Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Kudos to OC Parks and Recreation

Amber and I found out that one of our favorite BBQ places, Beachwood BBQ, is now open for breakfast so we headed out early from Anaheim and got there with a raging appetite. It was well worth the ride so I took the time to speak to the manager and complement him.



Two weeks ago we noticed a small subsidence under the SART that had caused the edge of the bike trail to fall away. Last weekend Orange County Parks & Recreation had closed that section of the bike path off, although it wasn't too difficult to get around the barriers. It astounds me that they think forcing us onto busy roads for a mile is preferable to negotiating a pot hole with cones around it.

This weekend the hole was fixed and the barriers gone. I've never seen a bike path hazard fixed so quickly. Kudos.

PBP is running right now. I followed the progress of some of my friends. I see Greg Kline is ripping the road up and on track for a Charly Miller time. Good luck to all of you.

Sometimes I post an idea for an invention. This post includes an anti-invention. What's that?
You know how long fire trucks can be steered from the front and back at the same time to help them get around tight corners? How about a tandem that can do the same thing so the stoker can get more involved? I can only imagine the chaos this would cause. I hope no-one ever tries to build one of these.

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Taking advantage of the weak Pound

About a year ago my daughter and I rode Lejog with Peak Tours. It was almost fully catered with overnights in B&Bs and hotels. It cost about $2200 for 14 days plus $600 for the plane fare. We paid an additional $200 to rent high-quality touring bikes so we wouldn't have to deal with transporting our bikes.

Today I got a email advertisement from Cycling Adventures for some rides. I clicked on one in the Natchez Trace and was astounded to see it cost $1400 for 5 days of cycling - fully catered and camping.

So right now you can get a 14 day tour with every meal catered except the evening meal and great overnight accommodation (and it was great) for $2200 in the UK or a 5 day tour, fully catered and with tents for $1400 in the USA. I'm not saying Cycling Adventures is overpriced, but the weak Pound is making the UK a great place to vacation.

I think the UK is going to crash out of the EU with no deal and the Pound will plummet - possibly reaching parity with the Dollar. The next year may be the best opportunity to have a UK vacation ever.

My daughter and I are heading back next Summer for a one week hiking vacation. I've found tickets on Virgin for $500. The vacation is going to cost about $800 (maybe less by the time we pay). It's going to be great.