欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

A underground supermarket

There are two supermarkets that I usually use, one Delhaize and the other Cactus. There are differences between these two. Delhaize is a Belgian supermarket chain and the Delhaize that I go to is its Luxembourg version. Cactus is a seemingly Luxembourg based supermarket chain.

I know supermarket chains are complex. Here I am not going to go into this complexity.

I drove to this supermarket this afternoon after, say, two or three months of absence. I knew that there was a deadly car accident about a month ago where a pedestrian was run over in its parking.

I parked my car where I customarily park for the last couple of years. After getting out of the car, I began to walk up to the entrance or so I thought.

Lo and behold! The entrance of the supermarket was closed and covered by some building material so that the inside of the supermarket could not be seen from outside. There was maybe a split second of brain blackout and I found out that the store had moved to a new location, beneath the parking. There was a new entrance in the center of the parking, actually just behind me where I had parked my car.

I had noticed that they (construction people) had started making a unknown structure where now this entrance stood. This construction started about a year or a year and half ago. I did not pay much attention. I thought they were making a gas station, a car wash facility, a small burger/french fry stand or something in the middle of the parking.

As I went to this supermarket once a month or less often, I really did not care.

The structure contained two glass-pane box elevators that connected the ground level (parking), -1 level (the store and some parking lots) and -2 level (parking) and a stairway also connecting these levels.

I have been to supermarkets where they had underground levels or located underground but I have never been to a supermarket that entirely exists underground on its own.

What will happen to the old building now emptied? I don't know. It also had a restaurant, a kiosk, a mobile phone outlet, a bakery and a cleaner's. What happened to those tenants? Intriguing. I did not see them underground. Maybe some of them were also there underground. I will know next time I am there.


ANT+ disappointment

ANT+ (http://www.thisisant.com) consortium or whatever it is called has seemingly given up on the ANT+ Android development. Is this a joke? The official Android firmware (drive or whatever it is called) has not been updated for ages. This site is maintained by Dynastream Innovations Inc. and Wikipedia tells us kindly that this company is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd.

Are there dedicated software engineers who are supposed to work on the ANT+ firmware?

After learning that my tablet (on Marshmallow 6.0 but not 6.0.1) was not capable of tapping into ANT+, I did some reading and got further disappointed. Some Android devices are equipped with ANT+ chips and they are capable of handling ANT+ communication like Sony Xperia Z5.

I thought any device with Lollipop 5.0 to 5.1.1 could handle ANT+ communication with the official ANT+ software but it seems it might not be the case after all.

I give up. I guess it (non active status of software engineering on Android drivers) is because of the politics within the consortium.

If Android drivers are always up-to-date and function and people use their cheap Android phones or tablets as the ANT+ monitors on their bike, nobody will be willing to buy G****n's products. It makes sense.


OK, I got it. I heard the message loud and clear. [Underground supermarket, ANT+ deception (or illusion)?]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車用品 - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/01/29(日) 01:55:44|
2. Bike Races
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The program:
Sun. 17 September
Team TT

Mon. 18 September
Women's Junior TT
Men's under 23 TT

Tue. 19 September
Elite Women's TT
Men's Junior TT

Wed. 20 September
Elite Men's TT

Thu. 21 September (Rest Day?)

Fri. 22 September
Women's Junior race
Mens's under 23 race

Sat. 23 September
Elite Women's race
Men's Junior race (+ 40 km along the coast)

Sun. 24 September
Elite Men's race (+ 40 km along the coast)

I haven't asked for the holidays but I am writing this anyway.

I am planning to get there Friday. This way I am going to miss all the TT events. Is it possible to watch Men's ITT on Wednesday? I found out that Men's ITT features a climb finish. Wow how exciting could that be?

Men's ITT course map (JPG file downloadable at http://bergen2017.no/) shows this.


The course consists of 15 km relatively bumpy (0 meter above sea close to 100 meters) circuit (they make it twice) and the final ascent of 3.4 km long on the cliff of fjord. The picture tells you a thousand words.

Is it possible to be there by Wednesday and at the same time do all the sightseeing as I planned before? Let's do the simulation!

My old tattered camping guidebook (in 2006) tells me that camping sites in Norway don't stay late in Summer! Some closes at the end of August and others until September 15. This does not surprize me. Even the only camping site that I could find in Bergen area is supposed to be closed early in September. I have no doubt that it will stay open after the Championship, though. They will not miss this opportunity. Maybe reservation will be recommended. .

