- 5h of meditation. It was actually more, but these are the times that I recored in my journal.
- 8h of spinning
- 25h33min and 497km of biking (including training, commuting and fun rides with my daughter and wife)
- Finished reading 1 book: Primo Levi's non-fiction trilogy "If This Is a Man"
- Had 2 visits from relatives from abroad
Showing posts with label Cycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cycling. Show all posts
Thursday, September 1, 2011
August 2011 in Numbers
It's time to give an account of the past month and see what's been achieved:
Sunday, August 21, 2011
This Week's Accomplishments!
This week (August 15-21) I've done a lot of cycling and meditation:
- 2h 15min of meditation (including walking meditation, sitting meditation and body scan meditation)
- 2h of spinning
- 2h 25min (61km) of cycling training
- 5h 30min (101km) of just-for-fun cycling with Anne Sophie
I also spent a lot of time with Anne Sophie (played games with her, went with her to the beach, to the playground and to visit friends), and finally finished reading Primo Levi's 600-pages long book.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Biking the Route des Legendes in the Belgian Ardennes
Last Sunday my months of bike training were put to a severe test. With a bunch of Flemish friends I travelled to Remouchamps, south of Liege, Belgium, to bike the Route des Legendes, which is a 100km scenic route consisting of two loops of 70 km and 30 km, with numerous climbs and descents and beautiful views to enjoy.
We had a perfect bicycling weather as we started biking at quarter to 10 in the morning. The first climb, which lasted a couple of kilometers was quite a shock. Although by now, having biked up the Alp d'Huez, the Grossglockner and the Mont Ventoux, I should know what climbing is, nevertheless the first few climbing kilometers are still quite a challenge. But I felt that my training has been paying off big time!
This was followed by many more climbs and descents, with some slopes reaching up to 17%. Initially, we stopped quite often in order to keep our group together. I enjoyed the nice views of the countryside and the neat little villages that we passed by.
The second loop started with a long 5km climb, which felt like it would never end. But overall it was much easier than the first loop.
Back at Remouchamps, we set out for the final, but also the most challenging ascent, that of the infamous La Redoute, in which you climb 161 height meters over the distance of 1.7 km. This means 9.5% on the average, with a maximum of 20%! This was absolutely the most difficult climb I have ever done!
In total I biked 105km (and more than 1500 height meters) in 5h45min. I got home very late and tired, but it was a great day and a great training for the upcoming conquest of Passo dello Stelvio!
We had a perfect bicycling weather as we started biking at quarter to 10 in the morning. The first climb, which lasted a couple of kilometers was quite a shock. Although by now, having biked up the Alp d'Huez, the Grossglockner and the Mont Ventoux, I should know what climbing is, nevertheless the first few climbing kilometers are still quite a challenge. But I felt that my training has been paying off big time!
This was followed by many more climbs and descents, with some slopes reaching up to 17%. Initially, we stopped quite often in order to keep our group together. I enjoyed the nice views of the countryside and the neat little villages that we passed by.
The second loop started with a long 5km climb, which felt like it would never end. But overall it was much easier than the first loop.
Back at Remouchamps, we set out for the final, but also the most challenging ascent, that of the infamous La Redoute, in which you climb 161 height meters over the distance of 1.7 km. This means 9.5% on the average, with a maximum of 20%! This was absolutely the most difficult climb I have ever done!
In total I biked 105km (and more than 1500 height meters) in 5h45min. I got home very late and tired, but it was a great day and a great training for the upcoming conquest of Passo dello Stelvio!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
30 Hours of Exercise in July 2011!
Although this past July was quite a rainy month, I managed to do almost 30 hours of sport activities, including:
- 9 long training bike rides (450km in 18h 30min)
- 4 hours of spinning
- 6 hours of strength training
- 1 hour of squash
- 1 hour of inline hockey
Although my plan was to do 2 spinning hours a week, I only managed to spin once a week instead. Let's see if I can do better in August!
With my wife and daughter back from their holiday, this may be quite a challenge. But I set out to bike with Anne Sophie on my city bike, sometimes accompanied by Luda. This doesn't go quite fast, but still it's a good exercise!
