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new tyres

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I ordered these MAXXIS Hookworm  slicks on the net & they arrived from Brisbane fairly quickly.  Man, the old Dirt Wizards were a bitch to break the bead on. Wow, there was only a very shallow valley in the rim and the tyres are very snug. The Worms are quite a bit heavier and I found that on my Salsa: the tyres that come with the new bikes are very light. I wonder if this is a sales gimmick or whether they're actually good quality? I recall the Fat Larry tyre on the front of the Salsa Beargrease had a great knob of glue holding a tear together.  I found getting the wheels off showed the class in this build. Every step was easy and was engineered with quality. I wasn't looking forwards to inflating with my stumpy frame pump, but it worked out fine.  Now on the road, they were killer good. Immediately I guestimated 5% more speed for the same effort. They're faster and smoother and I enjoyed more accurate feedback from the road. Yes, the reality is...
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Sunday ride

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Morning tea brew by the trail & over Leggy Point. My goals today are to build time in the saddle & limit time in traffic. I rode 4.5 hrs on a loop from  Hamilton station, Foreshore and down the coast to  Glenrock and Fernleigh Track.  There were many ebikes on the trail travelling above human speed.  A blend of bike and motorbike, is getting more people riding in a way more sustainable than the car; a good thing.  So goals reached, a very positive day on Rastus.
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random city ride

Following a bit of a failure with mileage and fum yesterday I want to zoom about Newcastle, for a few hours and get some fun, food and miles.  If I cant get enough miles in around town I'll go to the Glenrock  NP and hit the trails there. I've got my stove, so a roadside coffee or 2 will be had. 
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a sublime moment

I've been living " off grid ", or as I prefer " no grid " for over 20 years. I bought my first solar PV panel in 1986 and I've been here for the last 20 years with no cpnnections to;- power, water, sewer or phone networks. Just a quite rickety dirt trail is our sole hard link to the world .  On following the mellow path in life we are encouraged to be aware of our surroundings, how it impacts us and visa versa. Well, honestly for me this way of relating to my environment is somewhat of an obsession. Imagine my delight while I was showering tonight. Just to back track, I have a new routine that has evolved. It involves weight training, meditation and gardening. I start by doing 10 rep's of 7 dumbell exercises, then I rest, or recover. During these moments I pray a decate of the rosary and with a sharp knife I dig lightly about the garden pulling weeds. So after about 30 minutes Im feeling pumped, a little sweaty which attracts the dirt. Now, those preciou...
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cycling love, bp preparations

I'm certain that my love of cycling, on what is about week 4 of Krampus ownership, has never been higher.  I want to ride as often as I can and feel elated for the remainder of the day.  The highest point in my past cycling life was when I rode to TAFE perhaps three times a week on my red Giant Cypress.  That bike had a very relaxed geometry, but with an alloy frame, was quite a good mover. I said to my local bileshop guy that I hoped to rekindle that feeling. And gladly certain this has happened. Moving towards the  Thunderbolt rally, I'm getting my gear sorted. I've organised to return my newly purchased bivy bag and hope to rebuy a OR Stargazer bivy. This one is lighter and hopefully better quality.  SLEEP SYSTEM This bivy will become the mainframe of my sleep system. This will be completed by my old Black Wolf 3/4 sized sleeping pad, and the sleeping bag liner I used on my camino walks. In colder months, I will probably pack a sleeping bag. In emergencies, w...
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getting to the Thunderbolt

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Reasons for enlisting for the Thunderbolt:- ∆ k's (training & event) ∆ to learn from bikepackers ∆ upscale riding & camping So, I may ride to Gloucester. A train from here to Dungog would avoid possible death on that busy narrow road. Then its 60k on a side trail for the first bit & possible overnight camp. So, 60k x 2 to & from plus 47k on the event. A 110k ride over a few days, some camping (formal & stealth) & some road food scrounging as well as cyclists for company. Sounds more than good, great!
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world "leaders" are global criminals of the worst kind

News emerging from the Epstein files is disturbing. Once thought to contain information relating to child trafficking and sexual abuse its worse.  Hints of global child abductions on a massive scale, forced pregnancies and then disfiguring and killing those babies. Upsetting, and beyond our darkest imaginations . This is also how those that have read the files are describing   what they've seen. So keep your babies close and turn off the news and prepare to be mind f#$%ed.
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