tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-307253112024-03-08T07:57:23.260+08:00GROOVING FUNGUSLive 2 Ride, Ride 2 Work, Work 2 Eat, Eat 2 Live, Live 2 RideUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-51979788161244625552017-03-18T22:20:00.003+08:002017-03-18T22:30:05.705+08:00Fitter?<div style="text-align: justify;">
I´m six days into training now and have been monitoring my progress. I´m using a Garmin Forerunner 735XT to record everything. It has a heart rate monitor built into the strap as well as GPS tracking, its quite a good bit of kit but it is expensive what what it is and some features are missing for the price. I paid GBP325 at a duty free shop in Gatwick. I do wonder if an iWatch 2 might have been a better choice. I might do a review of it later but for now it seems to be doing a good job of capturing and measuring my performance.</div>
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Obviously six days isn't enough time for me to get substantially fitter nor is there enough data to be used as a comparison but it gives an idea of the effort I'm putting in. This is a list of the last nine rides I have done. 102kms in six days isn't much for roadies, they can do this in one ride. I think its a start though, and unlikely to get much more than this for now.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOk-m4dEdXqp3CPtEJMAgRTxfntGRaRGK9lRYkA6emUYbdyZBLWYC5r6A_fkIqkzCMLtXbPSvfCYbk4ixOAjEv3atvPQ3-NLGm7PQsiAE814iuDv9u-ohvtdxUw8VJD2qsUsa/s1600/IMG_4602.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOk-m4dEdXqp3CPtEJMAgRTxfntGRaRGK9lRYkA6emUYbdyZBLWYC5r6A_fkIqkzCMLtXbPSvfCYbk4ixOAjEv3atvPQ3-NLGm7PQsiAE814iuDv9u-ohvtdxUw8VJD2qsUsa/s640/IMG_4602.PNG" width="360" /></a></div>
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I havn´t got a detailed training plan at the moment and I´m not sure if I am going to need one. It´s almost impossible to train to ride 8 hours a day, 7 days a week for 6 months unless you actually do it. It is also one thing riding this much for yourself and its another when you are doing it as a job and for clients that are in a group. I don't have the motivation to ride this much on my own but once I have people relying on me its another story. </div>
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So what I am doing is getting as bike fit as I can. With a mixture of hi-intensity spin classes, fun rides and recovery rides. My aim is to ride everyday and up the time and intensity as I get fitter. I´m also doing some strength training and this week have been to one HIIT and one weights class as well as one light gym session.</div>
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I´m not going to go into detail of every ride on this list. What I will do in a few weeks is compare the same trails with each other and maybe take some photos and do a review of them. What I can do right now though is compare the indoor spin classes I did today with one I did 11 days ago. Todays is below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRx1pg4ZicZtWjQKpHK2HCtT8lUfaPMqqlHIGfktrq1TZdQFOrxq1f1v2hDhdInq4hKz2CZ6uyBsIX7cxK3xIo9iXJfOHFuOY1y72vtMdZM54ncizq0CICKgq3F7_PJBcm4Ve/s1600/IMG_4600.PNG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRx1pg4ZicZtWjQKpHK2HCtT8lUfaPMqqlHIGfktrq1TZdQFOrxq1f1v2hDhdInq4hKz2CZ6uyBsIX7cxK3xIo9iXJfOHFuOY1y72vtMdZM54ncizq0CICKgq3F7_PJBcm4Ve/s640/IMG_4600.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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You can see from this graph that it was a hi intensity ride. My theoretical maximum heart rate should be 172 (if you know how this is calculated you will know how old I am) but you can see here my max HR on this ride was 183. My average HR was 147 bpm. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Fn2PlFcmqsB_AIIJ_4O7iiZBVMa-mj6dBPmHzIIGocg0xRAywnYAa3Dt3wOyByYARfxNtoZ5KZrVcYsMDFqQDlegeG6Rl3XIw_wKYribFMdgu3dT5ygCRekuJSDFmWJtSeaE/s1600/IMG_4601.PNG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Fn2PlFcmqsB_AIIJ_4O7iiZBVMa-mj6dBPmHzIIGocg0xRAywnYAa3Dt3wOyByYARfxNtoZ5KZrVcYsMDFqQDlegeG6Rl3XIw_wKYribFMdgu3dT5ygCRekuJSDFmWJtSeaE/s640/IMG_4601.PNG" width="640" /></a><br />
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This graph show the breakdown of my HR zones. So although it was a high intensity ride 50% of my time was in zone 4. The Training effect score is also interesting in that its a 4, this means that "this activity was very demanding" The app also states that I exercised for an hour and burnt 921 calories.<br />
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Now lets compare this with the spin class I did on the 7th March. Also took an hour and I burnt 931 calories.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WChmOvrcSp1lW77DwlVA9dNtvrPfPL8WF-GEaurmp-vw9VhL6y1lrRqwNAJcYX17O69x2Rr09DL-f7M1pA2yBJ8T7-cymCjXin7NSFTefXbri5g5itAPdlFT07o81qHQIjUh/s1600/IMG_4603.PNG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WChmOvrcSp1lW77DwlVA9dNtvrPfPL8WF-GEaurmp-vw9VhL6y1lrRqwNAJcYX17O69x2Rr09DL-f7M1pA2yBJ8T7-cymCjXin7NSFTefXbri5g5itAPdlFT07o81qHQIjUh/s640/IMG_4603.PNG" width="640" /></a><br />
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We can see that eleven days previously my average (147 vs. 141) and maximum (183 vs 182) heart rate were lower yet the training effect score was higher, so in theory I was working harder.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fogRWhMzCViWpokEHH9ZCHcZrzxyAyckmRkEm77fbA48O3osuPrcM13F_PDNp4_smAjMwRtLuRFQtSG1V58t3Uppwnc2NbMH9gc99wkqXxNKrGCa814HJn2pAYhUhywe8ZCd/s1600/IMG_4604.PNG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fogRWhMzCViWpokEHH9ZCHcZrzxyAyckmRkEm77fbA48O3osuPrcM13F_PDNp4_smAjMwRtLuRFQtSG1V58t3Uppwnc2NbMH9gc99wkqXxNKrGCa814HJn2pAYhUhywe8ZCd/s640/IMG_4604.PNG" width="640" /></a><br />
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On this graph I can see that although I spent about the same amount of time in zone 4 only 8% of my time was spent in in zone 5 as opposed to 19% on todays ride.</div>
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The spin bikes in the studio have power meters so I know what power I am generating while in the class and this would be another way of measuring progress. I know I am generating more power on this ride than I was previously but unfortunatley I can´t show it here.</div>
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Either way, as I seem to be able to spend longer in zone 5 : 19% vs 8% and the overall effort is lower 4.0 vs 4.2 the this means I am getting fitter right? </div>
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I´m only doing spin once a week, anyone who says spin is cheating obviously has never done it. I would be very difficult to find a trail or a road where I could ride for an hour at such intensity. It is such high intensity that I need time to recover. I have a yoga class booked in the evening and tomorrow´s ride will be a recovery ride, probably along the beach front. I will post some photo´s. Yeah it sucks being me.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-3120678303704314412017-03-11T01:26:00.000+08:002017-03-11T01:26:32.051+08:00New Bike<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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When I started my last guiding job, back in the day. I was so determined to be hardcore that I only rode a hardtail. I was so dedicated that four months later, having broken a Whyte 19 I bought another hardtail, MBR magazine had stated that the Titanium version of the On-One was like riding a 6-inch full suspension bike. I bought the steel version of the same frame. It is written that steel, although heavier has a less harsh ride than Ti It was also about a 1000 pounds cheaper. I was sold!</div>
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I had met the MBR staff in Whistler a few years before. Even though they took the piss out of me (in print) for saying that the B-Line trail should be tackled before the A-Line, I held them in high regard. Now I see these magazines for what they are, glossy product catalogues. Although it can help, you also can´t learn to mountain bike by reading an article. Trail maps can be useful but I never read the magazines anymore as I just see them as shameless brochures. </div>
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I´m not saying that the On-One was a bad bike, it wasn't and in fact it is still being ridden in anger by a hard charging friend. However, plush is not a word that can ever be applied to a hardtail and even less so to this bike. The frame was so rigid that when I rode it fast my eyes would be so shaken that I could no longer actually see. </div>
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Eventually, after being the slowest guide in the world and having had several fully suspended guests complain that I was too slow I took the plunge and bought a Giant Reign. The difference was night and day. Although it could be argued that the hardtail honed my skills with full suspension I rode faster, more aggressively and obtained a level of elegance that I had never really achieved before. </div>
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Fast forward six years and I still have the Reign, both shocks no longer hold air and the only original parts are the frame, front wheel, handlebar, stem and headset. It is still a great bike but definitely not up to a a season of riding in proper mountains.</div>
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So today I got my hands on this baby......</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlKBWM98Xz93HH2bw9gkQGV1vldKCNOIoS_20A49TkHmgtTuTUZ1gUMcbp3ZOtaT2o_RhvKPqByinICCebPRMGDxM99jjigPGw7pHh3ElZZn-8TDxjG0LWb2SpQmm8aXagdwa/s1600/IMG_4532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlKBWM98Xz93HH2bw9gkQGV1vldKCNOIoS_20A49TkHmgtTuTUZ1gUMcbp3ZOtaT2o_RhvKPqByinICCebPRMGDxM99jjigPGw7pHh3ElZZn-8TDxjG0LWb2SpQmm8aXagdwa/s320/IMG_4532.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqRUBXx0KXp1nNWrxbmgQiaZUFFpwf7VXhSrMKJHQ18RohVWDcWoUbMHc-fKmOicswomEZYu58EDAdDb_0Jp9CkvBsvqv6NSVomsRyQrfQqpJzUiRnv7hRYU_1ijfTZYtQjmu/s1600/IMG_4537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqRUBXx0KXp1nNWrxbmgQiaZUFFpwf7VXhSrMKJHQ18RohVWDcWoUbMHc-fKmOicswomEZYu58EDAdDb_0Jp9CkvBsvqv6NSVomsRyQrfQqpJzUiRnv7hRYU_1ijfTZYtQjmu/s320/IMG_4537.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-21800661885236962762017-03-09T16:14:00.000+08:002017-03-10T01:58:37.644+08:00Training<br />
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I´ve been training. No really! </div>
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I have to. It is now an integral part of my job.</div>
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The last time I did this job I also trained. I trained by walking in the Himalayas for a month, mostly eating pizza because I almost died from a dodgy curry. In that time I did one mountain bike ride, contracted dysentry and almost died. Did I mention I almost died? But thats another story.</div>
