Author: richard
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On Rain and Using it as an Excuse Not To Cycle or Walk
Reading Time: 3 minutesBike rides have been cancelled because of rain, rather than wind or other factors. When it rains cyclists don’t want to ride because it gets their bike dirty and they have to clean it, lubricate it and more. With hikers rain is also an excuse to be lazy, within some groups. With…
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On Cycling and Walking Infrastructure
Reading Time: 4 minutesWhen I hear that new cycling lanes will be created on a new segment of road I feel excitement, at the prospect of cycling being a pleasant, streamlined experience. Often though, in Switzerland, especially in the French speaking part they will spend months digging up a road, and then putting the road…
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Of Apple, Casio, Garmin and Suunto Wearing
Reading Time: 4 minutesThere was a time, for decades, if not centuries, when a watch provided us with the time. We would wear it in a pocket, attached to a chain, we would stare up at a clock tower and we would see the time. We might even hear church bells to indicate every quarter,…
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Autumn Weather and Flexibility
Reading Time: 2 minutesWith Autumn comes a change in weather. The days get shorter and the temperatures drop. Clouds come more often, and stick around. The result is that events that are scheduled are cancelled. Today the weather was good, but the event is scheduled for tomorrow. In a situation such as this I would…
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A Cycling Stroll With a Group
Reading Time: 2 minutesThere is a subconscious desire for a lot of cyclists, especially on group rides, to speed up and challenge each other. There is the urge to go as fast as possible on every ride, to leave people in the dust. There is the urge to light up Strava with personal records. For…
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Autumn Colours and an Autumn Ride
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhen it is overcast colours are washed out and harder to distinguish. For several days clouds have covered the sun so it has been darker, and with this darkness so the Autumnal colours have been harder to distinguish. This morning, during the morning ride we started in the grey light of an…
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The Nocturnal Run
Reading Time: 2 minutesLast night, as I finished dinner I noticed that others were out so I joined them within twenty minutes or so. That wasn’t fast enough. They had decided to call it a night. As this impacted my mental health I decided to go for a run. Often you see people are out,…
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The Strava IPO and My Desire To Quit the App
Reading Time: 2 minutesThis morning I woke at 0530 and thought "I can’t be bothered to go for a ride so early." Within a few minutes I was up getting ready. I put on my Autumnal cyclist stuff and pumped the tyres to 80 bar. I then road to the meeting point. I arrived 15…
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The Strava IPO and My Desire To Quit the App
Reading Time: 3 minutesStrava intends to float itself on the stock exchange. In my experience of Twitter, Facebook and other social media apps this is the beginning of the end for the app. In my experience when an app such as Zwift gets VC funding it loses control of its app. Users go from being…
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Autumn Cycling
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe first bicycle ride, when it got cooler, felt unpleasant. My hands felt cold, the areas around zips felt cold, my legs felt cold, and then, over a few rides I got used to the temperature. When you cycle in the pre-dawn dark the temperature is cool. You can feel it biting…