欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

Finally!

I am writing this on Compaq (HP) Presario CQ56 equipped with an AMD V160 (? perhaps) that blows hot air through the vents all the time. The bottom is really hot. It is running Xubuntu 20.10.

I was dying to know who are there in the field. I found this stage race and also that I, someone who lives in Luxembourg, could go see the event as the venue is within Benelux area after all.

The official site did not have the starting riders' names at all until the day it started (August 30). I wanted to know it earlier.

I checked the names and found one that I am very familiar with; Fumiyuki Beppu.

Now I know what I would do. I don't think I am driving to Namur to see the start events. They may have a short staged events introducing the participating riders but I have something else on my mind.

I would directly head to Geraardsbergen and seek out the climb sections.

The race course kicks off in Namur and heads to Geraardsbergen. When the race comes to Geraardsbergen, the peleton rides a circuit course three times.

I will try to paint names on the climbing sections.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Benelux Tour 2021 participants finally revealed!]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. 2021/08/30(月) 20:12:31|
2. Bike Races
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Soybean Drinks or Soy Milk Drinks

I like them. I consume them recently a lot.

I shop at Delhaize, ALDI or Cactus supermarkets. I shop at once in two or three weeks at Cactus because my Hannah likes a particular kind of wet food sold at Cactus.

I once bought one flavor of them from Amazon Germany because they were cheaper there. The only roblem was that I could find only of the flavours that I wanted to buy. They (the kind of cat food of a particular brand) come in 5 or 6 flavours. Three of them are with cheese. She like this kind for the moment.

Anyway this is the reason I shop there. The Cactus supermarkets are believed to be Luxembourg based. Besides this particular cat food, I don't have anything special to buy at them.

The Delhaize is a chain of supermarkets based in Belgium. They have franchisees in Luxembourg, either. The one I shop is close and cozy, in other words, small. I used to shop frequently but now I am shifting to ALDI.

ALDI has been part of my life since the days I lived in Germany. They (affiliates, franchisees) have weekly special bargain items including non-food item. It has a nice items that I buy lately.

A soybean milk drink that states "non-sugar" is one of them. Delhaize sells soy milk, too but I could not find ones with no sugar.

Benelux Tour 2021 (BinckBank Tour?)

Benelux is a coined word consisting of BElgium, NEitherlands and LUxembourg. So technically the venue of this cycling race event should include the country of my residence, Luxembourg but it does not.

August 30 (Monday) - September 5 (Sunday)

It has an official site and I checked it often recently to see the names of participants. I found none! Strange!

I found no links to the team names nor rider names who are scheduled to ride in the event. Why?

I think I can drive to see the last stage on Sunday that takes place between Namur (French-speaking part of Belgium) to Geraardsbergen (Dutch-speaking Flemish Belgium). Namur is not too far away from me.

It depends on the participants whether I drive to see the event. It will be eventually known who are riding as a site like cyclingnews.com inevitably begins to post the results of the stages.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Soybean Drinks from some supermarkets]の続きを読む

テーマ:ひとりごと - ジャンル:日記

1. 2021/08/30(月) 03:48:18|
2. Diary
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The Dreaded Vaccination on Monday (August 23rd)

A friend of mine told me that the vaccination rate (people who got vaccinated against not yet vaccinated) in Luxembourg is so high that the government decided to offer non-appointment vaccination locations in Luxembourg. It started a couple weeks earlier here in Luxembourg. There is one location in Luxembourg City where you can just walk up to and queue in line to get vaccinated (of course free for charges).

You have to be either Luxembourg residents or cross-border workers (who live in neighboring countries). You have to show them the Social Security Card and a valid ID to get it done. If you work in Luxembourg, you have the SSN.

I am going to get vaccinated Tomorrow.

The reason why I used "Dreaded" above is that I don't like the idea of getting vaccinated against a disease whose nature is, in my mind, a phantom, ghost or hoax. I appreciate the efforts and ingenuity of people who had devoted their life to finding the cures and preventing diseases by establishing the vaccination treatment but regarding the COVID-19, I still don't think we have been deceived.

In France so-called vaccination passport regulations will go into effect in September. I might have difficulty doing something (like visiting and watching cycling events) without complying to the regulatory restrictions. Not having this so-called vaccination passport (sometimes I hear it as Green Passport) is one of them.

I decided that I should let them have their way of being the big brothers.

