欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

Go Bob!

( http://www.lessentiel.lu/fr/sports/sports_luxembourgeois/story/tre-leader-sur-le-Tour-de-France-c-est-un-honneur--19179741 )

It seems that Bob Jungels, after the departure of Dan Martin, is going to be the overall (general classification) leader of Quick-Step Floors team for the Tour de France in 2018.

I welcome this. He has to improve his ability to climb but he is still young and has a lot of potential. I will be following all the stages of the Tour in 2018 and when he is there, I will definitely support him in any way I can.




In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Tour de France 2018 and Bob Jungels]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/30(月) 23:51:17|
2. Tour de France
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Rock Solid or not so solid?

RockBros suction cup bike rack looks solid but I don't know if it really is. I just got one for me and have not tested the rack yet. I will see.

I got the smallest of the bunch. A rack for just one bike. It is supposed to attach itself on the roof but my Mazda MX-5 does not have a "real" roof; it is a cabriolet.

Then why have I got one? I wanted use it but not as intended. I wanted to modify it so that it would be a wheel rack.

Why? Because the Saris Bones Solo can hold the bike with two wheels attached on the bike but this way, I have to remove the wheels first from the bike and then put them away (in a bag or so) EVERY time I want to store the bike and the wheels in the cockpit when I want to leave the car unattended for a short period of time (a super market visit or other chores). The worst thing is that I have to repeat the reversed maneuver again when I leave.

I found it not so complicated (unless it is raining hard) to store the wheels and bike (when they are separate) inside the cockpit because the roof can be wide open easily, of course. I have done it many times during the last visit to Italy and Switzerland.

The key is to have them (the bike and wheels) separate.

I am thinking of making an improvised "Hogg" (by SeaSucker) and bind the wheels together. This way I can leave the wheels on the bike while the bike is on the rack and also it will be easy to separate them when needed.

I am also planning to store the wheels separately on this imaginary wheel rack (not yet materialized) all the time so that (dismounting them and ) storing them in the cockpit will be even quicker and easier.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [RockBros bike rack and a possible modification of this rack]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車（スポーツ用） - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/29(日) 10:23:36|
2. Bikes and related things
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DHL business
I went to the local DHL office in Luxembourg (near the city of Contern) and picked the small package up. It is the package (an envelope) from Italy which Peruzzo SRL sent me.

They are hooks and their plastic (soft rubbery material) covers. They would hook up to the edges of the trunk lid or the bumper end.

I found them very neat. They are wide (wider than the original Saris hooks and the protection cover is thicker) enough and the protection covers are soft. I will first paint them (zinc-plated hooks) in black before going to the next step (sawing them in to the straps).

I thought of replacing only the upper hooks but I may want to replace the lower hooks, too. Or I will use the original upper hooks as the lower hooks.


How do they compare? The left piece is from Peruzzo and the other one (Upper hook, which is bigger than the lower hook) is from Saris. They are almost identical in size.

Post business 1
I got a letter from the Post Luxembourg. It is an inquiry of the price of the package they got from China. I have to declare the value of the contents so that they can give me the invoice (of import charges).

I replied it by an email with attached documents showing the transaction with PayPal. I got a rapid reply from the original sender telling me that it was declared and will be delivered by TNT the next day.

Unfortunately I won't be home when it is delivered but I will get it eventually.

Post business 2
I got a reply email from the company who sent me the wrong merchandise. I will send the package back to this company by Post Luxembourg. They sent me this PDF file that I have to print out and attach to the box. This way I don't have to pay for the return shipping.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ


[DHL, Post (Luxembourg) and import charge declaration]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

1. 2017/10/25(水) 15:15:20|
2. Bikes and related things
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4. | コメント：0

How to mount the wheel(s) on my Mazda MX-5 out of the cabin
I thought of these three methods and one turned out to be out of question.
1. Keep them in the trunk
2. Keep them on the bike
3. Keep one or both on a separate rack

The 2nd option is always feasible but there are reasons that I would rather avoid it.
Drag: If I keep deep profile Zipp 404 wheels on the bike while I drive, the bike won't be aerodynamically stable.
Protrusion: Wheels will protrude on both sides of the car.
Weather: When it rains during the travel, they are soaked.

The 3rd option is very limited as the car itself is really tiny and basically has no solid roof.

If I could pay for the installation of a trailer hitch, which would cost me around €1,000 here in Europe, I would buy a hitch mount bike rack (another spending!) and solve the problem once for all. I wish.

Also, If I could afford the SeaSucker Komodo, which costs me almost €2,000 here in Europe, I would be happy to do so. The problem with this is that Boot-bag won't be able to mount on the trunk rid when this Komodo is already present.

As a compromise, I thought of a method that might be OK. Use this Hogg and mount the removed front wheel along with the rear. This way, drag is minimum as the lowered position now allows the rear wheel almost hidden behind the car and more importantly, the bike won't be wider than the car. The only downside of this method is that now the rear part of the bike is heavy and the Bones Solo might lean toward this heavier side.


(This is the Hogg: image taken from SeaSucker's site)


(This is how it is used with Komodo: image taken from somewhere on the Internet)


(This is close-up and the manufacturer recommends using an extra strap to hold the front wheel - supposedly from spinning: ditto)


(If I buy it here in Europe, it will cost more than €100: this is from SeaSucker's Benelux agent)


(If I buy it from the States, all the way from Florida, it will cost me more than €100 after paying the import charges)

Oh, by the way, have you noticed that most (not all but) of those images prepared by Sea Sucker with their products use posh vehicles like Tesla, Maserati, BMW, Aston Martin or others? They certainly want to keep their brand image comparable to the ones attached to those cars, don't they?

I looked around to see if anybody else was making similar products but the search turned out to be unfruitful. After a while I thought up a way to make a similar thing on my own.

Basically the Hogg is a small part that has both ends with a female thread that accepts a skewer's male thread.

Then how about this? All I have to do is put two of these things together end to end.


This particular one (there are many other similar ones on the market) is from KCNC and it is a light mount on the hub (although Google's search result images seem to suggest that many people are using it as a rear derailleur guard).

Is this a great idea or what? Of course, I may have to modify it (cutting shorter) and glue them together. It won't be too difficult. I can find a appropriate pipe (a bit smaller than the inner diameter of the light mount) to glue them all together. They are not too expansive, which is very important.

I will have to tie the front fork to the bumper to keep the bike from leaning while turning sharply. This will be done.

