The internet is a strange, shouty place that lends itself to simplistic polarised arguments positions on many subjects and, even before we start on hydraulic vs mechanical, there’s a pair of diametrically opposed and entrenched positions on disc vs rim brakes. I would say that there’s 49% that swear thatRead More →
Cycle Touring Bike Security Let me be the first to admit that if there were a spectrum of sentiment about bike security then I would be near one end, the end marked “Paranoid”. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t walk around in a perpetual xenophobic haze believing that every strangerRead More →
Part 1 – Background & Our First Outing Let’s start by saying that we’re not experienced campers, we’re not even really outdoor types but we have always been seduced by the ‘call of the wild’ and the romanticism of sleeping under the stars being at one with nature in anRead More →
It’s Now or Never So, the time has come; the time of the realisation that there is no tomorrow. We are aged 54 and 58 and, as Elvis would have said, it’s Now or Never. That’s the opening para with the necessary melodrama done, so here comes the clarity ofRead More →
Time to go Cycle Touring in Australia? We have a hitlist of places that we feel we should have been to but haven’t; in Europe there’s Vienna (it means nothing to me), Prague and Copenhagen; there’s anything North of Napa on the US West Coast that we’ve seen and theRead More →
Safety Razors vs Disposables For me it started about 3 years ago with the desire for a closer shave and an undeniable love for quality engineering that first put a safety razor back in my hand. I was surprised at how much better it is than my usual Gillette Mach 3,Read More →
The Success of the Flags on our Bikes Of the selection offered in the pack, it seemed obvious to fit the Union Jack as the flag behind the bike, but after our first small shake-down ride, it also felt a touch crass and jingoistic. Maybe it was the influence ofRead More →
The Thais don’t really do breakfast as we would know it and where breakfasts are available, it’s generally because there is a Falang presence in the area and it’s that market that’s being catered for. But when you get into the areas where a white face is unusual thenRead More →
Well, we’re back in Surat Thani now for one night. Koh Samui was interesting to see but, as I suggested, I doubt if we’ll ever go back. It feels good to be back in “Thailand” if you catch my drift. Although I can bang on sometimes about cost, I’m onlyRead More →
We’ve spoken previously about the virtues and simplicity of the Spanish Tinto de Verano as a daytime thirst quencher so when we wanted a long cool poolside drink for here in Koh Samui, it was as simple as buying a bottle of red and a handful of cans of SpriteRead More →