欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

la Fleche Wallonne

April 20 Tuesday

Le Mur de Huy (literally the wall of Huy)

I left Luxembourg around 07:15 for Huy and arrived there around 10:00. I had Hannah wear the harness and then pied the leash (spring retractable) and walked down to the section of the climb where the gradient is the steepest with Hannah in my arms.

As I was closing in on the destination, some nearby sound (there were trucks and others placing the barriers or setting up the foothold for TV cameras) surprised her and she jumped off me and scurried away in the bush. It took me 15 minutes to find her. She went up in the property of the nearby house. She was quitely crouching under some plants. There was a man (property owner who was buring some thin twigs) there. The property was fenced in with wire net. I called to the man and explained that my cat was in your property right here in front me on the other side of the wire fence.

He came and tried to catch her but she ran away, of course. She did not know him so why would she let him touch her?

I went up (the place is in the middle of hills) and looked for her. Moments later the man called to me and I came to him. He pointed to the object, a rusted away rolled what was left of the wire net which had about one meter diameter and said she was there. He let me in his property from nearby (how convenient) break in the fence. I got her and thanked him and left. She was more disoriented and frightened than curious about the greeny surroundings. When I picked her up in my arms, she clung to me tightly and hid her head in my armpit. I was sorry for her.

I saw some local TV camera man and his collegues and some fans waiting ther riders to come up. Not so many as in, say 2019, when things were normal. This Corona virus thing, a fake pandemic, had discouraged people to show up.

Not so many teams showed up to our disappointment. No wonder.

I am going to leave this B&B place around 07:00. The women's race starts off around 08:30 and this means they arrive at the start area around 07:30.


April 21 Wednesday

So I left around 07:10 and drove 16 km to get to the bottom of the Huy climb. I parked my car and then walked to the start (of women's edition) with Hannah on my back (inside the carrier).

So I was at the foot of the stage where the teams were presented briefly and the time was around 07:35. The presentation was alreasy on the way and I was a bit worried if I had missed the teams I wanted to see.

I watched most of the teams so I guess I arrived just as they started.

UCI might disqualify this man! (kidding)

I could talk to my compatriot MS Eri Yonamine as her team arrived and she was going to hang the bike on the barrier just in front of me. I greeted and said her bike will be safe as I keep my eyes on it.

Our brief (I did not want to bother her, of course) chat revealed that she was going to ride LBL even though she was not supposed to be. One of the scheduled members got ill and she would fill in the gap.

I was standing near MS Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig. It was a cold morning and the most girls were wearing something to keep themselves warm. One particular lady got my attention, she was wearing what seemed to be a thin down jacket (I guess not real down but padded with some synthetic material). She was feeling cold, I guess. She was wearing 161 (Drops - le Col supported by Tempur) so she must be MS Joscelin Lowden if the start list is correct.

Before the start the countdown was announced. Around 5 minutes before the start, girls began stripping and gave the longsleeve jackets to the soigneurs who were standing outside the barrier or inside the barrier. One Jumbo-Visma soigner (this man) opened his backpack to take those in and found an extra bidon (bottle) in there. He took the bidon out and placed gently down the barrier and began collecting more jackets.

When the peleton left the bidon was still there but lucky for him there was no race jury to witness the incident. I took the bidon. No evidence but he discarded a bidon along the race course where there were no signs of "collection point". He could have been disqualified from the race. Of course not and I don't want the UCI to be so tight-ass about bidons.

Anyway back to MS Lowden. She did not show the intention to bequeath her topping. The countdown came to 3 minutes and most of the riders had been ready when she unwillingly (?) began to strip. She finished at 44 th 5 minutes 25 seconds down the winner. I think after the finish she demanded her treasured jacket back as soon as possible.

Where does she come from? Australia where the weather is hot now? It turned out that she is from Brighton, UK. She finished the first of all her teammates.

Another thing I witnessed. I guess the Rhiana's Diamonds must be one of the songs that MS Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and her teammates enjoy listening in the team bus or while relaxing in the hotel room? As I was standing not far away from the Danish lady, two of her colleagues 2 meters behind her separated by other riders from other teams started swaying their bodies with both of their arms up in the air to the music (aforementioned). The music was briefly on in the background of the MC's voice. The music stopped when the MC started to talk something. They showed disappointment or disaproval with a big sigh. When the MC ceased the music was on again and this time MS Ludwig noticed the music and stated to sway to the music and pointing her index finger upward to draw attention of the soigneur who had been standing next to her to take her jacket to the music. She also sang to the music, "Diamonds in the sky ..". She turned around to see her teammates to find two of her back chorus girls were both pointing her back with four index fingers singing.

I think this song must be on their mobile phones. I don't come to women's start events too often but this was the first time I saw three riders of a team simultaneously dance to the music played on the site just a few minutes before the start. I guess two of them were her UK teammates.