This last image shows how a bike with two wheels on will look from behind. Wheels are protruding from the vehicle, which is legal but I just don't like it so.



In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ
[SeaSucker Hogg and my own Hogg substitute]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車（スポーツ用） - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/24(火) 21:55:37|
2. Bike Races
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Canola
I thought that "Canola" stood for CANada Oil Low Acid for the last OMG more than thirty years. I was wrong after all these years. Canola was a family name for a guy who won two consecutive road bike races in Japan in October 2017.

Marco Canola is an Italian professional road bike racer. I noticed it only now.

Boot-bag.com again?

I searched for this item on ebay being just curious. The search produced a list of items and at the bottom of the list, there was this Boot-bag (standard) from boot-bag.com. The auction was going to end in 1 hour 55 minutes and was running. It was also from the UK as the one I got several weeks ago. The seller listed it as used on his/her MX-5 (5 years ago once) so I assume it was not ND MX-5.

Anyway the starting price was low enough to get me immediately interested and the best part was that I didn’t have to wait for long to see if I could be the next owner.

The auction ended and I was the only bidder. I won it, I paid for it.

Now I am a proud owner of two Boot-bags (one standard and the other vacation version). Did I absolutely need another? I thought it would be nice to have another one because they (both) could be waterproof duffle bags on any occasions.

How much would you pay for a waterproof bag these days? I think it was a fairly good deal.

The rainy season begins in Luxembourg

It is raining in Luxembourg Today (as of October 23rd, 2017). In Winter, it rains a lot. It does not snow too often in recent years. In 2004, it snowed a lot and in 2010 or 2011 (I have to check my own blog entry to know for sure). I had fun riding my bike on snowy and icy roads back then. I have some pictures on this blog somewhere.

It seems that this Winter is a wet but not snowy one. It was really fun to ride on snowy roads and I would like to do that again.

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas.

The trunk was too small for 700 wheels

I wrote in July or August that fitting the space-saver spare tire inside the trunk was a very difficult task. 125/70 16 is the size of that tire. Let's do the math!

125 mm x 0.7 = 87.5 mm: So the rim tire wall is about 8.8 cm tall.
16 inch = 40.64 cm: Say, the wheel is 41 cm in diameter.

The total height will be 8.8 x 2 + 41 = 58.6 cm.

It is, as already written, about 130 mm thick. So this tire is diagonally about 60 cm long. You can calculate this figure by doing the Pythagoras theorem thing. I have done it for you but if you are in doubt, do it by yourself.

So fitting a circular object of 600 mm in diameter was already a challenge. The result of this fitting test was so obvious.

Will this spare tire fit in the passenger side floor?

Remember that my Mazda MX-5 is a US/Continental Europe style model meaning that the driver sit on the left side and the passenger in the right. There is a protruding bulge on the passenger's floor that accommodates a corresponding bulge on the transmission.

Can someone comfortably sit in the passenger's seat while the spare tire lying on the floor?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [I thought "Canola" was an contraction for CANada Oil Low Acid]の続きを読む

1. 2017/10/23(月) 22:51:25|
2. Bike Races
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4. | コメント：0

Wheels out of the passenger's seat, please

During the last trip to Italy and Switzerland, the passenger's seat was occupied by the wheel bag containing two (front and rear) wheels. They (Zipp 404 from 2004, I think) are light but still they are bulky.

I wanted to get them in the trunk but the space had been occupied by the boot-bag containing a lot of stuff. The trunk also contained a space-saver spare tire (125/70 16: 125 mm wide 70 % flat rate = wall height 125 x 0.7 = 87.5 mm 16 inch diameter wheel). The trunk was full.

I will see if two wheels fit inside the trunk above the spare tire. If they fit, it is OK to keep them there. If not, I have to find another way to keep them out of the passenger's seat.

Keeping the wheels on the bike while the bike is put on the rack is one way to accomplish it, of course. I will see if this method is stable enough for me to be convinced that I can travel for a long distance at a high speed.


This is something that I found very promising. It is available as a part. Delta Bike Hitch something. I found a dealer based in the UK. From the UK, I can buy without paying too much for shipping and also without paying the import tax (for the moment, thank God!) until the Brexit process completes.

I am thinking a way to fix this on the trunk.

iPad mini 2 on iOS11.0.3

I did not intend to upgrade the system on my iPad mini 2 to the latest version but it happened accidentally. I fell asleep while my iPad connected to the Wifi and plugged to the power source. While waiting the bus at the bus stop on my way to work, I unlocked the iPad and noticed something; it responded differently.

OK, it is on iOS11.0.3 and no harm is done. Now that I have Garmin GLO (an iOS compatible bluetooth GPS receiver), I really don't have to wait for a jailbreak tool to come out public.

www.ashtoninstruments.com is gone?

It was more than three years ago (I guess) that I subscribed for the email updates from them when they started their site. I have never ever received a single piece of news from them. Now this URL is empty. It was about a month ago (I guess) that I accessed this URL and it was OK back then.

I think that they have decided to call it a day and not to pay for the domain anymore.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [How to get the wheels out of the cabin and iOS11.0.3]の続きを読む

テーマ:愛車と日常 - ジャンル:車・バイク

1. 2017/10/22(日) 23:42:41|
2. Mazda MX-5
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Bones Solo modifications:

I want to modify this bike rack so that it can cohabit with Boot-bag (from boot-bag.com UK). The key to it is illustrated in this picture that I have already posted.


Look closely at the straps that hang on the trunk lid. They (although you can see only one but there are two of them) lie on the lid surface. This way, Boot-bag can sit on them.

So I have to do:

1. Detach all the straps with anti-slip ratchets
2. Detach the anti-sway strap
3. Attach anti-sway strap back on the other side of the strap
4. Attach the four ratchet straps back but on the other side of the straps

Done (at least for the moment)!

Now I just reversed the direction, in other words, the upper hooks (bigger or wider) and lower hooks are swapped.

By doing the swap, now Bones Solo is crouching lower on the trunk lid letting the upper straps closer to the lid surface . This allows the boot-bag to sit on these straps while not disturbing the tension of the straps.

Take a look at this!

Here is the new position on the trunk lid, now lower and slapped down. The distance between the upper straps hovering over the lid and the lid surface is still over 4 cm but smaller than (it was) before. The lid tapers downward toward the end (not like BMW Z4) so this is unavoidable.



