Posts by BenWilson
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Hard News: Dressing for the Road, in reply to Lilith __,
Just out of interest, what's wrong with looking like a road worker?
Contrary to intention, it actually makes you invisible.
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Hard News: Dressing for the Road, in reply to Alice Ronald,
I've got induction-powered Reellights on the Archi bike,
Are they good? Struck me as slightly better than a hub dynamo in that you could move the magnets if you wanted to turn them off in the daytime (but I also imagine that this is trouble that most people wouldn't bother with). I like the idea of lights that get brighter the faster I'm going.
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Hard News: Dressing for the Road, in reply to Rachel Prosser,
Also, I now commute with folding bike, so if the weather is too bad, then I can take the bus.
Heh, classic. I gave my one to my sister who lived in Freeman's Bay. She used it to go everywhere she needed, and said people were always commenting on it.
Re: lanes between parking and pedestrians, I found they worked well overseas. Footpath doors don't get flung open with such impunity, because people expect there to be pedestrians. Also, every car has a driver, so it's the door most frequently opened. Drivers are accustomed to looking into their side mirror for other cars, which is probably why they frequently fail to see cyclists. Passengers don't have any mirrors to rely on, so they usually look, and they're looking for human sized objects.
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Hard News: Dressing for the Road, in reply to Lilith __,
A big rubber-band around the ankle is also ideal for keeping your nice trousers out of the chain. It’s more effective and way more comfortable than a conventional cycle-clip.
I know it's as ugly as sin, but I just tuck my pants into my sock, on the right side. I've always got them, and it keeps the trouser even cleaner than a clip.
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Hard News: Dressing for the Road, in reply to Patrick Morgan,
Here's a complete list of what you need to go biking: a bike.
Heh, I was wondering when a no-lycra evangelist would show :-). I presume even in Copenhagen that professional cyclists wear lycra. It is good gear if your purpose is cycling for serious exercise.
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Most of my rides recently are short commutes, Kingsland to University. I wear elastine jeans and t-shirt. If I decide to go to the gym that day, I wear shorts and a singlet, go much harder and treat it as the warmup, then change into clothes I carry with me, typically t-shirt and jeans or fresh shorts. I'd probably save time by having my shave/shower then as well. On the way home I usually go harder, regardless of what I'm wearing, because I'll be getting changed soon anyway.
Any day I want to go for a "long" ride, I would usually wear shorts of the loose fitting swimming type, although if it's for a night out, I'd probably still just wear jeans and take it easy, The main change to my wardrobe is externally imperceptible. I wear briefs rather than boxer shorts, which are very uncomfortable to ride in.
Most of the time I wear a helmet. I almost never wear hi-viz.
I'm considering cycling pants of some sort, but it's way further down the list than upgrading my bag was. Russell put me on to a winner, the backpack that converts to a pannier, from Rode. What sold it was that it's actually a very good backpack for a student since the rackside backing is hard and flat, which is perfect for notes and books.
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Capture: Someone, Somewhere, In Summertime, in reply to Nora Leggs,
Interesting you should say that. I found this cat laying against it the next morning, and many times since. Intermittent reward is really powerful on cats.
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Capture: Someone, Somewhere, In Summertime, in reply to Lilith __,
:-) I've certainly got plenty of biomass to get rid of. TBH, my motivation is not really about sequestration, it's about getting space back from various woodpiles that are taking forever to compost, whilst generating a useful byproduct, and an interesting experiment, without annoying the shit out of the neighbors or getting a visit from the council, or spending money. I don't have an indoor fireplace. It's a pity about the wasted heat energy - cooking is the only real use I can find for it. If anyone can think of a way to turn a bunch of excess heat on a small scale into something useful, let me know :-)
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The ultimate plan with this setup is actually to use it to make biochar, a summer project I had planned, that got completely fuxored by the drought. I wanted a fire hot enough that it makes no smoke. Which this did admirably within about 30 seconds of lighting it, as I forced it with a hand held fan. The char itself is made in a big tin on top, with small holes to let out the wood-gas (which also burns smokeless). On top of that, the grill, on which I cook stuff. The char goes on the garden, to make terra preta. That's the plan, we'll see how it goes during the next week of holidays.
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One from early in the summer, before the fire ban kicked in. Testing my rocket stove. Hot, thirsty work :-)
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