Science, Reason and Critical Thinking: The Crudity of Early Home Computing

I'm pretty sure Sir Clive didn't put anything cruder than "POKE" on the Spectrum, but if he had, I think he would have at least checked his spelling first.

Radiation

Randall Munroe, who writes and draws the excellent webcomic xkcd has created this chart showing radiation doses experienced by real people doing real things. Great way to get some perspective.

Coot-tha Challenge

Last Sunday I rode in Bicycle Queensland's "BDO Coot-tha Challenge". This year the 80km route featured the new Clem7 tunnel, but of course the highlight was the timed climb of Mt Coot-tha. I didn't do too badly - I passed lots of people who were walking up! But then there were lots of exhausted people resting at the summit, and I kept riding. They'd obviously put a lot more effort in for a good time - maybe I should try harder next year!

There are photos here, password is 'qtri', search on my surname for pictures of me. There's also a slide show of images from the ride.

Snake

Riding home from work the other day, I nearly ran over this little guy, sunning itself on the side of the road. I don't know the species, it was less than a metre long, and no more than 25mm across. It was dark brown with darker stripes.

It didn't move while I took photos, so it was either dead or playing possum. It was definitely dead the next day though - the side of a busy road is not the best place to sunbathe.

Marginalisation of cyclists

Bicyclists, Motorists and the Language of Marginalization is a thought-provoking article by Mighk Wilson on Bicycling Life. It's written about the USA, where the attitude towards cyclists seems very similar to that in Australia. European readers would probably not understand what the fuss was about.

Being BIG

"The Theory of BIG" is a great description of how to ride safely on the road. The "Bicycling Baldricks" who hug the gutter or ride on the footpath need to read this, now.

Beni-Wongarbon loop

After today's BUGs ride, I rode out through Beni Forest with Paul. He was going out to the MTB track at Geurie to help with a working bee, and I felt like a bigger ride, so I rode out halfway with him.

It's quite a windy day, with a strong westerly blowing, and I knew the ride back would be hard work. Ordinarily I'd have gone straight home, but I was in a good mood after an easy 30km ride, a cup of coffee and a chat, so I made the decision to keep going. After a couple of stops, to tell partners where we were going, and for me to buy some jelly snakes for fuel, off we went. The 30km/h tailwind had us at Beni in no time, and last night's rain packed down the sand on the road through the forest, so it was an easy ride. We saw a few grey kangaroos, one with a joey, and a flock of apostle birds. After the forest, on the road into Wongarbon, a couple of rabbits crossed the road in front of us - a big day for wildlife.

At Wongarbon I left Paul to continue along the highway, and I took the dirt road by the railway line back to Firgrove. I was getting tired by this point (about 60km - seems to be a magic number for me) and stopped for a rest at the Eulomogo fire station. I was full on into the headwind now, but the trees by the road and the general downhill slope helped here. I was still in a great mood - even an enthusiastic magpie tapping on my helmet couldn't take the smile from my face.

The last few kilometres into Dubbo were hard work - uphill and a stronger wind, but I used the granny ring and took it easy.

Total distance (including the BUGs ride) 84km - not bad considering I was planning on 30! In contrast to other recent long rides, I paced myself and enjoyed the ride more as a result.

Chernobyl

If you've been following Elena Filatova's adventures over the years, she's got on her motorbike and been back to the exclusion zone around Chernobyl.

Great photos and videos of the way nature is reclaiming the land now that the people have gone, accompanied by hard-hitting commentary on the broken social and political systems that caused the disaster, and, Elena says, are still seeking to sweep the problem under the carpet.

If you haven't heard of Elena's adventures before, start with Ghost Town and the Land of the Wolves.

Back after a year's spell.

I'm riding a lot more now than I was. I've joined DubboBUG, a local group which has a ride every Sunday morning, and another on Wednesday evenings in the summer. The rides are a great motivator to get out on the road. You also learn basic bunch riding skills and safe riding practices, and meet a nice bunch of people.

Regular riders' ages range from 'teens to seventies, and there are usually 15 to 20 people on a ride. Most ride mountain/recreational bikes. There's generally a huge range in fitness, and with that in mind we've settled on two kinds of rides:

Out and back

Whitewood Road for example. The ride organiser names a road out of town and a time (45 mins or an hour). Everyone rides out, and the group generally splits into fast, slow and medium bunches. After the nominated time, everyone turns around and heads back, and gets to the cafe at the same time (in theory!)

Loop ride

The Town Loop is typical. We make sure there are short-cuts in the loop for those who don't want to go the whole distance, and so that slower and faster riders still meet up for coffee at about the same time.

One of the experienced riders stays with the back markers so that no-one gets lost or stuck with a mechanical problem. Sunday rides include the obligatory coffee stop on the way back.

I've posted some more of our regular routes on bikely.com - search on "DubboBUG".

Cycling activists Critical Mass Australia have a great
article on how not to get hit by cars.

Most of the cyclists I see from day to day put their lives at risks by riding dangerously. And no, it's nothing to do with helmets. If you cycle, read it.

Heard on JJJ the other day a song from the new Spook CD - worth a listen.

Spook is Statler and Waldorf, Chanel Cole and Daniel Belle. Yes, that Chanel and Daniel.

Is this thing on?

This made me smile: A Bike Zen Koan.