Taking parcels to the post office today I stopped by a roundabout which temporarily has "bicycle art" on it. I then cycled on to a DIY shop to buy insulation because with the removal of the gas supply last winter we need to insulate the one relatively uninsulated room which remains in our home. That room was the boiler room but as there are no longer any gas appliances in our home we can reclaim it.

We're striving to reduce our environmental footprint in every way that we can.

And why do we have "bicycle art" on all the roundabouts in Assen at the moment ? Because the Road Cycling European Championships, "the pinnacle of cycling events on our continent" are going to be here in Drenthe on 20-24th of September.

https://www.uec.ch/en/event/204/2023-uec-road-european-championships

There will be five days of events in all, 1000 riders will fly in from 40 different countries to ride their bikes for a few km, accompanied the whole time by ludicrous numbers of support and press vehicles as well as a few helicopters, and then they'll fly home again.

It will be spectacular but it's also incredibly irresponsible. International sport, including cycling, has a **huge** carbon footprint. It is literally killing people and needs to stop.

https://www.dutchbikebits.com
#cycling #biketooter #ek #roadcycling #cycleracing #bicycleart #assen #uec #drenthe

If only there was a prize for the longest bike at the hardware store. At just a couple of cm short of 5 m I might have been in with a good chance today.

A DIY shop 4 km away had an offer on these 3x11 aluminium ladders. I extended a trailer with a piece of the old wooden ladder which I'd chopped up because I no longer trusted it. Much better than paying a €40 delivery fee.

Every bike is a cargo bike if we use a bit of imagination.

Three speed hub gears for the win!
#cycling #bicycle #biketrailer #BikeTooter #assen #netherlands #diy #cargobike

These will be the last parcels of bicycle parts that I send out this week.
On my way to the post office I went past a school where they've been growing plants (mainly vegetables). Unfortunately I think they're all on holiday at the moment and no-one is watering anything.
At the supermarket a bit later, children's bikes, including one walking bike for a very young child, parked outside the supermarket (they're inside the shopping centre) and someone with a disability just cycled right into the supermarket to do their shopping. Why not ?
#cycling #dutchbikebits #biketooter #supermarket #netherlands #assen
https://www.dutchbikebits.com

I had to pick up a parcel in the centre of Assen today and I made this short video while I was there.

I've lived in the Netherlands long enough now that I complain about some things. But I'll never complain about having wonderful city centres like this.
#cycling #BikeTooter #cyclinginfrastructure #netherlands #assen #bicycle #bicycles #urbanism
https://youtu.be/BjUbVmgxus0

That area of the city wasn't always like that. It was changed to the current situation ten years ago. Before that, cars could be driven along the street all the time, and they were a real nuisance. It really is a much nicer place now than it used to be.
Here's a blog post from 2014 about the changes which had been made:
https://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2014/04/shared-no-more-assen-city-centre-street.html
#cyclinginfrastructure #cycling #assen #netherlands #biketooter #cycling

Assen's getting itself ready for the TT festival. The central square is normally a peaceful place with lots of bike parking. It's being transformed with a podium and beer tents.
#ttfestival #assen #ttassen

This afternoon's ride was to the centre of Assen to buy the vegetables at the market. We've lived here for quite a long time now and the huge number of bikes everywhere is no longer a novelty. But it is still fabulous.
http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/search/label/assen
#cycling #BikeTooter #everydaycycling #bicycle #netherlands #assen

There were a lot of obstructions of one kind or another in Assen today.
#assen #netherlands #cyclepath #cyclinginfrastructure #regel17 #velomobile

This is part of the Assen-Groningen "cycling superhighway". It's four metres wide (+ an extra metre at the left for pedestrians) and will eventually stretch the entire 30 km distance between the two cities. There are already other excellent routes, but this will hopefully let us cycle at a higher average speed as we shouldn't have to stop for traffic. Unfortunately, construction of some parts has been stalled recently.
#CyclePath #cycling #drenthe #Assen-Groningen #velomobile #regel17

