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This weblog contains the life ::, rants ##, poems "" and scribblings *) of Nivelan.

:: (cycle eu one) planning the odyssey Saturday, September 30, 2000 |

I want to go on a major cycling ride to and through Britain and Ireland soon. I've got nearly the entire month of October off work, to do it.. And here's a plan. But is it viable?

I'd cycle from Nijmegen to Hook of Holland, then from Harwich through London to the South Coast to re-visit Brighton. Continuing on to Exeter, then up to Bristol, passing Stonehenge on my way to Reading, then to Stratford and back down again to Gloucester, Cardiff and Pembroke. I'd then grab the ferry across to Ireland, where I'd do a big circular movement through Cork, Tralee, Limerick, Galway, Sligo, to Belfast and down again to Dublin or Dun Laoghaire for another ferry across to Holyhead. No finally towards my holy grail: Scotland. But not via a quickest route: first to Chester, Manchester, Leeds, York, Newcastle and then finally to Edinburgh. Then going West via Stirling and Fort William to the Isle of Skye and Stornoway (obviously not cycling across the Atlantic), back to the mainland at Ullapool and then passing Thurso and Wick before getting back to Inverness. Then to Glasgow via Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth, and on through Ayr to reminisce at Stranraer and Port Patrick. I haven't been there since the student exchanges in 1993. Lastly, I'd go back East through the Borders to Newcastle, from where I'd ferry back to Amsterdam and on to home. Ambitious? Aye. But it's mouthwatering prospect!

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:: Wake nights Friday, September 08, 2000 |

For the second night in a row now, I've just been lying awake for most of it. Slept just 2 to 3 hours tops. And this morning when I did finally fall asleep, the alarm couldn’t wake me anymore. So I missed a day's work. If only I knew why..

:: Forget Vitesse Wednesday, September 06, 2000 |

As a guy born and raised in Nijmegen, or at least it's vicinity, I feel obliged and happy to support NEC of Nijmegen. So why my job agency asked me to do a day's work as a parking steward at major local rival Vitesse of Arnhem, hmm.. But I am a nice guy, I can use a bit of money and I don't mind getting paid for doing nearly nothing. Vitesse would play Sparta of Rotterdam this evening. I was expected to show visitors where to park. But I suppose I didn't care enough. I forgot. Can't blame my sister Elf or her wee son Oisin, who visited. I would've forgotten about it too if they hadn't. I can remember thinking 'Oops' later tonight, but then.. It's only Vitesse.

:: Cycling? Nahh Tuesday, September 05, 2000 |

On a nice morning in May 1996 I grabbed my bicycle and, with the intention of spending a whole day on it, rode it to Belgium and back – clocking up 256 kilometres. I did that on a decent but fairly average Altra bicycle. In my possession now is a blisteringly fast Koga Miyata Traveller. It's expensive, red, it's got 27 gears, and it's all light-weight and durable.. And I can honestly claim to now be the fastest cyclist in town. I haven't been challenged in years. Even mopeds can't usually match my acceleration and a top speed of 45 km/h over city streets and cycle paths. So today I thought I might as well try to set a new distance record. I didn't like cycling through Belgium much back then (too dangerous), so why not ride to the North Sea and back (300 kilometres), to the North (300), to the Ruhrgebiet in Germany (275), to Breda (250), to Maastricht (300) or Antwerp (350)? Why not indeed! Because it rained, that's why. And I can't drag myself out of bed.