I checked the situations in Helsinki and Stockholm. Booking.com assured me that it is possible to find reasonable hotel rooms in Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Booking.com has helped me find inexpensive accommodation when camping sites are closed (during winter).


Hastily revised itinerary:
13 (Wed.) Departure early in the morning: Luxembourg - Travemünde (720 km)
14 (Thu.) Ferry 03:00 30 hours ride
15 (Fri.) Ferry 09:30 Landing on Hensinki. Sightseeing and overnight in Helsinki
16 (Sat.) Transfer to Turku. 180 km / about 3 hours ride. Ferry 11 hours ride
17 (Sun.) Stockholm sightseeing and overnight
18 (Mon.) Transfer to Oslo. 520 km / about 7 hours ride. Sightseeing and overnight
19 (Tue.) Another day spent in Oslo and transfer to Bergen
20 (Wed.) Men's ITT
21 (Thu.) Sightseeing and transfer to Bergen
22 (Fri.) Race watch and sightseeing
23 (Sat.) Race watch and sightseeing
24 (Sun.) Race watch and overnight
25 (Mon.) Transfer to Copenhagen. Sightseeing and overnight
26 (Tue.) Sightseeing and Transfer home
27 (Wed.) Arriving home


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [UCI World Championship 2017 Bergen]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/01/27(金) 21:25:21|
2. World Championship
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This entry is far from compete. I will gradually complete this.


Basic data:
25/02/2017 Saturday: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (http://flandersclassics.be/)
26/02/2017 Sunday: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (http://www.kuurne-brussel-kuurne.be/)

22/03/2017 Wednesday: Dwars Door Vlaanderen (http://flandersclassics.be/)
24/03/2017 Friday: E3 Harelbeke (http://www.e3harelbeke.be/)
26/03/2017 Sunday: Gent-Wevelgem (http://flandersclassics.be/)


Dwars Door Vlaanderen, E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem

I am not sure if I can make it to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad or Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne in February. I am going to ask for days off during the 3 races and if my wish is granted, I will be there. Some camping sites are open but others are not. I will try to find cheaper accommodation there.

I will ride my bike myself. I mean between watching the races I have time to ride the parcours on my bike on Thursday and Saturday.

All the races above are held on the almost same area. I have always dreamt of riding in this area. I have two days (if the weather permits) to enjoy the ride.



Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne

I have been to this race several times. I don't really know exactly but I think 4 to 5 times?

This year their site has a front page which is kink of cool or wickedly cool. It features a sonogram photo of a fetus (far developed than an embryo) with an extra long umbilical cord which is bent to form a simplified bike sign. The fetus looks like riding it. This is how some of the greatest cyclists grew during the pregnancy.

This year's edition a new climb called Onkerzele berg. I noticed that it is very close to Kapelmuur climb. After a short examination I found that it is the other side of Kapelmuur.

Dwars Door Vlaanderen
Roeselare - Waregem

I have never been to this race before as it had not been held on Sunday as long as I know. Isn't it amazing that a big road race is held on public roads on normal weekdays and the police and security staff somehow manage to secure the road while the peloton (and heraldic mini ad caravan) passes? I am always amazed the way the police do it.

DDV (as the official site also abbreviates it) starts (at least in 2017) in city of Roeselare not faraway from none other than Kortrijk and finishes in Waregem.


E3 Harelbeke
Harelbeke - Harelbeke

I have never been to this race before as it had not been held on Sunday as long as I know. The reason is as I have written above. I have never paid attention to the parcours or the origin of the race title name Harelbeke. I did so for the first time this time and surprised to find that this commune is located just outside of Kortrijk just as Kuurne is. I think I have been there without knowing I was there.

Gent-Wevelgem
Deinze - Wevelgem

I have been there several times.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Dwars Door Vlaanderen, E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/01/26(木) 00:22:49|
2. Bike Races in Belgium
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UCI Calendar

I am planning for my vacation. Almost all my holidays are spent for bike race trips. In other words, my paid holidays are in sync with UCI calendar.

I made a short excerpt (well I know that an excerpt means a short extract and there's no long excerpt) from the UCI WorleTour calendar. Basically I omitted races that take place where I can not easily travel to. Then I added other races that I can go to.

