XL-Network's blog

Northern Roundtrip on the bike 2012

Thursday, Holy Thursday, 6:30 AM... the alarm clock sounds. Which nut case thought of this? I was planning to do the 31th Northern Roundtrip on the bike. There were four different 'flavors', 25, 50, 75 and 150 kilometer. After I fixed my bread with cheese, jam and a freshly baked egg it was time to leave. Away I go to the start at SC Loppersum, some 31 kilometers away. When I entered the terrain I saw a familiar face. It was Anton L. with his white mountainbike.

Sinner Mango+ for sale

The bike has been sold.

With regard to the new velomobile I'm receiving shortly I have to sell mine. Velox Incendia (the name of the bike) has given me a bit more then 20.000 kilometers of cycling pleasure. He brought me to work and hobbies fast, comfortable and dry and we also went camping, in 2010 we did the Round of the Netherlands together and visited the velomobile meeting in Giessen and in 2011 we Rolled over America.

Mango-cover for sale

Because of the sale of my Sinner Mango+ I also have to sell the matching protective cover. This handmade cover is made out of a lightweight, flexible and dirt repellant material which is normally used to protect boats. The cover is put on in no time and stays in place by the elastic band around the bottom. The inside of the cover is made of a soft material which doesn't damage the bike. The asking price is € 120 (new almost € 180).

Now with .nl

After being owner of xl-network.com for a bit more then 10 years I can, as of today, call myself owner of xl-network.nl. It all started with the fact that TransIP (where all my domains are hosted) had hidden a Easter Egg during Easter which entitled me to a free .nl domain. After checking it turned out that xl-network.nl was still available. So I claimed it.

Surprising victory!

It's some one and a half week ago, but on March 18th the Head of the River Amstel was held in Amsterdam, the 80th edition. After our team (Fier) came in at the 10th place (of the 29 competing teams) last year it was time for a second try. Only thing was that I wasn't 'selected' to row. No problem, because some weeks before the race I was asked if I wanted to steer the ladies of the Pazzipanten. Of course I wanted to do that!

Euro Tour 2013

Last year during the summer I cycled from the west to the east coast of America, a tour called Roll over America.

Building a Stegomech

Because I built a new website for our theater sports club I received a gift a couple of weeks ago. It was a wooden kit for a Stegosaurus. Today I finally got around to putting it together. All those tiny parts! Quite soothing to do so actually. The end result is, after some three hours of work, quite good. Below are some pictures and a video, because yeah... it can move!

Ice-Bat racing

A Ice-Bat is a three 'wheeled' recumbent on skates that's propelled by a propeller. Totally weird, new and fun. Last Sunday was the first of two championship days. People competed for the fastest lap time and maximum speed. Both of them I just didn't make (I finished second, just like the day before). The preliminary results can be found on the Ice-Bat blog.

0.4 second

Last Saturday was the 35th Gyas-Hunze race. A rowing race about 2.7 kilometers long though the canals of Groningen. The race was supposed to be held on February 12th and 13th, but it was moved because there was ice.

The Ulteamate Experiment

After weeks of preparation it was finally time for The Apple Weekend. Together with three more theatresports friends I organized it. Last weekend some 20 to 25 of us went to the Rest and Relax Lodge in Klijndijk to get together for a awesome weekend. The theme was: The Ulteamate Experiment. We subjected everyone to questions, assignments and other experiments. It all started with a four page questionnaire. And after everyone picked their room it was time for diner. That also was an experiment because in two of the three pans the food was colored.