After this I walked to my car to pick up a backpack containing a portable TV and some other stuff and walked to the Mur de Huy.

First I passed two police officers who were blocking the cars unless the car driver had a compelling reason to come in the path which led to the race course (top of the climb). The drivers had to be the residents in the leading streets or had some business to do.

I said, "Bon Jour" to them and kept walking. When I came to the race course I saw a man blocking any cars who were not supposed to come in. I passed him and he did not say anything.

Eventually I walked down to the steepest point of the climb between 450 to 350 meters from the finish and then settled there. There were no people before me and actually after me. The people around me were either those who had official business there with the obligatory ID tag hanging from their neck (TV crew, workers taking care of the banners and others, photographers and their bike drivers and those with media pass) OR local residents who not surprisingly lived there. I think I was the only one who did not (did not have any official business nor did not live there). WTF?

Was there a notice in the entry points that no spectators from outside were allowed? Was there a notice on the site (letour.fr) stating anything?

I did not notice them at all if there had been ones.

I was alone with Hannah. No police officers on the climb as there were no needs for them to do anything as there were only people working or living there in a perfectly ordinary manner.

Anyway, I enjoyed the events. I don't still know if there had been a spectator restriction ordinance on the stretch of le Mur de Huy. As there was no presence of police officers there, there was no one to police me, questioning my raison d'etre there. A very strange experience.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Diamonds in the sky]の続きを読む

1. 2021/04/21(水) 19:08:10|
2. Bike Races
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Don't hate the player, hate the game!

I was scanning the roadbooks of la Flèche Wallonne and Liège - Bastogne - Liège and had to remind me of the post that I wrote about a week ago. It was about the prize money differences between men' and women's races.

I concluded that it was to be decided by the bigger game (economical system surrounding the men's and women's races), in other words, our capitalistic material world.

Toward the end of the roadbook, there is a section where the organizer explains the rules. It is much like the referee's gesture to explain to the both fighter (in a boxing game) before the match that there are some forbidden tricks. The rules are casually there at the bottom.

There is a section where the prize money amount is discussed. I compared the amount for men and women side to side and had to say that it was astounding.

So if I were the head of the race organizer, I don't think I can explain the gap too well. I might have to rely on this post's title expression. Don't hate the player (= me, the organizer), hate the game (= cycling race ecosystem)!

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Don't hate the player, hate the game meme]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. 2021/04/17(土) 22:22:56|
2. Bike Races
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La Flèche Wallonne 2021 Roadbooks available

They are PDF format files distributed among people who need them (like press, teams and so on).

I got my hands on them and now I am looking at them to see how I watch the races (women and men). This year I will be there on the climb of Huy. I look at the time tables of respective races.

The last time I was there was 2018? One thing I remember and sure of is the fact that I saw Jakob Fuglsang win. Was it 2019? This year, 2021, I am back.

The women's edition starts early in the morning (around 08:30) and finishes around noon. The men's edition starts half an hour before noon and arrives at Huy around 14:00 (forgive me for using this seemingly military hour format but in Europe where I live this format is the predominantly common format).

If and when I sit along the climb of Huy, I will see those women climb twice and men three times. This year I am going to be there alone, so it is not easy to bring much equipment for a comfortable excursion. When I leave the spot for inevitable toilet breaks, I have to be worried about the security of the stuff I leave.

As always I try to make friends with my neighboring spectators so that I can trust my stuff (chair, food and drinks?) while I am on the leave. Usually it works.

This year I have Hannah (female cat) with me so I have to bring the smallest cat toilet with me.

So what do I need? Optimally or minimally? That is the question. If I have someone with me, I will take more stuff but I am alone so I take minimum stuff.

Foldable Chair, Portable TV, Cat toilet, Poncho (in case of rain), Food / Drink, Cat Carrier, Mobile Battery

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [La Flèche Wallonne 2021 Roadbooks available]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. 2021/04/17(土) 15:50:07|
2. Bike Races
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A winning streak of Cavendish

He went on to win two more stages after winning for the first time in three years. Absence of his emotional arm warmers in two subsequent stages tipped me of upcoming warmer weather in my area. If Turkey sees warmer days, so does Western Europe either.

In fact when I am roughing out in Aywaille in my tent later next week, the nighttime lows will be hovering around 6 to 8 degrees Celsius. Nice!

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

Is it worth paying around 200 euros to get one of those used GTX 1050 Ti cards to make hashcat hush and hash? I mean make it work without giving me the error message, instead?

I can find one on ebay around that price range.

Olympics?

What will happen to it? Are Japanese government and IOC (was it the responsible organization?) are still hoping to have it this Summer in Tokyo?

It is most and very likely that no spectators are allowed in any indoor venues and also likely that no spectators from outside Japan are seeing the outdoor events. They will broadcast as many events as possible to compensate for the lost "ticket sales".