If I put the boot-bag on the lid, the straps will be disturbed when the boot-bag's contents are heavy. If I (could) arrange the contents of the bag so that the they are in three parts avoiding the bag's bottom where straps lie under, it will be OK.



The anti-sway strap won't function in this position. It won't even reach the bike.


To complete the modification, I will go further later.

5. (In the future) Attach the upper hooks directly on the upper straps so that the rack is always positioned without using the upper ratchets.

Get similar hooks or use the original hooks and saw them in.

For this I looked around for the similar function. Saris also sells straps with the hooks but they are not locally available (in Europe here). I finally sourced them here (www.peruzzosrl.com). Peruzzo is an Italian company that makes and sells bike racks. They have a web shop that sells spare parts directly to customers. I purchased these.

a. 6 pieces of zink plated steel hooks €3.1

b. 6 pieces of hook covers €4.9


These will certainly do.

6. Find a solution for strengthening the weak plastic part where the hooks of the lower straps cling to

Get a aluminum plate or plastic plate glued on to the back of it

I am talking about this flimsy plastic part covering the muffler. It is not too solid

I may have to place some elastic pads under the straps. I will see.

7. Find a solution for making the anti-sway strap function or another way to make the bike stable (not to sway)

I don't have any working ideas for this yet.

8. Solve the problem of the feet making scratches on the paint surface.


This image illustrates how four feet sit on the car (two on the horizontal part of the lid and the other two on the about 60 degrees slanted bumper). I think this must be the best (of the situation) place.

Laying anti-skid mat is a quick fix but I will keep looking for better smarter solutions.

This is definitely not the best solution!



In Japanese: 続きどうぞ [Saris Bones Solo modification ideas Part II]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車（スポーツ用） - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/18(水) 22:26:45|
2. Bikes and related things
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Garmin GLO first test in the car

I simply put it on the tiny recess just under the climate control dials because it is where the two USB ports are. The TomTom app on my iPad mini 2 worked just fine with the soft top closed. The Garmin GLO received GPS signals via Garmin GLO.

I can put it on the dash where sticky anti-slip pad is when the Sun ray does not heat it up too much and a short USB cable can reach it from the USB ports. Normally this pad is reserved for the parking tickets or toll way tickets.


Here it is! I can charge it from the USB port (not seen as hidden under the cloth) just nearby.

SOLDERING iron

I needed this for repairing the tablet (ARCHOS 70 Oxygen) and making a cable for connecting the dynamo hub and those two Exposure Light Revos.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Dear Diary October 18]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

1. 2017/10/18(水) 21:55:48|
2. Bike Races
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Topics are as follow:
1. Tour de France 2018 course layout rumors
2. RockBros bike racks on Amazon (Garmany or UK)
3. Maintenance of bike needed


(My beloved Mazda MX-5 in Hospental - at the foot of San Gotthard Pass, Switzerland: October 8, 2017)

Tour de France 2018 course layout rumors
cyclingnews.com has also cited the velowire.com site for its latest article.

"Four days in Pau" is clearly mentioned in this article (and of course in the original source, velowire.com). It seems that ASO has booked four nights in Pau, where most of the teams and others will be sleeping. I won't be sleeping in Pau at that time. I will be sleeping in the mountains in my humble tent.

It should be noted that velowire.com writes that the fourth stage might finish in small town called Sarzeau and that the mayor of this town is called David Lappartient, who happens to be the current president of UCI. This is a nod from ASO to Mr. Lappartient. On top of it and as if this salutatory were not enough, Mr. Lappartient is from Mûr-de-Bretagne, where the sixth stage is rumored to finish.

I have written on occations that I have personally seen ASO's Christian Prudhomme and UCI's former president Brian Cookson avoid eye contact while shaking hands obligingly at the team presentation ceremony of the Tour. They have been at odds.

When did ASO planned the stage layout, before or after they knew that Mr. Lappartient was running for the presidency?

RockBros bike racks on Amazon (Garmany or UK)
I found that Amazon (Germany or UK) also has some sellers ready to ship these bike racks. The prices are OK considering the fact that there is no need to pay any extra import charges within EU as opposed the possible import charges imposed on the purchase directly from Hong Kong (or China).

RockBros seems to have wider range of products besides these bike racks. How long has RockBros been selling these bike racks?


3. Maintenance of bike needed
I realized that my bike needs a lot of care. During the vacation trip to Italy and Switzerland, I rode my bike and heard and felt a lot of noises and vibrations that should not have been heard or felt.

I have been lazy for some time and not taken care of the bike. I bought SRAM Red wifli rear derailleur over a year ago (almost two?). I haven't done anything about it.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ
[Tour de France 2018 Stages rumors Part III]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/16(月) 11:07:20|
2. Tour de France
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4. | コメント：0

Velowire.com
(http://www.velowire.com/article/1027/en/tour-de-france-2018--the-rumours-about-the-race-route-and-the-stage-cities-.html)

According to this site, the Grand Départ won't use that Passage du Gois after all. I was there in 2011. The reason for not passing that submersible path is the time of high and low tides. The Moon seems to be not so crazy about seeing the peloton pass there. Instead, the peloton will use the bridge to get to the mainland France.

The official revealing of stages is set to October 17, in a few days in Paris.

There are lot of people longing to know the names of the cities and mountain peaks like me.

There are familiar names on the rumored list of names like Alpe d'Huez, Roubaix, Mûr-de-Bretagne, Annecy, Lourdes, Luz Ardiden and so on. I certainly welcome them as I know or vaguely remember what to expect there.

I don't like the layout (even though not confirmed but just rumors) when I have to make a two really big transfers.

One is the before-the-first-rest-day transfer between Roubaix and Aix-les-Bains (more than 800 km!) and the other is before-the-Champs-Elysées-finish transfer between Saint-Pée-Sur-Nivelle (on the Spanish border, one of the remotest corners of France) and (obviously) Champs-Elysées in Paris (also 800 km!).

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Tour de France 2018 Stages rumors Part II]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/14(土) 13:21:32|
2. Tour de France
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4. | コメント：0

I stumbled upon this while gasping at the prices of SeaSucker bike racks. They (SeaSucker products) are genius but they don't come cheap. Like the original (?) SeaSucker bike racks, they (RockBros's Products) come in one-bike rack, two-bike rack and three-bike rack configurations.

These RockBros Bike Suction Carriers are cheap or affordable. Now I am really interested. They are obviously inspired by SeaSucker products to put it mildly. If I put it harshly, I have to say they are copycats. They come from Hong Kong, which is part of China (and no doubts they are Made in China).