Date / Race / (Country)

February:
Sat. 25 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (Belgium)

March:
Sun. - Sun. 5 - 12 Paris-Nice (France)
8 - 14 Tirreno-Adriatico (Italy)
18 Milan-San Remo (Italy)
20 - 26 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (Spain)
Wed. 22 Dwars Door Vlaanderen (Belgium)
Fri. 24 E3 Harelbeke (Belgium)
Sun. 26 Ghent-Wevelgem (Belgium)

April:
Sun. 2 Tour of Flanders (Belgium)
3 - 8 Vuelta al País Vasco (Spain)
Sun. 9 Paris-Roubaix (France)
16 Amstel Gold Race (Netherlands)
19 La Flèche Wallonne (Belgium)
23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Belgium)
25 - 30 Tour de Romandie (Switzerland)

May:
Mon. 1 Eschborn-Frankfurt (Germany)
6 - 28 Giro d’Italia (Italy)

June:
4 - 11 Critérium du Dauphiné (France)
10 - 18 Tour de Suisse (Switzerland)

July:
1 - 23 Tour de France (France)
29 Clásica Ciclista San Sebastian (Spain)

August:
7 - 13 Eneco Tour (Benelux)
19 - 10 (September) Vuelta a España (Spain)
20 Cyclassics Hamburg (Germany)

September:
16 - 24 World Championship (Norway)
30 Il Lombardia (Italy)


Tentative plans

Plan A: (The usual)
4 days during DDV/E3H/GW - 22 - 26 March

One week during AGR/FW/LBL - 16 - 23 April
4 weeks during TdF - June 28 - July 26

Plan B: (in case 4 weeks of TdF vacation not possible)
4 days during DDV/E3H/GW - 22- 26 March

One week during AGR/FW/LBL - 16 - 23 April
2 weeks at the end of TdF - 9 - 23 July
2 weeks World Championship - 14 - 27 September

Plan C:
4 days during DDV/E3H/GW - 22 - 26 March

One week during AGR/FW/LBL - 16 - 23 April
One week during TdF?
10 days during TdF?
Remaining days World Championship?

Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland


(Garmin BaseCamp clip: Stockholm - Turku - Helsinki)

15 (Fri.) Departure: Luxembourg - Travemünde (720 km)
16 (Sat.) Ferry 03:00 30 hours ride
17 (Sun.) Ferry 09:30 Landing on Hensinki. Sightseeing and overnight in Helsinki
18 (Mon.) Transfer to Turku. 180 km / about 3 hours ride. Ferry 11 hours ride
19 (Tue.) Stockholm sightseeing and overnight
20 (Wed.) Transfer to Oslo. 520 km / about 7 hours ride. Sightseeing and overnight
21 (Thu.) Sightseeing and transfer to Bergen
22 (Fri.) Race watch and sightseeing
23 (Sat.) Race watch and sightseeing
24 (Sun.) Race watch and overnight
25 (Mon.) Transfer to Copenhagen. Sightseeing and overnight
26 (Tue.) Sightseeing and Transfer home
27 (Wed.) Arriving home

12 days minimum. If I wish to do some extra sightseeing and/or bike ride tours, I need 2 weeks (14 days).

Is this feasible?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ
[Paid holidays (vacation) plan A, B and C or more]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/01/25(水) 16:22:14|
2. Bike Races
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Give me some credit!

Usually I don't. Sometimes I do. Just for the heck of pure curiosity.

I found a ninja among the names in the scroll of "Jack Reacher Never Go Back" and was delighted. It seems that someone named him or her so. Is it a girl name or boy name?

It is like Easter Egg Hunt for me.

If you have appetite for one, I recommend renting (digitally) JFK by Oliver Stone and look for the name of Elizabeth Stone. She was still married to him (the director) at that time (of movie release) with two (?) boys.

I can safely guess that she was very busy raising those boys home instead of siding with him at the movie shooting location.


Bergen, Norway

https://bergen2017.no/en/

This year's UCI Road World Championship is held in Bergen, Norway. If I could take 2 weeks of vacation then, I want to be there. Garmin BaseCamp tells me that I have to drive more than 2,000 km to get there. The reason why I insist going there by car is that I want to have my bike with me in Bergen (beautiful Fjord area), Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm. It take more than two days to simply get there. Thus I need a 2-week vacation.


(Luxembourg to Bergen, Norway: an overview / screenshot clip from Garmin BaseCamp)


(Luxembourg to Bergen, Norway: Germany to Denmark / screenshot clip from Garmin BaseCamp)


(Luxembourg to Bergen, Norway: Three capital cities of Scandinavian countries / screenshot clip from Garmin BaseCamp)

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Do you sometimes actually read those credits of the end of the movie scrolls?]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

1. 2017/01/23(月) 18:44:58|
2. Miscellaneous stuff
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Adding this paragraph later and made some corrections.

