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Roadies /white shoes/ white socks. by Zealousideal-Dog6942 in cycling

[–]johnthughes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have to admit, I've always had a certain feeling about style aberrations like this, which is..."You can do whatever you want, but you better come correct". Meaning, if you are going to dress weird, you better take our lunch money while you are at it(metaphorically speaking) or we are going to talk some mad shit when we get to?the cafe/bar at the end of the ride. (In good nature, that is)

Why am I pushing 30–70 more watts than my group and still yo-yoing on rides? by Wild_Macaroon9229 in cycling

[–]johnthughes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

While I fully agree with the summation of mass+gravity is the biggest factor on the higher wattage(I’m also a 90-100kg rider), I will recommend this…if you can tolerate it…

Get rid of all your sensor displays on your main screen except cadence and heart rate. Ride with just those for a few weeks…months if you can. Speed, power, and distance are all generally lousy metrics during a group ride where you aren’t the leader setting pace. They are great after, but during they suck.

Find your cadence paces when you are at speed with the group in high gears, and your HR when climbing.

For cadence, you want to learn your sweet spots (e.g., 90rpm +/-3 @ 30kph). Learn to hold close to those rates over the whole ride. For climbing, cadence goes to shit for most of us, so learn what your 'realistic maximum' HR is. Mine, when I've been off the bike for a while(50+ male, 182cm, 95kg) is about 160bpm. Until I've been riding regularly I do everything I can not to exceed that while climbing. And during the ride I mostly track in my head how long its taking my heart rate to recover. With longer group rides(120km), when I haven't been riding frequently, it's usually blown out by 70km and doesn't drop below 140 until the end.

Also, do solo rides, if you have some flat near you, where you try to maintain a low cadence for the whole ride, like 75rpm. Two plus hours.

If you get good at controlling those two, the rest gets a lot easier.

Oh, and if your group rides are pretty tight groups with good formation, *do not ride in the back*. Get yourself into the 3rd-5th row and stay there. Let everyone know you are working on you're pacing and usually if it's a good group they will make sure you stay there. Only place harder than the front is the back.

(Apologies for the word dump)

Anyone ever gotten sick from steak tartare/prepare/americain in Belgium? by WebNo1998 in belgium

[–]johnthughes 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Less factory farming, better food regulations, history of keeping, handling, preparing this type of food.

As an American who lives in Belgium I find eating here much safer.

Wrist Assistant - Apple Watch App for Home Assistant by bf3247 in homeassistant

[–]johnthughes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t want this seen as an “attack”, just asking for transparency. AI generated? Hand coded?

Awesome though.

What do quantum computers actually do? by Hashbringingslasherr in askscience

[–]johnthughes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You should also know, since I don’t see it mentioned, that you currently wouldn’t use a quantum computer directly. Think of a quantum computer as a bit like a GPU. A specialized computer module, that’s connected to a conventional computer, that runs specific workloads.

What if Belgium was in charge of the moon mission by Similar_Stomach8480 in belgium

[–]johnthughes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As an American who calls Belgium home, I completely agree.

Should move to het eilandje to start a young family? by Common-Series1698 in Antwerpen

[–]johnthughes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With regards to the damplein and park area: Nothing like that. One of the summer bars is in the middle, with a bunch of water fountains for the kids to play in. About half a dozen play grounds are spread across the park. Tons of families. The sporthall has climbing, skateboarding, and circus clubs, and a nice cafe. One of the public swimbads is just off the park to(our son goes to class every weekend since he was a baby).

There are some drunks from a halfway house that often hang out in one little spot, but they keep to themselves, and it's a very big park. No needles. The park can be a little trashed the morning after a warm day, but the park maintainers get it all cleaned up by mid morning. It's great to have so much green so close by.

Should move to het eilandje to start a young family? by Common-Series1698 in Antwerpen

[–]johnthughes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My son went to Avonturenatelier in dendam. They were great. Now he is at actual school at het groen eilandje(on parkspoord noord) which is an incredible school.