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After Nepal I had a few weeks in Barcelona before starting work, but this mostly involved Spanish language classes, drinking and being hit on by a guy who fashioned himself after Neil Gaiman´s Dream. At the time I was trying to pull an 18 year old South African girl. I´m not sure where the mix up was. Beer may have been a factor.</div>
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In a nutshell, I wasn't very fit. And it made the first few months of the guiding job an absolute misery. </div>
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This time i´m going to be fit. Well, fitter.</div>
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It is difficult to understand the fitness required to be a guide unless you you have done it. If you normally ride once a week for two hours and then decide to ride twice a week you have basically doubled your riding time. This will definitely lead to an increase in your fitness. If you triple this to six times a week you have to then start thinking about recovery time. You want your body to get stronger so that means pushing it, let it recover. Push it a bit more, recover, repeat. If you don´t recover then your muscles don´t rebuild. Without recovery your body is constantly catching up. If you don't recover you will actually become weaker.<br />
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And this is what happened to me when I started guiding. </div>
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One of the things I wish I had done is keep a track of my weight, and measured how my effort changed over time. I was riding the same trails so a historical heart rate reading would have been able to do that. I remember making the first test ride as a guide and finding it incredibly difficult, there was a climb that I thought would never end and downhills that were barely within my skill level. Of course a year and a half later the perception was different but having a higher level of fitness in the early days would have made the job much more enjoyable.</div>
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So I am training......</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-49725980161395550802017-03-09T03:36:00.001+08:002017-03-09T03:39:52.211+08:00Long Time No SeeWow, it has been a very very long time since I posted to this blog. 2760 days or 7 years, 6 months and 19 days. <br />
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Where to start when such a period of time has passed? I´m re-starting this blog principally because I am about to embark, for the second time, working as a mountain bike guide. My last post was about six months into the first time I did this job. Looking back it´s a shame that I only ever made one post about it.<br />
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I think this was due to the vast number of changes that were happening in my life then. I had left Asia, where I had lived for 12 years. I had lost my job, which came to represent the end of a career that had been years in the making. I was also going through a divorce.<br />
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I was almost 40. My life´s work that I had worked hard to achieve and taken for granted had been completely destroyed. In effect I had to start again. I had to rebuild my life without a country, a home, a career, a relationship or any idea how to do it. My ex used to say it was a mid-life crisis but in reality it was a crisis of identity. Who was I? What did I want to be?<br />
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My blog was a scrap book of my mountain bike adventures in Asia and at that time I didn't have any enthusiasm to re-visit this life and be reminded of it. Only recently have I been able to look at it with fondness.<br />
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In 2009 I was thought my life was over, the guiding job was a way of finding a safe place, an interim that allowed me to heal and plan what to do next. It was an adventure completely different from the expat lifestyle, the corporate career and the wife that completed the triumvirate of what I saw as "success" According to this standard my life was over.<br />
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Here, in a European mountain town, seven and a half years later things look very different. This is what I am going to write about.<br />
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Lets us begin....<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-24251417800259834612009-08-17T18:35:00.006+08:002009-08-17T21:38:14.782+08:00Guess whose back? Back again?Wow...its been almost a year since I even LOOKED at my blog...and I'm wondering now why I stopped it? Lets just put it down to a year long hangover that is finally clearing....<br /><br />So a bit of an update. I'm now living in Spain and working as a mountain bike guide, doing what I love with people I like....mostly...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RIVi1MCXEEeQ3dRIutDIUpxl5NX-R_bXTwR9B2tqfJNfV5IeQVytuiYTHX6gZ9HcvdWgQta4qfE1vbeHdFFIRyIDA8qDNMgWckvKvLszqqK2JJyZj-phoNnaxxfjVoSsR8KU/s1600-h/IMG_1716.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 303px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RIVi1MCXEEeQ3dRIutDIUpxl5NX-R_bXTwR9B2tqfJNfV5IeQVytuiYTHX6gZ9HcvdWgQta4qfE1vbeHdFFIRyIDA8qDNMgWckvKvLszqqK2JJyZj-phoNnaxxfjVoSsR8KU/s400/IMG_1716.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370881999064702754" /></a><br />If it wasn't for the crazy dead artist gay robot police it would be great.....<br /><br />So I've ridden for 4-6 hours a day every day for the last six months now...and when you go from riding once, maybe twice a week to this kind off intensity your body does all sorts of weird things to compensate....when I first arrived in Spain I looked a bit like this....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0JgXYENzSk_lnL1At5um2JmVWuZYNMDn7EF7XrarSS3XpHM5XCZ4UzZkZDn_eilaF-bldNWt4FfdAkF3XNROvmp4y12zavYlFFW_SUCteA9swdRrlOxxUuLu2ydLgpNKjxJt/s1600-h/fat-man.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 348px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0JgXYENzSk_lnL1At5um2JmVWuZYNMDn7EF7XrarSS3XpHM5XCZ4UzZkZDn_eilaF-bldNWt4FfdAkF3XNROvmp4y12zavYlFFW_SUCteA9swdRrlOxxUuLu2ydLgpNKjxJt/s400/fat-man.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370907084307587042" /></a><br />A Christmas with my parents obviously contributing....<br /><br /> After two months of a life that consisted solely of riding and then sleeping and then riding and then sleeping and then...you get the idea. I started to resemble this guy..<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVtU2mItb58ehXvrNPBrdZG3E8Bt2JVWJc8le4lRTnurcz1OeClke66r1dWggHnUea3Y_KxxvnwEjS-9Qkn2eZlNNyXQlblMg-SkcakzlKgvV6esgnggA-ungyfC6KDyBvv3C/s1600-h/skinny+man.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 248px; height: 350px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVtU2mItb58ehXvrNPBrdZG3E8Bt2JVWJc8le4lRTnurcz1OeClke66r1dWggHnUea3Y_KxxvnwEjS-9Qkn2eZlNNyXQlblMg-SkcakzlKgvV6esgnggA-ungyfC6KDyBvv3C/s400/skinny+man.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370907088838092370" /></a><br /><br />I was exhausted all the time, I don't think I've ever been so tired. Fortunaltey my fellow guide, in his secon season suggested drinking protien shakes after every ride....and I must say it has been the miracle cure to my exhaustion....the only side affect is this....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5DFxlFkw-_CeA6V6bZI63ZvXVNYSR_CAVB6h6FJBzwcxmIddEDQG3TlU3MWjjZ8A73gVS919Gr11lsZwa8RJ0rCsV9jpqw2fyM9slxjw2X8GVDtxFYFO5z4oqBU2QAXx5q5Fb/s1600-h/muscles.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 367px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5DFxlFkw-_CeA6V6bZI63ZvXVNYSR_CAVB6h6FJBzwcxmIddEDQG3TlU3MWjjZ8A73gVS919Gr11lsZwa8RJ0rCsV9jpqw2fyM9slxjw2X8GVDtxFYFO5z4oqBU2QAXx5q5Fb/s400/muscles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370925592696611442" /></a><br /><br />I'm gonna need a bigger bike....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-83653525489466892852008-09-10T14:42:00.001+08:002008-09-10T14:42:05.680+08:00Bolivian Riding Powder<p>So I only got one ride in during my tour of South America....but what a ride it was...</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdr3M9MvRI/AAAAAAAAA0E/aUqOAe24L0Q/Picture%20122%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="350" alt="Picture 122" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdr3goi-3I/AAAAAAAAA0I/w3Ri3UoFcHE/Picture%20122_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="465" border="0" /></a></p> <p>Starting at 4600 meters...yes that's right <u>METERS</u> and singletrack all the way down.... </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdr4Z_cjOI/AAAAAAAAA0M/SzycLOKFXFw/singletrack%20heavn%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="565" alt="singletrack heavn" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdr5qHfNVI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/OsMevID_8Vw/singletrack%20heavn_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="418" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>Most if it full-on poo in your pants stuff with plenty of exposure if you got it wrong...</p> <p> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdr6xKOZ3I/AAAAAAAAA0U/e7UXKNt8Tec/Picture%20167%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="350" alt="Picture 167" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdr8O428jI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/5E5Ldr4-FhQ/Picture%20167_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="465" border="0" /></a></p> <p>What you can't see in this photo is the several hundred feet drop to my right...and the several thousand foot drop to my left....</p> <p>Hence the clenched sphincter type body English seen below...</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdr9B3eU1I/AAAAAAAAA0c/yxNKB6IWdJY/Picture%20186%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="509" alt="Picture 186" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdr-AW6zEI/AAAAAAAAA0g/VE3wyc1YqPA/Picture%20186_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg" width="383" border="0" /></a><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdr_XdHSII/AAAAAAAAA0k/eMaOWQLolXk/Picture%20185%5B3%5D.jpg"></a></p> <p>Despite being off the bike for about 6 weeks and more from luck than skill, I managed to keep rubber side down the entire time.</p> <p>Hence the large smile on my face....</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdr_XdHSII/AAAAAAAAA0k/eMaOWQLolXk/Picture%20185%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="396" alt="Picture 185" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsAa1xprI/AAAAAAAAA0o/j0N5TrH3bmI/Picture%20185_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="526" border="0" /></a></p> <p>The following shots are from the "Ghost" trail that Cedric Gracia nailed in New World Disorder 6...