It turned out that my newly acquired Zero Gravity was in fact a Ti version. I magnified the laser-etched logo on the arm and it read "0G 07 Ti." I am even happier that I got this Zero Gravity Ti (nice condition) and 8 pieces of pad holders with the price that I paid.

(original entry begins here)
I went to the depot specified by the delivery notice that I found in my mailbox the day before. It was my second time there and I say I was lucky. The delivery (undelivered notice) notice had the name of the depot (it is a quick credit type small office "Money something (I don't remember)," its address and the phone number. They were written by the delivery driver (I guess) but to me almost undecipherable.

Luckily as I had written above, it was my second time that I had a failed delivery from dpd Luxembourg. So I knew their depot. I did not have to rely on the info on the slip.

Back home and hurriedly opened the package to find what I had expected to find. A Ciamillo Zero Gravity calliper brake set and an extra set of brake pad holders.

I dismantled them to clean and inspect the wears or damages. They were not cleaned at all when they arrived. I have to say that they were just taken off a bike that they had been installed and hurriedly taken pictures of before being packed for shipping.

It is completely OK. It is my job (and business) to clean them.

So I found them relatively in better conditions than I had expected. The cleaning process is not finished but I can say that they were not so much used at all after all these years. Maybe that was why the previous owner decided to get rid of them.

Click on the images to magnify

(One of the callipers: Looks fine, doesn't it?)


(The other: It has a scar as you can see)


(The rest of the brake set: These shims are of stainless steel, I think and they are silver in life although they look coppery here)

The surface finish (black anodized) is almost intact. Of course I can find some scratches around the wire clamps but amazingly the finish is intact. This means that these brakes were not on a cyclocross-minded bike. The fact that I did not find almost no scratches on the barrels (to be grabbed by a spanner when taken apart) means that the previous owner did not use it frequently and maybe had not done any maintenance at all. This fact is also supported by the clean and seemingly no-wear shims that I found.

I can not be sure the bolts are of stainless steel (thus the model name SS) or of titanium (ditto Ti). They don't react to magnets as titanium won't but some stainless steel (annealed) won't either. The fact that they feel (in my hand) a bit heavier than aluminium part made me guess that they are indeed of stainless steel. I could be wrong. If I could measure the weight of them, I will be sure.

The titanium version bolts weigh only 2 or 3 grams less than their stainless steel ones so the difference is really slight. For example the stainless steel longer bolt (for the front fork) weighs 14.3 grams whereas the titanium one weighs 7.5 grams.

(short rear bolts 10.8 grams / 6 grams)

14.3 grams translate to 0.5 ounces and 7.5 grams, 0.26 ounces.

According to Wikipedia,
Aluminium Density: 2.7 g / cm³
Titanium Density: 4.506 g / cm³
Steel (not pure steel) Density: around 8 g / cm³ (Stainless steel is roughly the same)

So I have now at my hand a nice Zero Gravity Ti brake set. There are small scars on them but I don't care at all and I don't have any near future plans to utilise them.

As to the brake pad holders, I have to say I am happy that they are indeed "tall" profile ones and they are in good conditions. Four of them had "MAVIC SwissStop" logos on them. They are in black. I can not make out the exact model name so I don't know if they are for aluminium rims or for carbon rims. I don't use them anyway. The rest had had just black pads and I have no clue to what they are. Again those pads are almost unused. Another indication that the previous owner had been lazy and not ridden these calliper brakes often.

I don't trust SwissStop carbon pads (intended for carbon rims). I heard (read and seen) negative things about them. They (pads) are long-lasting but in turn they attack the surface of the rims. They tend to build up heat inside them (because they are dense and hard to be worn out?) and this heat also attacks the rims.

I used to use KoolStop ones, which had been ZIPP's genuine pads. Then they (ZIPP) turned to cork pads. They now offer cork pads and synthetic pads as genuine parts. I have been using these cork pads and I love them as they work quieter (squeak less).


History:
I saw the pictures of Ivan Basso's Alpe d'Huez TT bike (Cervélo Team CSC) in 2004 and loved those Ciamillo Zero Gravity brakes (and also Vision's mini TT bars). I immediately fell in love with them. You might call this love at first sight as my current bike (Cervélo) is almost a copy of this Cervélo bike that Ivan Basso rode back then, complete with Ciamillo and Vision products.

I purchased used Ciamillo Negative G calliper brakes sold on ebay They did not come with genuine pad holders (Shimano-type holders came with them)

Because the gap between the pad and the rim was not appropriately attained without using extra spacers, I sought for genuine holders. I got 5 of them sold on ebay.