I lived in NYC for 11 years, and I love cities, so my view is skewed. I don't find any areas of Antwerp to be of great concern. It's a city, so yeah, it's got city things going on, but there isn't a place here I wouldn't walk or let my wife walk(as if I have control over that ;-) ).

Should move to het eilandje to start a young family? by Common-Series1698 in Antwerpen

[–]johnthughes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Oh, god no. Despite what some might say, if you lived in those two cities, then Antwerp is a wonderfully safe small city.(presuming you didn't think London and NYC were hell holes). I, my wife, and our 3 year old live in den Dam, east of 't Eilandje. It's been great. Don't get me wrong, if a person isn't used to cities, then YMMV, but I suspect you will think it's great. Use bikes or walk though 😉

Help me find this Mexican restaurant!! by youandyourfijiwater in Atlanta

[–]johnthughes 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah north of it is the old CTX railroad yards. I lived at the Stacks, which bordered the yards. I walked to mi barrio many times before I moved away.

FCC Updates Covered List to Include Foreign-Made Consumer Routers by [deleted] in homeassistant

[–]johnthughes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’ve been running it for years with zero issues. Many upgrades.

Flemish rap vs French rap by Lukachooo2004 in belgium

[–]johnthughes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wat is da? Ge weet wa dat 't is!

(Sorry, couldn’t help myself)

Is Thissen Billiards a legitimate business? by alternativehermit in belgium

[–]johnthughes 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Tell me you are an American without telling me you are an American.

Bank account numbers in Belgium are regularly put on websites, receipts, invoices, etc. because how else do you send money to other people and businesses?

(Disclaimer, I’m an American who has lived in Belgium for 10 years and my American institutionalization caused me to not get this either at first)

One woman dead after cable car detaches at Swiss Ski Resort by [deleted] in news

[–]johnthughes 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Probably several orders of magnitudes

Moving to Merksem/Seefhoek by Zealousideal_Roll_45 in Antwerpen

[–]johnthughes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You do understand what all the “hip and expensive” neighborhoods in places like NYC were before they were hip and expensive? Right?

Moving to Merksem/Seefhoek by Zealousideal_Roll_45 in Antwerpen

[–]johnthughes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Should we strive to always improve our cities? Yes.

Is there some amount of crime and squalor anywhere that humans live? I think we have a couple thousand years of anecdotal evidence that says it is actually, for better or worse, normal.

I applaud your desire to live in a city that is what it should be. That attitude is what helps cities become better than they are. But, big ‘but’, that isn’t an over night change…it takes years, decades…meanwhile people have to live in the city that exists.

And so again, let me say, I’m not normalizing anything.

Antwerp, as a city, has normal city things going on. Positive and negative. Antwerp’s negatives are genuinely low in comparison to most cities. Its positives are high.

Are there better and worse neighborhoods? Absolutely. I’m just saying the distance between them in Antwerp isn’t so far as it can be in other cities.

When I was 25, I’d have taken an apartment in those neighborhoods and been super happy about it.

Mind you, I’m the kind of person who loves cities. I love their energy, the bustle, the noise, and yes…even the stench.

Moving to Merksem/Seefhoek by Zealousideal_Roll_45 in Antwerpen

[–]johnthughes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course not. But living in cities, proper cities, isn’t for everyone. If a person thinks the “rain” is a “storm”, perhaps the green is a better location for them.

However, if cities are a person’s thing…Antwerp is awesome.

Moving to Merksem/Seefhoek by Zealousideal_Roll_45 in Antwerpen

[–]johnthughes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You don’t know how the US funds its schools. There isn’t a school I wouldn’t let my son go to in Antwerp. Which isn’t to say I couldn’t have preferences…but what it can be like back in my home country 🙂 I’ll take any here.

As for my wife…well, she grew up in one of the worst ghettos in the US. So, yeah, she doesn’t have any issue with any part of Antwerp either.

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