</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsBViTaZI/AAAAAAAAA0s/tOyIe3o6al4/nwd6%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="423" alt="nwd6" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsCA-BaVI/AAAAAAAAA0w/keRy0ulFRjA/nwd6_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="437" border="0" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsDbjHJ_I/AAAAAAAAA00/UFT0YiXjQ5E/spank%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="328" alt="spank" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsEAENPBI/AAAAAAAAA04/nLuGw9qPbNU/spank_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="441" border="0" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsFMChXvI/AAAAAAAAA08/jxk6XlyveFE/ghost%20trail%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="313" alt="ghost trail" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsGFeDsWI/AAAAAAAAA1A/cRElXB3iuxU/ghost%20trail_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg" width="673" border="0" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsHHCRUiI/AAAAAAAAA1E/5hRSxpXRgps/spanking%20it%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="484" alt="spanking it" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsH2Hp6TI/AAAAAAAAA1I/vMJSlFrBZLU/spanking%20it_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="418" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>Of course Gracia may have rode it a bit more aggressively than I did. </p> <p>Especially on the jumpy bits...</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsJK9YUuI/AAAAAAAAA1M/i3u1G2CZFkQ/jump%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="358" alt="jump" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsJ1AkJuI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/nKXpvIn5-gw/jump_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="468" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>The best stuff was the huge blue sky and the feeling of endlessness experienced on singletrack at high altitude..</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsKnZ78eI/AAAAAAAAA1U/w8GWdSrOQsQ/wide%20open%20spaces%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="298" alt="wide open spaces" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsLbCLRvI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/4U4ivVhW0cE/wide%20open%20spaces_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="569" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>What really nailed it for me though was the beer at the end of the day......</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsMAshLCI/AAAAAAAAA1c/_ClC2gNHrNA/mmmm%20beer%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="517" alt="mmmm beer" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsNcT3SSI/AAAAAAAAA1g/lGEXwGM-tzY/mmmm%20beer_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="372" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>A massive word to B-Side adventures in La Paz who hooked me up at very short notice...</p> <p><a title="http://bside-adventures.blogspot.com/" href="http://bside-adventures.blogspot.com/">http://bside-adventures.blogspot.com/</a></p> <p>Great bikes, great people and awesome trails..</p> <p>They also do the infamous Death Road ride, "the worlds most dangerous road" </p> <p>This is for wimps though....ask them for the Freeride Adventure, only about 20 visitors do this trail a year and it is up there with my trip to Whistler...</p> <p>The only issue I had was the Xtra Large full face helmet which obscured my vision and made me look like an alien... </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsOe4pOkI/AAAAAAAAA1k/bhndhVQmSos/Picture%20166%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="324" alt="Picture 166" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SMdsPE-hndI/AAAAAAAAA1o/-H_YnypiL48/Picture%20166_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg" width="430" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>I read in the lonely planet that a gram of cocaine costs as much as a beer in La Paz....</p> <p>I reckon save your money and just ride your mountain bike there...</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-15027652063448819162008-08-01T13:33:00.001+08:002008-08-01T13:58:08.184+08:00A nice surprise....<p>After almost two months away and a with a pretty serious typhoon hitting while I was gone, I decided to check out the trail this morning....</p> <p>Well the carefully planned drainage system held up pretty well with almost no damage whatsoever. </p> <p>As a bonus the weather here is just beautiful at the moment...sunny days and clear skies...</p> <p>I'll be up the mountain on my road bike this afternoon. </p> <p>About 1000mts higher than this point..</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJKf8kzdtGI/AAAAAAAAAzc/gY3MGnSkM4A/nice%20views%20on%20rock%20trail%20final%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="291" alt="nice views on rock trail final" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJKf9_6HguI/AAAAAAAAAzg/bhNiUBiaJZw/nice%20views%20on%20rock%20trail%20final_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg" width="402" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>Despite all the beauty in the world and the exceptionally good karma in my life right now...someone decided to slightly upset my day by leaving this on the trail...</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJKf_Euom9I/AAAAAAAAAzk/4lZOiqpIWXQ/poo%20on%20trail%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="281" alt="poo on trail" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJKf_6udImI/AAAAAAAAAzo/RbudXYDTIo0/poo%20on%20trail_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="360" border="0" /></a>  </p> <p>This isn't the first time either. I've been left quite a few 'presents' while building the trail. </p> <p>It was in full view of the trail entrance as well (you can see the road just at the top of this picture) </p> <p>Riders BEWARE!</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJKgBxQUNxI/AAAAAAAAAzs/ql09vhMwHqE/poo%202%5B9%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="453" alt="poo 2" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJKgC5_ai3I/AAAAAAAAAzw/WPVr2cNzhKU/poo%202_thumb%5B7%5D.jpg" width="345" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>I'm not sure if this was a strategic placement to <em>avoid</em> being seen or to make sure that <em>everyone</em> else sees it!</p> <p>All I can think of is that it must be some ancient Chinese custom...</p> <p>"Take crap on trail, bring very good luck!"</p> <p>I think I should get one of these bad boys installed....</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJKgFMaicKI/AAAAAAAAAz0/D52QJmf3B8M/loo%20on%20inca%20trail%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="380" alt="loo on inca trail" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJKgGNxPu5I/AAAAAAAAAz4/iIweujLDnv4/loo%20on%20inca%20trail_thumb%5B3%5D.jpg" width="326" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>I took this photo while trekking in the Andes'...</p> <p>It was a big hole dug in the ground surrounded by a nice plastic outhouse...perfect for my trail...</p> <p>Just got to work out how I get it shipped from Peru to Taiwan..</p> <p>In the meantime....if I catch whose doing it I will tie them to a tree and leave them there until they look like this...</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJKgHSf_l0I/AAAAAAAAAz8/HtOTwtPjp98/dead%20dude%20in%20glass%5B7%5D.jpg"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="319" alt="dead dude in glass" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJKgIt4SQZI/AAAAAAAAA0A/de926dTzluU/dead%20dude%20in%20glass_thumb%5B5%5D.jpg" width="323" border="0" /></a></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-50911886730535038672008-07-31T17:03:00.001+08:002008-07-31T17:11:00.718+08:00I'm Back!<p>Yes I'm back..back from my 2 month summer trip that took me to places far and wide. </p> <p>The highlight of which was a four day trek to this little old place.....</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJF_1q5Gp0I/AAAAAAAAAy8/uT7FP-majeg/Manchu%20Pichu3%5B3%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="433" alt="Manchu Pichu3" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJF_2y7fCsI/AAAAAAAAAzA/g2hCw2aIzqM/Manchu%20Pichu3_thumb%5B1%5D.jpg" width="388" border="0" /></a></p> <p>No this isn't a postcard...this is an actual shot taken by me on my phone...</p> <p>But it wasn't all boring cultural type stuff...</p> <p>I did manage to get some riding in...as can be seen here....</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJGBluUzxrI/AAAAAAAAAzM/PPS0PhA4Z5s/Picture%20120%5B8%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="291" alt="Picture 120" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJF_52usBMI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/G78oSqxrYpU/Picture%20120_thumb%5B6%5D.jpg" width="384" border="0" /></a></p> <p>And here....which is Bolivia in case you were wondering....</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJGBnv8TTBI/AAAAAAAAAzU/H_C_kLn-PYQ/Picture%20167%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="286" alt="Picture 167" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/DavidAndreMartin/SJGBoTF8HJI/AAAAAAAAAzY/qlaLunpeT4c/Picture%20167_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg" width="379" border="0" /></a> </p> <p>Same trail that Cedric Gracia rode in NWD6....</p> <p>He...um...might have ridden it a bit more aggressively than I did though...</p> <p>Full update coming as soon as I get unpacked! </p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-62591847117588227692008-06-08T10:52:00.007+08:002008-06-08T12:20:08.492+08:00Ta Da! It's finished!After a mad rush involving blistered hands and a broken pick axe or two the trail is finally finished and officially open! <br /><br />Hoo rah! Everyone have a beer and toast the Fungus...<br /><br />Here are some photos of Arron trying it out for the first time....<br /><br />This is just after the entrance at the top (where the trail merges with an existing one traversing the hill)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcmXw9wODfXfBz6R3IkQkygw9h07JuJZBsXw7ypw1e7Hxw3JCGHq_8p_dbIwkfzS86XidWAspyvGAXkxmNm5sIlj0vOOo9fgSR-T5uR17612FhfJfjLMgEFY1MFpj4U6TvBBP/s1600-h/entrance+to+fungus.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcmXw9wODfXfBz6R3IkQkygw9h07JuJZBsXw7ypw1e7Hxw3JCGHq_8p_dbIwkfzS86XidWAspyvGAXkxmNm5sIlj0vOOo9fgSR-T5uR17612FhfJfjLMgEFY1MFpj4U6TvBBP/s400/entrance+to+fungus.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209340352733397602" /></a><br /><br />Rock section<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPAoU4xhn_OuFiA5ogJ3C6flWqkLXAdLYWL_qPk6gYyTXBXRHWJaTyYQCstMHf6jMtqe_CoUdjpJ7Kdf_kuJvkFLEEgd9SwG1EL54UArSlVEqrqrJIYHP_Gze5reorqk9vgVFN/s1600-h/rock+climb+on+fungus.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPAoU4xhn_OuFiA5ogJ3C6flWqkLXAdLYWL_qPk6gYyTXBXRHWJaTyYQCstMHf6jMtqe_CoUdjpJ7Kdf_kuJvkFLEEgd9SwG1EL54UArSlVEqrqrJIYHP_Gze5reorqk9vgVFN/s400/rock+climb+on+fungus.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209340390194214498" /></a><br /><br />Rock turn (that took me two weeks to carve)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MeMa5og9mjCob4KiuITgONmK6jHumTBc4dCRFgEwIZTwyd_Wc9GrVeXXZaC240yQsYz7GcLwwN0nXZtDUpbh4COtxb8nLpP282-X0iYH0ncskhMMTdEJdUOC0GMERdDu6UCx/s1600-h/rock+turn+on+fungus.