gone!

I'm gone! Not entirely gone but moved on.  To here: MadebyFred.com

back!

We're back from Europe (for almost a week now). But I'm not writing much these days. Let's just say I'm preoccupied.
Read (a little) more about our trip here.
Yesterday I went to Brooklyn Invitational which was awesome... More pictures here.

How clean can a functional motorcycle be?

JFK - BRU

Tonight, we are going from here

to here

to see family

and friends

and eat mussels with fries and belgian beer!

summer in the city

This weekend Laura and I biked around New York City enjoying the awesome weather and some of the great things the city has to offer...


For me the weekend started with a beautiful bike ride home from work. I stopped for a typical New York City dinner (hot dogs, french fries and a beer) along the water. The water being the Hudson River; most of my ride home from work is on the bike path along the Hudson. Part of this path is like a boardwalk, some of it is a regular bike path along the West Side Highway and my favorite section meanders through the park under the George Washington Bridge.

There's a little red lighthouse under the bridge. The famous children's book 'The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge' is based on this hidden gem. 

Looking back in the direction of downtown it's hard to believe this is still Manhattan. My morning bike ride leads me through Times Square, which is a very different experience to say the least.

Saturday, Laura and I went down to Central Park to enjoy the gorgeous weather and meet up with our friend Anna. Central Park on a sunny summer afternoon is crazy busy so the people watching is great!

After some shopping on Lexington Avenue (which is was too busy and too touristy for our taste) we went back to the park for a sushi picnic and one of Woody Allen's best movies: Manhattan. New York is not a cheap place to live, but luckily there are a lot of free events to (partly) make up for that.

Sunday, we took an adventurous bike ride to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. Turns out, 90+ degree weather and biking down Fordham road don't mix too well. We made it there alive, albeit with high levels of adrenaline and a minor case of heatstroke. Arthur Avenue is the real Little Italy and thus we enjoyed some Italian ice cream and aranciata to bring us back down to acceptable temperatures.

After a quick stop at the bakery for some delicious bread and biscotti we were back on our way home.

Having spent most of our weekend outdoors and being active (yes, sitting outside and drinking soda is an outdoor 'activity'), we deserved some couch potato time, so we concluded the weekend with 2 episodes of True Blood. A hot summer evening, no AC and True Blood almost made us forget we were still in NYC. It was nice to enjoy our hometown so much before heading to Belgium for a visit later this week. We love it here, but we are also incredibly excited about our trip back 'home'.

we went camping

... in the Catskills

view from Sunset Rock (not actually during sunset)

view from Newman's Ledge 

me on the ledge

s'mores! ('slightly' blown out by the flash)

sunday morning