February Biking

Proper rides: 0 miles (pathetic!)
Business miles: 9 miles (1 trip, road)
Commuting: 80 miles (15 days riding to work and back (twice on the day I forgot my lunch))
Misc: 20 miles (guestimated)

Total: 109 miles

A tragically small number, especially given that I had a week off this month. Must try harder.

Low Energy Bulbs

australia has banned the normal light bulb. so in the future you will only be able to buy low energy light bulbs in auz.

europe aren't going to follow, they just pledged to reduce carbon emissions by a further 20%.

although a positive move, it's not the clear and simple message australia have sent out to their citizens of commitment to slowing climate change.

instead of a vague 20% reduction this single step gives every australian citizen a clear example and direction to reducing their energy consumption.

why can't we have some clear simple leadership instead of rehashed and respun figures.

- Howies blog: a footstep to follow

We've replaced just about every bulb in our house now. Why haven't we banned the normal light bulb yet?

Vintage cyclocross

A post on STW linked to a Fixed Gear Gallery page, which contained some photos from this site on vintage cyclocross which contains a link to this cyclocross article by Eugène Christophe, which I've probably linked to before, but deserves to be linked again.

Bikepacking

The goal was simple: go as light as humanly possible and take bike travel to the mountaintops. By utilizing the latest breakthroughs in ultralight gear, we — Matthew Lee, Bob Allen, and myself — were each able to ride with fifteen pounds of equipment or less (not including food) for a four-day ride along a mountain-choked ridgeline.

- Excellent slideshow of a four-day lightweight bike-packing trip in Montana.

Splashing

Want free books?

Why not mooch them off me?

You'll need to sign up and register some books first, have a look at the website.

[via Tom]

Hamster VI MTB Enduro

6 hour mountain bike enduro event in Hamsterley Forest
Event held on 20th May 2007
(Practise and Registration on 19th May)

The venue is set in the Northwest part of Hamsterley Forest, with fantastic views from the highest part of the course. The course is about 8 miles in distance consisting of fireroad climbs and singletrack descents.

The Event is all about how far can you go within the allotted time of 6 hours. To qualify for spot prizes you must complete at least one lap of the course.

Camping and event village in the forest (camping £5 per person payable at the event)
Entry fee £25 pre-enter or £30 on the day
Bike tech and Commencal demo bikes in event village

- More info on the Hamster VI website

The real reason you're broke

If you're constantly broke and can't figure out why, the answer may be sitting in your driveway.

- The real reason you're broke

[via Dave Nice, via Kent]

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

That, more or less, is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy.

Unhappy Meals by Michael Pollan (and an annotated summary of the article at Megnut) [via Kottke]

William Spencer Hollarado!

If Chris can post loads of snowboarding videos, I can post this cool skateboarding video. I don't think I've heard Bon Jovi in a skate video before. There are some great tricks in this video, like a cross between skateboarding, parkour, snooker trick shots and The Matrix.

Five minutes for the planet

All over the world people will be simultaneously turning off their lights and electrical appliances on the 1st February, to mark the forthcoming publication of a landmark report on climate change by the world’s top climate scientists (see http://www.ipcc.ch/).

Please take part in this global signal to politicians across the world that we can stop climate chaos and they must lead the way. To take part in the UK please turn off your lights and non-essential appliances from 18.55 to 19.00

New York will see the lights go out between 13.55 and 14.00 local time, 19.55 and 18.00 for Paris, Bruxelles, and Italy, 13.55 in Ottawa, 10.55 am on the Pacific Coast of North America, 1.55 and 2.00 in Vietnam.

Five minutes for the planet comes from the Alliance for the Planet (a group of environmental associations based in France) http://www.lalliance.fr

- iCount

January Biking

Proper rides: 30 miles (1 ride, mixed on- and off-road)
Business miles: 27 miles (3 trips, road)
Commuting: 80 miles (16 days riding to work and back)

Total: 127 miles

Update (Jan 2008): I just added the numbers up again, and found they add up to 137 miles!