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MeMa5og9mjCob4KiuITgONmK6jHumTBc4dCRFgEwIZTwyd_Wc9GrVeXXZaC240yQsYz7GcLwwN0nXZtDUpbh4COtxb8nLpP282-X0iYH0ncskhMMTdEJdUOC0GMERdDu6UCx/s400/rock+turn+on+fungus.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209341720939843922" /></a><br /><br />Root section (this will be sweet after a bit of erosion)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzGZj3ippgjmgluA1gSPET-27EGVfTRqg9m07DvVK_X3CAW3ZXiDW4WVMhq6gl9CcxpjPhzLxGDbSZ1X17_5WSxlkbc2DoWQgf5H7O6fzCVG3iO0RHyfFCpY1KGjjvXfik6Gv/s1600-h/arron+on+trail.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzGZj3ippgjmgluA1gSPET-27EGVfTRqg9m07DvVK_X3CAW3ZXiDW4WVMhq6gl9CcxpjPhzLxGDbSZ1X17_5WSxlkbc2DoWQgf5H7O6fzCVG3iO0RHyfFCpY1KGjjvXfik6Gv/s400/arron+on+trail.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209340364134763410" /></a><br /><br />Dog sitting section<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4NgumUxx-Ez_kcDK9CmOYJoAKCQH2yJgI7rGd6TPM5cD7Gmwm_jwDwcfMDy1VPPBpeekzJ8U5QMLVYQzz0I2smxdPafDtpxT7FoScYVDucIaD228W1a4pO4BA9GN_DQADBS0/s1600-h/get+out+of+the+way+gucci.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4NgumUxx-Ez_kcDK9CmOYJoAKCQH2yJgI7rGd6TPM5cD7Gmwm_jwDwcfMDy1VPPBpeekzJ8U5QMLVYQzz0I2smxdPafDtpxT7FoScYVDucIaD228W1a4pO4BA9GN_DQADBS0/s400/get+out+of+the+way+gucci.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209340384678184882" /></a><br /><br />Trail hog dog<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9syt0S6JwQgECgWoibX64b-rLr_aNm1us1uR3dmuLam_saLqS-HkeIWwq7wDyZ6Pjg0ZWzFu7j-OElbhaBUHg7Zs2HteqDcO-OcpOqiigG-23JX7lWJ-VrBPyJs_vKHJeYNxZ/s1600-h/trail+hog.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9syt0S6JwQgECgWoibX64b-rLr_aNm1us1uR3dmuLam_saLqS-HkeIWwq7wDyZ6Pjg0ZWzFu7j-OElbhaBUHg7Zs2HteqDcO-OcpOqiigG-23JX7lWJ-VrBPyJs_vKHJeYNxZ/s400/trail+hog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209341791254579218" /></a><br /><br />Good views<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GUI54mhyK3l1AxsKytU9_6D-Q_ZhcF87rvUHAO54pBb4aQkD4Sba9c8O5gxBkzLu6IQTmBaLsnzXG7ID8ZOP4av_JW5lVXcLUr1MtxV_98sUB-y0a1ZDsILcr8QswJ-3MoHd/s1600-h/nice+view.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GUI54mhyK3l1AxsKytU9_6D-Q_ZhcF87rvUHAO54pBb4aQkD4Sba9c8O5gxBkzLu6IQTmBaLsnzXG7ID8ZOP4av_JW5lVXcLUr1MtxV_98sUB-y0a1ZDsILcr8QswJ-3MoHd/s400/nice+view.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209360197544909970" /></a><br /><br />Some nice rapid switchbacks<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBmLFvjVjCsoErkDXhx_Lnzn9qbK35IOP_Qx6nNrPOvOELPaDSmXjc-7g1oQdW0Hm_XSa0bFpyJbE0rBSVCXS5T17Amx1WsxL7ZHIckbJW2NG3JlUfDONKIrmpjxvZ2Zj4ER6/s1600-h/switch+back+turn.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilBmLFvjVjCsoErkDXhx_Lnzn9qbK35IOP_Qx6nNrPOvOELPaDSmXjc-7g1oQdW0Hm_XSa0bFpyJbE0rBSVCXS5T17Amx1WsxL7ZHIckbJW2NG3JlUfDONKIrmpjxvZ2Zj4ER6/s400/switch+back+turn.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209341762817565986" /></a><br /><br />My first full bench...all those months ago...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-OKDvKJ6XR46_60RFqjxBN55CdSA-6KPiZ7ddls64c96XpB1DoHHjjQ9gtXyahz33zpbjrOxPmAJ9wYkpTlcyFwQeRi-yrbx0I4gCN_xYUNIy9g18_kBWKTIxm4O6fuk2lMH/s1600-h/dodgy+section.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-OKDvKJ6XR46_60RFqjxBN55CdSA-6KPiZ7ddls64c96XpB1DoHHjjQ9gtXyahz33zpbjrOxPmAJ9wYkpTlcyFwQeRi-yrbx0I4gCN_xYUNIy9g18_kBWKTIxm4O6fuk2lMH/s400/dodgy+section.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209340372724168802" /></a><br /><br />And a drop or two...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5IaEgpHkY9OV-KD6Gwoi9yQGlLLYrYHjilQ7RUvRuIUr1TJNtM_THr9Qm4jrXP_QuGnhluY6HN4_gdebrT-BYnSPJDo-tufel7W7qlzaIEB5pY7V0vRYHIv5quyTzvLqCvMY9/s1600-h/jump.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5IaEgpHkY9OV-KD6Gwoi9yQGlLLYrYHjilQ7RUvRuIUr1TJNtM_THr9Qm4jrXP_QuGnhluY6HN4_gdebrT-BYnSPJDo-tufel7W7qlzaIEB5pY7V0vRYHIv5quyTzvLqCvMY9/s400/jump.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209348724730099378" /></a><br /><br />Not sure of length yet, I reckon it's just shy of 750m. Total height (BIG guess here) 100-150m.<br /><br />One person..ME...(with a bit of help from Arron) <br /><br />Around 10-15 hours a week for six months. Entirely hand built except for the bamboo section that was cleared with a weed whacker. (I still had to dig out the bloody roots with a hoe though) <br /><br />I saw five piles of human excrement, four snakes, three stray dogs, two lost hikers, numerous lizards, toads, frogs and even the fresh remains of a large rodent sliced clean in two by a hawk.<br /><br />Three hoes, one rake, three pick axes, one sledge hammer, two saws, one rock and three wood chisels....oh and a petrol driven weed whacker. (used once prior to oil prices and a stubborn refusal to start)<br /><br />Big thanks to James, his GPS, complete disregard for personal safety and the power of his mighty legs.<br /><br />Plus all the support from friends and family (you know who you are) Your encourageent made me keep digging when I was thinking "y'know this was a really stupid idea"<br /><br />Dedicated to Gucci the dog for keeping me company, compacting the tread and 'testing' the trail...<br /><br />Go ride!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-46124116307299799182008-05-27T23:59:00.018+08:002008-05-28T13:26:22.973+08:00Whacked Off!Fellow Mountain biker Dan was getting a bit fed up with how long it is taking me to finish my trail. So he gave me this...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjla8XvWOuW5mcxBKr-fRgdKoqefxYjb8712E_JgmGN2beDUKxF8awwyDzWIVgdZjbZOSt0FaO_pjmJiXRat_zucwG3bymK99nanft_508xr9IkcXMd8Q046e3H1CldvezhGI9j/s1600-h/weed+whacker+5-14-2008+3-01-37+PM.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjla8XvWOuW5mcxBKr-fRgdKoqefxYjb8712E_JgmGN2beDUKxF8awwyDzWIVgdZjbZOSt0FaO_pjmJiXRat_zucwG3bymK99nanft_508xr9IkcXMd8Q046e3H1CldvezhGI9j/s400/weed+whacker+5-14-2008+3-01-37+PM.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205099117076720354" /></a><br /><br />Which is a petrol driven weed whacker...<br /><br />It turns this...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2MvBYId6GCjRQXzf5jyfAw7QT6_L60N8VJqgOD_MJLMi1VcdxsVgnXXGxj2uaMXsqRooKOfnbeaj9YfSzCMBjPTCEkSKeKiOQrWyxzvKBeBhDvg1szSeZBvUBuItJ1OiTnrw/s1600-h/jungle+before+whacking+5-22-2008+3-43-59+PM.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA2MvBYId6GCjRQXzf5jyfAw7QT6_L60N8VJqgOD_MJLMi1VcdxsVgnXXGxj2uaMXsqRooKOfnbeaj9YfSzCMBjPTCEkSKeKiOQrWyxzvKBeBhDvg1szSeZBvUBuItJ1OiTnrw/s400/jungle+before+whacking+5-22-2008+3-43-59+PM.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205099486443907826" /></a><br /><br />Into this....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_otYLyJNS2gMLis7mzp-zlEvQZQoP6TxPhE12mtjAuJH_GBsYwAc5iDtce8GyyHmAg7ZFuoQ9pY5vClX0vi6EMoSCkQ9wWoaGf8ujxW9NNFZZYdslJuCD6nR3GLjpy0e5ONwU/s1600-h/jungle+after+whacking+5-22-2008+3-44-11+PM.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_otYLyJNS2gMLis7mzp-zlEvQZQoP6TxPhE12mtjAuJH_GBsYwAc5iDtce8GyyHmAg7ZFuoQ9pY5vClX0vi6EMoSCkQ9wWoaGf8ujxW9NNFZZYdslJuCD6nR3GLjpy0e5ONwU/s400/jungle+after+whacking+5-22-2008+3-44-11+PM.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205100216588348162" /></a><br /><br />Then using the 'tools of the trade' Which are these...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5PVUOKCdtVJ4XEc4eAWZ341gVuby6HpTKFkIQsVIFWTx-3PMSqb5bqDto4-BTTsnThTTAxb0QWh5-gt9WvIGBs37lxkZqNzHuQAKLL8dl1kBClao0ujgc9M0vYFuTWq3F3qc/s1600-h/tools+of+the+trade+edit+5-22-2008+3-45-14+PM.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5PVUOKCdtVJ4XEc4eAWZ341gVuby6HpTKFkIQsVIFWTx-3PMSqb5bqDto4-BTTsnThTTAxb0QWh5-gt9WvIGBs37lxkZqNzHuQAKLL8dl1kBClao0ujgc9M0vYFuTWq3F3qc/s400/tools+of+the+trade+edit+5-22-2008+3-45-14+PM.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205101015452265266" /></a><br /><br />Liberaly apply what my Mum calls 'elbow grease' and you get this...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKI0wCSkKy3TRUq2YJKVwSubcAtq5gvrmJQf9SwkyFHiq5q8-xnBCi8wI6USfNMKgluUO-2swn1-Hr90US5mEL3IvnQJLqQ0FA5ydCmxj-wV-zKzpSILgBrnFvZgQVcOBKEZy/s1600-h/half+cut+trail+5-22-2008+3-45-31+PM.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKI0wCSkKy3TRUq2YJKVwSubcAtq5gvrmJQf9SwkyFHiq5q8-xnBCi8wI6USfNMKgluUO-2swn1-Hr90US5mEL3IvnQJLqQ0FA5ydCmxj-wV-zKzpSILgBrnFvZgQVcOBKEZy/s400/half+cut+trail+5-22-2008+3-45-31+PM.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205100238063184674" /></a><br /><br />Add a bit more elbow grease and eventually, you get this....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTLByc_tjVw_6rXLwQfhHCHcoi05aJVIheLyOF9WrfgChUnBzJC9sl_NPT01XmAkLRio3RX6i1douztOI9ACmkc0cZf09wHyq1Jb5G2lLkxhbUInWJ7aTGW3XnrlXbmcKGjcK/s1600-h/finished+trail+edit+5-22-2008+3-45-53+PM.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSTLByc_tjVw_6rXLwQfhHCHcoi05aJVIheLyOF9WrfgChUnBzJC9sl_NPT01XmAkLRio3RX6i1douztOI9ACmkc0cZf09wHyq1Jb5G2lLkxhbUInWJ7aTGW3XnrlXbmcKGjcK/s400/finished+trail+edit+5-22-2008+3-45-53+PM.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205100229473250066" /></a><br /><br />Which is all well and good, and Dan's donation has made life a bit easier...but I really wish he had given me one of these....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pBlnbJuyR6iu6VC60Eq-vHWJIEPZB3FbzOC7W_ocMWrdlrfB0U3kvuKquA_baWWKrW9uBDpT1baO6XnC4ScFaQ3SgkSC9OgK8O9BO2lwg5fVZffomq-4SldrsqGwnjYOzq3u/s1600-h/ditch+witch.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pBlnbJuyR6iu6VC60Eq-vHWJIEPZB3FbzOC7W_ocMWrdlrfB0U3kvuKquA_baWWKrW9uBDpT1baO6XnC4ScFaQ3SgkSC9OgK8O9BO2lwg5fVZffomq-4SldrsqGwnjYOzq3u/s400/ditch+witch.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205102187978337090" /></a><br /><br />Anyone got a spare one hanging around?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-1607683814289981702008-05-27T23:59:00.017+08:002008-05-28T01:09:19.319+08:00Make cup cakes not war....Unless it involves shooting your freinds.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVlZscv4lyy_pEzy2NgM-WMDHpsMwjpg-dTk8Xv0UweqqlIfLkG71UBr74WIX7Spo5y4MYCMSkehTUdJ8__HmYjRi5tB-UZnv75bYzib-70J3mU9JQF4wRRwTsMYsJKVS553U/s1600-h/Stu+with+a+gun+5-17-2008+9-31-24+AM+5-17-2008+9-31-24+AM.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVlZscv4lyy_pEzy2NgM-WMDHpsMwjpg-dTk8Xv0UweqqlIfLkG71UBr74WIX7Spo5y4MYCMSkehTUdJ8__HmYjRi5tB-UZnv75bYzib-70J3mU9JQF4wRRwTsMYsJKVS553U/s400/Stu+with+a+gun+5-17-2008+9-31-24+AM+5-17-2008+9-31-24+AM.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205091381840620210" /></a><br /><br />...and training with Taiwanese Special Forces.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hNRgpJCpPvKUDVCdRQyTOcOjy0ntuqAX4TpuxU2YWAWKeaw0FDZEwDwsC7dqOx5BFoT0TDW5xOBaDc1c8Mj2mB4dt4VZRhPMd_cnNqrsIUJuHUOPZLoK_XYwwsBSN4s90Z1E/s1600-h/taiwanese+Special+5-17-2008+9-30-36+AM.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hNRgpJCpPvKUDVCdRQyTOcOjy0ntuqAX4TpuxU2YWAWKeaw0FDZEwDwsC7dqOx5BFoT0TDW5xOBaDc1c8Mj2mB4dt4VZRhPMd_cnNqrsIUJuHUOPZLoK_XYwwsBSN4s90Z1E/s400/taiwanese+Special+5-17-2008+9-30-36+AM.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205105611067272018" /></a><br /><br />I could tell you what I'm doing in this photo....