Beauty and the Bike
Posted by Neil on 08/04/2010 under commuting | 
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Potholes and spokes
Posted by Neil on 24/01/2010 under mechanics | Read the First Comment
After the coldest winter for 30 years the UK’s roads are in a bit of a state. Frost has broken up the surface leading to some big potholes. This can be the result, my first ever broken spoke. I heard a slight metalic ‘clunk’ as my back wheel went through the hole but didn’t realise that this was the consequence so went on to ride another 9 miles or so. The rhythmic rubbing of the wheel rim against the brake block eventually gave the game away. I have been to the bike shop for some spares and now I am going to make my first wheel repair.
Somewhere worth caring about.
Posted by Neil on 21/12/2009 under simple living | Be the First to Comment
Once again, a video about America. However, with our relentless drive for ‘out of town’ shopping environments this is where we are heading, so we might as well look how we can sort it before we get there.
Little House on a Small Planet
Posted by Neil on 28/11/2009 under simple living | Be the First to Comment
Although this interview refers to America, we in the UK are usually not to far following in their consumption patterns. I think this video has lots of good lessons in it.
Rowdy Kittens says it all
Posted by Neil on 25/10/2009 under simple living | Be the First to Comment
For some time now I have had a bunch of ideas floating around my head about the way I live my life and how it makes me feel. I have been dissatisfied with my ‘lot’ and it hasn’t been making me feel happy. Now, on another continent, I have found a person with similar interests (photography, cycling, WordPress, blogging etc.) who not only appears to have similar ideas to mine, but has had time to work on them and put them together in a comprehensive blog. The main message coming through from Rowdy Kittens is ’simplify your life’ and that is my current project. Check it out to see what I mean.
What kind of cyclist are you?
Posted by Neil on 21/10/2009 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment
I found this on The Hungry Cyclist’s blog and I love it. It is really well made and ‘takes a poke’ at two area’s of cycling that don’t interest me, racing and ‘fixies’. Personally, my cycling ‘thing’ circles around getting from A to B by using my bike as much as possible.
Google Docs to log your rides
Posted by Neil on 08/09/2009 under Google Docs | 4 Comments to Read
Written by Neil Hickson and edited by Gillian Hook
The business I run specialises in helping other businesses use online media to market themselves. We make use of the many economical and free online tools and media that are now available. Two of my favourites are the WordPress blog/CMS web publishing platform and Google Docs. Put the two together and, with a little thought, you can design very complex and useful web applications. Read more of this article »
Getting wet is good for you
Posted by Neil on under commuting | Be the First to Comment
What I am about to write may be difficult to grasp at first, it has taken me a while to get my head around it. My first serious cycling in about 10 years has proven one thing to me; the British weather is not entirely compatible with commuting by bike. Arriving anywhere looking at your best is often difficult and sometimes impossible. For someone who is contemplating selling his car and carrying on running a business, this is an issue. Read more of this article »
Mountain Bike to Tourer?
Posted by Neil on 06/08/2009 under mechanics | Be the First to Comment
I have just fitted a pair of Thorn Mt.-Tura rigid forks to my Specialized Rockhopper MTB. They replace the Judy Rock Shox that came with the bike as standard. I did this for a number of reasons.
- I am using the bike as a commuter/tourer and rarely go off road.
- I believe that suspension forks steal some of my energy by absorbing pedal downstrokes (I have little enough to spare as it is).
- Suspension forks are relatively heavy, especially if you don’t need them.
- I had nowhere to attach my mudguards and don’t like drinking the water splashed up from the road.
- In the future I want to fit front carriers (part of the justification to my wife is that I will be able to carry a weeks shopping from the supermarket).
- I wanted to experiment with having a higher handlebar position.
- I didn’t want to have to keep servicing my shocks or, worse still, pay someone else to do it for me.
- I would really like a Thorn trekking/tourer but cannot afford one at the moment
Head for the hills
Posted by Neil on 21/07/2009 under training | Be the First to Comment
When I used to cycle a lot, about 10 years ago I was no lover of hills. I just used to try to avoid them because I used to find them so hard. Thinking about it now, I realise that I always used to attack them, honking up them, standing on the pedals like I was some kind of road racer. I would try to beat them with the inevitable consequence that they would beat me. I would start off well but slowly grind to a halt, thighs on fire. I wasn’t fit enough to climb that way and I didn’t have suitable gearing for a slow steady accent. Read more of this article »