And this is the city centre that you reach by riding straight on.
Even on a fairly miserable grey and wet mid-week afternoon it's fairly busy with bikes. A large proportion of shopping is done by bicycle because it's the most convenient form of transport. Also: parking a bike is free of charge.
There are more photos and video of the city centre streets of Assen here:
https://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/search/label/assen_citycentre
#assen #CityCentre #cycling #shopping #cycleparking

And this is the city centre that you reach by riding straight on.
Even on a fairly miserable grey and wet mid-week afternoon it's fairly busy with bikes. A large proportion of shopping is done by bicycle because it's the most convenient form of transport. Also: parking a bike is free of charge.
There are more photos and video of the city centre streets of Assen here:
https://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/search/label/assen_citycentre
#assen #CityCentre #cycling #shopping #cycleparking

Jaarlijks moeten we toch minimaal 1x naar de intratuin in #Assen. Een fantasierijke, kerstig gebeuren. Iets dat altijd veel indruk maakt.

Behalve deze keer.
Die mislukte mos elf, die verzoop in wat nattige mos en een beetje water spande toch wel de kroon. Net zo'n net uit het water gevist lijk.
Wat een treurig beeld in vergelijking met andere jaren.

Als dit is wat je personeel creëert als je als baas je personeel onheus bejegent zou ik toch eens ergens anders aan jeuken dan je ballen.

Yoe

It was surprisingly cold overnight, reaching down to at least -5 C. People have apparently been able to skate on natural ice, which doesn't usually happen this early. Anyway, I didn't go for my usual morning bike ride but I did have a quick ride around Assen this afternoon ending with a couple of laps of the local cycle-racing circuit. It's still T-shirt weather in a velomobile.
#assen #velomobile #cycling

Hashtags which ought to have been part of the tweet above: #cycling #infrastructure #schoolrun #children #suburbs #Netherlands #Assen

📣 SOLIDEMO ASSEN

👉️ Five people from the #KOZP / #XR action during the council meeting in #Emmen are STILL in jail after nearly 48 hours

🥷 Lets show that this repression against demonstrators is not okay!

💥 Come make some noise & show your support in #Assen, Balkengracht 3, at 19:30 today!

#ZwartePietIsRacisme

RT @RonnyNaftaniel: Deze prachtige glas in lood ramen zaten in de synagoge in #Assen. Ze zijn in 1932 gemaakt door de Joodse architect #AbrahamVanOosten. Op zijn dochter na, werd de hele familie vermoord door de nazi’s. Die dochter bracht de ramen in 1974 naar Israël. Nu behoren ze aan #YadVashem.

🐦🔗: https://nitter.eu/BasBelderMEP/status/1578053935729876995

Bagnaia vince ad Assen: le dichiarazioni del pilota dopo la gara
#bagnaia #vince #assen #dichiarazioni #pilota #gara #6luglio https://parliamodi.news/article/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hpbG9tZXRyYW5kby5pdC9uZXdzL2JhZ25haWEtYXNzZW4tZGljaGlhcmF6aW9uaS1waWxvdGEv

Bagnaia vince ad Assen: le dichiarazioni del pilota dopo la gara
#bagnaia #vince #assen #dichiarazioni #pilota #gara #4luglio https://parliamodi.news/article/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2hpbG9tZXRyYW5kby5pdC9uZXdzL2JhZ25haWEtYXNzZW4tZGljaGlhcmF6aW9uaS1waWxvdGEv

RT @TrafficTTAssen: De parkeerplaatsen vullen zich.
#MotoGP #TT #Assen #TTAssen #DutchGP

🐦🔗: https://nitter.eu/WimvandeCamp/status/1540978260196081665

There's a new #Livefeed of the #farmerprotest, outside the #Assen police station. 🚜
https://www.facebook.com/melanie.deboer.7/videos/4498407773562888/?hc_location=ufi