Tomorrow I'm going to bike the 100km Route des Legendes near Remouchamps in the Belgian Ardennes with a few Flemish friends. That should be quite a challenge!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Biking to the Corner of Holland, thinking about my Grandma
After the exceptionally bad weather of the last couple of days with storm and rain pouring in buckets non-stop for more than 24 hours, today's crisp sunny weather was a welcome relief! Because I did some overwork earlier this week, I took the afternoon off and set out on a training bike ride. Due to the pretty hard western wind, I first biked against the wind westwards to Wassenaar and then south-west along the coast to the Hoek van Holland.
Biking in the dunes is sublime. It's good to smell the sea air, the flowers now in full blossom, the occasional pine trees that smell of home and my childhood summers in the woods of White Russia. From the dunes of Meijendel one suddenly emerges into the urban world of Scheveningen with its numerous cafes, hotels, casinos and busy traffic. But quickly, the city is left behind and is replaced by the dunes of Kijkduin. From there, there is a long beautiful ride through the wide, green dunes of Westland, then past the many green-houses to the Hoek van Holland, literally translated as the Corner of Holland. It is indeed an almost right angle formed by the coast and by one of the major arms of the river Maas, which serves as entry to the port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe.
I stop to admire the huge cargo ships entering and leaving the port. The waves are pretty big and there are some surfers around waiting for a perfect wave. I start biking back along the same route. It is nice to bike with the wind! I feel like going for a swim, but most of the beaches are too busy for my taste. I finally stop at the beach of Meijendel. There are no people around and I plunge into the sea naked. The water is pretty cold, but I feel invigorated, with every cell of my body alert and alive with wind and waves.
Last 16 km through Wassenaar, Voorschoten, and along the Vliet canal are not so hard. It's 82 km in less than 3.5 hours, not too bad!
Today is my late Grandma Sonja's birthday. It's good to remember her. She would have turned 97, but she died 5 years ago. I was always a bit afraid of her, to tell the truth. I probably thought she was too strict, or actually too distant. I always said "Вы" to her, never "ты" (respectful "you" instead of casual "you"). But at the same time, I liked to visit her, liked her dinners and her compotes. Of course, I came also to visit my Aunt Natasha and my dear cousin Zhenya, who lived together with grandma. Rest in peace, dear grandma.
Biking in the dunes is sublime. It's good to smell the sea air, the flowers now in full blossom, the occasional pine trees that smell of home and my childhood summers in the woods of White Russia. From the dunes of Meijendel one suddenly emerges into the urban world of Scheveningen with its numerous cafes, hotels, casinos and busy traffic. But quickly, the city is left behind and is replaced by the dunes of Kijkduin. From there, there is a long beautiful ride through the wide, green dunes of Westland, then past the many green-houses to the Hoek van Holland, literally translated as the Corner of Holland. It is indeed an almost right angle formed by the coast and by one of the major arms of the river Maas, which serves as entry to the port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe.
I stop to admire the huge cargo ships entering and leaving the port. The waves are pretty big and there are some surfers around waiting for a perfect wave. I start biking back along the same route. It is nice to bike with the wind! I feel like going for a swim, but most of the beaches are too busy for my taste. I finally stop at the beach of Meijendel. There are no people around and I plunge into the sea naked. The water is pretty cold, but I feel invigorated, with every cell of my body alert and alive with wind and waves.
Last 16 km through Wassenaar, Voorschoten, and along the Vliet canal are not so hard. It's 82 km in less than 3.5 hours, not too bad!
Today is my late Grandma Sonja's birthday. It's good to remember her. She would have turned 97, but she died 5 years ago. I was always a bit afraid of her, to tell the truth. I probably thought she was too strict, or actually too distant. I always said "Вы" to her, never "ты" (respectful "you" instead of casual "you"). But at the same time, I liked to visit her, liked her dinners and her compotes. Of course, I came also to visit my Aunt Natasha and my dear cousin Zhenya, who lived together with grandma. Rest in peace, dear grandma.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Biking through the Tulip Land and Beach Meditation
As I wrote earlier this month, I've been training hard to bike up the Stelvio Pass in the north of Italy in early September with a bunch of colleagues.