Copying (imitation) is a sincere form of admiration, or something like that people say. Of course, this refers to some kinds of art forms or similar matters and industrial copies have no place there.

Should I be a kind of Food Taster, so to speak, to see if those products are below or above standards? The most affordable one-bike rack costs a bit over €100 (including the shipping fees to Luxembourg).

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Is this a cheap rip-off or my saviour?]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車（スポーツ用） - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/13(金) 21:04:14|
2. Bikes and related things
3. | トラックバック：0
4. | コメント：0

ACTON BLINK S2
The battery is loaded! I don't have two of AAAA cells for the remote controller! I have to get to the supermarket and get them before riding the beast.

UPS had delivered it to a local pickup station (a Total gas station not far from my humble residence) on October 4th. Today, 10 days later, I fetched it.

It was bigger and heavier than I had expected. I can not wait to see how it rides!! It was more difficult to ride it than I had expected.

Garmin GLO
I found a used (description said practically new) Garmin GLO on Amazon (Germany) a couple of days before leaving for my Italy-Switzerland vacation trip. Today (Friday, OMG! 13th of October 2017) I got it from the post office. It was inside a lightly padded envelope with a USB cable attached to it. Otherwise, they were naked and no accompanying accessories. OK, as long as it works.

I plugged it to my MacBook Pro mid 2010 and checked the firmware version with Garmin WebUpdater. Here is the digest of what I have done.


Upon launching the software program, I saw it proudly reported that there was a newer firmware. I updated it.


It took a couple of minutes to complete the task but it went smoothly.


Now the firmware is up-to-date!


The improvement that Garmin GLO team has made over the years. For aviation use, it is still very popular I guess.


Out of curiosity, I wanted to see what would happen if I launched Garmin Express while the GLO was hooked on the computer. Could I register it with Garmin Express? The answer was No.

It does recognize the GLO. This warning (or advice?) window politely refused to work with the GLO. But hey, Garmin Map Updater? Shouldn't that be Garmin WebUpdater?

Where do I put this small device in my small car? On the dash? I will find the best place.

GIS (Geographic Information System)
I was just curious when I read the descriptions of GLO firmware updates. What is GIS?

I found that GIS is initials for Geographic Information System. It has something to do with the layers of maps. Anyway, it is very encouraging to know that Garmin is actively improving the firmware of GLO.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Garmin GLO and Acton Blink S2]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

1. 2017/10/13(金) 12:30:50|
2. GPS Navigation
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I own a Saris Bones Solo and I think it is neat. It very lightweight and small. I bought it thinking that it would work on my Mazda MX-5.

Before buying it, I did some research on the Internet as usual. Take a look at these photos that I had collected before deciding to get one.


Here, this person uses the bike rack as instructed by Saris. You see that if you set the bike perpendicular (to the ground, of course), the bike will bump into the bumper of the vehicle. To prevent the scratches and dents, you have to use padding.

"Protect-O-Pads" that what Saris sells for this purpose (I have them, too!). Isn't having to use extra padding material a bit annoying? Don't you wish that the bike wouldn't stay so close to the bumper?


So this guy (or gal), not wanting to dent his/her BMW Z4 (or Z3?), devised a way to distance the bike from the vehicle. This does not follow the instructions given by Saris but it also works obviously. In a way, it is a better way to hang the bike. I guess this person does not use Protect-O-Pads.

Now (for the moment) I follow the instructions by the manufacturer but not totally happy with them. To abide by them, I have to remove the right pedal that faces the bumper and on the crank that I just removed the pedal from I put one of those Protect-O-Pads on. I also put one on the tip of the front fork (bumper side). I am not finished. Then I use a bungie code (80 cm long?) to hinder the movement of the handlebar.


(I don't know the official name for it but) There is a thing that might be called an "Anti-Sway Strap" on this bike rack. I hang my bike on the rack so that the bike faces to the left (the chainring on the bike is closer to the vehicle). This way, this anti-sway strap can kinda snugly holds the down tube just above the bottle cage.

(If I reverse the bike, the anti-sway strap does not seem comfortable hanging on the seat tube)

The first problem with Mazda MX-5 (ND) is this. (I took a photo but I don't have it on my MacBook yet. A couple of photos will be added later here) I have to put the lower ratcheting straps on a flimsy undercover hiding the muffler. This piece of plastic is not so solid. This is because the trunk lid is very shallow.

Of course, Saris will tell you that Bones Solo won't fit MX-5 (ND). No doubt.

Anyway, making this anti-sway strap useful, in other words, closer to the bike, leaves no choice but forces the bike too close to the vehicle's bumper (or any other parts).

Look at the picture here!

This guy or gal puts his/her bike on the rack and the distance between the bike and the vehicle (or its rear bumper) is ample, ample enough for the pedals to be kept on.

Also it is somewhat aerodynamically better positioned because the bike stays closer to the ground, in other words, most of the bike is behind the car and won't disturb the air flow too much. On the other hand, the anti-sway strap won't work for this setting.

I am going to work on my Bones Solo so that it fits better for my MX-5.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Saris Bones Solo modification ideas]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車（スポーツ用） - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/13(金) 10:49:21|
2. Bikes and related things
3. | トラックバック：0
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A sunny, really sunny day!

Today was my rest day because I tackled Col du Sanetsch Yesterday. Tomorrow, I will try to repeat the uninterrupted ascent to the top of Col du Sanetsch. After this final activity I will leave for home.

Here's what I did Today. Woke up and immediately went down to the mess to have the breakfast. Checked out around 09:00 and drove the exact place where I parked the car. About 1 km outside the town of Chandolin.

I rode in the hills but not to Col du Sanetsch. Went to a town called Daillon. By 13:30 I think I came back to the Youth Hostel. From there I decided to go around the town of Sion. I rode about an hour and then came back.

I rode some roads around Daillon where there were patches of vineyards. Like I wrote somewhere before, Sion seems to get more sunny days (if not the most) than other parts of Switzerland. I think the climate is so because Sion area is surrounded by high mountains and the clouds carrying moist air seem to unload it on the other side of the mountains.

Vineyards on the south steep side of the hills were sweet to my eyes but those paths winding up and down through the patches were not sweet to my legs. They tend to be very steep.

