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I found this small piece of news article on wort.lu.

I knew that there was a stage that ended in a city in Luxembourg in 2006. I think that was the year when they had the Grand Départ in Strasbourg, France. I followed the first three stage, I guess. The Prologue, and the following two stages? I only saw the first part of the stage that ended in Luxembourg in France.

That year, I think, I followed one last week leading to the Champs-Élysées stage. I am not too sure but I think I did. Or did I just drove to Paris to watch the last stage?

At that time I did not pay much attention to this city that hosted a finish and subsequently a start the next day. This city called Esch-sur-Alzette is the second largest city here in Luxembourg. Of course the largest city in this country is Luxembourg city, the capital city.

When the peloton left this city, they finished in Valkenburg, the Netherlands.

In 2017 the Tour kicks off in Düsseldorf, Germany. It is speculated that the first stage will be a short prologue or a bit longer ITT (or TTT?). The next stage could be a stage between Düsseldorf and Valkenburg area (that famous Cauberg climb?). If so, the following stage could be between Valkenburg (or Liège) and Esch-sur-Alzette just like the stage in 2006 but in reverse.

Looking at this page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Tour_de_France), I realized that I did followed the stages leading to the Champs-Élysées stage. I clearly remember Stage 13, where Jens Voigt won. I was there! And I was also there when Fränk Schleck won on the top of Alpe d'Huez.

I really hope that Esch-sur-Alzette gets the opportunity.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Esch-sur-Alzette (Lux) to host a stage in 2017 (Tour de France)?]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2016/01/03(日) 00:53:37|
2. Tour de France
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I was one of the original Kickstater funders that helped Magnic Light realize. Now they are selling the second generation products that have stand light function (after the generator, typically a dynamo hub, stops feeding the juice, the led is still on for a while).

I have a set of Magnic Lights (front two and rear one). I love them but I don't use them too often. Why? Because they did not come with attractive or useful mount options (mount adapters).

They have promising mounts but not too attractive.

I helped fund the NEO project at Kickstarter because they had better mounter (and it was built-in!).

Why don't I think that mounters from Magnic Light not so attractive (they are functional, though)? Because it is not too easy to completely get rid of them without some tools.

Please visit Neo by Reelight and see them yourselves.

I will post some images taken from (screen shot clips and some) Magnic Light's site. There are three images down. First two are screen shots from a movie that has been recently posted by the inventor. The short movie is part of a recent promotion thing.

The first two images show a mysterious mounter fitted on the left seat stay of a bike with adisc brake system. As the bike has a disc brake system on it, it does not have one of road calliper brakes, V-brakes or any other things (or their mounting points, namely threaded holes) at all.

How does one go about mounting a Magnic Light rear light on a plain seat stay? The answer is, seemingly, this.

The third image shows their (Magnic Light) solution for mounting the light on a V-brake mount on the front fork or rear seat stay.

The first two images include a mysterious extra player that hangs on the seat stay. What is it? It looks black and it could be either plasticky or metal. This kind of mounter is what I want to have.

I am trying to simulate this mounter on my own. Here are those images.


(First image: screen shot clip)


Second image: screen shot clip)


(Third image: directly borrowed from the seller's site)

I have been looking for a way to simulate the mounter and I am still working on it.

Here are some of the materials that I have found and bought.


(Rixen & Kaul MiniMount Holder)

(Zéfal Gizmo Universal Bottle Cage Holder)

The point is that I need to have a threaded mounting point on a plain seat stay. They might do the trick. Let's see how do on my bike and then I will decide what to do with them.

If the Zéfal's product is well made, I will use them to solve the other puzzling problem of mounting a Garmin Edge on a rather cluttered handlebar area on my bike.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Manic Light vs. Neo by Reelight]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車用品 - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2016/01/01(金) 21:05:26|
2. Bikes and related things
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