The Calm before the Storm?

So Today is the last day that my small resistance against the phantom COVID-19 hoax lives. Tomorrow I am going to join them (the mindlessly marching people who got disturbed by a woman with a sledge hammer that were described in that famous Apple TV AD in 1984? during the half-time show?).

Today I am alone with my beloved Hannah. The intruder (not to me but to my Hannah) cat was picked up by the owners this morning. Hannah is calm and composed now.

The Storm is coming (vaccination) but it is calm for now.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [A Quiet Sunday in Luxemobourg and the dreaded vaccination on Monday]の続きを読む

テーマ:ヨーロッパ - ジャンル:海外情報

1. 2021/08/22(日) 22:31:12|
2. Info Luxembourg
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CYCPLUS M1 GPS

I have used (although not too often, I am afraid) Garmin Edge 800 since long time ago. It was a good unit back then and it was top of the line at that time.

It has a color LCD. It is feature packed but only receives and sends (a.k.a. communicates wirelessly) in ANT+. Since then Bluetooth LE (perhaps something like Low Energy?) has gained popularity and most modern cycling devices use ANT+ and BLE to wirelessly communicate with other devices.

I recently bought fading (out-going) Power2Max Type S power meter and am really eager to use it. I need a head unit to display the data (and see them myself) and record them.

Of course, I will use Garmin Edge 800 but it has some downs.

One that has been bugging for a long time is that its backlight (LCD is visible during day or in the environment where some kind of light is available) turns itself off after a few (or several) seconds automatically. There is no way to keep it on. So when I am riding in the dark, I can not see anything. Not being able to see the power output numbers won't be a problem at all but not being able to see the map where navigation is needed is a bummer.

The other feature that I don't like is somewhat related to my settings. I have to describe it here.

When I am not using an ANT+ capable speed sensor with it, it automatically use it GPS signal data to calculate the speed, which is absolutely normal and I don't have any issue here.

Garmin Edge 800 has a barometric sensor built in so it can detect the altitude changes.

With the speed data and altitude change data it is possible to calculate the gradient, whether the rider is climbing or descending at which rate. I love this feature above all.

The problem is that when the speed data is not established (where GPS signal is weak, for example when I am riding under thick foliage in the woods), the gradient data seems to be discarded and not recorded at those points.

It happens that steep climbs are in leafy areas around here in Luxembourg.

That's is why this time I am looking for a ANT+ speed sensor. It has been on my shopping list for several years.

I am thinking (but not have decided) of getting CYCPLUS speed / cadence sensor because it is cheaper than others.

CYCPLUS M1 GPS cycling computer is also a cheap device that I would like to get.

It can display "power", "cadence", and "heart rate" data. I am not so much interested in heart rate data but definitely interested in power data.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Cycplus M1 GPS cycling computer ?]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. 2021/08/14(土) 23:36:40|
2. Bikes and related things
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Power2Max Type S Rotor 3D+

The door bell rang and there was a delivery man in front of the front door (of my apartment). There was nothing to sign on.

I opened up the box and found what I had paid for a few days ago. Quick!

My first impression was, " Wow! It is so light and small."

Of course it was. It is just a PCD 110 mm spider with extra electronic circuitry thingy inside.

How should I proceed? According to the instructions, I am supposed to have 1. a thick vice,2. the special tool to loosen and tighten the crank, 3. Loctite 243 (or equivalent) thread locker and 4. a proper torque wrench at hand to complete the mission.

I only have 2. the special tool, which I bought from the company that manufacture and sell the Power2Max powermeter years ago.

The Loctite 243 can be easily obtained from Amazon Germany or from a local hardware store. A torque wrench is bit pricey and the vice is not cheap but first of all I don't want to buy one just to install the spider.

OK, I will buy the loctite 243 and then proceed.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Power2Max Type S Rotor 3D+ arrived!]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. 2021/08/11(水) 18:12:36|
2. Bikes and related things
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Power2Max Type S final Summer Sale?

I visit the site (power2max.com) frequently to see if their powermeters are available at a bargain price. I have been doing this for a long time (more than 5 years or more?).

I am already a customer of the company. I bought a tool needed to assemble or disassemble Rotor 3D+ crankset or some parts to convert Rotor 3D+ crankset for Cervélo's BBright to fit it on my Cervélo RS from them a long time ago (5 years or more). I bought a BBright Rotor 3D+ crankset cheap on eBay back then.