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RUsjOqAbo_opxMtbXH0-2pw4tDygW7qxOROzUmwkEY_tOVLDNA2Riahfd54luJJcBs9Hy2RwIuA5XLKOf2GA8J0bQsB8WfBAs3UOyl23EFFgOBJ-FUUr9THzOv5xe1TGANqP/s1600-h/Dave+with+a+gun+5-17-2008+9-09-48+AM.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RUsjOqAbo_opxMtbXH0-2pw4tDygW7qxOROzUmwkEY_tOVLDNA2Riahfd54luJJcBs9Hy2RwIuA5XLKOf2GA8J0bQsB8WfBAs3UOyl23EFFgOBJ-FUUr9THzOv5xe1TGANqP/s400/Dave+with+a+gun+5-17-2008+9-09-48+AM.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205090613041474178" /></a><br /><br />...but then I'd have to kill you.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-31193686345750510392008-04-29T23:42:00.004+08:002008-04-30T00:00:03.786+08:00More Fashion...So yes, this is a blog predominantly about my obsession with mountain bikes but I have been known to watch, and just recently, even play a bit of rugby...<br /><br />I attended a Rugby dinner a few weeks ago where sporting paraphernalia was auctioned off for charity (To raise funds for a former Taiwan club Rugby player who was disfigured in the Bali bomb)<br /><br />I coveted one item in particular, these....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUz38XKvuLO1cZTaibwLGvcMjrHbPPMcv_rM4_GuWPuRnB8w_Zbnf1-MwwGQpwo1QlJimk0CzoY10VVEtW7hX4C9TDKmTZOlF8UtP-__b6EP8t7j0x_9ODkGco17kGH1PmRQxf/s1600-h/jonnys+shorts.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUz38XKvuLO1cZTaibwLGvcMjrHbPPMcv_rM4_GuWPuRnB8w_Zbnf1-MwwGQpwo1QlJimk0CzoY10VVEtW7hX4C9TDKmTZOlF8UtP-__b6EP8t7j0x_9ODkGco17kGH1PmRQxf/s400/jonnys+shorts.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194693868476971922" /></a><br /><br />My finger is touching not only Johnny Wilkinson's shorts, but (gasp) Johnny's signature. <br /><br />I havn't washed it since...my finger's looking a bit manky too...<br /><br />The shorts were auctioned to a drunk Australian stock broker for NT$150,000. Who after completing his successful bid went to the stage and tried to set light to them...<br /><br />Fortunately he was stopped before the forty or so Englishmen in the audience could get out of their seats and waltz on his Matilda...<br /><br />In the end the fellow Englishman modeling the shorts purchased them from the Australian for NT$120,000..<br /><br />Which I guess proves that Ozzies are not very good at 1) losing and 2) maths...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-43446094510016343762008-04-28T17:29:00.007+08:002008-04-28T18:06:54.066+08:00Fashion.....Cyclists are not known for their taste in clothes. In fact it's pretty hard for anyone to look good in skin tight lycra...<br /><br />As a Mountain Biker though one has a myriad of options available when 'hitting radical singletrack dude' <br /><br />One can wear baggy shorts to hide unsightly bulges, a helmet to conceal hair loss and protective armour to cover pale, skinny legs...<br /><br />Here is our model Victor demonstrating this season's MTB look....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yBmInPxT_wqbyUG1hlQECe0sL9HwV02txUeeC68PdeAM8loJ4NS-jwPWfRd6fp4amohBc6ImxIIdL5RvLWUs_KZT75TeID7PBBUHleVkJ7zLst4emFKoDXB4p0wlABnbYxbg/s1600-h/victor+edit.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-yBmInPxT_wqbyUG1hlQECe0sL9HwV02txUeeC68PdeAM8loJ4NS-jwPWfRd6fp4amohBc6ImxIIdL5RvLWUs_KZT75TeID7PBBUHleVkJ7zLst4emFKoDXB4p0wlABnbYxbg/s400/victor+edit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194227701316598610" /></a><br /><br />Notice the elegant lines when viewed from behind...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRiIoFqmV778oRH7E5BjeEo4RKmpHNirb4e8TJVuY_oein1sRIA9D0EfLkLxcACVRkY0Gq8osDKDOPfV-7oUKS9ZJ5S98Z0elmTd04fdnrc7_QIWCtE8PRCzBMPa0BtlE8mX1J/s1600-h/victors+ass+edit.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRiIoFqmV778oRH7E5BjeEo4RKmpHNirb4e8TJVuY_oein1sRIA9D0EfLkLxcACVRkY0Gq8osDKDOPfV-7oUKS9ZJ5S98Z0elmTd04fdnrc7_QIWCtE8PRCzBMPa0BtlE8mX1J/s400/victors+ass+edit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194228650504371042" /></a><br /><br />Sporting more convetional looks are, from left to right...Mike, Johnny and Peter.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi854kppYf9mtJhmaKh53riB6MOzFgjkuIj-V8ArgKlDu8exIYrtZU1CAxpsPiJ8uedo6HL6-rO9Q-2alUackcJWiPy7zaMLIbzXBneF7czhq1ix8WD66P_oEXYXsjbM_UUkwGM/s1600-h/johhny+edit.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi854kppYf9mtJhmaKh53riB6MOzFgjkuIj-V8ArgKlDu8exIYrtZU1CAxpsPiJ8uedo6HL6-rO9Q-2alUackcJWiPy7zaMLIbzXBneF7czhq1ix8WD66P_oEXYXsjbM_UUkwGM/s400/johhny+edit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194228650504371058" /></a><br /><br />Three guesses where Johhny is from... <br /><br />Our final shot displays our models in their natural habitat, clearly indicating untapped talent in the art of looking simply fantastique! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPD0Xam_ap89fg1BzZfGa3hX_j0ORtegsfXSa8fGP2Js5I6gf3FsXL8Ui0BZY8CSxemeQ29OLnu8FMk1hoj0s9ZpswU-30q8E2iPpDOcwgZfYDSk2-TaFtofk8NGGEAIeIchS/s1600-h/handsome+mtbers+edit.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPD0Xam_ap89fg1BzZfGa3hX_j0ORtegsfXSa8fGP2Js5I6gf3FsXL8Ui0BZY8CSxemeQ29OLnu8FMk1hoj0s9ZpswU-30q8E2iPpDOcwgZfYDSk2-TaFtofk8NGGEAIeIchS/s400/handsome+mtbers+edit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194228654799338370" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-40262479160809663492008-04-14T15:16:00.008+08:002008-04-14T17:16:43.896+08:00Scooter-villeTaiwan has 23 million people....and about 400 million scooters....<br /><br />One of those scooters is mine....<br /><br />This one in fact...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxvQUcldnJAXnwblfGYjWE6qi7itAGK_AmwWRwC07k5mYq4FgyvDLksxQLxZzg7CcWso9t-ZZFTADQUbUdHeEpvl_0xRDRpE_8y105F95XZxOIFigol_uE7TSZIH055p2ElfH/s1600-h/second+ride+with+dave+019.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxvQUcldnJAXnwblfGYjWE6qi7itAGK_AmwWRwC07k5mYq4FgyvDLksxQLxZzg7CcWso9t-ZZFTADQUbUdHeEpvl_0xRDRpE_8y105F95XZxOIFigol_uE7TSZIH055p2ElfH/s400/second+ride+with+dave+019.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189001013042667010" /></a><br /><br />Yes I know..for an internationaly recognised mountain biker I don't exactly look very cool on this thing....<br /><br />But Im not a sure if a Harley would make me look any better and its a much cheaper way to ride on the awesome mountain roads of northern Taipei..<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafU7s-p-czPICsg8UkDhhVx3oZqibuTgETxht7_okL_7LPaO19-NkHuAt0b2un60KYkmNLdcNDkCP39UslNo8crsFp2mEMfzAULl-Tqy22IRWEk3N1XIYZiq_WiN9hyphenhyphenEl8DC5/s1600-h/second+ride+with+dave+024.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjafU7s-p-czPICsg8UkDhhVx3oZqibuTgETxht7_okL_7LPaO19-NkHuAt0b2un60KYkmNLdcNDkCP39UslNo8crsFp2mEMfzAULl-Tqy22IRWEk3N1XIYZiq_WiN9hyphenhyphenEl8DC5/s400/second+ride+with+dave+024.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189001021632601618" /></a><br /><br />Overall, being a skoota boy (TM) totally ROCKS!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZf5RuREF4uZzqwK-aCwGjLvhxVwA0Yil6I_hfzxdVWSRVEaBasHVnVeqNt2P0dksgYjiwvXV6E50-DKSSSCF1BoZ49XZUypEfYp68-Dkkxq5e9lCyCaioNTmZAIR71Ljhyd7/s1600-h/second+ride+with+dave+016.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZf5RuREF4uZzqwK-aCwGjLvhxVwA0Yil6I_hfzxdVWSRVEaBasHVnVeqNt2P0dksgYjiwvXV6E50-DKSSSCF1BoZ49XZUypEfYp68-Dkkxq5e9lCyCaioNTmZAIR71Ljhyd7/s400/second+ride+with+dave+016.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189001030222536226" /></a><br /><br />And it's a lot safer than driving...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-7ed1K4Me0CA06rGfq09krQV1R3F0vK3LIzQy4NQdMqSewp4IeOYbZtVXUM8lpsEW8ZN81gy4KuIavrHLcdEEoNSgljwv34td1Luxs3zh_U6R13ks2RF_cR5w58QB837G6c3/s1600-h/second+ride+with+dave+023.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-7ed1K4Me0CA06rGfq09krQV1R3F0vK3LIzQy4NQdMqSewp4IeOYbZtVXUM8lpsEW8ZN81gy4KuIavrHLcdEEoNSgljwv34td1Luxs3zh_U6R13ks2RF_cR5w58QB837G6c3/s400/second+ride+with+dave+023.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189024253110705778" /></a><br /><br />He was lucky to walk away from this one. You can't see it in this picture but if that tree hadn't stopped him the car would have plunged a few hundred feet...<br /><br />Speaking of dying, despite skootaring (TM) being great fun but ultimately not very cool.... <br /><br />You still wouldn't find me dead on this....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkiuWKFJJTDZCzpkhXOSYLApF3pQx85GAJCrEdO9oXNF2URmvfDnPvmUnGgOLxgLiVAGUj9im5M-aJhqumL_wrhXxdg6ZLoiEQwnGqM5vCRYdh2l9Y1cPD9LD7-efYoMm6DKK1/s1600-h/taiwan+motorcycle+trade+show+.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkiuWKFJJTDZCzpkhXOSYLApF3pQx85GAJCrEdO9oXNF2URmvfDnPvmUnGgOLxgLiVAGUj9im5M-aJhqumL_wrhXxdg6ZLoiEQwnGqM5vCRYdh2l9Y1cPD9LD7-efYoMm6DKK1/s400/taiwan+motorcycle+trade+show+.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189003469763960418" /></a><br /><br />Or this....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdedeMXT_C2Tm_wGoMJjDCTVnq0kqNyAHfIjdGx7D-TAjxsgEIspTfFaZZ_D_JdKX4lPAIKB3JsjViOi5xr1VohT2tPbJ4Mh1qAruNoBoAoE2dptuFN6z1DQw5SoAagccIYTF2/s1600-h/278219327_taiwan+motorcycle+trade+show+063.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdedeMXT_C2Tm_wGoMJjDCTVnq0kqNyAHfIjdGx7D-TAjxsgEIspTfFaZZ_D_JdKX4lPAIKB3JsjViOi5xr1VohT2tPbJ4Mh1qAruNoBoAoE2dptuFN6z1DQw5SoAagccIYTF2/s400/278219327_taiwan+motorcycle+trade+show+063.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189002198453640786" /></a><br /><br />No...THIS is what I am saving up for....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYoj_q8Nl2T7qWtXqZ95o2S_QDF3UxtORANoXkXLKq4Lpf1rdLWfoJtnUdqjz3U056O82WMH3F2U5SLHgN2WZrMl-1Num73tIySq4TogYHv4_NNd2jd7mBSsoPNOzimar8oKJn/s1600-h/taiwan+motorcycle+trade+show+068.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYoj_q8Nl2T7qWtXqZ95o2S_QDF3UxtORANoXkXLKq4Lpf1rdLWfoJtnUdqjz3U056O82WMH3F2U5SLHgN2WZrMl-1Num73tIySq4TogYHv4_NNd2jd7mBSsoPNOzimar8oKJn/s400/taiwan+motorcycle+trade+show+068.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189026757076639362" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-75535418961964647682008-04-07T18:37:00.009+08:002008-04-07T19:12:10.956+08:00YangminshanI have finally managed to properly venture out and about into the mountains behind us...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNUE6BfXLUSYBrZZzhgtPG0xst6SGAWcO2Y1Uk-VrU6k_ojvPcYZt_QSHwiRlwvIKZx-UktwSuuNUd8G0sVSjD8LCvUEcBSFFNIEvAwTa8jYm7GCLAIGZLtPBCg0zhdfFt7QV/s1600-h/Nice+view.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNUE6BfXLUSYBrZZzhgtPG0xst6SGAWcO2Y1Uk-VrU6k_ojvPcYZt_QSHwiRlwvIKZx-UktwSuuNUd8G0sVSjD8LCvUEcBSFFNIEvAwTa8jYm7GCLAIGZLtPBCg0zhdfFt7QV/s400/Nice+view.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186451324284674738" /></a><br />And they are actually rather high! This is Cising at around 1500mts. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIk7838XFhCjlz-Bz591JmglRt5M79sBzqlM7A1yW2LzhyphenhyphenlCzj1GEV0ejNRAC7yqbof1GGocSk8a0i_tUbLlFyAZvAN4D_z4I5CEIvTx-JJlR3Wkrjcd9VqjRVKQY-ireu8iuI/s1600-h/volcano.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIk7838XFhCjlz-Bz591JmglRt5M79sBzqlM7A1yW2LzhyphenhyphenlCzj1GEV0ejNRAC7yqbof1GGocSk8a0i_tUbLlFyAZvAN4D_z4I5CEIvTx-JJlR3Wkrjcd9VqjRVKQY-ireu8iuI/s400/volcano.