Life from an outsider’s perspective… Life from an outsider’s perspective… The life of an expat Australian starting a new life in Spain. A former research scientist now runs a pro road bike hire business. Cycling in a place with no flat roads! The importance of Mental and Physical health in todays society... Articles
The things I hate about Shimano.
2008-04-30 02:27:00 For the most part, shimano bicycle components work extremely well. Even so, after working on my fleet of road rental bikes for the past year or more I have come to despise certain maintenance tasks. What follows is a list of all the little niggly things which I dislike about shimano road componentry (5600/Ultegra level). Neither is this ... More About: Hate , Things , Shimano
The best ever rock band?
2008-04-23 20:01:00 The band is Powderfinger. No it’s not from Tenerife, not even from Spain or Europe… but all the way from Australia (like me). This is the sort of music that gets me going… it just rocks and nothing more needs to be said. More About: Band , Inspiration , Rock , Rock Band
?May-Day? promotional offer!
2008-04-23 00:24:00 Limited time only: 20% OFF all rental bikes during the whole month of May! Just three simple conditions: 1) This offer applies to deliveries around the El Puerto de la Cruz region only. 2) To be eligable, you must quote the keywords: “vertebrae ceramic”. 3) This offer is obviously subject to the availability of bikes in your sizes… More About: Promotional , Offer , Sales Pitch
?Bombproof reliable? bicycle maintenance, part II: The drivetrain.
2008-04-22 01:55:00 I have come to learn a lot about providing a reliable bike hire service here in Tenerife. Most cyclists rent our bikes from 5 to 7 days and cycle an average of 300-500km or more. In that time, the riders make at least one ascent up to the base of Mt Teide. It’s not uncommon for clients to climb a ... More About: Maintenance , Part , Bicycle
Cycling T-shirts available now
2008-04-21 17:34:00 Last week I ordered a new batch of official www.Tenerife-Training.net T-shirts! Short sleeve T-shirts are available in small, medium and large & cost only ?12.50 each. Long sleeve T-shirts are available in medium and large sizes for only ?15. They’ll most likely be available before the end of April, 2008. More About: Cycling , Shirts , T-Shirts , T shirts
Music inspiration from Zaragoza; the kingdom of Aragón.
2008-04-20 15:05:00 Amaral is a very famous Spanish pop/rock band almost unknown outside Spain. Amaral originated in 1997 in Zaragoza , in the North-East of Spain. The band consists of Eva Amaral and Juan Aguirre. The following videos are in fact the first three tracks of Amaral’s third album, Estrella de mar (2002). Sin ti no soy nada (without ... More About: Music , Kingdom , Inspiration , The Kingdom
Measuring bicycle frame sizes / bike fitting.
2008-04-20 00:51:00 How to measure a bike frame: Bicycle s are measured in several different ways. The usual sizing measurement relates to the seat tube length, given in centimetres for road bikes and inches for mountain bikes. The best way to measure the seat tube is from the centre of the bottom bracket shell to the centre of the top ... More About: Bike , Frame
2008 calender of bicycle racing events in the Canary Islands:
2008-04-18 22:20:00 Sorry for the lousy cartoon - it was the only semi-decent one I could find about bicycle races. Anyway, I?ve just uploaded the Canary Islands cycle racing events calender for 2008 ; It is written in Spanish & you can download it HERE in pdf format. More About: Events , Racing , Calender
10 Quick tips to make a ?bombproof reliable? bike. Part I: Wheels & Tyres
2008-04-15 11:15:00 I thought I would share my knowledge on how to make your bike more reliable, starting with the wheels & tyres. Yes, the most obvious problem encoutered when riding is still the age old flat tyre. While flat tyres can never be completely eliminated, most punctures can be prevented by adhering to the next five guidelines: Maintaining ... More About: Tips , Bike , Quick , Part , Make
The coolest rider in the pro peleton, Mario ?The Lion King? Cipollini.
2008-04-13 15:15:00 OK, he’s finally added me to my myspace profile after a loooong delay, so here’s my tribute to Mario Cipollini! I’m not going to bore you with his long list of race performances which you can easily get elsewhere. Wikipedia cites the following: Mario Cipollini is an Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ... More About: Inspiration , Lion , King , Rider
Harnessing the power of the wind in the South of Tenerife.
2008-04-11 00:28:00 ITER refers to the windmill farms as “Parques Eólicos” not “Molinos” as you might think. And unlike the fake, stationary molino that was built not far from my place last year, these ones actually work! There are three such wind parks located at Grandailla & Arico in the South of Tenerife, with a combined annual energy ... More About: Power , Inspiration , Wind , Island Life
Farming the suns rays in Granadilla.
2008-04-09 03:46:00 It’s not often I post an article in both the “Inspiration ” and “Island Life ” categories simultaneously. But looking out the bus window earlier last month, I noticed a strange series of dark, tilted platforms located in an arid coastal region of Granadilla. They’re only visible from freeway TF1 for a few seconds. To my eyes, it appeared ... More About: Rays , Farming
Free hugs campaign
2008-04-05 21:57:00 You’ve probably already seen this as it is one of the most watched videos on youtube. I really love this video! I lived in Sydney for 28 years so it is even more special for me as I recognise all the locations where it was filmed. More About: Inspiration , Free , Campaign , Hugs
Anyone for Merchandise?
2008-04-04 04:51:00 Here’s the section where we will present you with the latest merchandise. Many products will be available later in the year; all products will be offered at amazing prices & all with the tenerife-training logo: water bottles, carbon bidon cages, ingenious multi-tools, cycling apparal. We’ll possibly add further items for free, such as: key rings, calendars & screen-savers, etc. We ... More About: Merchandise
Another website update.
