Arne

I had to laugh when I came home this afternoon. Not at someone else, but at myself.

Walking upstairs to take a shower after the ride, I glanced into my bedroom and just stood there for a second. Then I laughed.

Clothes. Everywhere.
A full explosion of cycling kits, jackets, baselayers - all pulled out of my ‘cycling clothing’ box this morning when I was rushing to get out the door. I was running late and couldn’t find the base layer I was SURE had to be in there. (I did find it, by the way, but that’s not the point.)

Because that pile of chaos felt like a perfect reflection of where I’m at right now. I was already balancing what felt like two full-time lives: work on one side, cycling on the other. Both take a lot of time. Both things I want to do well. Not “just enough”, but fully.

And now there’s Grassdune.

Something I genuinely love building: my little (not so little) passion project. Something I believe in. Something I want to create not just for myself, but for others. But here’s the thing: I’ve never really been an “either/or” person.

I’m an “and” person.

I don’t want to choose between cycling and work.
I don’t want to choose between sleep and building something meaningful.
I don’t want to scale things down to make them fit my day.

I want it all.

And that comes with a bit of… chaos.

Like a room full of clothes left behind in a rush.
Like late nights that eat into sleep.
Like constantly switching between roles.

It’s not perfectly balanced. It’s not always pretty. But I’ve realized I get a lot of joy and energy from this project.
And in a weird way, that messy pile on the floor felt like proof that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be - committed to finding the base layer I know is in there. Committed to the goal, even if along the way things are a bit all over the place.

It won’t be the last time coming home finding a mess. Probably.

PS: ride was good.

This is my first real Grassdune post.
People who know me well know I spend a (sometimes ridiculous) amount of time training. Cycling, mostly. I love the long rides. Four, five, six hours. But I also love the structured interval sessions.

And honestly… I might love what comes after just as much. Looking at the data. Re-living the ride through numbers, photos, videos.

But what I might enjoy even more than my own training?
Looking at someone else’s. Because there’s real value in that.

Performance lives in the data.
Meaning lives in the story behind it.
Seeing what someone did is interesting.

Understanding why they did it – that’s where it becomes powerful. The problem is: these two are often still completely disconnected.

On Strava you see the numbers.
On Substack you read the story.

But nowhere do they truly come together. That’s where Grassdune started.

Grassdune is a place where you don’t just upload an activity – you break it down.
The data.
The context.
The why behind the session.
What went right AND what didn’t.

Not just highlights. Actual training. And if people genuinely care about your journey, they can go deeper. Athletes shouldn’t have to rely on cringe, obligatory sponsored posts to support their sport.

They should be able to do that through the thing people actually care about: their journey. No pressure to perform for attention.

On Grassdune you can follow for free or subscribe for a few euros per month to support an athlete and get deeper insights into their training.

And for anyone who wonders where that name “Grassdune” comes from. It comes from the Dutch word ”grasduinen”: browsing, digging around, exploring without a clear goal. That’s still one of my favourite things to do:
Diving into other athletes’ training, learning from it, getting inspired. Grassdune is built for that.

If that sounds like you, you’re in the right place 👇
Welcome to Grassdune.🌱

3x 10’. Legs felt suprisingly good after bit of illness. HR through the roof as can be expected. 🥲

In Dutch we have this beautiful saying: “in het sukkelstraatje zitten.”
“Sukkelen” translates to struggling, and “straatje” means little street. So being in het sukkelstraatje is like being stuck in a phase where things just don’t quite go your way, a stretch of time filled with small annoyances, minor illnesses, or simply the feeling that you’re not at your best.

As a cyclist, that’s exactly where you don’t want to be. And yet… I’ve been stuck in the little sukkelstreet for about a year now.

Last summer I had surgery on my iliac artery, followed by months of recovery. Then, after a winter of solid training, breaking all my power PRs, I managed to fold myself into a Kia Picanto at the end of February and break a few bones. Fast forward to now: recovered, motivated, and ready to finally restart my road season this weekend. Only to wake up sick yesterday. Nothing dramatic, just a nasty cold. But you know the feeling: enough to mess up your ability to race and put a dent in your fitness.
So yes, I’m very much still in the little sukkelstreet.

But we keep the head up. So I spent my sick day on the couch, doing what you can do best when sick as a cyclist: browsing for new bike components while watching Seixas push Pogačar to the limit on La Redoute. There are worse ways to be ill.

Somewhere between Pog doing 9 w/kg on la Redoute and me on the couch I found the right upgrade the TT setup. A 56T single-speed chainring and an improved cockpit are now on the way.

Because alongside road racing, I want to focus more on time trials this year. It should suit my power profile. I just need to engineer a properly competitive TT bike 🤓

And yes, it’s still a rim brake bike. Anyone who knows me knows I’m (more than) fine with that.
I’ll keep you posted on Grassdune, racing, TT adventures, and everything cycling - or not cycling - related.

Cheers!

First time pinning the numbers back on tomorrow after a year! Vamos. Race report will follow👌

Efforts to keep the engine going. Keeping it ‘comfortable’. Back to road racing this Saturday😎
Yes, I do have (many) days where oats are breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Not sure whether I like the AM or PM sessions more now. Thanks for the support all!🌱

2 set of 20min over unders. Pretty rough in full on headwind and mediocre legs not quite golden, but work is done.

Back to work.😆