My plans for Tomorrow, I will do the same routine as the previous two days and climb to Col du Sanetsch. As soon as I come down, I will leave for home. I have to take some sporadic naps in the car before reaching home Friday morning. The route between Sion and home (Luxembourg) is about 600 km long.

The ascent to the top of the col is hard but fun. The descent from the top is the part I don't like at all. I have to keep applying the brakes all the time. I wish there were ways to avoid braking while descending.

There are small parachutes that you can wear while you are running. These are somewhat called "speed resistance training parachutes" or similarly.

Those are attached to athletes waist and as the runner increase the speed the resistance also gets bigger. These training devices can not easily converted to bike use because of many obvious reasons.

To name some, 1. when the parachute touches the rotating rear wheel, (you supply your imagination here) 2. when passing or opposing cars, motorbikes, bikes and pedestrians get entangled with the chute, (ditto) 3. when the biker gets caught in a crosswind while riding a path over a bridge, ravine or some ridges, (ditto).

These are used on athletes running on safe broad tracks or fields. This is the only way those can be used safely.

My Zipp 404 (full carbon tubular) wheels are my choice of climbing gear. They look awesome but they are not powerful stoppers. I used to use KoolStop brake pads (easy on carbon rims) but they screamed (I mean squeaked) a lot. So I changed to Zipp's cork pads. These don't squeal and also easy on the carbon rims.

They are not great stoppers, though.

Bringing a front aluminium rim wheel will be a great help but I don't have a great looking aluminium rim front wheel.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [October 11th (Wednesday)]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

1. 2017/10/11(水) 18:52:54|
2. Diary
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Now I am back from Col du Sanetsch and writing this in the 4-bed dormitory room of the Youth Hostel in Sion. Actually, I was the only one who stayed in this room yesterday and I think Today also I am alone. Great! I hear nobody snoring in the middle of night and I can lay out my stuff on the floor and nobody complains!

So, I met this couple on top of the Col and talked to the woman (because she was there first and her husband came 5 to 10 minutes later) and asked the questions I was dying to know the answers for them. By the way, they were riding up the Col on their road bikes just like me.

The city of Sion is pronounced as "Sea-On" and Sanetsch as "Su(btle)-ne(t)-che(w)" (don't read those letters in parentheses. Now I know.

Chronologically:

So I went down to the mess around 07:10 to have the breakfast and finished in 30 minutes. I had a lot. I brushed my teeth and stayed till 09:00 to let the stomach to settle.

I left for the designated parking spot that I had found the previous day. My Garmin nüvi show me somehow different route from Sion than the one I took yesterday.

I encountered a Mazda MX-5 ND (just like mine) which followed me about 5 to 6 km on the way. It was the first Miata that I recognized in Switzerland.

In Italy I had two separate occasions where the drivers of Mazda MX-5 (a man with his NA and a woman with her NC) gave me both-eye winks (NA can do that with those retractable headlights) or waved at me. I waved back to those drivers when we passed. In Italy (at least in Como vicinity) Miatas are loved by their owners.

Anyway, I noticed that I was getting to close to Col du Sanetsch (summit). I knew that the parking spot was about 22 km down the summit but my nüvi showed somewhat 19 km to the summit and I had not come to the parking spot.

It turned out that the route my nüvi showed me this morning was an alternative route from Sion and even though they (the route I wanted to take and the other route) eventually would meet at a point, It was about 3.5 km passed the parking spot I wanted to get to. Eventually, I drove to the exact spot I should be.

So I was down 22 km (according to my nüvi) down the summit. The weather was great. It was around 10:00 and when I geared up and set out to conquer the climb, it was close to 10:50.

It took me 3 hours to get to the summit. It was an excruciating 3 hours but in the end I conquered the Col. By "conquer" I mean that I went up the climb without setting my feet (or no even one foot) on the ground till the end.

Two guys on a bike passed me on the way up. One guy in his 50's (?) was on an electric bike and I don't think he was sweating even though he had a long-sleeve jacket and long pants on. He was lying on the grass about 9 km (?) down the summit. Maybe he ran out of the juice (the battery ran out) and could not go up any further. I saw him later on his bike further down the route (on my way down).

There was another guy in his 40's or early 50's on a mountain bike. He made it to the summit (I believe) and we met again on his way down.

About 22 km in 3 hours means that the average speed was around 6.5 km/h. I am not too proud of it but at least I made it all the way up without a single stop.

After coming back to the hostel, I went to the office and extended my stay for another day. This place (Sion area) is too good for a cycling activity now and I did not want to end it too soon.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Col du Sanetsch from Sion side]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

1. 2017/10/10(火) 17:29:15|
2. Diary
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http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/scarponi-driver-distracted-video-playing-smartphone-354403

Distracted by a video on his smartphone while driving? Is that his excuse or confession?

This is just a piece of leaked investigation information on a magazine (Tutto Bici) according to the article.
I was disgusted and sickened by this and I hope the driver gets what he deserves.

Not only that I also hope that the legislative bodies all over Europe (or the world) will send out a clear message that fiddling with phones while driving should not be tolerated.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Michele Scarponi's deadly accident (= murder) caused by a st*pid driver]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/10(火) 07:51:49|
2. Diary
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Now I am writing this in the mess (Salle à manger) of the Youth Hostel in Sion and the time is around 17:30 after the check-in. The office is open between 08:00 to 12:00 and 17:00 to 21:00 (or so).

I did not climb San Gotthardo (Italian way of calling it) pass after all. The rain was gone but the street was still wet and the higher part of the pass was covered by fog. I left the Hostel around 09:00 (by the time I loaded all the luggage on my car it was probably close to 09:30?) and headed for Sion.

The first thing I had to do was get to Realp and get the one way train ticket at the station. By the time I got in the parking of the station it was close to 10:00 and the sign board said that the next train was leaving at 10:05.

I hurriedly ran into the station and the kind woman got me the ticket (33 CHF = €29). While she was doing the transaction (giving me the receipt from the card payment terminal), she spoke into the handheld walkie-talkie giving the loading man on the platform a warning that still one car was getting on board. She said that I should quickly get to the train and I thanked her and left.

By the time I settled on the train (a flat bed freight cargo car), it was 10:08 and the train immediately left. It was a smooth ride and by 10:26 the train came to a full stop at Oberwald station. By 10:29, I was on the road again. Some people commute with this thing as the tariff table suggests the yearly pass as well as one way and round trip prices.

Furka pass is only open 2 up to 3 months out of 12 months. This Realp-Oberwald train is the real work horse. This was my second time to get the service of the train.