This week has been pretty busy, so I didn't have much chance to bike. So today I decided to go for a long training ride. I started out around 5:30 PM, right after Maria Sharapova lost her Wimbledon final. I biked past the old chapel of Wilsveen to the mountain bike parcour of SnowWorld in Zoetermeer, and from there past Stompwijk to Zoeterwoude and Vlietland, then along the Vliet to the Lammenschanse Brug in Leiden and then to Warmond, Rijnsburg and Noordwijkerhout. It's a beautiful route through many old towns in the north of South Holland, the heart of Dutch tulip industry. But I get a lot of headwind.
It feels good to bike with the sun and wind and fast flowing low white clouds. I am at about 40 km from home. I cross into the dunes and start cycling with the wind, southwards along the coastline. I stop briefly in Noordwijk. According to the weather service, it is wind force 4 on Beaufort scale, but the sea looks like it's wind force 5. A beautiful view of Zandvoort in the north and Scheveningen in the south! I continue along the coast, flying with the wind in my back. I stop at the beach of the Wassenaarse Slag. There are not so many people on the beach. I sit down in the sand, the sun is glistening on the wave tops. I fee like meditating. I put on a guided mindfulness meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn and try to follow my breath and mind for some 10 minutes. What a bliss!
Watch this short video of the dunes at Meijendel:
I bike on to Meijendel and than through Wassenaar with its beautiful stately houses, along the royal estate De Horsten, over de Knipbrug bridge and then along the Vliet canal to Leidschendam. The last 2 km to home, and I am tired and cannot bike fast. But it feels good!
It's 78.5 km in a little less than 3.5 hours. The average speed is not so impressive, but with so much wind I don't really care. This is my longest ride this year. I dedicate it to my dear wife Luda, whose birthday is tomorrow and who's now on holiday in Ukraine.
Then a quick look at our Delta-N Tour de France pool cloud application at http://azuretour.cloudapp.net/, and, o wonder, after the first stage, which I didn't even watch, I am on top of the pool!
My friend and colleague Konstantin, who's also been biking, turns up at the door and we share a meal of smoked mackerel, very small Parisian potatoes (krieltjes) with dill and steamed broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini and green beans. As desert we eat a whole bunch of cherries. We talk about food and fish and sour cherries and about our childhood in the now non-existent USSR. We decide to watch an old, good Soviet film about school Доживём до понедельника, but after 20 minutes or so I start falling asleep, so it's time for him to go home and for me to go to bed. What a great day!
Update:
Monday evening (July 4) another training ride in the dunes: 36km in 1h27min. The beach at Meijendel is completely empty, not a single soul! The sun is going down. What a peaceful and serene feeling!
Update 2:
Tuesday evening biked to the beach in Scheveningen with Konstantin. Ended up chilling-out at one of the beach bars on the Zwarte Pad. The ice cream was delicious, but too little :)
Update 3:
Wednesday eveing, again went to Scheveningen, this time with my good friend Jasper Seger. First we went bathing in the sea. There was lots of wind and waves, and pretty cold water, but we had so much fun fighting the waves that we didn't want to get out of the water. Then we relaxed and watched the sunset at the same bar as yesterday! It's good to be able to talk to a good friend for a couple of hours!
This week has been pretty busy, so I didn't have much chance to bike. So today I decided to go for a long training ride. I started out around 5:30 PM, right after Maria Sharapova lost her Wimbledon final. I biked past the old chapel of Wilsveen to the mountain bike parcour of SnowWorld in Zoetermeer, and from there past Stompwijk to Zoeterwoude and Vlietland, then along the Vliet to the Lammenschanse Brug in Leiden and then to Warmond, Rijnsburg and Noordwijkerhout. It's a beautiful route through many old towns in the north of South Holland, the heart of Dutch tulip industry. But I get a lot of headwind.