How about hotels and others who were expecting the tourists from inside and outside Japan? On top of COVID-19 related lost sales, the disappearance of Olympic sales will definitely affect that section.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [GPU, Cavendish and the Olympic games]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. 2021/04/16(金) 18:04:50|
2. Bike Races
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The leadership of the EU?

I was watching some video on YouTube and the video was about the recent development in Turkey when its President met two representatives from the EU. I did not know until I saw this that the leadership had changed. I am not an EU citizen but just a resident but I was amazed that I had lived without noticing the change for so long. Of course "they" don't want us to notice anything at all.

URL (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_European_Union)

The official title President of the European Union (or President of Europe) does not exist, but there are a number of presidents of European Union institutions, including:

The president of the European Council
The president of the European Commission
The president of the European Parliament

(01/12/2019 Charles Michel)
(01/12/2019 Ursula von der Leyen)
(03/07/2019 David Sassoli)

According to protocol, it is the President of the Parliament who comes first, as it is listed first in the treaties. However, on the world stage, the principal representative of the EU is considered to be the President of the European Council, but the President of the European Commission, as head of the executive branch of the European Union, takes part in the G7 and other international summits as well.

I quoted most of the first introductory part from the URL above. I knew that MS von der Leyen is from Germany. I now DuckDuckGo-searched for other two officials for their respective nationality. (Belgian and Italian)

According to Wikipedia,
Charles Yves Jean Ghislaine Michel, Belgian politician
David Maria Sassoli, Italian journalist / politician

The following tells how they are elected or not elected by the European people.

It is safe to guess that the last person must be elected by the very representatives who may or may not come handy as they occasionally get together to do something.

How about the other two presidents?

The president of the European Council is elected by the council members but not by the people. Of course you can argue or would argue that the Council members are sent by the respective government of the EU member countries and in return the government officials are supposedly elected by the people of the respective countries. Thus, in a way the president of the European Council is indirectly elected by the people.

The president of the European Commission is not elected but rather selected by the Commission members.

Election

The Presidents of each institution are chosen in a slightly different way;

The President of the European Parliament is elected from among the members of the European Parliament for a 2.5-year, renewable term.
The President of the European Council is elected by the heads of state/government of the 27 EU member states for a 2.5-year, once renewable term.
The President of the European Commission is officially proposed by the European Council, taking into account the latest European Parliament elections and subsequently elected by the European Parliament for a 5-year, renewable term. A stronger direct link between elections and the President was attempted in the form of the spitzenkandidat process, although in 2019 the European Council rejected the Spitzenkandidat of the leading party, and instead nominated their own candidate.

As you can see, the most powerful person of the EU officials is not directly nor indirectly elected. furthermore, the its term is oddly twice as long as others. I learned this fact when I noticed that Jean-Claude Junker began to serve as so-called the EU's most powerful person. I wondered how he got "elected" and found out that he was NOT.

The fact that the EU exist above all the member countries and yet the leaders of this obscure entity are not directly elected and in some cases not even elected at all by the people scares me. It reminds me of some fairy tale government that people think exists only in some fiction. It does exist.

I have written and edited all the contents above and below (Japanese) Today on my Apple PowerBook G4 (15 inch / 1.67 GHz) laptop running MacOS X 10.5.8. I am running TenFourFox (Feature Parity Release 31, latest at the time of writing).

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Who are the EU leaders now?]の続きを読む

テーマ:政治・経済・社会問題なんでも - ジャンル:政治・経済

1. 2021/04/15(木) 20:30:31|
2. Things European
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Not good enough?

For fun and my curiosity after installing an Nvidia GTX 650 Ti on my old totally outdated system (DELL Optiplex 780), I wanted to do something that would actually use this "GPU". I don't do 3D games at all and have never done it before. So gaming was out.

Then why not do some hacking (or cracking) using this GPU's computing power? I thought.

I installed Nvidia driver and CUDA toolkit on it (under Kali Linux) and following the instructions available on YouTube, I began brute-forcing my own router-modem (Huawei's old model).

Everything seemed to go well until I ran hashcat to brute-force the hashed file. The process almost immediately quit with some messages. WTF?

I read the messages and learned that I was not good enough. My Nvidia GTX 650 Ti was not good enough.

Basically it (hashcat) complained that the CUDA support level of mine was 3.0 and it expected at least 5.0 support.

So I can not even brute-force anything at all. Am I going to buy newer graphics card with newer GPU chip on it? No way!

The recent trend of mining boom for cryptocurrency has made the prices of graphics card rise and I won't be able to find any good prices for decent (and maybe used) ones at all. Forget it! Just forget it!

Just out of curiosity, I DuckDuckGo-searched recommended GPU chips for hashcat and learned that Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti was one of them. How much does one cost these days amid cryptocurrency mining fever of late? Whopping 500 euros more or less!

