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GPS and Mapping
May 13, 2017
NOTE: This article is a work in progress. Apologies if it is not quite polished. Garmin GPS I have used the Garmin Etrex Vista HCX. Etrex Vista Review. I bought it for the Ride Earth trip. I put it on to record a track log of the route. I didn’t use it for navigation until the Mongolia trip. Although now it looks a bit old school, Garmin still does this kind of product.
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Backstreet Atlas - A Skateboarding Documentary
March 30, 2017
I used to commute to work on a longboard and got into Skateboarding again recently. I starting watching some Youtube videos and came across this documentary. Long distance travel on a normal street skateboard.
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Should You Try Crossfit? How I Got into Crossfit.
March 8, 2017
Back in February, some friends who were ‘Crossfitters’ offered to me to go and try and try a session with them. I was sceptical at first. In hindsight I’m not sure why. However, let me try and explain. Training evolution I consider myself to be quite fit. In the past I’ve done some epic, hard, long, steep, trips, journeys, adventures, races, blah, blah, blah… I have always done something through my life to keep up my fitness.
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Mountain Running Race, Rustavi Georgia
March 4, 2017
I participated in a team race at Rustavi, a city about 20 miles outside of the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi. It involved runninig up a very steep hill for about 20 minutes, then passing over to my teammate to rode back down the hill. It was a good laugh but a hard run. I was blowing by the top. However, it gave me a taste for racing and some experience.
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Open Wilderness Guiding Book
February 26, 2017
Back in the 60s a revolutionary group of geographers called the Situationists came up with a way to explore city spaces called the Dérive. They went on simple walks but with a difference. They deliberately paid attention to their feelings and thoughts and followed them leading them to adventures. This book expands on this concept with further techniques such as exploring a city with a compass instead of a guidebook. It encourages you to share your findings with others via online and offline media.
Tags: Bookurbanwildernesswalkingurban exploringSituationists
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Prepare, Pack, Pedal - A Practical Guide to Cycle Touring
February 26, 2017
After I finished my cycle tours across Europe and Asia, I organised all my research and planning into a guidebook, including route choice, equipment, budget and even communicating the journey. All the information you need to help plan your own journey taken from first hand experience
Tags: cycle-touringguidebook
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6 Shoes for City Exploring
February 26, 2017
This post started as research for comfortable shoes city exploring in London and Tbilisi. The criteria was lightweight, durable and able to wear in city context in a range of situations. The following are shoes that started off as off-road shoes but work well for urban adventures and city / mixed used. Desired Shoe features: Protected toebox from scuffing / scraping / tearing Trail running style sole for grip Lightweight Ankle support and protection Able to be worn in a casual context Salomon Men’s City Cross Trail Running Shoes These shoes look stylish but have a trail running pedigree.
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Wandermap - City Walking
February 26, 2017
Wandermap is inspired by the Situationists movement of the Dérive and Psychogeography. You experiment with maps to create inventive and unusual ways of navigating the city space. There are quite a few benefits but some include: Physical exercise of walking Getting closer to natural surroundings Getting closer to other people Experience the surroundings differently by looking differently References Psychogeography and the Situationists Psychogeography is an approach to geography that emphasizes playfulness and “drifting” around urban environments.
Tags: walking
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Krakow, Poland and Auschwitz - Birkenau
February 18, 2017
We went to Poland, Krakow. The food was amazing. A lot of hot stews. There was good beer too; draught lager or some dark beers. One pub had a selection dark, fizzy bitter and honey beer. The weather was cold -5 the first couple of days but warmed up. We wanted to visit all the historical sites in the city and go and visit the concentration camps at Auschwitz and Birkenau later in the week.
Tags: Poland
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Review of Binatone Terrain 750 Walkie Talkies
February 9, 2017
Bought to use for mountain bike guiding. Pros Solid construction Work well Easy to charge with stand Cons Batteries wear out too quickly If batteries are replaced with normal AAs, device can’t be used in the charger stand Conclusion Could be better options now. With mobiles tempting not to need this kind of radio. But still handy as a backup when there is no signal.
Tags: Walkie Talkies
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Review of Garmin Etrex Vista HCX Portable Handheld GPS
February 9, 2017
Bought to track route on cycle tour Pros Rugged design Accurate Reliable Feature packed Cons AA batteries run out too quick Not user friendly Conclusion Now there are cheaper, better, options out there.
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Photography
February 8, 2017
My photographic practice began in 2007 when I bought my first proper camera- Nikon DLSR D40x to take photos on my cycling journey around the world. Favourite things to photograph are architecture (places, Buildings, Interiors, features), documenting journeys and people. Cameras Zenit was bought in a market in Tbilisi. Nikkormat, bought on eBay. iPhone 5 Processing Take photos, after shooting, discard technically bad ones immediately. Pick ‘Keepers’ and ‘Marginals’. Use photos for something, print them or exhibit them somehow.
Tags: photogrphy