It feels good to bike with the sun and wind and fast flowing low white clouds. I am at about 40 km from home. I cross into the dunes and start cycling with the wind, southwards along the coastline. I stop briefly in Noordwijk. According to the weather service, it is wind force 4 on Beaufort scale, but the sea looks like it's wind force 5. A beautiful view of Zandvoort in the north and Scheveningen in the south! I continue along the coast, flying with the wind in my back. I stop at the beach of the Wassenaarse Slag. There are not so many people on the beach. I sit down in the sand, the sun is glistening on the wave tops. I fee like meditating. I put on a guided mindfulness meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn and try to follow my breath and mind for some 10 minutes. What a bliss!
 |
| From Biking through the Tulip Land and Beach Meditation |
I bike on to Meijendel and than through Wassenaar with its beautiful stately houses, along the royal estate De Horsten, over de Knipbrug bridge and then along the Vliet canal to Leidschendam. The last 2 km to home, and I am tired and cannot bike fast. But it feels good!
It's 78.5 km in a little less than 3.5 hours. The average speed is not so impressive, but with so much wind I don't really care. This is my longest ride this year. I dedicate it to my dear wife Luda, whose birthday is tomorrow and who's now on holiday in Ukraine.
Then a quick look at our Delta-N Tour de France pool cloud application at http://azuretour.cloudapp.net/, and, o wonder, after the first stage, which I didn't even watch, I am on top of the pool!
My friend and colleague Konstantin, who's also been biking, turns up at the door and we share a meal of smoked mackerel, very small Parisian potatoes (krieltjes) with dill and steamed broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini and green beans. As desert we eat a whole bunch of cherries. We talk about food and fish and sour cherries and about our childhood in the now non-existent USSR. We decide to watch an old, good Soviet film about school Доживём до понедельника, but after 20 minutes or so I start falling asleep, so it's time for him to go home and for me to go to bed. What a great day!
Update:
Monday evening (July 4) another training ride in the dunes: 36km in 1h27min. The beach at Meijendel is completely empty, not a single soul! The sun is going down. What a peaceful and serene feeling!
Update 2:
Tuesday evening biked to the beach in Scheveningen with Konstantin. Ended up chilling-out at one of the beach bars on the Zwarte Pad. The ice cream was delicious, but too little :)
Update 3:
Wednesday eveing, again went to Scheveningen, this time with my good friend Jasper Seger. First we went bathing in the sea. There was lots of wind and waves, and pretty cold water, but we had so much fun fighting the waves that we didn't want to get out of the water. Then we relaxed and watched the sunset at the same bar as yesterday! It's good to be able to talk to a good friend for a couple of hours!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Training for Passo dello Stelvio
In what has become a great sporting tradition at Delta-N, early September 2011 together with a number of colleagues, we are going to bike up the Stelvio Pass in the north of Italy. In the past few years, we did Alpe d'Huez (several times), Les Deux Alpes and Col du Galibier in the French Alps and last year Mont Ventoux in Provence, all of which are frequently featured in Tour de France. Two years ago we went to climb the Grossglockner in Austria, which I reported in this post.
The Stelvio Pass seems to be quite a challenge. It is one of the most famous, most notorious, toughest and highest passes in Europe, 2758 meters high, 48 hairpin bends. We'll have to climb over 20 km to overcome the altitude difference of some 1800 meters (with an average gradient of about 7.4%). The views are incredibly beautiful, the mountain is incredibly long, steep and uneven.
This year I started training in early March. I take part in a spinning group twice a week, bike to work as much as possible (including sometimes 21km to and from AkzoNobel in Sassenheim), and also an occasional training ride in the weekends, not to mention the fun rides with my little daughter.
Last Saturday I did my longest ride so far this year together with my friend, colleague and fellow Russian-speaker Konstantin! I biked about 55 km in total, starting at 8:15 from home to Mariahoeve, where I was joined by Konstantin. From there we biked to Scheveningen and then along the coast, via Meijendel, Wassenaarse Slag and Katwijk all the way to Noordwijk. The sun was shining. We had a pretty strong headwind, but we were delighted at the thought of cycling back with the wind! We stopped in Noordwijk to admire the view of the sea, the beach and the coast line. Scheveningen was visible in the distance. We cycled back downwind, it felt like we were almost flying.