The road was smooth and I had no incidents on the way. I arrived at the Youth Hostel in Sion around 12:30. I briefly came in and saw the office hours. I also checked the parking.

After this, I went to the COOP (supermarket chain in Switzerland and also some neighboring countries) and got some bottled water, bread and rubber gloves (2 pairs) before filling up the tank of my Mazda MX-5 at the Tamoil gas station adjacent to the COOP.

One thing, people speak dominantly French here in Sion. So the city name must be "Sion" in French, which is like "Sea-On."

Here I filled it up (meaning I tanked to full) so that I can monitor the mileage I was getting on this trip. When I tanked €50 worth gasoline in (possibly) Taronico, Italy (where Lake Lecco and Lake Como meet not far from Madonna di Ghisallo), it was virtually full and at that time the mileage I got was 22 km/l. Now after this Sion fill-up, the mileage was 20.4 km/l. This include some highway drives (smooth and congested) and city drives. Not bad, I think.

Now that the tank was full and I had some time to kill, I drove to Col de Sanetsch. Oh the weather was great. The temperature in the city was above 14 degrees Celsius and the sky was blue with small patches of thin clouds.

It was around 33 km to the pass. I thought of riding the bike but decided to do some recon job leaving the big task (of conquering the climb) for the next day. I found some nice quiet parking spots around 22 to 20 km down the pass peak. Tomorrow (October 10th) I will park my car and attack it.

The road leading to the col and the lake behind it was very very quiet as the description of the location found on the Internet. There was nothing past it. It was after all a dead end leading to nowhere. I saw some resturants (one or two open) and a hotel (open) along the way. I saw some people riding bikes (some roadie and one touring type). This was a very encouraging sign.

The weather is promising, too. Tuesday is as warm as Monday and Wednesday will be even warmer. I am excited.

After the recon, I came back to the Hostel and checked in.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [October 9th in Sion]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

1. 2017/10/09(月) 18:03:14|
2. Diary
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Dear Diary.

October 8th
I checked out the Bed & Breakfast in Bergamo before 09:00 and headed for San Gotthardo a small sleepy town at the foot of Valcava climb which was featured in Il Lombardia in 2016. It was a good climb.



Now look at the numbers. It is 11.6 km long and the altitude difference is 934 meters. Toward the end of the climb there is a long steep stretch.

I got there by 09:30 and prepared to ride. By 10:10 I was off. The weather was great. I did not take a look at the profile too much the previous night before going to bed. I just remembered that it was about 11 km long.

Slowly and steadily I climbed. It was a long way to go. My Garmin Edge 800 showed only, cadence, power, current gradient (%) and current time. I did not have Limits power meter on the bike because one of the battery caps went MIA on the day I went to Varese to see the finish of Tre Valli Varesine.

So basically I had only gradient information while I rode and the thick forage and the meandering winding path choked by cliffs did not allow my Edge to receive the signals from the satellites. So I did not have much on my Edge.

I knew that when my legs felt easy the gradient was around 5 % and when they struggled the gradient was around 10 %.

When I took a sharp turn to the right and the rocky cliff hid the sun. Suddenly I felt the pedals got really heavy. I immediately knew that the stretch ahead of me was the steepest. It was not easy to keep balance on the bike as I rode so slow.

Later at the Hostel in Hospental I re-checked the profile and learned that that stretch started with 17 % gradient followed by slope of more than 10 % gradient without any warning.

I did not want to get off so I hung on. I made it to the top. It took me 1 hour and 30 minutes to get there. That red section (on the profile sheet) was a tough one.

I descended and put the gear back in the car and left. It was around 13:30. The weather in Italy was great. I also knew the weather in Switzerland was bad at least on Sunday.

My bike had an accident on the way! It fell off the trunk lid. As I have written in previous entry, the feet of Saris Bones Solo damaged the paint surface. I wrapped the feet with rug. This made those feet slippery. This made the tying straps wobble and I was driving on a highway on-ramp curve when the bike fell off. The bike got damaged not critically but rather cosmetically. I was not happy.

The Gotthard tunnel was a pain. Traffic jam.

I am writing this at the hostel in Hospental. I checked the route that I am supposed to take and noticed something. I did not pay much mind when I was planning this trip back in September.

Between Hospental and Sion there are several mountain passes. Furka pass, Grimsel pass, Susten pass and others. I checked the status of them. Furka is closed! Grimsel is open. Susten is closed!

How do I get to Sion? Should I take a long detour? I was doing the simulation on Garmin BaseCamp and found something.

There is a rail between Realp (middle section to Furka pass) and Oberwald. I googled and found the time table and price. I will take this train. This train also takes cars.

Back in 201? I think I also took this train. I had a vacation during the Tour de Swiss and the Furka pass was still closed due to deep remaining snow. It was June and the snow was still too deep! Amazing.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Valcava done and Swiss mountain passes closed]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

1. 2017/10/08(日) 22:19:25|
2. Diary
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Now my Italian days are almost over. I am writing this on the evening of Saturday, October 7. I am now looking forward to Swiss days.

Now first take a look at the weather! It all starts with the weather.

Hospental (at the foot of Gotthard Pass): Sunday rain and the daytime high around 7 degrees Celsius and nighttime low around zero Celsius. Not too good. Monday the rain will be gone and the sunny sky will be there. the daytime high will be around 14 degrees Celsius.

What should I do? I check out in in the morning of Sunday and drive where? Straight to Hospental? The check-in time (at the hostel that I booked) is after 17:00 so I have plenty of time until then.

I think I should stay in the Italian side as long as possible. I will try to get to San Gotthardo at the foot of the climb that was featured in 2016's edition of Il Lombardia. The weather there will be great.

Monday the weather turns better. Should I try Sankt Gotthard Pass then?

I will drive to Sion in the afternoon. The weather of Sion seems to be stable after Monday. I have two nights already booked at the Youth Hosel in Sion; Monday night and Tuesday night. If I like the place, I will extend the stay. I think that I can extend easily.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Here I come, Hospental and Sion]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

1. 2017/10/07(土) 23:26:13|
2. Diary
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After this TPMS incident and after it was temporarily or permanently remedied, I picked up the pace and droveon.

I arrived at the foot of the hill. It was a mess. A lot of people were there and cars and buses. I don't know if all the people were there for the race event but crowded.