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Dissed by hashcat for using GTX 650 Ti]の続きを読む

テーマ:Linux - ジャンル:コンピュータ

1. 2021/04/14(水) 08:51:50|
2. Linux
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Mark Cavendish wins

I checked the cyclingnews.com site and saw a big photo of Mark Cavendish. It was a finish line photo that the winner of the second stage of the Tour of Turkey.

First of all, I have never been a big fan of Mr. Cavendish.

His win after three years of drought did not impress me but his arm warmer did.

It must be cold in Turkey.

Actually, I saw the previous day a photo of snow there that forced the organizer to cancel the first stage. I just thought the first stage's venue must have been some place in the mountain.

It dawned on me only then when I saw the arm warmer on the winning man that the cold weather was not only here but everywhere in Europe (and its outer rim as Turkey).

It is April but the daytime highs and nighttime lows stay relatively chilly. I am a bit concerned not to much but slightly.

I am going on a car trip to Belgium (Southern part of Belgium where French is spoken a.k.a. Wallonia region). It is a 6-day 5-nights trip between April 20 and 25). I sleep in a tent wrapped in a sleeping bag during the last three nights.

The nighttime lows during the week (April 12 to 19) stay around 0 (zero) degree Celsius. In Celsius measurement system, zero signifies the freezing point of H2O commonly known as "water".

I have experienced sub-freezing temperature camping in the past. I survived and I know I can. All I need is warm clothes and extra covering.

Amazon Germany Warehouse deal was a scam!

I received the package that I was expecting in the morning. The tracking info had already told me it (or they in separate boxes) was coming around this time. I got it and opened them to check the contents (standard procedure).

I found them as expected except for the DDPai Mola N3. It did come but the package was wrapped in ugly strips of mending tape. WTF?

I opened it and found some parts were missing. Three items were missing; 1. spare 3M double-sided adhesive tape 2. plastic prier 3. DC 12 V to USB adapter.

I had to guess that this had been sent (to someone) before and opened then returned. Thus, no thin film wrapping and also missing items.

Should I return it? This is the question but considering the lowered price at which I got it, I have decided to keep it if it works well. I have to check it fully with a mini SD card and installed in the automobile outside to see if it records well and the GPS function works.

I really don't need the missing items, either.

The point is that it was a scam because the Amazon Germany did not mention the condition of the merchandise. It was (most likely) a B-ware or returned item and missing items.

Other items: Magsafe (I) wall charger and 60-Watt wall USB charger

I have two broken Apple genuine wall charger for old (Magsafe I, first generation) MacBooks. I repaired them but soon they broke again.

I have several USB adapters but some are not working and the ones working barely support 2 A (Ampere) charging capacity. So I needed it. Its (self-claimed) rated capacity is whapping 60 Watts. I doubt it but it was not to expensive.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Amazon (Germany) warehouse scam!]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. 2021/04/13(火) 20:26:29|
2. Diary
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Belgium, here I come!

I now made some reservations for the accommodation in Belgium. Two nights in Andenne (an adjacent city of Huy) and three nights in Aywaille (near la Redoute). In all, I am sleeping 5 nights there.

I used Airbnb for the 2-night stay in Andenne to find a cozy place there. The host (owner of the property) has dogs and cats there so the property accepts my Hannah, of course. It is close to Huy so I am very happy and the price is not too much for me.

I once stayed at this camping ground at Aywaille. I don't remember how many nights but I remember it was comfortable to be there. I just hope the weather holds (at least no rain when I am leaving) and the nighttime low temperature stays above 10 degrees Celsius or higher.

Looking at the weather forecast on the weather app on my Android phone, I was very disappointed and frightened to see the nighttime lows stay around Zero degree Celsius. It's going to be cold!

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Belgium, here I come!]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. 2021/04/10(土) 13:12:06|
2. Bike Races
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A new dash cam and other small purchases

I bought (ordered) a new dash cam. I am content with the one I have been using for some years and it actually saved my life (not a life and death matter but). It recorded the stupid BMW with its license plate that hit me one summer afternoon during the Tour de France trip. With this recording I visited the local police station to file a report because the woman who was responsible ran away thinking that I would not recall her license plate and would not file a report with the Police.

She was wrong and I would have given up the complaint if the dash cam (Viofo WR1) had not recorded it.

It still works. Why do I need a new dash cam? Because I want to record the other side, that is, the rear as I drive.

The new device is from DDPai. The brand seems to be new. It could be actually old but rebranded recently. Some company rename its brand for some reasons.

Anyway, DDPAI, should be pronounced "Ding, Ding Pi (as mathematical 3.1415...)" and it is from China.

The model is DDPai Mola N3 with GPS module. It is smallish device with no LCD screen just as my current Viofo WR1. That how I like my dash cams, small and minimum features.

