Ben van Northland Velo gaat verhuizen

[benparke]

Would've been nice knowing about the shifting issues sooner so i could have asked Theo about it.. Now i'm suffering from cobblestones, a flipflopping shifter and sour moods 

At least you've got some gorgeous scenery! Although i wouldn't recommend hitting those cobblestones again with a hardtail Waw, your back is not going to like that! (the steering rods might retaliate too)

The shifting was much improved with the new derailleur hanger. I think on the ride to Dronten the chain jumped only twice. Theo knew about the problems. I talked to him quite a lot about it. They should have looked at it after I brought it back to make sure everything was ok. Are the bolts on the hanger still tight? They were not easy to reach when I installed the new hanger and maybe I did not tighten them very well? I have also heard that the QV generally has some issues with the shifting on rough surfaces. I am sorry to hear you are suffering problems. I did not have fond feelings generally about the QV, but I know some people find it perfect for their needs. 

I plan to avoid a lot of places in Belgium with the waw.  I would Ride along most of the canals with it, but definitely not on cobblestones, and ideally not on the rough Beton either.

[Jeroen S]

My wife was impressed by your knowlegde of the local history. Is that a Dutch guy? And i also enjoyed the ride. I had some horrible cycling experiences in Belgium as well, bikelanes ending suddenly at the end of town, on what feels like a highway. In Luik i was also close to dispair. But that was long ago before GPS and online maps. Even the Germans do cobblestones in historic towncentres sometimes. Not nice, and it needs to be ridden slowly. But a towncentre is mostly just a short section.

Across the Schelde, Middelburg and Veere are towns with nice historic buildings that you might like to.

Your prononciation of difficult Dutch words is heading in the right direction. The Sch in Schelde, the gg in Brugge, those are letter combinations many stumble over ending up with something that is incomprehendable. That level is far behind you.

[Willeke_IGKT]

Je uitspraak van de Nederlandstalige namen is inderdaad behoorlijk goed geworden. Ik vraag me alleen af of Britten en mensen uit de VS Brugge herkennen als wat zij kennen als Bruge.

Het gebruik van het woord Ocean voor de Noordzee klinkt voor Nederlanders gek. Er is pas Oceaan als je een heel stuk in Frankrijk bent, aan de westkust van Engeland, Schotland en Ierland.

[benparke]

My wife was impressed by your knowlegde of the local history. Is that a Dutch guy?  And i also enjoyed the ride. I had some horrible cycling experiences in Belgium as well, bikelanes ending suddenly at the end of town, on what feels like a highway. In Luik i was also close to dispair. But that was long ago before GPS and online maps. Even the Germans do cobblestones in historic towncentres sometimes. Not nice, and it needs to be ridden slowly. But a towncentre is mostly just a short section.

Across the Schelde, Middelburg and Veere are towns with nice historic buildings that you might like to.

Your prononciation of difficult Dutch words is heading in the right direction. The Sch in Schelde, the gg in Brugge, those are letter combinations many stumble over ending up with something that is incomprehendable. That level is far behind you.

I did some research for the script I wrote about the towns I rode through. It seemed more interesting than randomly commenting on what I was seeing and doing while riding. I learned some very interesting things and answered the question I had about why Oostburg is such a plain town. 

I’ve invested a lot more time recently learning Dutch. I’m glad to hear it is helping.

[Willeke_IGKT]

Oostburg is niet historisch maar wel heel Nederlands.
Ik ben opgegroeid in een Noord Hollandse plaats die grotendeels na 1945 opgebouwd is en de bouwstijl is zeer vergelijkbaar. Buiten Nederland zie ik dat niet.

[Bobslee]

Oostburg is niet historisch maar wel heel Hollands.
Ik ben opgegroeid in een Noord Hollandse plaats die grotendeels na 1945 opgebouwd is en de bouwstijl is zeer vergelijkbaar. Buiten Nederland zie ik dat niet.

Klopt, Oostburg was net als mijn geboortedorp Zuidzande, voor een groot deel plat gebombardeerd tijdens de opmars van de Canadezen in de herfst van 1944, en is inderdaad na 1945 weer opgebouwd.

[Lopopodium]

Ach, nog altijd mooier dan Lelystad, Almere of Zoetermeer!