I tried to find a place to park in the vicinity to no avail. So I drove into a narrow street that seemed to parallel to the race course. It turned out to be the race course. I was climbing the race course. What could I do?

After a while, I parked at the place where parking was possible. It was around 1.5 kilometers from the finish.

When I parked and saw that I had some time to kill, I checked around the car. I made a disturbing discovery. There were scratches on the boot lid and bumper where Saris Bones Solo's feet stood. They (soft rubber feet) were supposed to be scratch free or anti-scratch. How did it happen? How did those soft feet leave scratches on the paint surface? I tried to minimize the damages by scrubbing them off with a disposable towel soaked with mild polishing agent. I bought these years ago when I was still living in Germany.

I tried but they did not go away. I was very sad.

I watched the race and after the race I drove back to Bergamo. I think I paid around €18 to €20 on way. So it makes around €40 for the round trip.

I got stuck in the traffic near Milano. It was a big congestion and I lost more than half an hour or so. As I left Milano, the traffic was smooth again.

After coming back to the B&B, I wrapped those feet with rug. I hoped it would work.

Milano-Torino is a simple race. As the name suggests it starts in Milano and finishes in Torino. The highlight of the race is ups and downs in the circuit course. The best way to enjoy this race is take the bike and ride the circuit course.

The course safety measurement is pretty lax. Or should I say very accommodating and relenting. I like it that way. You can ride the course until just a few minutes before the race comes.

This time I went to the start to see what it was like but It was not a good idea. I should have gone to Torino in the morning and ride the circuit course.

October 6th
I woke up early and drove to Maglio. I took out my bike and rode up to Sormano. It was fun.

Now the Saris Bones Solo made no more scratches on the paint surface. The wrapped rug does not look good. I think I have to find a better solution.

Speaking of finding a better solution, I have to find a better way of tying two of the straps that hang downward from this Bones Solo.


October 7th
I left the B&B around 08:00 and drove straight to the gas station and bought €20 worth premium gasoline. The gas station system here in Italy is certainly different from that of Luxembourg. In Luxembourg the system is simple; you pump and then pay at the counter later.

Here it seems that there are prevailing prepaid system stations and there are first pump system stations, too. The gas station I went to was semi-first-pump-system station. After this I went to a self car wash a couple hundred meters away. I gave my car a good splash and hurriedly dried it up.

Driving to Maglio was easy by now and I arrived there by 11:00. I started applying some wax (Carron) on my car and RainX on the front windshield. I still had a lot of time to kill. This was a mistake. I did not know any better.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [October 5th PartII, October 6th and 7th]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/07(土) 22:06:39|
2. Bike Races in Italy
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I left for Milano around 08:00, I think. I took some wrong turns and it cost me 10 minutes more of unnecessary detour. My trusty Garmin nüvi kept calm and told me what to do and in one hour and a half I was in Milano.

There was a traffic congestion near Milano. This was expected. Milano is a big city. Although driving to the destination (South outskirts of Milano) did not require me to drive through the center of city, the traffic was heavy.

The start area was a industrial and commercial zone where you will see IKEA and other shops on one side and some logistics company's big yard on the other. GLS (a logistics company well known in Europe) was one of the parters of the event and its property was the parking for all the vehicles. They put up a big balloon shaped in a Zeppelin (airship) over their property to add some sense of festivity.

I was there around 10:00, I think. To my surprise, I saw two of my Dutch friends there. They were on vacation and enjoying the race.

I had some missions to complete. 1. Say hello to Fumy Beppu. 2. Say hello to Manuele Mori. 3. Take some pictures of Philippe Gilbert for keeps.

I completed my missions and by the time the riders started to gather before the start gate, I was already in my car to leave for Torino.

The highway between Milano and Torino was impressive. There were at least three wide lanes and were even four lanes near Milano. The road surface (asphalt) was very smooth.

My ride was supposed to be as smooth as the asphalt but it turned out to be not so smooth.

It was 50 km (I do not remember well) before reaching Torino, I heard an alarming beep. It took me by surprise. I saw the TPMS alarm light on. The strange thing was I did not feel any vibrations or hear any suspicious noise coming from the tires.

I wanted to stop and inspect the tires but I was driving on the highway and at the same time I did not sense anything wrong. So I decided to slow down a bit and kept on going until the next parking.

I stopped at the parking and inspected the tires. They seemed OK. To be sure that nothing was wrong, I took out the air pump and checked the air pressure of all four tires. They were at 2.0 bar on the pressure gauge. I don't think this pressure gauge is 100 % correct but I had to assume that it was not so wrong.

I don't know what triggered the TPMS alarm but at that point I was driving over one hour at a speed of well over 100 to 110 km/h. This qualifies the air pressure as not "cold air pressure" but as "hot air pressure."

If so 2.0 bar is a bit too low. Was this the cause of the alarm? There was no way of knowing of the cause.

I pumped all of the tires to 2.2 bar and was on the road again.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [October 5th Part I]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/05(木) 22:11:25|
2. Bike Races in Italy
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Out of the blue I had an SMS message along with emal that I had a immediate delivery awaiting the next day fro Fedex. What? What is it? It took me a while before I realized that it was BLINK S2 as the package weighed about 10 kg.

Finally! I am not going to wait for the delivery man to come as I am leaving Luxembourg this evening.

Luckily Fedex allows me to change the delivery conditions easily online so I redesignated it to a local pickup station (gas station not far from home). I can pick it up after I come home from vacation.

I'm happy to lay my head on it after waiting for so long.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [ACTON BLINK S2 is going to be delivered but a bit too late]の続きを読む

1. 2017/10/05(木) 17:21:02|
2. Diary
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October 2nd and 3rd
Dear, Diary.

I left Luxembourg around 22:30 and headed for Italy via France and Switzerland.

It was already cloudy in Luxembourg and when I entered France already some 5 minutes after the departure, it was damp and it felt rain was imminent. I kept the soft top up.

It rained lightly sporadically in France so my decision to keep the root up was right. The traffic was light in France and I took a break somewhere near Mulhouse, France. I slept in the seat about 2 hours in the parking along the French highway (for which I think I paid about €12 or €14 in total).

I started driving again around 05:00 and arrived at Basel (French-Swiss border) around 06:00. I expected some traffic (French people commuting to Basel) and I was right. A lot of cars on the highway before Basel and around Basel (when German commuters join at the border point). There seemed to be a minor accident on the highway (I saw two cars stopping and creating a bottle neck).