We stopped at the Wassenaarse Slag to get some extra water, and guess whom we met there? Our colleague and boss Roderick! He was biking as well, together with a neighbor of his! So we continued with the four of us, with Konstantin eventually splitting off and going in the direction of Mariahoeve along A44, while the rest of us biked to Voorschoten, crossed the Vliet at the Knipbrug and then across the Vlietlanden along A4 back to Leidschenveen!
It was a great ride with about 2:15 hours of biking time! My plan is to increase training distances gradually to something like 100 km. I am also thinking of a couple of training trips to South Limburg and the Ardennen, so that I can get more climbing experience!
The Stelvio Pass seems to be quite a challenge. It is one of the most famous, most notorious, toughest and highest passes in Europe, 2758 meters high, 48 hairpin bends. We'll have to climb over 20 km to overcome the altitude difference of some 1800 meters (with an average gradient of about 7.4%). The views are incredibly beautiful, the mountain is incredibly long, steep and uneven.
This year I started training in early March. I take part in a spinning group twice a week, bike to work as much as possible (including sometimes 21km to and from AkzoNobel in Sassenheim), and also an occasional training ride in the weekends, not to mention the fun rides with my little daughter.
Last Saturday I did my longest ride so far this year together with my friend, colleague and fellow Russian-speaker Konstantin! I biked about 55 km in total, starting at 8:15 from home to Mariahoeve, where I was joined by Konstantin. From there we biked to Scheveningen and then along the coast, via Meijendel, Wassenaarse Slag and Katwijk all the way to Noordwijk. The sun was shining. We had a pretty strong headwind, but we were delighted at the thought of cycling back with the wind! We stopped in Noordwijk to admire the view of the sea, the beach and the coast line. Scheveningen was visible in the distance. We cycled back downwind, it felt like we were almost flying.
We stopped at the Wassenaarse Slag to get some extra water, and guess whom we met there? Our colleague and boss Roderick! He was biking as well, together with a neighbor of his! So we continued with the four of us, with Konstantin eventually splitting off and going in the direction of Mariahoeve along A44, while the rest of us biked to Voorschoten, crossed the Vliet at the Knipbrug and then across the Vlietlanden along A4 back to Leidschenveen!
It was a great ride with about 2:15 hours of biking time! My plan is to increase training distances gradually to something like 100 km. I am also thinking of a couple of training trips to South Limburg and the Ardennen, so that I can get more climbing experience!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Finished second on Grossglockner!
It took me some time to write about this biking trip, but it was for me surely one of the most exciting moments of this year!
As you might now, every year with a group of colleagues, we bike up a mountain in the Alps. The previous years we used to go to France, where we did several climbs from Tour de France, including Alp de'Huez, Le Deux Alpes, Galibier.
This year, for a change, we went to Austria, to ascend the Grossglockner, which is the highest mountain in Austria and a decent biking climb, even harder than Alpe d'Huez.
Now, this year I started training in April, as soon as the weather got better. My training consisted of biking to work and of a number of long distance rides. I biked a total of some 1900 km, for a total of some 86 hours. So I was hoping I could do much better than last year at Alpe d'Huez. And so I did!
As you might now, every year with a group of colleagues, we bike up a mountain in the Alps. The previous years we used to go to France, where we did several climbs from Tour de France, including Alp de'Huez, Le Deux Alpes, Galibier.
This year, for a change, we went to Austria, to ascend the Grossglockner, which is the highest mountain in Austria and a decent biking climb, even harder than Alpe d'Huez.
Now, this year I started training in April, as soon as the weather got better. My training consisted of biking to work and of a number of long distance rides. I biked a total of some 1900 km, for a total of some 86 hours. So I was hoping I could do much better than last year at Alpe d'Huez. And so I did!
