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 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
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
Spoiled for choice: bicycle disc brakes rotors available in five sizes: 5.5
2008-03-10 12:58:00 If you have a bicycle with disc brakes, you’ll soon find there are many possible choices for the rotor sizes. From a tiny 5″ all the way to a whopping 9″! The next time you need to replace a rotor, consider the following points. Advantages of bigger disc rotors: Larger disc rotors obviously give much more power ... More About: Choice , Disc , Bicycle
Suggested Spanish TV programs?
2008-03-09 14:21:00 Here in the north of Tenerife, we have about 15 free Spanish TV channels and zero english ones. Spanish television can be an enjoyable experience. First I reccommend reading this article about spanish television customs in preparation, and only watch the suggested TV shows described briefly below. Spanish Comedies- If you have an advanced understanding of Spanish, ... More About: Programs , Island Life
A glimpse of future motoring?
2008-03-06 22:06:00 I think this is the way of the future. It’s a new 100% electric car which is very inspiring. Of course some will say that we’re moving the pollution from the car to the source of the electricity (power stations). But in the future, we can always choose where our electric energy comes from. If ... More About: Inspiration , Future , Motoring , Glimpse
The benefits of travelling light.
2008-03-05 21:20:00 This is a dual-part article on the how and why of travelling light. This part inlcudes some pertinent facts about travelling light which you might not have thought of. Part 1 offers some very sage advice. More About: Inspiration , Travelling , Light , Benefits
?The only baggage you can bring is all that you can?t leave behind? -U2
2008-03-05 19:57:00 Between 1999 and 2005, I was fortunate enough to travel to many foreign countries. In the year 2000 I bought a round the world ticket offered by Oneworld visiting more than 10 countries throughout my journey. In 2005, I went and did it again. This time there were 21 different countries on my itinery and ... More About: Inspiration , Leave , Baggage
Meridian Zero, the one and only local metal rock band.
2008-03-05 15:35:00 Meridian Zero is a local ‘homegrown’ metal rock band based in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. They do give me a lot of inspiration, especially when I see the individual band members playing separately in the videos below. How they manage to create new music by melding all the sound contributions together never ceases to amaze ... More About: Band , Metal , Inspiration , Rock , Local
Online marketing campaigns: aim for targeting or saturation point?
2008-03-03 05:07:00  It’s been two weeks since I last wrote an article for “That’s business”, so I thought it was time to reflect upon this topic. In mid 2007, I set myself the following simple goal: to quadruple the number of web visitors by the end of the year. The target was 200 daily web visits, which at the time ... More About: Marketing , Online Marketing , Online , Campaigns , Point
Online marketing campaigns: aim for targeting or saturation point?
2008-03-03 05:07:00 It’s been two weeks since I last wrote an article for “That’s business”, so I thought it was time to reflect upon this topic. In mid 2007, I set myself the following simple goal: to quadruple the number of web visitors by the end of the year. The target was 200 daily web visits, which at the time ... More About: Marketing , Online Marketing , Online , Campaigns , Point
Making sense of chaotic Spanish drivers.
2008-03-03 03:53:00 You may not be able to think of anything more chaotic than a crazy spanish freeway, and in many cases you’d be absolutely darn right. But there is an underlying order in chaos, and this is what I’ll attempt to extract and share with you here. As many regular readers know, after many delays, I recently obtained my ... More About: Drivers , Sense , Spanish , Island Life , Chaotic
Watching Spanish television. Some reccommendations.
2008-03-02 13:47:00 Here in the north of Tenerife, we have about 15 free Spanish TV channels and zero english ones. Spanish television can be an enjoyable experience. First I reccommend reading this article about spanish television customs in preparation, and only watch the suggested TV shows described briefly below. Subtitles & language preferences: The good thing is that if you ... More About: Television , Watching , Island Life
Shimano vs Microsoft. When you?re sitting at the top, the only way is down?
2008-03-02 00:21:00 In the bicycle industry, there’s a common analogy often drawn between shimano and another well-known business monopoly, Microsoft . Both have (or had) a majority market share. Both employ ruthless business tactics. Both arguably produce products with “planned obsolescence” in mind. Both excel at introducing new products that are not backwards compatible. Of course none of ... More About: Business , That , Shimano
What is ?synchronicity??
2008-02-27 19:02:00 you happen to be browsing my blog or forum, and you notice that a lot of the posts are made by a person who calls himself 'synchronicity'. You then go into google and type "what is synchronicity", this page appears and you're lead straight back here again! Given access to ~1 trillion internet pages, and you come full circle in only one loop... that's what I call synchronicity! More About: Synchronicity
Finding a needle in a haystack
2008-02-27 17:35:00 I’m pleased to announce that I have recently become an official sponsor of www.pedaltheocean.com! As a part of the pedal the ocean team, my designiation is ‘Canary Islands support advisor’. One of my current tasks is to help Greg Kolodziejzyk find a dedicated support boat + skipper to aid him on his -trans Atlantic quest. His aim is ... More About: Inspiration , Island Life , Haystack
The Irony of a close-knit, well-integrated society.
2008-02-23 03:58:00 Consider this: a society is able to perform many tasks, share work, trade labour, food and everything else required to stay alive. A strong, interactive community obviously makes life easier than a loosely bound one. On the other hand, a solitary individual would face a tremendous challenge in facing the same environment alone. So it could be said that ... More About: Society , Irony , Close , Integrated , Knit
Volume of CO2 emmissions compared to the total volume of our atmosphere:
2008-02-21 15:02:00 As far as I’m concerned, anyone who thinks that our way of life doesn’t affect the environment (climate included) is an idiot. Sorry, but some people still continue believe that we can spew as much CO2 into the air as we want and it will have no long-term effect on the Earth’s climate. You only ... More About: Total , Atmosphere , Volume
Mission Impossible: Driving in Spain, a rite of initiation.
2008-02-21 03:03:00 In many cultures, the passage of childhood through adulthood is defined by various types of initiation cermonies or “rites of passage”. In Vanuatu they exchange pigs, mats, kava, and other goods between a child’s father’s and mother’s families. In indigenous Australian and African tribes, they perform face painting rituals and circumcisions. Similarly, throughout Melanesia and Polynesia, tattoos are used ... More About: Driving , Spain , Mission , Impossible , Island Life
Exploring the Atlantic ocean with biomimetic submarine human propulsion.
More articles from this author:2008-02-20 01:24:00 Ciamillo dropped out of engineering school in his third year, but that didn’t stop him from becoming an engineer in his own right. In his 6,000-square-foot cypress-framed workshop in Nicholson, Georgia, he and his staff develop and market a series of bicycle components using various CNC (computer-numeric controlled) machines. The 0G (Zero Gravity) TI, Ciamillo’s ... More About: Inspiration , Human , Ocean , Exploring , Submarine 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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