General Stuff
Charging Electronic Gadgets on the Move
First let me say I’m not there yet. GPS is still a bit of a closed book – frightful admission – but I’ll get there eventually. As a cycle camper and mobile phone user, I am interested in the business of charging stuff when on the move and there appear to be some interesting gadgets around. The feeling I get is that the whole business is still pretty much in its infancy. There are a number of gadgets out there and the thing to do now is to read all you can about them from pioneering people who use them. Ergo, head for the Forums. A cursory look found the following:
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=45867&p=375170&hilit=phone+chargers#p375170
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44833&p=364291&hilit=phone+chargers#p364291
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=48470&p=402071&hilit=charging+gadgets#p402071
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=44960&p=365422&hilit=charging+gadgets#p365422
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=43729&p=353417&hilit=charging+gadgets#p353417
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=33381&p=264914&hilit=charging+gadgets#p264914
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32164&p=253873&hilit=charging+gadgets#p253873
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2043639
http://www.shanecycles.com/about/my-gear/handy-stuff/item/35-a-new-year-a-new-tent Scroll down to the comments for some interesting stuff about dynamo recharging.
http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6672.105
http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=34533
Here are some links to actual hardware:
http://www.ikonglobal.com/
http://shop.nokia.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/productdetail_10512_10102_-11_70000597
GOING SLOWLY.COM
What I really like about this site is some of the background stuff, like the planning of the trip and even what factors went into deciding to head off in the first place. Also if you want to learn something of the technology behind keeping in touch when on the road, then click on the ‘Internet’ link. Great site! http://www.goingslowly.com/planning/
TRAVELLING TWO ~ BIKE TOURING INSPIRATION
This is a great website with masses of useful information for the cycle traveller http://travellingtwo.com/
BEST CAMERAS FOR CYCLE TOURING
6 COMMON PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKES
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/travel-tips-and-articles/76046?affil=lpemail
BEST CAKE AND BEER STOPS
The members of that sensational cycle forum YACF have got together to create something really useful – a nationwide guide to those places which are so important to cyclists ~ ones where you can sit down and enjoy food and drink! Join the movement and contribute. The more comprehensive these things are, the better and more useful they become! http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=109168215630742238084.000458fd5144216d3a006&z=8
BIKE HUB iPHONE APP
http://www.bikehub.co.uk/iphone-app/bike-hb-iphone-app-now-in-review/ takes you to this new and potentially very exciting iPhone app. Essentially, it’s a journey planner and there’s not been time enough yet for us to give it a good looking at. If you get the chance, some feedback on the CTC Forum would be useful.
ONLINE OS MAPS
Thanks to Pete (of Polysym) for this. Free, full screen, scalable, OS mapping. Ready to copy into word, print screen and more. No adverts, nothing but maps.
http://www.polysym.com/os/w2.htm
NEW LONDON GUIDE
From a base of zero several years back, I now know of three cycling guides to London. The latest is called WheretoRide LONDON and very good it is too. Anyone who doesn’t think that cycling in London and its environs isn’t fun should read this and then try it out again. Highly recommended! http://www.wheretoridelondon.co.uk/
ADVENTURE CYCLING’S FORTNIGHTLY NEWSLETTER
CTC’s American counterpart – Adventure Cycling (www.adventurecycling.org) – produces an email newsletter every fortnight and very good it is too. The content of some issues fails to grab my attention, but then an issue comes along which contains much of interest. The one which dropped into my inbox today is just such a one. Contents include…
A blog by someone who’s just completed a trans-America cycling trip (http://innatmanchester.com/ridewithfrank/);
a link to a UK website containing some interesting cycling stories, mainly racing but the odd interesting item tucked away (http://www.suite101.com/bicycling);
details about a new and very simple gadget charger powered by a sidewall dynamo (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/nokia-announces-bike-powered-phone-charger);
details of a folding bike with a difference (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/07/kevin-scotts-bendy-bike-it-wraps-around-posts-for-secure-locking.php)
OFF-ROAD TOURING
One of these days my ‘Touring Column’ in Cycle will return when there’s space to accommodate it. The last one I wrote (for the October/November issue) was about off-road touring. We tend to think of touring as being mainly tarmac based – well, I do, maybe others don’t. Anyway, to me, an off-road based touring trip is something a bit different so I had a think about it, did some research and wrote a short piece. To get to the point, here’s another link, gleaned from Adventure Cycling’s fortnightly email newsletter, to an article about a trip along the Great Divide, definitely one of the longest and most incredible off-road tours imaginable. Be inspired! http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/nov/01/usa-mountain-bike-ride
BIKE LOCKS
Some interesting stuff from the treehugger website
www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/bike-locks-to-thwart-theft.php?dcitc=weekly_nl
Whilst on the subject of bike locks, take a look at CTC’s new INFormation sheet on the subject. It’s INF45 on the website. www.ctc.org.uk You’ll need to log in as a member to view it.
ONLINE MAPPING
You’re no doubt familiar – if only a little bit – with the concept of online mapping and have also come to realise that if you’ve splashed out on a GPS, then it’s necessary to purchase mapping software for it and for your computer. Well, < grough route > is a new product which is just like any number of free mapping sites, only it also allows you to print off your route on maps which you can print off or download onto a GPS. Now I’m not very advanced yet in my useage of GPS – I’m working on it as they say – but if you want to dip your toe in the water of online mapping, then this is possibly the cheapest option. For further INFormation, go to http://www.grough.co.uk/route/
A NEW WAY OF TELLING A STORY ~ THE ‘E-BOOK’
Adventure Cycling’s fortnightly newsletter provided this link to an ‘ebook’. Download the software and have a look at it. It’s a great way of presenting a book and furthermore…. the content – or what I read of it – looks really interesting.
http://www.charleshalty.com/BRGP.htm
ANOTHER ICONIC CYCLE TOURER DIES
Anne Mustoe, whose books cannot have failed to inspire many, died very recently in Aleppo, Syria. Here’s the obituary which appeared in the Times last Saturday
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article6935356.ece
HEADWIND HELL / TAILWIND HEAVEN
Check out the likely wind direction worldwide on this useful site
http://www.windfinder.com/windstats/