At the border I expected to be stopped by the custom officials and then they would offer me the vignette (Swiss highway yearly subscription toll system ticket) but there were no officers standing at the control.

I stopped at the border control point (there is a small parking, of course) in disbelief and walked to the office. There were numerous signs and there were two kinds; one saying that there is no toilettes here but there will be in 15 km (next parking, I guess) and the other telling that Vignettes are available in the office.

So they changed the system. One has to park and go into the office to get one. I got mine and stuck it on the front windshield and drove on. It started to rain and later pour.

I stopped at a parking and had another rest in the car. I don't know exactly when and until what time but slept rather comfortably in the seat of Mazda MX-5. I guess it was somewhere near Luzern.

When I woke up and started to drive again, the sun was up but it continued to pour. The rain did not clear up until I was close to the Swiss-Italian border. When the rain was gone, I stopped at a parking along the highway and open the roof.

I arrived at Varese around noon. I looked for the parking and parked in an undergournd parking in the center of Varese. It was just three or four hundred meters to the finish of the race.

Tre Valli Varesine was won by Alexandre Geniez. I could feel the dismay of the audience who had hoped that Vincenzo Nibali would win or Fabio Aru.

After the race I headed for the place for the night.

So I am in Italy. I noticed some changes beside the FM radio talking Italian that are really noticeable. One thing that bothers me a bit is my GPS navigation pal (Garmin n¨vi 2340 also) began talking differently.

No she (because my choice of voice is always female) does not suddenly started talking Italian (although I can switch to local Italian if I want) but she started saying "roundabout this" and "roundabout that."

There are so many roundabouts around here. I have to roundabout this and that constantly. Seriously!

Sometimes the instruction she gives me is, "Enter roundabout and take the second exit. (a moment later) Take the second exit to enter roundabout." Seriously! A plethora of them!

During the drive from Varese (the race finish) to a small inn outside Come about 25 km, I think I heard her say "roundabout" at least 30 or 40 times.

The inn was OK but the Wifi did not work. The password was either incorrect or the router was not functioning.

Sidenotes:
I took my bike out during Tre Valli Varesine and noticed some time later that I had lost the one of the caps on my Limits power meter. What happened to them? I mean Limits technology. Is it still alive or already dead?

Don't some kind people who live near the company in Scotland visit the company to see if they can find warm bodies or dead bodies there?

October 4h.
Dear Diary.

Next day, Wednesday, October 4th I woke up around 07:00 and started packing after taking a shower. I had some things to do.

Visiting Maglio, a small village at the foot of Sormano climb featured in Il Lombardia and then Madonna di Ghisallo was on my list.

There were a lot of cyclists on the road despite the fact that it was Wednesday. I did not drove all the way up Sormano as there was no point doing so by car.

I visited this small place called Madonna di Ghisallo. I did not go in the museum next to it. The entrance fee was something like €6 as there was no point doing so. I could have rode my bike there but the previous night I noticed something. I forgot to pack my bibshorts. I had the jersey but not bottom. I also packed the spring autumn long sleeve jersey and long bibshorts but the weather was definitely for shorts.

I then drove to Bergamo via Como. There were so many, wait for it, roundabouts on the way.

I checked in the Bed & breakfast inn there. This place was also nice. I asked the host woman if there was a sporting equipment store nearby. I knew there was a Decathlon 3 km away. She told me to seek a shop in the center of old town (of Bergamo). I walked to there and bought a discounted sale bibshorts. These will do.

I have not yet decided if I should take a bike with me for Milano-Torino. Probably I won't. I will walk up the hill where Milano-Torino finishes.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [October 2nd, 3rd and 4th Diary]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/04(水) 20:33:14|
2. Bike Races in Italy
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I started using Mazda Toolbox (software for updating the map data on the SD card). I seem to have successfully updated the map data on the SC card. This evening on my way home about 25 km of stretch of which 70 % is the highway, I noticed something. I was not using the navigation but just letting the navigation screen on and kept watch. Every time I came closer to exits or interchanges of sorts, those images of signs matching the ones soon to be visible over and above my head came up on the screen. How neat!

I can not be too sure if this feature was missing in the previous version. If so, I was not paying too much attention to it. There seem to be other improvement but I can not ascertain them.

Why? Because the Mazda Toolbox does not tell me anything at all! It does not tell the version number or anything much less about the improvements done to the latest version. How do I know of them?

This morning when I started to drive around 07:30, it was foggy. I could not read the signs beyond 80 or 90 meters ahead of me. Since I knew the way (above mentioned 25 km although slightly different) well so I did not turn on the navigation. At one point I could not be sure if I was going to take the correct ramp until the last moment.

If I were using the navigation system on, I could have been sure of the route. The update data got bigger than the one already on the SD card when I got the car and the difference shows!

I was curious about the features of this Mazda Toolbox so I clicked on the "help" icon and read its FAQ part. There were more but these sections down below were the one I was looking for.





Now I also found that by selecting "Help" and then "Customer Care," the browser opens the link to the MZD Connect site. There I got more information that I have been looking for.

On this topic I will write more but for the moment I have no time for it.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Mazda Toolbox Help (FAQ)]の続きを読む

テーマ:愛車と日常 - ジャンル:車・バイク

1. 2017/10/01(日) 16:40:36|
2. Mazda MX-5
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1. Mazda Connect Navigation Map Update has been successfully done (so it seems)
2. Garmin nüvi 2340 has been loaded with latest Waypoints

1. Mazda Connect Navigation Map Update has been successfully done (so it seems)
This morning I inserted the SD card back into the slot on my Mazda MX-5 and started the engine. The navigation screen showed up as before as if nothing had happened. This is a good news. The installation must have gone well.

2. Garmin nüvi 2340 has been loaded with latest Waypoints
Transferring the waypoints (in BaseCamp point of view) to nüvi 2340 as favorites (in n&uum;vi point of view) always puzzles me. There is no easy way to do it. It took me a while to get it done. I don't know why I have to do this in this agonizing way.

Anyway It is a done deal! Now I can travel with it.


I am in the middle of packing for the coming vacation trip. I lost my duffle bag this last April. It was stolen along with its contents from my car parked outside the Youth Hostel in Liège, Belgium. I think I am going to use the boot bag as the travel bag. I won't mount it on the boot lid but will keep inside the boot (trunk).

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [The Boot Bag from the UK is going to be used after all]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2017/10/01(日) 08:49:32|
2. Bike Races
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