My current Viofo WR1 is so small (a bit larger than 2 Euro coin) that it easily hides itself behind the rear view mirror. I don't see it when I am in the cockpit and just forget that it is there.

When it arrives, how do I arrange them? First I have to see how flexible the camera angle setting can be. The camera (lens) angle to the base foot (that sticks to the windshield) can be set to around 45 degrees as majority of automobiles are built with a windshield with this angle. It could be around 20 to 30 degrees as trucks, buses or vans have steeper (60 degrees) windshields.

If I install this DDPai Mola N3 on the rear wind deflector on my Mazda MX-5, the angle has to be even 0 degree as the deflector stands perpendicular. Is it possible? If not, I have to devise somehow a way to install the DDPai Mola N3 to make it aim at the rear view at the right angle.
DDPai has a dedicated app (iOS and Android) to manage the devices. It is already on my Android phone.

Mola N3 had been on my Amazon (Germany) wish list for some time until last evening when I saw it sold at a discounted price. Its price had been around 55 Euro. The discounted price was around 39 Euro so I hastily bought it before anybody snatched it as it was the last piece remaining at Amazon's storage.

L. Armstrong's son in trouble?

Yeah, I remember seeing him (in photos) hanging from his dad in yellow on the podium.

He is now fully grown up and in trouble.I found this article on cyclingnews.com and scanned it. I was not so much interested in it.

I just hope that this Luke guy won't use his dad or his dad's past as his defense claiming that his dad's fallen from grace (when his dad was dethroned of almost everything his dad had achieved in cycling) had significantly traumatized and had affected his behavior or so.

I just hope that he, Luke Armstrong, will not use his dad's past history as his defense to claim that his actions were sad consequences of his once hero dad falling from grace as he had been deeply traumatized.

It is easy to say this because his dad's so famous (or once famous) and infamous and many if not most people can sympathize with it.

Cyclingnews.com had this piece of news on the site this time but it won't follow the story (how the trial or out-of-court agreement) unless Lance Armstrong himself gets dragged into this ugly business by being forced to testify in the court room or so.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti installed

(Not that I like or approve Nvidia)

This old graphics card was NOT purchased by me but rather it was sent to me by some freak accident (or mistake on sender's part). Shortly before it left China, I bought a CPU (Intel Core 2 Duo for my Mac mini 2007 or ?) from the same ebay seller. It took a while before it actually arrived but this graphics card arrived significantly earlier than this CPU did.

Naturally when I was puzzled by this unknown package addressed to me, I notified the ebay seller of two things, one that this seemingly un-purchased item had showed up and it seems that it lawfully belonged to someone else in Italy (because the tracking number on the package showed it) and two that I was still waiting for my item for some time.

I suggested that I should send it back to the seller provided the shipping fees were reimbursed.

I got a prompt answer back. The customer service guy of the seller (seemed to be a company of sort) wrote that I should patiently wait some more. He (so I guessed) did not say anything about this used graphics card.

I assumed at that time that he would be dragged into more troubles by dealing with this mis-sent package as he had to be the one to find out what had happened (maybe the shipping department employer put the wrong address sticker on the box or ??). He decided it would be wise of him to ignore my words completely.

I assumed then that I should not further discuss the matter and wait for the Core 2 Duo chip. I assumed that I was made the lawful owner of this card under this circumstance. And the CPU did arrive a few weeks later.

I was not a fan of Nvidia by the way they treat the open source community so I neglected it totally. I even acquired a used AMD card later on ebay but it got lost during the transportation.

Anyway, I decided to give it a try. I needed a 6-pin auxiliary power cable to make it work. I ordered it a while ago but it got cancelled by Amazon Germany for a reason unknown to me (possibly the Luxembourg Post lost it or broke the package). So about a week ago I ordered it along other small items. It arrived Yesterday (April 8) and now I used it.

It worked. Now I am writing his on my old used Dell Optiplex 780. The LCD display is driven by this GTX 650 Ti and the Linux driver (Ubuntu Studio 20.10) works.

After the installation and subsequent reboot, I did not notice anything other than there is a Nvidia setting control software resides on the system now. This means that the new driver is working also well.

I noticed something. I was wondering for while why I could not play so many video files under Ubuntu Studio with the VLC player. The player exits soon after opening the files. I did not know why.

I can, indeed, play back the same video files under Kali Linux with another video player (what's the name?) so I knew the problem was not related to the files themselves (like corrupted files).

On a hunch, I played those formerly unplayable files and they are played well. I have to assume that it had something to do with shared memory thing.

Before the installation, the video chip was the one on the motherboard (Intel chipset). It does not have dedicated video memory chips but shares some of the main memory.

Now that the video playback works seamlessly I assume it had something to do with VLC's handling of shared memory. I could be wrong.