Because they are so-called Campagnolo-types, switching between aluminium rim pads and carbon rim pads was too much of work, I needed another set of holders. I bought high-profile holders from the Ciamillo distributor (continental Europe). Blue annodized ones as black high-profile ones were not available.

The price that I paid for these 8 pieces of black high-profile holders was;
1.3 times more than I paid for those 5 pieces of used black high-profile ones and
about the same as what I paid for 4 pieces of new blue high-profile ones.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Caimillo Zero Gravity Ti and other things I wish I had]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車用品 - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/01/20(金) 01:28:12|
2. Bikes and related things
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I frequently read the comments by the supporters at the Indiegogo LIMITS campaign page. A while ago a person asked a very astute question; Has anybody in Europe received his/her unit(s) yet? (This is not his wording)

Immediately some rather (l*m*) person replied that he had not yet. This was a rather d**b comment because this person did not indicate his place of residence at all. This was the very information that the original inquirer wanted to ask (well he did not explicitly said so but I felt it).

Because we all know (knew) that the company was not sending out the units in order of order at all but by regions. He listed very non-essential information like his order date or his queue number. These did not mean anything at all.

Well Today I found a very considerately informative comment by an Italian resident (whose name sounded more like a German name, though) who gave us the postal information (when sent, from where sent and how sent). His residence is included in the list of countries where the initial dispatch of units were sent to.

I indicates that Royal Mail International Tracked and Signed service took care of his unit. It took almost one month to get to him. Well, for Royal Post's defence, I have to add that it was just before Christmas (21/12/2016 = European and 12/21/2016 = US) so it waited a while before it was handled and transferred.

I have to imagine that they have not yet finished the shipping for the rest of the continental European countries. They may finish it by the end of January (hopefully). Then it will take another 10 days or more for the packet to arrive in Luxembourg.

I don't expect to receive mine till sometime in February.

Speaking of February, Acton will be shipping my Blink S2 sometime in late February or March.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [What is my Limits (powermeter unit) doing now]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車用品 - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/01/18(水) 22:49:21|
2. Bikes and related things
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The weather forecast is telling us that we (those who live or work in Luxembourg) are expecting cold days ahead.

Not much snow.


Zero Gravity or LIMITS?

Today (Monday, 16th of January) after work I came home to find a delivery notification slip in the mailbox. It is from dpd Luxembourg. It (the packet) has been deposited to a location (already familiar to me) near the central station (of Luxembourg City). I will pick it up Tuesday afternoon.

The question is: Is it the Ciamillo Zero Gravity (with 8 brake pad shoes) or LIMITS powermeter?

I guess that it is the former as the packet is due between 17 and 24th according to the shipping info.

I will be very surprized if I find the latter.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ
[Cold weather forecast (or should I say 'forecasted?')]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

1. 2017/01/16(月) 23:31:43|
2. Info Luxembourg
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The official site (www.letour.fr) is not so revealing and tends to give information rather reluctantly. Since its big show back in (was it in October?) last Fall, the site is cunningly adding pieces of information.

For example, I don't know when it happened but the third stage (Verviers - Longwy) route "Mountain passes & hills" has a profile image. It is the last climb leading to the finish.

Longwy, France is a town that I know a bit. The local people call part of the town Longwy-bas and the rest Longwy-haut (Low Longwy and High Longwy, respectively) as the town is located in an area that is moderately hilly.
I can imagine that where the stage ends.

The fifth stage now also has a profile image. So I can now work. I can plot the names on the profile map on the map in Garmin BaseCamp.

Before doing so I need something, an AA battery cell for my mouse. Without a mouse, it is really hard to work on my MacBook. Writing sentences is fine without it but other maneuverers are done clumsily with the touch pad.

Google is watching

I have begun using an Android device since last December. It is a very inexpensive Android (Marshmallow) device. It does not have cellular capability but only Wifi connectivity. It has GPS capability and I don't know its (GPS or Assisted-GPS) exact capability. It seems to be very accurate.

When I move, I put the tablet in the backpack. It stay there when I take the buses and I drive. When I drive, I usually put the backpack on the passenger's seat.

The amazing (or chilling) thing (sensation?) is that Google (via my tablet) knows exactly what I am doing (or where I have been).

The tablet reminds me of the place where I parked my car. The tablet asks me how the restaurants I have been were and asks me to give a review of them. It tells me to give some details (seating situation or so) of the bus stop I use. Wow!