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186451328579642050" /></a><br />Notice the semi active volcano type thing....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINehGE4m1CDVT929oBiY2E86WS-YdUmXfUYgi_8n7xeRxL23CdEEDBMuYfIEk9CqLjIJU5p-YCd422yKs9skirS0XCvCbxmXZLu_maf8MVSNWBBSAW8ty0WDMh7-ONTCz8r-O/s1600-h/volcano+close+up.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINehGE4m1CDVT929oBiY2E86WS-YdUmXfUYgi_8n7xeRxL23CdEEDBMuYfIEk9CqLjIJU5p-YCd422yKs9skirS0XCvCbxmXZLu_maf8MVSNWBBSAW8ty0WDMh7-ONTCz8r-O/s400/volcano+close+up.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186459046635873026" /></a><br />....only a few kms from our apartment. <br /><br />This certainly makes me sleep soundly at night...<br /><br />Further out towards the coast the views are quite spectacular...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GGSQ09rKuvwt1sRbZw7cYK5xsXQj2iRVrZLTXGV8EShiJV0M6ejoTV-uLYW6uLZHtMZGs8vzOdfN0j5FnbPZHlNp2Z4iS-oNgrw1o-ksfEkutHnjNWG4ay1ZCCw9Elai8j0Q/s1600-h/valley.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5GGSQ09rKuvwt1sRbZw7cYK5xsXQj2iRVrZLTXGV8EShiJV0M6ejoTV-uLYW6uLZHtMZGs8vzOdfN0j5FnbPZHlNp2Z4iS-oNgrw1o-ksfEkutHnjNWG4ay1ZCCw9Elai8j0Q/s400/valley.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186451332874609362" /></a><br />This valley is a short 30min drive from our apartment. <br /><br />Notice the trail following the river that will just HAVE to be checked out on another trip...<br /><br />However..not all is good. <br /><br />The nearest beach to us is 45 mins away, has great surf and could be beautiful...<br /><br />But it is so badly polluted it's embarasing....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLGGqFQz4adZjkRRiXj49zZcAa13QZhdTUHvEOl0JSUJ9Ds4kqSCGpm8z5y02Oq85ywOpt_ynu05u5BAL42_s-NFdhiqtt7RThxwUiiyrT2aTyMkD88qUtx8GT74bX0uBryEZ/s1600-h/filthy+beach.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLGGqFQz4adZjkRRiXj49zZcAa13QZhdTUHvEOl0JSUJ9Ds4kqSCGpm8z5y02Oq85ywOpt_ynu05u5BAL42_s-NFdhiqtt7RThxwUiiyrT2aTyMkD88qUtx8GT74bX0uBryEZ/s400/filthy+beach.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186451337169576674" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFqBGrTw01cnepWqwp5rJZZeAZXHDg6RjAt9rHgm7pcVLZdV5UtUFhwLLJDlh4bCCUBLNcVFyzEpqSwKaMMUbquuIp-ygouIn7T4ojAEyEdCyNJfmZNSFyClibdjPkqdsAiON/s1600-h/more+pollution.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFqBGrTw01cnepWqwp5rJZZeAZXHDg6RjAt9rHgm7pcVLZdV5UtUFhwLLJDlh4bCCUBLNcVFyzEpqSwKaMMUbquuIp-ygouIn7T4ojAEyEdCyNJfmZNSFyClibdjPkqdsAiON/s400/more+pollution.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186457491857711858" /></a><br />After seeing such beauty in the mountains this really upset me and I can't understand why the local Taiwanese don't do something about it?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-56869673660412057922008-03-21T13:11:00.007+08:002008-03-21T17:34:58.577+08:00The good old bad old days....I have just transferred all my photos onto <a href="http://picasa.google.com/">Picasa</a> which is quite a neat piece of free photo software from Google.<br /><br />While going through my old photos I found some great shots of Malaysia that I believed to be lost. I have only posted photos of trails and machines recently so I thought it would be a good idea to provide a reminder of what mountain biking is all about....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hMRepO9QpLv74LQ3U9kXc9jmBX57Ciz13axJ6sqi7SyzgQuPdOkBGjWqLUMv7uvnuGhbLQnA2utiSYxk3cMxwIcskZDaMN8RUvBQEqBDXhEQJRbLnYUcL8DHOwTQXuDUQOnW/s1600-h/dave+going+harder.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hMRepO9QpLv74LQ3U9kXc9jmBX57Ciz13axJ6sqi7SyzgQuPdOkBGjWqLUMv7uvnuGhbLQnA2utiSYxk3cMxwIcskZDaMN8RUvBQEqBDXhEQJRbLnYUcL8DHOwTQXuDUQOnW/s400/dave+going+harder.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180058609061962338" /></a><br />I love berms...even small ones... <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgfoa2luBLfvLM0u6aJ63onpDeSdfgsNx_z-nkyPN2sO3UDwd5E8N7lZOMlu2TIHiGg6-vGWoL-UZsxP5YeBkV_0N_ebHdKNLwNmnWWsPsSHBqMT0g64O73IQ2x47s5uOhVdO/s1600-h/Dave+on+pats+skinny.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgfoa2luBLfvLM0u6aJ63onpDeSdfgsNx_z-nkyPN2sO3UDwd5E8N7lZOMlu2TIHiGg6-vGWoL-UZsxP5YeBkV_0N_ebHdKNLwNmnWWsPsSHBqMT0g64O73IQ2x47s5uOhVdO/s400/Dave+on+pats+skinny.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180105033363464818" /></a><br />There arn't any wooden skinnies in Taiwan....I miss them....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRIgBco25USieUb8dJ2QX0LzRJTXm-reH33Wd_o7BEYbkgqYLcaYNjXm8-d94kBXCndgWfTEe68tWoBcfHiF1VZWHQ6zoC5N1I-ftnGJKddVAlYazs6P2Vck6j1Hl_bncU8MF/s1600-h/grab+that+tree.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRIgBco25USieUb8dJ2QX0LzRJTXm-reH33Wd_o7BEYbkgqYLcaYNjXm8-d94kBXCndgWfTEe68tWoBcfHiF1VZWHQ6zoC5N1I-ftnGJKddVAlYazs6P2Vck6j1Hl_bncU8MF/s400/grab+that+tree.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180118992007176834" /></a><br />What I don't miss though is crashing at regular intervals....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuNmZysex0pv4x_hXY5clWh1nXtfsUbM3jS3iOhZt_A2bdd0StTNUSr0liT1LNbig06Z7msILaHa9cAkw0FGt5U-LL4bxSCypYDyQeh0CaUUqgnm3dF2uGbvZnXtAP6YNOBTAd/s1600-h/this+is+going+to+hurt.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuNmZysex0pv4x_hXY5clWh1nXtfsUbM3jS3iOhZt_A2bdd0StTNUSr0liT1LNbig06Z7msILaHa9cAkw0FGt5U-LL4bxSCypYDyQeh0CaUUqgnm3dF2uGbvZnXtAP6YNOBTAd/s400/this+is+going+to+hurt.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180120164533248658" /></a><br />Looks like this is gonna hurt!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHCD8u1CigsTpQSWcOh7UONu9ezcFv1NWYCiwgTTpwnkEqEnj5WX_BbMh6PEy2bMvX6KaMAiSY7Twk2GDTpTtoTgdVVlEFH0I_LqFwglaYw97MhtXwRlQIeU3RnpDb5UFuFO5/s1600-h/yup,+sure+did.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHCD8u1CigsTpQSWcOh7UONu9ezcFv1NWYCiwgTTpwnkEqEnj5WX_BbMh6PEy2bMvX6KaMAiSY7Twk2GDTpTtoTgdVVlEFH0I_LqFwglaYw97MhtXwRlQIeU3RnpDb5UFuFO5/s400/yup,+sure+did.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180125683566224034" /></a><br />Yup...sure did!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-22353679081391376552008-03-19T11:00:00.005+08:002008-03-19T11:23:10.423+08:00Ooooh Machinery!So the Taiwan Bike show has been and gone.....<br /><br />Unfortunately I got the dates mixed up and was busy kickboxing so I didn't get to go. <br /><br />Fortunately I know people who did and the general comment was that there wasn't many bikes but lots of nice machinery to see...<br /><br />Such as this...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJli-8EZsS780ph4s3u_kU-XipPtROe-4cOObThphMsRxTV-1Qw-k80FPT8fol7yS5Pk40p4D_5stiee0BVAa9EA4ysyBGTAnyDnVhMDvFyX-DKz7Fo1dFKfYiEhvJAjvdz7NF/s1600-h/080313_taipeicycle_220.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJli-8EZsS780ph4s3u_kU-XipPtROe-4cOObThphMsRxTV-1Qw-k80FPT8fol7yS5Pk40p4D_5stiee0BVAa9EA4ysyBGTAnyDnVhMDvFyX-DKz7Fo1dFKfYiEhvJAjvdz7NF/s400/080313_taipeicycle_220.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179285183125240850" /></a><br /><br />..and this....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfExTbjJuRxM54AmqBBhEOBhX-d5nHrbtNTNz5ELOQ47e9UkzHRGprlPUS9f3Nh0iSFga1drXTYMGnn-vqG9KYvWL0fZ4VYJLFb9ppHBLIAK8PZrhmjW3fvXPOCp2D-zpdTQxe/s1600-h/080313_taipeicycle_219.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfExTbjJuRxM54AmqBBhEOBhX-d5nHrbtNTNz5ELOQ47e9UkzHRGprlPUS9f3Nh0iSFga1drXTYMGnn-vqG9KYvWL0fZ4VYJLFb9ppHBLIAK8PZrhmjW3fvXPOCp2D-zpdTQxe/s400/080313_taipeicycle_219.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179285178830273538" /></a><br /><br />Not really sure what these machines do but this bloke was getting excited about them....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2Hbbqd2LVedSU3d8LZ2ntEmAUn6VXrs1QvmdBokqn-G6zuwgrZLGUxcCdx5NkouibBXZEesHVEQxGVL5wTlBhwo1N2XRyEKoT2OVsQnj01nwMHd-1ki1ZDOxdrDxaL1M5zKx/s1600-h/080313_taipeicycle_210.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2Hbbqd2LVedSU3d8LZ2ntEmAUn6VXrs1QvmdBokqn-G6zuwgrZLGUxcCdx5NkouibBXZEesHVEQxGVL5wTlBhwo1N2XRyEKoT2OVsQnj01nwMHd-1ki1ZDOxdrDxaL1M5zKx/s400/080313_taipeicycle_210.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179285178830273522" /></a><br /><br />What is it with Taiwanese and their toilets?<br /><br />Apparently there were entire stands full of things like handlebar stems, and inner tube valves....<br /><br />This wheel design looked interesting though...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWxaBXHsOZcVF7TPA9uOYFLlTcPu-AdEWBkiXnTTOWM_BgDlJA0qYvYtKGLopgn2LnxUDEXTj6y8S0ba2yIkGN4HvBmiRh_Hm3XJgi95K_stCJnAiAx4iZltSYG93pqi40hzCE/s1600-h/080313_taipeicycle_186.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWxaBXHsOZcVF7TPA9uOYFLlTcPu-AdEWBkiXnTTOWM_BgDlJA0qYvYtKGLopgn2LnxUDEXTj6y8S0ba2yIkGN4HvBmiRh_Hm3XJgi95K_stCJnAiAx4iZltSYG93pqi40hzCE/s400/080313_taipeicycle_186.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179285174535306210" /></a><br /><br />..but best of all this bloke....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnaGnM1ndlluLfCORg9BE144QtgJ1AU7hGLJ_ccIzBzodJ2Xl3s0DHWdRfKr6TLwkgcdPfXhyphenhyphenzp1nxtuoKEFPpmfgm8SqVJJuPpIkle7wTa6ONt2VlC-BUaGPCEXC9M8wIBWZ/s1600-h/20080313-bike_europe_website_president.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMnaGnM1ndlluLfCORg9BE144QtgJ1AU7hGLJ_ccIzBzodJ2Xl3s0DHWdRfKr6TLwkgcdPfXhyphenhyphenzp1nxtuoKEFPpmfgm8SqVJJuPpIkle7wTa6ONt2VlC-BUaGPCEXC9M8wIBWZ/s400/20080313-bike_europe_website_president.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179286231097261090" /></a><br /><br />Who is current president of Taiwan (although there is a general election this weekend) said... <br /><br />"We want to make Taiwan into a bicycle island with over 10,000 kilometers bike paths; a Bike Day and an Bike Museum"<br /><br />So maybe there's some hope for dedicated for mountain bike trails.<br /><br />Can't wait to see the museum full off spoke nipple machines though....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-42804171278078755462008-02-25T14:28:00.006+08:002008-02-25T15:59:05.609+08:00More trail buildingBeing gainfully unemployed has led to me working on the trail pretty much full time. <br /><br />Well OK, maybe not FULL time...but I'm up to about four hours a day before I get too knackered to carry on.<br /><br />So far I've built more than 1/2 km and reckon I have at least another 500-600 Mt's to go until I merge with an existing trail about 40-50 mtrs above my current position.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIvIaM1WTpC5ISStmBYFUfSaVdQ5Rmw4ij514j1A-tcYIfxtLLfL0Sl2uESXMf7daOLni58PTf7aClTb3z-4fSEzTCX-f7xq_wS_kcurNR67BfIaY6Bu1NJHe7b8iMiPW3Jui/s1600-h/sweet+view.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIvIaM1WTpC5ISStmBYFUfSaVdQ5Rmw4ij514j1A-tcYIfxtLLfL0Sl2uESXMf7daOLni58PTf7aClTb3z-4fSEzTCX-f7xq_wS_kcurNR67BfIaY6Bu1NJHe7b8iMiPW3Jui/s400/sweet+view.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170815671429442978" /></a><br /><br />Things were pretty slow going for a while as I had to cut a lot of full bench into rock to make the trail follow the saddle up. I also had to put a switch back in and build no less than four retaining walls.