It takes some time to download the driver because of my slow Internet connection at home. It will be done and when it does, I will see how it works.

As XOrg's Nouveau driver works very well, I did not have to change it to Nvidia's proprietary driver. I was just curious.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ
[Off to Belgium]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. 2021/04/09(金) 21:29:31|
2. Bike Races
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OMG! It happened

I carefully looked for the information and found these following passages on AGR's site.

The circuit, of approximately 17 kilometres, will be closed to all spectators and the public. The organisers are calling on everyone to watch the Amstel Gold Race at home and not to travel to Limburg.

The three mayors of the specific municipalities have decided that the Amstel Gold Race can take place on April 18, but attach several conditions to it. The entire area covering the circuit will be closed hermetic to tourists and cycling public. No spectators are allowed on the circuit either, so also people staying in the region are not allowed to follow the race on the circuit. The municipalities will strictly ensure this condition and fine when necessary. The organization will ensure that the area remains accessible for residents and businesses.

So no spectators allowed to be there to see the live actions. So there's absolutely no point of traveling there.

Now I am very worried. What about other races, la Flèche Wallonnne and Liège - Bastogne - Liège? Have ASO officials already announced anything? As far as I checked, there has been no announcement of exclusion of any public spectators.

When you (and I) look into the photo that I posted in the previous post, you see sparse masked spectators along the course standing while keeping the so-called social distance. And this is one of the most crowded section of the race course. Amazing!

I am still thinking of going there but what do I expect to do and see there?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [No spectators allowed on the circuit course - AGR 2021]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. 2021/04/07(水) 18:27:28|
2. Bike Races
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The Basque Country! Yay!

I have been to the Basque Country back in 201? when the Tour had a stage finish just several kilometers from the border line on top of a certain ski resort in France. I parked my car not far from the finish and took my bike out for a cross-border ride that morning. I had planned it when I noticed that border on the map of Garmin BaseCamp on my MacBook Pro 13 inch Mid-2010.

Technically, I stayed in the Basque Country for around 10 minutes. This was the first time I had ever crossed the French - Spanish border in my life.

The only regret that I have is the fact I made a mega mistake, faux pas, blunder or whatever while I was there.

A quick look at the description of "faux pas" on Wikipedia, I learned that plural form of it remains the same in form but differs from it in pronunciation. In its plural form, "pas" (steps) is read with "s" as "z". How peculiar! As I live in a country where French is the predominant spoken language, this is very important piece of information.

What was my faux pas there? After passing the border line sign and, I recall, Police officers near the sign and moved forward around 100 meters, I was urged to make sure that I had crossed the border.

I saw three cyclists resting while enjoying the view from there. I asked them if I was in Spain in English. They responded with a tangible hesitation that I had been in the Basque Country, ... Spain.

I certainly offended them if not provoked them but in my defense I would like to say that I had no intention of doing so.

They (certainly local cyclists from the other side of the climb) were Basque people. I should have asked if I had the honor of stepping into their holy "Basque Country".

ASO (Amaury Sport Orniganization) or at least its cycling sport department acquired the Vuelta a Espagna organizer years ago and around that time they also had a reconciliation with the Basque Country administration (local government). I read somewhere that there was (or were) an incident (or incidents) by radical the Basque separation group that soured the relationship between them.

I wish I could go there to see the Grand Départ there.

An impossible picture to shoot several years ago now possible

I visited letour.fr site to get some information on la Flèche Wallonne race and could not help smiling when I saw the photo there. Here it is.

(resized screenshot from letour.fr)

It is a photo of riders negotiating the steepest section of the famous Huy climb. I know exactly where it is as I have been there so many many times in the past several years.

Why I describe it as a photo impossible to shoot several years ago but now easily shot?

This photo was taken by a photographer standing on a private property along the climb. I have seen the current owners of the property. It must be 4 or 5 years ago that this family saw a funeral of the woman to whom this property belonged up to then. This old woman whom I had never seen but heard hated the cycling event that took place in front of her house. She fiercely expelled anyone usually photographers and their designated motorbike drivers to trespass on her property. When the organizer (or the workers commissioned by the organizer) tried to put ad banners on the hedge belonging to this property, I heard some cries and the workers had to retreat the banners. This old woman was furious.

I knew this as I used to stay "there" for years until when (4 or 5 years ago?) I noticed ad banners on the hedge and the presence of photographers on the property. I wondered why. Soon I learned that the woman had deceased. The new owners, her posterity, were friendly to the race organizer and photographers and invited them to take photos or hang banners.

Now you know why. Normally I have to write "RIP this former property owner" but I know for sure she is not resting peacefully when her property is disturbed by the race.

Caterham Cars acquired by its Japanese importer

I saw the news. Caterham 7 is one of my favorite automobiles.

