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Top 5 Useful Items of Mountain Biking Equipment
October 19, 2015
These are some of my favourite pieces of equipment for mountain biking that I have owned and rigorously put to the test.
1. A good bag. The Osprey Escapist 32 gives me enough space, whilst working as a bike guide to carry tools, spare tubes, repair kits, snacks, water, jacket, camera, knee guards, wallet, phone, back up battery. At a squeeze I could fit enough in it for an overnighter with a sleeping bag & bivvy.
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5 of the Most Thought Provoking Books about the Environment
October 12, 2015
The Weather Makers
A series of essays about the consequences of global warming. It looks into the knock on effects of rising carbon dioxide levels such as changing weather patterns, desertification and conflict over resources. It also proposes solutions.
Plastic Ocean: How a Sea Captain’s Chance Discovery Launched a Determined Quest to Save the Oceans
The book tells the tale of Captain Charles Moore, who, taking a shortcut back from a trans-pacific race through the rarely travelled North Pacific Subtropical Gyre known for poor sailing conditions discovers a huge area of floating plastic. It goes on to talk about the shocking impact of plastic on the environment and highlights the dire need for better waste management solutions.
Tags: BooksEnvironmentResearch
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5 Videos on the Latest Developments in Sustainable Mobility
October 10, 2015
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is a well known tech engineer and entreprenuer. His company Tesla deals with solar energy, batteries and electric cars. Here is a video about the latest car model - the Model X.
Electric Bikes
Electric bikes are becoming more popular as technology improves and gets lighter and prices go down. Here is a report from Interbike 2015.
E-Bike Touring
This guy has does a series of videos where he takes his e-bike touring. His bike is fully kitted up for touring with bags and gear. It looks like an interesting set up with mountain bike forks for safety (with the extra speed) and shows an alternative route from traditional bike tour with the emergence of the electronic bike.
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Testing Times in Tbilisi
September 1, 2015
When I first arrived in Tbilisi I thought the cracks in the pavement with weeds going through and the wonderful eroded qualities of some of the buildings were signs of character. Unfortunately a little bit of reality started to creep in.
I’ve not managed yet to find the traction on the mtb tours I was hoping for. I’m a little bit jealous of some other people I know who seem to be happily pursuing their thing and being settled in here.
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Gudauri’s New Mountain Bike Trail Hit or Miss
August 31, 2015
The new mountain bike trail in Gudauri opened on the 9th August with over 50 riders turning out to take advantage of the free gondola up lift and enjoy the newest bike trail to open in Georgia. I went along with a friend Lado, the owner of the Cube bike shop in Tbilisi, to see how the trail rode. My expectations were high as the build was done by a professional trail building company from Slovenia with the help of local downhill champion Luke Elioshvili.
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Svaneti, Georgia, Georidersmtb Mountain Bike Tour with Guests from Boulder, Colarado
August 31, 2015
We went off to Svaneti on a bike tour. I’d been staying at James’ place for a few days after arriving in Georgia.
Our new friend Vako driving in his suped up Delica 4x4 van and his bike trailer arrived we loaded up the bikes and drove over to the Hotel. On the way, I enjoyed sitting high up in this crazy vehicle with the tyres making a noise like the Batmobile.
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Should I Work for Free?
August 23, 2015
Conventionally a person gets a job, fulfils a task and then receives some money. Money is collected and used to spend on things. Boiled down this is the consumerist lifestyle.
Help thy Neighbour
If a person goes to a neighbour and does some work to fix their car, but refuses to accept a pre specified amount of money then the person whose car has been fixed can choose to pay back the other person later with a comparable task, show gratitude, do nothing, offer their skills for free to someone else etc.