The many hours of training paid off in the bends of the magnifiscent High Alpine Road, leading from our start at Fusch (800m above the sea level) to the finish at Fuschertörl (2400m). (However, the official time measurement started at Ferleiten (1150m), where one can buy a ticket, which is then stampted at the top, recording one's exact time.)
My idea was to keep up with my friend and colleague Dries de Groot as long as possible, for I assumed that he'd be the first at the top as he did last year at Alpe d'Huez. So I started off together with him. After some time I was in the lead, with the rest out of my sight. The biking went quite well, as I was pedalling pretty smoothly in one of the lowest gears. At about 2000 meters, I hit the snow limit. It looked like it was winter, with glistening pretty deep snow everywhere!
The biking started to get harder, and eventually Dries caught up with me. We biked together for a couple of kilometers, which were probably the steepest ones in the race. Then Dries took the lead and slowly disappeared from my sight. It started to get really heavy on me, but I could already see the tower of Fuschertörl at the distance. I passed a few other bikers, but there was hardly anyone who passed me! What struck me was that most people were riding mountain bikes, and not racing bikes. There was even a couple riding a tandem bicycle!
Well, eventually after 2 hours 16 minutes and 9 seconds, exhausted but exhilarated, I finished second at the top, about 7 minutes later than Dries. Dennis finished third half a minute later than me, and Robin finished fourth, another 3 minutes later. A couple of people did not reach the finish and turned back. The longest time of our group was 4 hours and 15 minutes.
We waited at the top for some time, but it was getting really cold (about 0 degrees Celsius). So Dries and I decided to go down. The first few kilometers of our descent were freezing cold. I was glad I wore gloves and my rain gear. But then it began to get warmer again, and we stopped time and again to savor the magnificent views of the mountains and the valleys.
It was sunny in the valley and we enjoyed a few refreshing drink at hour hotel, after which we went to relax at the swimming pool and at the wellness area with its Turkish steam bath and caldarium. The day finished off with a great dinner and a lot of chatting. The next morning we were off for a long drive home.
It was fun driving together with Dries. We could talk for hours, discuss the talks of Bill Harris that we were listening on CD, ponder about life, man and how man perceives reality. Our test came when we got stuck in a huge traffic jam not far from Cologne. Confronted with our own impatience, it was a good opportunity to reflect on that state of mind, to relax and take it easy!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Keeping fit and Alpe d'Huez
One of the important aspects of our lives is our health and physical condition. Many people almost totally neglect their health by consuming unhealthy foods and indulging in unhealthy habits like drinking, smoking, watching too much TV, etc. Others seem to go into another extreme and are often (almost) obsessed with low-calorie foods, exercise, body shape, beauty products, etc. It is not always easy to find your own middle way of keeping a healthy body, without sliding away into one of those extremes.
After having tried the gym and jogging, I concluded that those are not for me. To be frank, I found both to be extremely boring and uninspiring. At a certain point I realized that what I need are some functional health activities which I can weave into my daily life and which I can use to support my other goals and priorities. I’ve chosen 2 activities that I enjoy very much: biking and walking. I’ll talk about walking in a separate post, but now let’s talk about biking.
Instead of driving, I bike some 10 km to work and back. I do this 4 to 5 times a week resulting in 80 to 100 km of quite strenuous biking per week. I reason that by biking to work I not only contribute to my personal health and enjoyment but also help reduce air pollution and traffic jams. Although in the beginning I had to force myself to get on the bike early in the morning each day, now it feels absolutely natural. Biking early in the morning through beautiful tree-lined alleys of Leidschendam and then a few kilometers along the Vliet (channel) is a most enjoyable experience. But being ambitious as I am, I try to bike as hard as I can. I now cover the distance from home to work in 20 to 23 minutes depending on the wind. Even on the pretty cold autumn mornings, I am sweating a lot as I arrive at work, but for me this is a small inconvenience compared to all the joys of bicycling.