<br /><br />This section is all finished now. Although its steeper than I would have liked, it drains well and makes for good riding....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7apqQNgewvpoi7VAHyesTKJjqJfD4ypYkxA4vtaBA6_hbWiMIggbcddqOTbZjsTFnbQt3QHjk7wH7-LbGEtCtNsPZKU5D3jEsguO3S9p-p2VIf6mHF1PyeJA_OrodJ1WW-QZ/s1600-h/becnh+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7apqQNgewvpoi7VAHyesTKJjqJfD4ypYkxA4vtaBA6_hbWiMIggbcddqOTbZjsTFnbQt3QHjk7wH7-LbGEtCtNsPZKU5D3jEsguO3S9p-p2VIf6mHF1PyeJA_OrodJ1WW-QZ/s400/becnh+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170815688609312194" /></a><br /><br />Now that I am at the top of the saddle the going is much easier and I'm making good progress. In fact, I have a well defined process.<br /><br />First of all the trail is walked and marked (there are white ribbons tied to trees in this photo)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkmAFygLGcHFxy97aVmlV4yYdKEkUNifW7vmeWWXFDJ-WlL_5K0b3OQX9Ju11lZ0yoephNi_Ah5a8IDqj1En6s9mxqT4hBbXdkiE3jndO1W450rrD0XE79WppIWroWyj6dUbR/s1600-h/before3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkmAFygLGcHFxy97aVmlV4yYdKEkUNifW7vmeWWXFDJ-WlL_5K0b3OQX9Ju11lZ0yoephNi_Ah5a8IDqj1En6s9mxqT4hBbXdkiE3jndO1W450rrD0XE79WppIWroWyj6dUbR/s400/before3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170806523149102402" /></a><br /><br />Then the trail is cleared...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXHd0yZIqYNqVynpE_C2OoLW3d5qsfsc1_JIxijaR8_nKRZkS552DpD2OkCWHw-XvmJ7G914sElUzkaS2sEZ_niMC8FSKhMbaT0J1RavOYilPRt9B8JRy5kcBZTSDOTbFl7AT/s1600-h/clear+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXHd0yZIqYNqVynpE_C2OoLW3d5qsfsc1_JIxijaR8_nKRZkS552DpD2OkCWHw-XvmJ7G914sElUzkaS2sEZ_niMC8FSKhMbaT0J1RavOYilPRt9B8JRy5kcBZTSDOTbFl7AT/s400/clear+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170806531739037010" /></a><br /><br />Then the trail is cut...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5xgAfvYr2RpF_Z6aVK0CblLg4Lbxs5Ge08gxzYKBE5spquSPz0i7zdYfFBx4BYITq_GLohhuhkNcx_1wVg5jeOpwjIeJZyzBySjsFuMTtrRtFlKl5ncFx6G6Nkt0Fcvd2Lj-c/s1600-h/cut+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5xgAfvYr2RpF_Z6aVK0CblLg4Lbxs5Ge08gxzYKBE5spquSPz0i7zdYfFBx4BYITq_GLohhuhkNcx_1wVg5jeOpwjIeJZyzBySjsFuMTtrRtFlKl5ncFx6G6Nkt0Fcvd2Lj-c/s400/cut+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170806544623938914" /></a><br /><br />Then after triming, compaction (using our dogs fat arse) and a few days to let the soil settle there is the final test....<br /><br />....the dog run....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAp3LyHfz6GhDAFe_H02wVl4OR1UrdntAnvIjDDU-u2esqeIG1LCSRNkmc35FWfmCl89SF9S7pp83ppsABMlZUR5nrMLNz79ChyphenhyphenBIZzJnfGrHyzsiLfcw7dtzXRlawnztnMr3X/s1600-h/gucci+tests+the+trail.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAp3LyHfz6GhDAFe_H02wVl4OR1UrdntAnvIjDDU-u2esqeIG1LCSRNkmc35FWfmCl89SF9S7pp83ppsABMlZUR5nrMLNz79ChyphenhyphenBIZzJnfGrHyzsiLfcw7dtzXRlawnztnMr3X/s400/gucci+tests+the+trail.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170811050044632466" /></a><br /><br />If our dog doesn't want to run it..then the trail isn't finished...<br /><br />Tomorrow I have this lot to clear....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNtDfdxO0Hsu547vak8LODA6emot6R1QhVBLBgHNaMkr5TwkRbCdLK7ZJXfOJmFi_D-sRHJYcHLtTIsz1cb4_b83pSdcChsh-_AfsBvVnul3PxzgrFcVujxIDTRs9kO6JFWNZ/s1600-h/next+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNtDfdxO0Hsu547vak8LODA6emot6R1QhVBLBgHNaMkr5TwkRbCdLK7ZJXfOJmFi_D-sRHJYcHLtTIsz1cb4_b83pSdcChsh-_AfsBvVnul3PxzgrFcVujxIDTRs9kO6JFWNZ/s400/next+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170806557508840834" /></a><br /><br />It sure beats working for a living.....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-77424846161047374272008-02-13T22:28:00.004+08:002008-02-13T22:53:22.726+08:00Trail Blarzin!Well its been raining pretty much solidly for 10 days now....<br /><br />The trail has been holding up well though and the wet weather has made cutting bench and carving sandstone a whole lot easier...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObP0FeXYlucoSxiHy7besnxUI66-cACCYi5V4rLuAAkXSvXxzMe60YJObaXadH96gs1dgwJS7QqDiZH6ivRAPBoGWmvvX_U7qpJm_UZmnKd4pqo780si0YLyIK2gmc_dG-3qV/s1600-h/sweet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObP0FeXYlucoSxiHy7besnxUI66-cACCYi5V4rLuAAkXSvXxzMe60YJObaXadH96gs1dgwJS7QqDiZH6ivRAPBoGWmvvX_U7qpJm_UZmnKd4pqo780si0YLyIK2gmc_dG-3qV/s400/sweet.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166473536802597986" /></a><br /><br />Of course the rather excelent condition of the trails is mostly down to the fact that I am religously following IMBA's 10% rule wherever I can...<br /><br />So this is too steep...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzC_t6yqALzYJMjEvahT781dSbAj2dJxHCMSgluq91XFDIX6-komcJ-IgVGT9drhjcDetwlDSkAecNchUoWD_hTQ9X-HfLFadI5CKjgKFzIn2VNup9bgPxu5UXotrjXMkq37fB/s1600-h/Too+steep.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzC_t6yqALzYJMjEvahT781dSbAj2dJxHCMSgluq91XFDIX6-komcJ-IgVGT9drhjcDetwlDSkAecNchUoWD_hTQ9X-HfLFadI5CKjgKFzIn2VNup9bgPxu5UXotrjXMkq37fB/s400/Too+steep.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166473566867369122" /></a><br /><br />and this is just right....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlqhdtaz_2LPt5SLJYGmZe-f99OV82iRt3YQmvY6voYhL9xjfnmkIlRQoRhDEcpoPKgcT-T6zO5o8Pv_d5-ts9pEuvXXAoAyOG6c0hIbr7wYfwLNmOtFLA3tzqPTVLKE8ZmTd/s1600-h/As+steep+as+it+gets.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvlqhdtaz_2LPt5SLJYGmZe-f99OV82iRt3YQmvY6voYhL9xjfnmkIlRQoRhDEcpoPKgcT-T6zO5o8Pv_d5-ts9pEuvXXAoAyOG6c0hIbr7wYfwLNmOtFLA3tzqPTVLKE8ZmTd/s400/As+steep+as+it+gets.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166475009976380594" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-27492128867365105132008-01-28T16:42:00.001+08:002008-02-13T22:53:58.604+08:00Crap Food!Litteraly...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZpPuXHoyXp-vtobCkC8WYUT08Su6Hd5vb-or16SxWq6eaeophhh_D5iLSO_bJYCdvUuFDOM4W3lR5V17v9mvOF0Ltu5_kGCCmIvJABlfLXqbOqfSlOULPsaAcNRIjmTR25RW/s1600-h/modern+toilet10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZpPuXHoyXp-vtobCkC8WYUT08Su6Hd5vb-or16SxWq6eaeophhh_D5iLSO_bJYCdvUuFDOM4W3lR5V17v9mvOF0Ltu5_kGCCmIvJABlfLXqbOqfSlOULPsaAcNRIjmTR25RW/s400/modern+toilet10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160465256620171634" /></a><br /><br />last week we went to a resturant where seats are old toilets and the tables are bath tubs...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQa7cyhfszkCRAE9Q-EypLhszNv0VeDVWUCjX1YAnW5VENqY74SMIHIBK0MpU7VboRErMLFKjlcRaEIOrKHrg-wzp-3qYyxonZb_5UxRuHwPCSuHN3nqRkTu_n3wrbZhS19dG-/s1600-h/milly+wipes+her+bum.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQa7cyhfszkCRAE9Q-EypLhszNv0VeDVWUCjX1YAnW5VENqY74SMIHIBK0MpU7VboRErMLFKjlcRaEIOrKHrg-wzp-3qYyxonZb_5UxRuHwPCSuHN3nqRkTu_n3wrbZhS19dG-/s400/milly+wipes+her+bum.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160465273800040850" /></a><br /><br />I played it safe and went for the curry...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRga4mSnm6R6oGgZrI2Vg3GAJKvBAXBsZadc9QmQotCA5sCUqbRBcNuazyHg9tNXmSGLj8EwQEdv-G8oKcJWGhBNkA7INHEBNhDnt5I1Oq6zoNPHJcFeBI7GuLXdjumgWdZ5H4/s1600-h/modern+toilet7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRga4mSnm6R6oGgZrI2Vg3GAJKvBAXBsZadc9QmQotCA5sCUqbRBcNuazyHg9tNXmSGLj8EwQEdv-G8oKcJWGhBNkA7INHEBNhDnt5I1Oq6zoNPHJcFeBI7GuLXdjumgWdZ5H4/s400/modern+toilet7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160844025491038658" /></a><br /><br />This lady loved it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjov81_WiiqHnIxPuOpg7DiZC4lc0kgvs_71aqJPLdKMZQ7RDqVXS1RR92xiRgblWhPc-LAiZSOnh23PFz5c69dZRrdoAA2ytOeAU0S4Dxj7tAlWnjgXTdyyF-G-LCbdZCXXqlK/s1600-h/modern+toilet8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjov81_WiiqHnIxPuOpg7DiZC4lc0kgvs_71aqJPLdKMZQ7RDqVXS1RR92xiRgblWhPc-LAiZSOnh23PFz5c69dZRrdoAA2ytOeAU0S4Dxj7tAlWnjgXTdyyF-G-LCbdZCXXqlK/s400/modern+toilet8.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160465265210106242" /></a><br /><br />And for desert?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24Kvji0cpy1FS9wI4GWB9cTfBKlR-kvWAvf6ipxB3GplY5aREdaA28TNs8jBJJwoW87XfaBgkMXDtAPOeXmPyJQ5_gvdLIPOAT0Tz1I4kEVAUz9yboaI9KJRJzFO2a2nd3sRT/s1600-h/modern+toilet11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24Kvji0cpy1FS9wI4GWB9cTfBKlR-kvWAvf6ipxB3GplY5aREdaA28TNs8jBJJwoW87XfaBgkMXDtAPOeXmPyJQ5_gvdLIPOAT0Tz1I4kEVAUz9yboaI9KJRJzFO2a2nd3sRT/s400/modern+toilet11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160465282389975458" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-90489176409209219022008-01-25T16:35:00.000+08:002008-02-13T22:54:16.813+08:00Georg....without an 'E'This is Georg (without an E)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialoIUw16SQ_mXPkUccNZN7YYXlC11uR79N9VatAB60Cad4GuxorYRm3GG15cOIpHY52cjtC8dL4eTI-si-lIdzLF1iuJpxNHOgmX3nWT2ydIA7zvp_K1rNrVCfHUdeWSApv5-/s1600-h/georg+sizing+up+the+drop.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialoIUw16SQ_mXPkUccNZN7YYXlC11uR79N9VatAB60Cad4GuxorYRm3GG15cOIpHY52cjtC8dL4eTI-si-lIdzLF1iuJpxNHOgmX3nWT2ydIA7zvp_K1rNrVCfHUdeWSApv5-/s400/georg+sizing+up+the+drop.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159332656564347170" /></a><br /><br />The poor fella can't even spell his name right and will do anything for one of these.....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHjnoHDDmyPn9OSaCszGU4jxFVWTX33D4PvRYDNuPMLEP1MS8odOSBOAwQ31J9iKKD6iW9n1EhMZbyO3JmfeO-O5IlCFg_sY69E9ZKW3QoI9eu3L7nulXh-0R8CU3Zy3WuDcbz/s1600-h/800px-Snickers_Mini.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHjnoHDDmyPn9OSaCszGU4jxFVWTX33D4PvRYDNuPMLEP1MS8odOSBOAwQ31J9iKKD6iW9n1EhMZbyO3JmfeO-O5IlCFg_sY69E9ZKW3QoI9eu3L7nulXh-0R8CU3Zy3WuDcbz/s400/800px-Snickers_Mini.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159332647974412562" /></a><br />He will do this...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3S5u6AgrKYsPYgX0C1UnLmn4jUBiqiAufR00qnTqFbFyWLW43OB1drWjFnwUh6H0N2ZCxFm7A2YKQ1NZk1hHv1Wo9itXm914lGy6gABozyV4tfi7orPpIQU4QkSk7ycY_mXgJ/s1600-h/georg%2520will%2520do%2520anything%2520for%2520a%2520snickers.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3S5u6AgrKYsPYgX0C1UnLmn4jUBiqiAufR00qnTqFbFyWLW43OB1drWjFnwUh6H0N2ZCxFm7A2YKQ1NZk1hHv1Wo9itXm914lGy6gABozyV4tfi7orPpIQU4QkSk7ycY_mXgJ/s400/georg%2520will%2520do%2520anything%2520for%2520a%2520snickers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159332669449249090" /></a><br /><br />And this.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcBrSBFFKy9B_x_llyM_AN65q7fZz2mSqLF3mi6TfaCGCS-y8V7B_TpQUOzs4M0BMHPp7j62OH7kybkB8s3F6B_Cg-a2x2n5ZGA3sqD0Ybra5hIB-xjHjZ8bWVWzYajddyYkl/s1600-h/georg+dropping.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcBrSBFFKy9B_x_llyM_AN65q7fZz2mSqLF3mi6TfaCGCS-y8V7B_TpQUOzs4M0BMHPp7j62OH7kybkB8s3F6B_Cg-a2x2n5ZGA3sqD0Ybra5hIB-xjHjZ8bWVWzYajddyYkl/s400/georg+dropping.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159332665154281778" /></a><br /><br />For a Mars bar I reckon I may even be able to convince him to drink this....