欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記 Un-delivered packages and Gent-Wevelgem

Un-delivered packages and Gent-Wevelgem

Recently I have troubles with the package delivery by the post.

Trouble One:
I ordered a keyboard replacement for my HP ENVY 4-1000. I purchased from a German on-line store and naturally it came with a German keyboard. I don't want a German Keyboard (no French keyboard or any one of those localized ones) but I want a US keyboard. A US keyboard has fewer keys than any other. It means that important keys are bigger and "in place." I blind-type so those keys have to be bigger and in place.

I ordered it mid January and it did not arrive. I contacted the ebay seller and they kindly agreed to ship a second one. The second one has not arrived yet but I hope it will in time.

Trouble Two:
I ordered a in-car DC-DC convertor for my MacBook Pro. It plugs into the car 12 V DC socket and it has a MagSafe plug on the other end. It also has a USB port for charging an extra device like iPhone or iPod touch.

It did not arrive in time. This time the ebay seller contacted me first asking if the item had arrived. I replied that I would first go to the local post and ask if they had one "un-delivered." They did not. Then I replied that I would wait until Tuesday 18 March. I will send a very sad e-mail message to them on Tuesday evening asking for a replacement.

I am very sorry for those sincere ebay sellers. I am very sorry that this happened. Where have they gone? I mean the packages. Where do they go? Why do some packages disappear?

On a separate note, the road bike race Gent-Wegelgem is around the corner. Last year there was a change in the route because of the cold weather. The route was shortened. Usually the race starts in the city of Deinze (not Gent). The previous night it snowed.

I could not go there by car so I purchased a train ticket (and a bike-carry-in ticket) to Kortrijk, Belgium. It would have been nice to get to Wevelgem by train but there was no connection to Wevelgem on Sundays. I got off at Kortrijk station and then got on my bike. The first thing I saw when I went up the short stairs of the station was a big logo of "SaxoBank-Tinkoff." There was a material truck directly in front of the station exit. I arrived there early and had time to help Alejandro, the mechanic do some chores before leaving for Wevelgem. I worked for about an hour with Alejandro. He treated me with a cup of coffee.

It was the first time I brought a bike in Luxembourg and Belgium train. It was an educating experience for me. Back in days I lived in Germany I did this a lot. I went to a lot of places in Germany with my bike and even to Switzerland with my bike.

As you may know (or have guessed) that Austria, Switzerland and Germany (all German speaking countries partly or wholly) have a similar train system or at least their systems are linked. All of these countries charge substantial fees to carry in a bike on the train. Their trains most of the time have designated cars for bikes. They (designated cars) have wider entry/exit than other passenger cars. Wider passages and etc.

In Belgium and Luxembourg the train system are different from those "Germanic" countries.

In France, for example, a passenger with a valid ticket does not have to pay for the carry-in bike. TGV has different system. Luxembourg seems to follow the good French system.

In Belgium you have to pay for the carry-in bikes. In Belgium local trains (short-distance) did not have a designated place for bikes. You can carry your bikes on the train but you may find it very inconvenient to do so unless you have a folding bike.

I bought the carry-in bike ticket at the Luxembourg Central station but technically you can buy it on board the train in Belgium. You may save some money by doing so.

This year, I am very sure I will drive to Deinze. Winter is gone and it is Spring already. No snow!

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ

ここ連続して郵便物のトラブルです。ebayで購入したものが届かない。一つ目はHP ENVY 4-100の交換キーボードです。本体はドイツのオンラインショップから購入したので、ドイツ語キーボードが付いてます。これを英語版（正確には米語版）に交換したいのです。

そこで、ebayで見つけた業者に注文したのです。香港から届くはずでした。待ちましたが、届きませんでした。購入先に連絡して、もう一回送付してもらうことになりました。

そして、最近注文したMacBook Pro用の車内充電用のアダプターが届かない。送付先は3月11日を届く期限の目安としてました。その11日に向こうからご丁寧に確認の連絡がありました。「届きましたか？」とメールがありました。届いてません、と返事し、もう少し待ちましょう、と付け加えました。そして18日の火曜日まで来なかったら、もう一回送ってくださいとお願いする予定です。

一体どこへ行ったのでしょう。どうして紛失するのでしょうか。

今年は春が来ました。昨年は春が来なくて、大変でした。次のレース観戦予定はGent-Wevelgemです。昨年は雪が降ってしまって、車じゃ行けなくて、電車で観戦に出かけました。ベルギーとルクセンブルクで電車に乗るのもほぼ初めてだったし、自転車をもって電車に乗るもの当然始めてでした。ドイツ・スイスでは自転車を積んで電車であちこちに行ったので慣れてましたが。

とにかく今年は車で簡単に出かけられます。雪の心配はありません。

観戦計画を立ててます。自転車を持ってゆくのはもちろんです。今年の上りは昨年と同じです。通過番号が違うので、昨年とはちょっとだけ変更されてるようです。第二補給地点は同じです。

上り区間を観たいという気がしてます。これをどうするかを検討してます。最初の通過をみて、急いでゴールに戻ったら、ゴールに間に合うのかを検討してます。ちなみにですが、Ieper（現地のフレミッシュ語では、こう呼ばれ、フランス語ではYpres）は今年のツールのステージのスタート地です。第一次世界大戦の激戦地です。近くに大規模な兵士墓地があります。ここへ下見に行ってみたいなという気もしてます。