Of course by now Google knows what I like. As I have no doubt that they are tracking all of my internet activities.

How do you live with this kind of sensation that somebody knows about you so much? It is chilling, isn't it?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [TdF 2017 and Google]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車レース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/01/13(金) 01:18:06|
2. Tour de France
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By the time I uploaded this entry, the sale was off.

Sale is on almost everywhere in Luxembourg! It is officially on.

According to some passages at www.wort.lu, the use of "Sale" at shops and stores are regularized in this country. In French, it is "Soldes (meaning sales)." Or simply "%" without specifying much much percent the prices are off. When the sales are on, you see this "%" on the windows everywhere in French speaking countries.

It is the time. I am thinking of taking advantage of it.

Some of the candidates are: a mobile power bank (USB power source), another cheap tablet, and so on.

I was a bit disappointed when I found that ANT+ support for Android (Marshmallow or Nougat) was so poor. This incident led me to think of getting a cheaper KitKat or Lollipop tablet for ANT+ experiment. It I could find a really cheap tablet, I would buy one.

But wait! Am I going to buy a tablet with KitKat or Lollipop on it just because I want to see if ANT+ works on it? Insane! I have to stop.

LIMITS powermeter update

I received an update a while ago telling me that the shipping to some EU continental countries, namely Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands had been done and they were shipping further to rest of the countries.

So Luxembourg is not included. I hope they do have enough units so that they can send me soon.

A quick thought about this update. The update message lists the names of countries in the exact order above. They are not in the alphabetical order. What kind of order are they sorted in?

I guess the list is in the order of shipping order literally. They started shipping to backers in Germany first and then to France and so on. It is safe to guess also that the number of ordered units correspond to it. In population wise, Germany and France are the biggest and it is highly likely that many people ordered the units.

In this way, I can safely guess that Luxembourg is not on their priority list.

[Sale was (is) on!]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

1. 2017/01/11(水) 00:05:21|
2. Info Luxembourg
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I got this item from Amazon (Germany) and have been using it since its delivery by the local postman. It is not bad. It fits and functions well.

The only thing I have to say negative is that the front side cutout exactly fits the screen, which is cosmetically fine but when it comes to swiping left screen edge to evoke a menu from there, it (close cut) hinders the move a bit.

I can not swipe as I used to but have to place the tip of my finger a bit (less than a half second?) on the edge to evoke the menu so that one or two millimeters of the menu shows and then swipe to the right. Not a problem once you get the hand of it.

It cost me almost €16. I will give it 4 out of 5 stars without rating its durability, which I have not had the time to see yet.

LIMITS powermeter

They don't update often. It is long overdue by now. I am talking about the Indiegogo campaign site updates.

The clues to what has been up is inside the campaign supporters' comments. One comment particularly got my attention this afternoon (2nd of January, 2017). A German (I guess) supporter found the pedal sold on the ebay and contacted the seller to find out that this seller, his compatriot, got his and immediately put it on the ebay.

This means some of the shipped items have already arrived and others, including mine, are on the way (I hope).

I searched for "Limits power" on the ebay and found two items currently there, both from the Great Britain.

This afternoon I got a update on the progress of the products from Limits Technology. Other than repeated Oceania shipment situations, there was this thing that got my attention. They are starting to sell the products via normal retail outlets. There were no details but I guess that they will be available from online shops and real shops alike in near future. Prices (current Indiegogo campaign prices are temporary anyway) will go up as the distributers must bite from the suggested retail price.

Ciamillo Zero Gravity

Ooops, I did it again. I won an auction and bought a pair of used Zero Gravity with some extra. The brake callipers did not interested me too much but the extras did. These callipers (front and rear) came with 8 brake pad holders in total.

These holders are old as they were meant for old Zero Gravity brakes. They are high profile one and I need them.

The price that I paid including the shipping fees was not too big. I am happy.

I want to root my Android tablet

I want to break free!

(Based on my Linux experience of old days, Slackware distribution) I thought that they were ways to use (compile and then install) a custom kernel on my tablet.

I Googled "compile kernel android" and got the answer. It is possible to custom-compile a kernel on my own. the brief guide told me that I should install Ubuntu (Lubuntu will do, too) and install the Adroid development software.

At this point, I don't know exactly how to do it but will find out.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [A Tablet (fake leather) case and LIMITS powermeter]の続きを読む

テーマ:タブレットPC - ジャンル:コンピュータ

1. 2017/01/05(木) 00:08:21|
2. Android devices
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