Back then I made an account with Power2Max Germany.

Today August 23 or 24 because it was around the midnight between them I visited their site and found that they were having a Summer sale during August. Should I buy what I have been longing for?

They had this Type S (the previous generation model) for Rotor 3 D+ had been on sale for a long time. The original suggested retail price (they sell it directly on thier sites or at limited retail stores) was € 590 but it had been on sale for € 390.

The current generation model, NGECO, for Rotor 3 D+ is priced at € 490 (equally only the powermeter excluding the crankset).

I wanted it (either Type S or NGECO) but I did not want to spend that much.

€ 290 is not a bad price at all, especially now that I decided to stay home instead of going on a car trip to visite 3 Scandinavian countries during my vacation (now). I will easily save around € 700 to € 800 by staying home cat-sitting a cat belonging to a colleague of mine who went to Spain.

So I ordered one. I paid € 290 for Type S model. After paying for the shipping the price was still under € 310. I am happy. [Power2Max Type S final Summer Sale?]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. 2021/08/09(月) 00:03:19|
2. Bikes and related things
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Cat-sitting

As I wrote in the previous entry, I am cat-sitting a female cat that belongs to a colleague of mine. She (the cat) seems to be very friendly to human and likes to stay home (or indoors). She (a colleague of mine) had another cat who liked outdoors but this cat is an MIA for the moment.

My Hannah likes to be in the woods. We used to take a long walk in the woods. I walked and she followed. Now she likes to be on her own. She occasionally catches a kind of gerbils and torments them. I don't blame her for killing those animals as it is in her blood. Cats are hunters.

I don't know if they can get along. I hope they do.


Supermarket ALDI in Luxembourg

I visit one of the shops closest to me. I used to visit there on foot but now I drive there. I don't have much time now left for walking during the week.

Lately I purchased 2 of reusable Nespresso® compatible capsules there. They were cheap. I have Wacaco Minipresso and Nanopresso. My Minipresso is Nespresso® compatible type. I used to use it on my camping trips but switched to Nanopresso as I wanted to save. Those Nespresso capsules are a bit expensive.

Now I will try to use these capsules on Wacaco Minipresso to see if they work.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Cat-sitting and supermarket ALDI Luxembourg]の続きを読む

1. 2021/08/04(水) 00:13:48|
2. Cats
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Installed!

It is Monday, August 2nd, 2021 here in Luxembourg. I picked up the package from Germany containing the cell phone holder for my Mazda MX-5 ND.

The delivery agent (transporter) was UPS. I personally don't like UPS as I had an unpleasant experience with them back in 2010 or so.

The problem with them is their online customer support system. What is the problem? It does not work at all. First of all I have to make an account with them to make use of it. And then it does not work.

With other agents (DHL, GLS, others), it is extremely easy to change the destination of the delivery once I miss the delivery.

With UPS, the system always gave the same error message something like "We are sorry but we are experiencing a technical error. Please try later" or similar sorry lines.

And they don't hold the package too long. Usually the agents hold the package for a couple of weeks before they decide to send it back to the sender but UPS says that they will wait only 5 days.

I drove to their main facility in Contern, Luxembourg assuming that my package would be there to get the package. I have been there several times before.

They did have the package and I got it.

Later I installed it on my car. It did not go too smoothly. There were no instructions at all. Actually there was no need for a sheet paper to waste at all. The installation is pretty simple and straightforward. The installation hardware kit contains a small flat head screw driver to turn the spoke nipple, a spoke nipple and a short seemingly spoke bent to anchor itself behind the dashboard.

It was not so easy to put the nipple on the spoke. It took me a short frustrating and agonizing moment to get it right.

Anyway, it is very good. It is worth the amount of money that I paid.

My summer holidays will be spent at home

I won't be away for holidays. I will be home almost all the time. I might go for a short trip but that will be all.

Because ... I am cat-sitting a cat for about 8 or 9 days for a colleague of mine. They (her and her husband) will be away for holidays. I am taking care of their cat, a female cat.

I am not sure if they (my Hannah and her cat) will come along but I have no choice. I said I would do it.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [IL Motorsport (Germany) and its mobile phone holder installed!]の続きを読む

テーマ:猫のいる生活 - ジャンル:ペット

1. 2021/08/02(月) 17:35:54|
2. Mazda MX-5
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