Filing down the mouthpiece

I bought a Sopranino saxophone while ago. I haven't had much time to practice it. One of the reasons was that it sounded loud as I don't live in a separated house without close neighbors. I live in a small studio apartment with close neighbors.

There was another reason. I could not blow it. It did not make proper notes. For example I could never blow lower notes. The reed did not simply vibrate. I guessed that it had greatly something to do with the mouthpiece.

It came with a non-brand mouthpiece. It seemed made of normal "hard rubber" as opposed to some metal alloy. No matter I tried, it did not make any low notes and other tones were also not consistent.

I checked the mouthpiece and guessed that the opening was too thin and the machined surface where the reed sits was not so even.

I decided to fiddle with it. I had a fine whetstone (of fine clay maybe?) and I filed the surface flat and then widened the opening.

Now I can blow the low notes and the other notes sound consistent than they were before.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [2023 Tour de France departure from the Basque Country]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. 2021/04/07(水) 17:19:51|
2. Bike Races
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Travel Restrictions imposed?

I was looking for places to stay in Huy, Belgium area and found a camping grounds there but there was this notification on one of the sites. Since no English translation was available (only Dutch), I had to translate it into English by use of Google Translate site. Here it goes. (https://walloniebelgietoerisme.be/nl/content/chateau-de-fraiture)

COVID-19 : Travel for recreational / tourist purposes to or from Belgium is prohibited until April 18, 2021. Most tourist attractions in Wallonia will remain closed.

The museums have been open since December 1. Although we make every effort to provide you with the best possible information, it is best to contact the tourist service provider directly or consult its website for the most recent information on visits and reservations.

Original writing:

COVID-19 : Reizen voor recreatieve / toeristische doeleinden van of naar België is verboden tot 18 april 2021.

De meest toeristische attracties in Wallonië blijven gesloten. De musea zijn open sinds 1 december. Hoewel wij alles in het werk stellen om je zo goed mogelijk te informeren, neem je best rechtstreeks contact op met de toeristische dienstverlener of raadpleeg je zijn website voor de meest recente informatie over bezoeken en reserveringen.

I did not know this! Luckily the trip I am planning now is actually and miraculously from that very date.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Wallonne area of Belgium under restrictions?]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. 2021/04/07(水) 03:11:53|
2. Bike Races
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Ardennes Classics

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardennes_classics)

Dutch people would be upset if I don't mention "south Limburg (the area where AGR takes place)" when I write this so I do mention it now.

This year, 2021, because of the phantom fear (or menace) dubbed COVID-19, the race organizer of Amstel Gold Race seems to have decided to change the race course greatly and make it simple for both men's and women's edition.

Everything takes place in Valkenburg area where they have small circuit courses in previous editions. The race courses is simple and the riders come to the spectators on the route so many times.

It seems that the female edition takes place in the morning and the male edition is held in the afternoon.

There were discrepancies between its Dutch version and English version and the provisional start list (of men) was only available from its Dutch pages. I guess the site was updated while I was checking it for information.

I expect to see my favorite riders and teams there.

women:
Rossella Ratto (Bingoal Casino - Chevalmeire)
Eri Yonamine (Team Tibco - Silicon Valley Bank)
Cecilie Ludwig Uttrup (FDJ Nouvelle - Aquitaine Futuroscope)

Andy Schleck -CP NVST - Immo Losch

men:
Uno - X Pro Cycling Team

I am thinking of staying there the whole week and looking for cheap accommodation means using Booking.com and Airbnb.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [So-called Ardennes Classics week 2021]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. 2021/04/07(水) 00:41:42|
2. Bike Races
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How much does it cost to host a big race event?

It was interesting to see the actual (round) figures to host the biggest (so people say) bike race event in Belgium needed to host the start (for men's edition at least).

There was this piece of news on Cyclingnews.com.
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-of-flanders-start-to-rotate-between-antwerp-and-bruges-through-2027/

I have to quote part of the article because the actual piece will eventually disappear.

Tour of Flanders organisers Flanders Classics announced on Easter Sunday that Antwerp and Bruges will trade as the start location for the race in the next six editions. Antwerp will host the start of the Tour of Flanders in 2022, 2024 and 2026, while Bruges will host the start in 2023, 2025 and 2027.

Any change to the course design for the Tour of Flanders is sure to spark debate. The switch from Ninove to Oudenaarde in 2012 and the removal of the crucial cobbled ascent of the Muur van Geraardsbergen was highly controversial. In 2016, Flanders Classics approached the city of Antwerp to host the start of the Tour of Flanders without consulting Bruges. Antwerp signed a contract for five starts, paying €400,000 per year, double the amount of what Bruges paid at the time. It ended a series of 19 consecutive starts in Bruges between 1998 and 2016.

€400,000 per year was the answer if there was no competition. The subsequent passage suggests that Antwerp outbid (actually the other bidder, Bruges, did not know that there was another bidder Antwerp) Bruges successfully by doubling the bid.