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYO0AgmYyqot33bHLjStb1c7Wg2xZvy9qF7wiFOyyelYbdpWoxLd5tFcHUIVrKZusKHPpgGmbWDUkSXuBEbgS1-wkl6FcGZT78Ki9VyQlxGO0g3G2rvZ8_sPMhkfrwST9kLX1E/s1600-h/love+milk.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYO0AgmYyqot33bHLjStb1c7Wg2xZvy9qF7wiFOyyelYbdpWoxLd5tFcHUIVrKZusKHPpgGmbWDUkSXuBEbgS1-wkl6FcGZT78Ki9VyQlxGO0g3G2rvZ8_sPMhkfrwST9kLX1E/s400/love+milk.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159334198457606482" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-72582056770005038942008-01-18T15:52:00.000+08:002008-02-13T22:53:43.847+08:00Trail Blazing....Despite it being the world's capital for bicycle manufacture there are no 'official' mountain bike trails in Taiwan. <br /><br />The roadies are well catered for with big mountains and quiet roads, the casual riders are also represented with over 100km of nice, flat (and boring) asphalt bike paths around the city.<br /><br />There is also an amazing amount of hiking, but they have mostly been built on fall lines and as a consequence have hundreds of concrete steps to navigate.<br /><br />Taipei is surrounded by mountains so the potential is enormous. The trails we do have are pretty awesome, but there isn't many of them and we have to climb on the road to get to them...(via Starbucks though)<br /> <br />So, as a member of the gainfully unemployed I find myself with rather a lot of time on my hands.....and I have decided to do something with those hands... <br /> <br />Here's a few photos of the trail I'm currently building just at the back of our apartment....<br /><br />This section will eventually be a berm leading into another one just off camera...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzjz3ro8SSJ4NjSwjZL812o66RPIq3cy0jcIjzXl-SG7H48EfQUg3Otv3_LHmPNxYzrvUPg75eX0W-B6LYW3yZyrhIiS8KJOXh5CaL0P4j4njDSCZRq-NAcMCQu9zrncqwymKn/s1600-h/berm1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzjz3ro8SSJ4NjSwjZL812o66RPIq3cy0jcIjzXl-SG7H48EfQUg3Otv3_LHmPNxYzrvUPg75eX0W-B6LYW3yZyrhIiS8KJOXh5CaL0P4j4njDSCZRq-NAcMCQu9zrncqwymKn/s400/berm1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156724684978471314" /></a><br /><br />Straight bits are also needed though....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpCo6a4rP4tUy5c8Ns7PLieV8KyupTsj-E-hGppbNXKUlAbZ0sBA8P9hC9d0Pj-Q3XlgeCFCeVsWiXainFWzw2vF4jEsw4ea11LcSP0sv1sXW4kuWHZxnZi9ULlWAtmPrhDYA/s1600-h/trail+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpCo6a4rP4tUy5c8Ns7PLieV8KyupTsj-E-hGppbNXKUlAbZ0sBA8P9hC9d0Pj-Q3XlgeCFCeVsWiXainFWzw2vF4jEsw4ea11LcSP0sv1sXW4kuWHZxnZi9ULlWAtmPrhDYA/s400/trail+1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156724710748275122" /></a><br /><br />And I've got a retaining wall or two to build...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ylkDWM9J6Rx7AKQt1dWlFUg8rjwNOdx1ZrBQWHB967evzIRVVEpcQSnQQgIMRA8Rpupze8_SYiRTG2IwJxkODO1baCswfRJG7V7YbQhyNrGXGVRatxbZuVsvLE1-6qI1o97S/s1600-h/after.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ylkDWM9J6Rx7AKQt1dWlFUg8rjwNOdx1ZrBQWHB967evzIRVVEpcQSnQQgIMRA8Rpupze8_SYiRTG2IwJxkODO1baCswfRJG7V7YbQhyNrGXGVRatxbZuVsvLE1-6qI1o97S/s400/after.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5156724727928144338" /></a><br /><br />The idea is to create 2-3k medium difficulty loop so that riders just wanting a quick blast don't have to climb for an hour to get on some dirt...<br /><br />Watch this space for updates....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-2738337306737114582008-01-16T15:18:00.000+08:002008-02-13T22:54:16.814+08:00Helen'sMore photo's from the guys.....<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkFgcM_oi_k-8cqiQGaptHtAVOA4pbBooPPP0YHGVWwOVYMZsmXHHt2Rjvmkw5NgCFoVg7qzR6OmZJefsvjDJWVTGmK5faqCglXmRoj9SKyr5-RGLPrAFCYuwPH4-aTW3fcSf/s1600-h/jumping+the+rock.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkFgcM_oi_k-8cqiQGaptHtAVOA4pbBooPPP0YHGVWwOVYMZsmXHHt2Rjvmkw5NgCFoVg7qzR6OmZJefsvjDJWVTGmK5faqCglXmRoj9SKyr5-RGLPrAFCYuwPH4-aTW3fcSf/s400/jumping+the+rock.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155970978347565410" /></a><br />This is a trail called 'Helen's'. So called because of a coffee van thats normaly parked at the top of the mountain. He ussualy waits for the roadies to come through, but the MTB trail head also just happens to be a few hundred metres down the road.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8aO8FcO4JTWF8NH3oxIXzT-RZ6ZUK1TitYTnPpA7wd1dwUZnituIQU4tnPr2BAVWRJQrzSl4CfsZJOUPuQKDhDsPL3yo17TkPW7IKJ3mu3PAfVPA0wIsX-nW1KpeROsRcUUY-/s1600-h/riding+the+rock.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8aO8FcO4JTWF8NH3oxIXzT-RZ6ZUK1TitYTnPpA7wd1dwUZnituIQU4tnPr2BAVWRJQrzSl4CfsZJOUPuQKDhDsPL3yo17TkPW7IKJ3mu3PAfVPA0wIsX-nW1KpeROsRcUUY-/s400/riding+the+rock.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155970982642532722" /></a><br />The trail is super gnarly....ive only ridden it once and scared the crap out of me....I decided that I needed 1, A full suspension bike and 2, Larger balls before I would be able to clean it...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7zwZKBT6poxd9h1bqBrXUviNxKGwpAUEtvHsMf-MUcdeqk3vUwtcAlZuUUuOXz66W4RNBgJqynjQO6rbJJ5sTBJnP_vugyQ8wbyJ_s_Ouv_KB9sWZ_Wii6tPgvAQwTX8ahfDp/s1600-h/riding+the+rock2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7zwZKBT6poxd9h1bqBrXUviNxKGwpAUEtvHsMf-MUcdeqk3vUwtcAlZuUUuOXz66W4RNBgJqynjQO6rbJJ5sTBJnP_vugyQ8wbyJ_s_Ouv_KB9sWZ_Wii6tPgvAQwTX8ahfDp/s400/riding+the+rock2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155970982642532738" /></a><br />Fortunately the trail building bug is alive and well in Taiwan and the guys managed to make at least one section of it more ridable for the rest of us...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosv8auo7nLCtUBJJyD-rLPJfEoUYeVoUadz5a45ChRNmbnrjZafkUGONu08bLv4Y83HoGWL5r0Taha5hKihKf525oCdM_Td3mnKkvkIg0MI5rU5tBIJ4qAaxXxRn9hG12zLej/s1600-h/helens+rock.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosv8auo7nLCtUBJJyD-rLPJfEoUYeVoUadz5a45ChRNmbnrjZafkUGONu08bLv4Y83HoGWL5r0Taha5hKihKf525oCdM_Td3mnKkvkIg0MI5rU5tBIJ4qAaxXxRn9hG12zLej/s400/helens+rock.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155970978347565394" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiArbHAtx840RC-G3EkwQmR-RiQoGHsPt8I13ZUJ5TbYQgkIjzzXnBHITy6CsDUu4mGQAvc1WdAZBCl4j3MBQv7fGr5Nex_gZF7u1czcvENAoER6pfyb5FX49ATuxLsZb4u6JQ/s1600-h/down+the+rock.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiArbHAtx840RC-G3EkwQmR-RiQoGHsPt8I13ZUJ5TbYQgkIjzzXnBHITy6CsDUu4mGQAvc1WdAZBCl4j3MBQv7fGr5Nex_gZF7u1czcvENAoER6pfyb5FX49ATuxLsZb4u6JQ/s400/down+the+rock.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5155970974052598082" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-91057854137409226712008-01-06T19:38:00.000+08:002008-02-13T22:54:25.786+08:00Happy New Year!Well we are back in Taipers after an awesome break in New Zealand. We had the chance to stay in a place on the East coast of the North island. Bream bay in Ruakaka. <br /><br />Which isn't too shabby as you can see...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfhNj6HzYOYJJYyTJYhekGwTSnttCjZzh2T6NY_56eIfe7VPSP41Z5JQcEaWfx3M3dfIaZ7Jn-B0F5u4qV0Hgjr-Tr0JdG0yaV_7ZVN2VJrB72IYuXgMeaCfD2aM1nfG0vskb/s1600-h/DSC00947.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfhNj6HzYOYJJYyTJYhekGwTSnttCjZzh2T6NY_56eIfe7VPSP41Z5JQcEaWfx3M3dfIaZ7Jn-B0F5u4qV0Hgjr-Tr0JdG0yaV_7ZVN2VJrB72IYuXgMeaCfD2aM1nfG0vskb/s400/DSC00947.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152328661396963570" /></a><br /><br />We stayed up on the hill overlooking the beach...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNzYYjGpi-r41qUW6XkzRVKIt-9ktGRLLmxZzPVc4YUO0TNYNadmeUyBmy8qISeHNJwJK2h-Efw9RN3Uv1o6ibfCdF6AM15QGUhJfHSbN-GLb3JfXLxoZWTkZ9xTMjBsvvsZo/s1600-h/DSC00948.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjNzYYjGpi-r41qUW6XkzRVKIt-9ktGRLLmxZzPVc4YUO0TNYNadmeUyBmy8qISeHNJwJK2h-Efw9RN3Uv1o6ibfCdF6AM15QGUhJfHSbN-GLb3JfXLxoZWTkZ9xTMjBsvvsZo/s400/DSC00948.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152328669986898178" /></a><br /><br />I have a bike in NZ and took that along but alas no riding.It appears as though farmers don't want you riding on their land for some reason....<br /><br />It was still all good though. The weather was awesome and the food and wine up to the usual Kiwi standards.....<br /><br />I have came back very relaxed....but with a resolution to go on a diet...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ufIiXPik5OgBMUrlZMWaEuBNfUJds1ahAXFT7vkZQdZgIXXTpO6nCKOJ8HVTNrxDOdLq3tw1bqKsOrxskcFP1AkbdLWMJLzxJsLlKXxZK-lEG0HQ6MFRJFb-R5GIKCmIZ6ha/s1600-h/DSC00949.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ufIiXPik5OgBMUrlZMWaEuBNfUJds1ahAXFT7vkZQdZgIXXTpO6nCKOJ8HVTNrxDOdLq3tw1bqKsOrxskcFP1AkbdLWMJLzxJsLlKXxZK-lEG0HQ6MFRJFb-R5GIKCmIZ6ha/s400/DSC00949.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152328674281865490" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplySUTIz9L3oBRPTimp8iNp_4A0yNV50jkgazfzMOWXoKQXtusccgmCcijSWySiaC1uCse3GjstGzfc42TD1dgDCOOqDMl1aA63sHT7B_n5DtNK95f5NUSGUOHSlEC8jaj2G2/s1600-h/DSC00959.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplySUTIz9L3oBRPTimp8iNp_4A0yNV50jkgazfzMOWXoKQXtusccgmCcijSWySiaC1uCse3GjstGzfc42TD1dgDCOOqDMl1aA63sHT7B_n5DtNK95f5NUSGUOHSlEC8jaj2G2/s400/DSC00959.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152328678576832802" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CNDn53WNCX0zC8QHJ_eBm5iT2VVrGEBcPmNJmUgbc4ujddtowc_Q0n8oIWAMqhRRC5bfK1Tlk-ugJUDmuv_XF1dPWB-YW0LrfiSnh0GueNky66sCWr-UG0edY9MIsGupgcbp/s1600-h/DSC00957.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CNDn53WNCX0zC8QHJ_eBm5iT2VVrGEBcPmNJmUgbc4ujddtowc_Q0n8oIWAMqhRRC5bfK1Tlk-ugJUDmuv_XF1dPWB-YW0LrfiSnh0GueNky66sCWr-UG0edY9MIsGupgcbp/s400/DSC00957.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152328687166767410" /></a><br /><br />The really awesome thing...which I guess I should mention is that we have just bought a house about 30 seconds walk to the beach....<br /><br />I guess I will just have to force myself to go back at some point...<br /><br />Like...er....tomorow?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30725311.post-19720127474009120382007-12-24T20:18:00.000+08:002008-02-13T22:54:40.441+08:00I've had enough!I've had enough of mashing dérailleurs...<br /><br />I've had enough of leaking suspension...<br /><br />I've had enough of falling off....<br /><br />I've had enough of being slow...<br /><br />Apparently, this is the answer to my problems...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GcUTGWTwdjQkbHwKbBCuKgpC0xUKdnXNMjofpQejUQAGpcJftnw89CsoXXgAs59m_7N2rRQC1srFra1sEj6UcspbWGQNOj7Xj9iF-3PSfK9lvzSum99bKPddCiJcnR44R8BI/s1600-h/ofr_ss_kiss29-eg_md.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GcUTGWTwdjQkbHwKbBCuKgpC0xUKdnXNMjofpQejUQAGpcJftnw89CsoXXgAs59m_7N2rRQC1srFra1sEj6UcspbWGQNOj7Xj9iF-3PSfK9lvzSum99bKPddCiJcnR44R8BI/s400/ofr_ss_kiss29-eg_md.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147513706705404130" /></a><br /><br />A fully rigid, 29" size wheel, single speed....<br /><br />I can get myself one of these for not very much money courtesy of my bike shop owning father in law...<br /><br />Wot do you reckon?<br /><br />HOT or NOT?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3