A couple of times a week I also go for a bike ride with my now 1-year-old daughter Anne Sophie, and my wife Luda also sometimes joins us. Anne Sophie enjoys biking in her front seat (attached to my bicycle) immensely! She watches all the objects with intense interest: the trees, the cows, horses and sheep, the road lights, the passing vehicles, and even the stars! I often sing to her as we bike, and she is starting to "sing" along! This is a great way of spending time with your child!
To grow in any area of our life, we need challenges. So is it with biking as well. Fortunately, every year my employer, Delta-N, organizes a biking challenge in the French Alps. This year, at the end of August, we went to bike up Alpe d’Huez, one of the most famous climbs from Tour de France. While for some of my colleagues this was the second or even third time to climb Alpe d’Huez, this was my first time.
The long weekend in the Alps was fantastic: wonderful, sunny weather, majestic mountains, fine accommodation, great food. On Saturday morning we put on our gear to concur the climb of 14 km with an average gradient of 8% and 21 excruciating hairpin bends. It took me 2 hours 12 minutes to get there. It was hard, very hard indeed. The sweat was flooding and irritating my eyes, and I had to stop twice to get some rest. Yet the feeling of achievement on the top was overwhelming!
The descent down to the village was fantastic, with high speeds and magnificent views! After some energy drinks and energy-full food, some of us went to play in the small open-air swimming pool, and then on to a trampoline, ping pong, and some deep philosophical conversations.
This was a great, unforgettable experience of physical exertion, overcoming and achievement! I’d recommend it to anyone!
After having tried the gym and jogging, I concluded that those are not for me. To be frank, I found both to be extremely boring and uninspiring. At a certain point I realized that what I need are some functional health activities which I can weave into my daily life and which I can use to support my other goals and priorities. I’ve chosen 2 activities that I enjoy very much: biking and walking. I’ll talk about walking in a separate post, but now let’s talk about biking.
Instead of driving, I bike some 10 km to work and back. I do this 4 to 5 times a week resulting in 80 to 100 km of quite strenuous biking per week. I reason that by biking to work I not only contribute to my personal health and enjoyment but also help reduce air pollution and traffic jams. Although in the beginning I had to force myself to get on the bike early in the morning each day, now it feels absolutely natural. Biking early in the morning through beautiful tree-lined alleys of Leidschendam and then a few kilometers along the Vliet (channel) is a most enjoyable experience. But being ambitious as I am, I try to bike as hard as I can. I now cover the distance from home to work in 20 to 23 minutes depending on the wind. Even on the pretty cold autumn mornings, I am sweating a lot as I arrive at work, but for me this is a small inconvenience compared to all the joys of bicycling.
A couple of times a week I also go for a bike ride with my now 1-year-old daughter Anne Sophie, and my wife Luda also sometimes joins us. Anne Sophie enjoys biking in her front seat (attached to my bicycle) immensely! She watches all the objects with intense interest: the trees, the cows, horses and sheep, the road lights, the passing vehicles, and even the stars! I often sing to her as we bike, and she is starting to "sing" along! This is a great way of spending time with your child!
To grow in any area of our life, we need challenges. So is it with biking as well. Fortunately, every year my employer, Delta-N, organizes a biking challenge in the French Alps. This year, at the end of August, we went to bike up Alpe d’Huez, one of the most famous climbs from Tour de France. While for some of my colleagues this was the second or even third time to climb Alpe d’Huez, this was my first time.
The long weekend in the Alps was fantastic: wonderful, sunny weather, majestic mountains, fine accommodation, great food. On Saturday morning we put on our gear to concur the climb of 14 km with an average gradient of 8% and 21 excruciating hairpin bends. It took me 2 hours 12 minutes to get there. It was hard, very hard indeed. The sweat was flooding and irritating my eyes, and I had to stop twice to get some rest. Yet the feeling of achievement on the top was overwhelming!
The descent down to the village was fantastic, with high speeds and magnificent views! After some energy drinks and energy-full food, some of us went to play in the small open-air swimming pool, and then on to a trampoline, ping pong, and some deep philosophical conversations.
This was a great, unforgettable experience of physical exertion, overcoming and achievement! I’d recommend it to anyone!
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