I assume the Police fees (for them to provide officers for safety measures) and other fees to supply food and drinks for those "volunteers" who guard the course closure points are paid by the organizer.

The host city will get to attract people (public spectators, media people, organizer personnel - staff) and they will inevitably contribute the local economy by paying for the accommodation (hotels), food, transportation (rental cars and fuel) and others. This is the direct contribution.

There are other indirect contribution resources like media exposure (Bruges's name get exposed on various media, TV, papers and magazines).

In all €400,000 per year was a fair price for the city of Antwerp and now the city of Bruges want it back. I guess Bruges also decided to pay €400,000 per year to host the start.

Now I could not help imagining how much it costs to host a start or finish for the Tour de France? And also how much would it cost to host the Grand Départ (the Grand Departure) of TDF?

I can imagine by the fact that not so many French cities can afford hosting the GD that the latter costs at least some million euro.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [How much does it cost?]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. 2021/04/05(月) 18:39:07|
2. Bike Races
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A long drive

Sunday (April 4, 2021) it was a bit chilly but sunny day. I drove my Mazda MX-5 with my Hannah, the cat, to Belgium and came back. The total distance I drove in less than 10 hours was over 600 km. It was just a nice drive and nothing else.


I thought I could go to Oudenaarde and see something and also assumed that I could go to Oude Kwaremont and watch the so-called biggest bicyle race event in Begium, namely De Ronde van Vlaanderen (the Tour of Flanders).

I was wrong and I was totally astronomically wrong. They (the organizer) did not want any incidental public spectators on the road.

I just drove there (300 km) and drove back (another 300 km) and saw nothing.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [A 600-km long drive to Belgium with Hannah]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. 2021/04/05(月) 17:27:38|
2. Bike Races
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Flanders Classics and more

Flanders Classic (https://www.flandersclassics.be/en) is the site that integrates various road bike races held in Flanders area. They used to have a mobile app on iOS or Android platforms for tracking the information. They stopped it several years ago.

I noticed perhaps belatedly that all of those events are held in at least two categories (men and women). Just like Paris - Roubaix 2021 (organized by A.S.O.) they are all organized for elite (professional) men and women. Some of them are their inauguration events this year (2021).

I learned that (from one of the soigneurs working for Uno - X Pro Cycling Team) during the E3 Saxo Bank Classic his team is going to have a female team starting soon and Lar Ytting Bak is working on it (perhaps as a designated manager or so).

It will become mandatory (or already?) for top-layer cycling teams to have their female colleagues. At the same time top-layer bike races to have a female edition.

There was a news piece several days ago that some people, group or entity demanding the same amount of prize money for racing events across men and women .

What happens next? Same amount of salary has to be paid among men and women?

I guess that this trend (or whatever it is called) goes on and on and eventually and in near future we are going to have mandatory man and woman everything. Maybe it is soon to be mandated for men to have sympathy pregnancy once or twice in their life. And seriously it will be soon to be necessary for men to have sympathy menstrual periods every month.

What am I talking about? I am talking about the equal opportunity among men and women. I am NOT talking about equality among men and women. Do you see the difference?

If one (woman or man) chooses to get a job of his / her dream, she or he should be given the opportunity to attend the school for preparation or given the chance to be an apprentice. It is not like she or he must get the job even though she or he is NOT qualified. This is all about equal opportunity.

If you want to talk about equality among men and women, then you should force men to bear children and force also women to be as physically strong as men. So naturally men and women compete in one category and then the prize money should be given according to the achievement.

This is a perfect solution! The problem is I don't believe in it. It is a perfect solution but it won't happen just as "perfect" is just an idea and never materializes in our real world.

Why we should just realize that?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Haywire, hay fever or conspiracy]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. 2021/04/02(金) 17:09:49|
2. Bike Races
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De Ronde 2021

Sunday, April 4 2021 is nearing. I am really excited to get there.

Men's course starts in Antwerp and finishes in Oudenaarde while women's course starts in Oudenaarde and finishes also there. When I did not have anything to do in Antwerp (like taking someone to Antwerp), I always drove to Oudenaarde to see the women's team presentation ceremony in the morning.

This year i will be in Oudenaarde in the morning and visit some climb afterward.

The organizer has posted provisional start lists for men and women but I doubt they are really final. I don't know when they finalize the start list but I am hoping they do it sooner as I am thinking of leaving Saturday evening.

I am thinking of sleeping a bit while seated in my MX-5 early in the morning of Sunday near Oudenaarde (probably in a parking of some nearby highway gas station). Sleeping helps and I will be feeling as fresh as daisy all day on Sunday.

I hope the weather holds.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [De Ronde van Vlaanderen 2021]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. 2021/04/01(木) 21:01:38|
2. Bike Races
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