2008-04-02 19:00:00 Over the next hour or so, I’ll be performing some website maintenance & updating some files. I just thought you’d like to know. Expect glitches. More About: Website , Update
Science misnomer #1: use of the term ?quantum leap?.
2008-04-02 12:53:00 The phrase “quantum leap” is most often used by people who know sod all about quantum mechanics. Usually what they mean to say is that whatever they’re talking about provides a huge step forward. If they knew anything, they would know that quantum mechanics is the study of subatomic particle interactions. By its own definition, a quantum ... More About: Science , Quantum Leap , Quantum , Term , Leap
Someone?s paying me twenty bucks to write this.
2008-03-31 02:04:00 Well I finally signed up to payperpost a few weeks ago, and now I’m writing the first sponsored post to earn 20 American bucks. Yep, that’s what they’re paying for me to just spread the word! PayPerPost is a site where you can earn money from your blog. All you have to do is sign up and ... More About: Business , Write , Twenty , Bucks , That
The art of replacement; knowing when to throw.
2008-03-29 19:19:00 One thing that I like about life here in Tenerife is that the people aren’t rich enough to take part in the consumer culture that is so rampant everywhere else. It’s been a while since I wrote anything for this section “Vida Enigmática”, so here’s my take on current consumerism: Just a few decades ago, the ... More About: Throw , Knowing
How much carbon dioxide is produced by driving a car on one tank of petrol?
2008-03-28 16:24:00 Petrol is a mixture of several different organic carbon compounds. The most common molecules in petrol are the alkanes, consisting of straight or branched carbon chains with between 5-8 carbon atoms saturated with hydrogen molecules (pentane, hexane, heptane and octane). This is the chemical formula for the complete combustion of octane: 2 C8H18 + 25 O2 = 18 ... More About: Driving , Carbon , Tank
New optimised pricing structure?
2008-03-28 01:18:00 As of the 15th of April, we will be reducing prices for renting 4 or more bikes! To make it fairer for everyone, we also need to optimise our existing pricing structure for renting 2 or 3 road racing / mountain bikes. What this means in real terms is that for the most part, the prices for renting ... More About: Business , That , Structure , Sales Pitch
Flags of the Canary Islands.
2008-03-26 16:56:00 Today, I thought I’d share with my readers this fantastic old link to the many flags of the Canary Islands ! It is a comprehensive site (dating back to at least before 1999) with all the islands represented, and many municipalities within each island. It includes a brief history section of each region, flag descriptions and important dates. Further ... More About: Island Life
Sarah Ulmer, an individual pursuit track cyclist legend from New Zealand.
2008-03-23 14:03:00 People often ask questions like: “Who is your idol?”. I don’t have any true idols, but yes I do find inspiration in some people. Sarah Ulmer is one such person. A New Zealand track cyclist legend, Sarah Ulmer broke the world record in the qualifying event for the women’s 3km pursuit time trial competition. She then came ... More About: Inspiration , Track , Individual
We want to see your photos!
2008-03-20 19:22:00 That’s right, if you are a past or future customer of www.Tenerife-Training.net, we’d love to see photos of you cycling in Tenerife! Please send us your photos via e-mail to this address: cycling@tenerife-training.net. All image file formats are acceptable. The bigger the image, the better. If you have many photos, please send them as a zip ... More About: Photos , Sales Pitch
Widespread Shimano Pedal Confusion.
2008-03-18 20:16:00 One of the major tasks here at www.Tenerife-Training.net is swapping pedals. There are more pedal systems out there than CO2 molecules at the moment, and I know people are finding it all a bit too confusing. Judging by the perplexed customer responses as they inevitably bend down and spin another hitherto unknown pedal on its axis and say ... More About: Confusion , Pedal , Shimano
Observed trials bike riding originated in Spain.
2008-03-17 19:55:00 The aim of trials riding is to jump over obstacles (either natural or artificial) with only the bikes’ tyres touching the ground. Think of it like those dog trials you sometimes see on television, except with humans on bikes! Points are deducted if any part of your body or the bike touch the ground. Some ... More About: Inspiration , Spain , Bike , Trials , Riding
Have your say!
2008-03-15 22:14:00 I’d really appreciate it if a few of you cyclists could take the time to fill in this brief one-page survey. It will only take 3-5 minutes of your time, and will help us improve our bicycle hire & tours service. We don’t ask for any personal information & your answers are kept strictly confidential. The ... More About: Business , That
New blog features:
2008-03-13 02:20:00 Over the last few weeks I have been adding a few new features to the blog & I’ve also refined the style of theme I have been using. Here’s a list of what’s recently been added or changed: Google adwords have now been placed on this blog, to recoup some of the costs of running a high-profile website. ... More About: Features , Blog
Customer service etiquette (for the customers, not the business owners!)
2008-03-11 20:00:00 You hear so many people talking about how business owners should treat their customers, that “the customer is always right”. We’ll I’ve had one or two irritable customers so I’ve written this article with something different in mind: Tips on how to be a polite customer! More About: Business , Etiquette , Customer Service , Customers , Service
Recognising the sounds of another spoken language.
2008-03-11 14:02:00 As far as most people are concerned, all foreign speech sounds more or less the same. It is only when you have a decent grasp of another language that you begin to recognise local speech patterns. When you are first learning another language, you can soon expect to identify people only by hearing their voice. In my experience, ... More About: Sounds , Language , Island Life , The Sounds , Spoken
Tenerife North airport will get a new control tower, more than 30 years aft
More articles from this author:2008-03-10 14:28:00 It appears that Tenerife North airport (TFN) will get a new control tower, more than 30 years after the world’s biggest air disaster. While the existing control tower is only one of three to be fitted with sophisiticated surface or ground radar equipment, it’s the second oldest control tower in Spain. With an height of ... More About: Airport , Years , Control , Tower 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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