The TOOMOO 220 is not an event and certainly not a race, at 220 kilometres with 2,000 meters of elevation gain the TOOMOO 220 is a supported group ride; designed to take you out of your comfort zone and to test you.
The Fiji Islands are very much defined by the vastness of the South Pacific Ocean which for a long time have provided both isolation and protection. Made up of 332 volcanic islands, 110 of which are permanently inhabited Fiji is most famous as a tropical resort holiday destination. But beyond the friendly faces in the upmarket resorts is a land of big hearted, laid back and genuinely welcoming people. With deep traditional values both the Fijian and Indo-Fijian cultures are alive and kicking.
Picture subsistence villages, rain-forested mountains and quiet roads winding around a coastline of an unbelievably clear blue ocean edged with swaying coconut palms. This is the Fiji we are heading for.
‘Vanua ni Sega na Leqa’ takes us to three of Fiji’s main islands, starting in Viti Levu with a two day village based trek in the Koriyanitu National Heritage Park (revisiting friends – Mandy worked with over a decade ago). A short flight takes us to Vanua Levu for six days of cycling across the island and on to Taveuni, aptly named the Garden Island. Add into the mix overnight village stays, reef snorkeling and plunging into crystal clear waterfall pools and you have the perfect mix for for a real tropical adventure.
And yes, you may find an occasional pina colada along the way…
This is a great fit ….and more than a little tempting particularly with some of the “off the bike” time… What catches my eye not surprisingly is these pics
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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Once in a while I run out of clean socks and need to get them clean again quickly.
Like today when I was stuck at the airport of Doha for another 24 hours after I had missed my connecting flight. Luggage is gone, and I am stranded with nothing but the socks I am wearing. And they started to smell.
Here is the trick how I got my socks clean again in less than 5 minutes:
I went to a bathroom, in this case the shower room of the lounge. But any sink works.
You do not need any special detergent for cotton. Any soap does a good job, and shampoo is perfect.
The physics of getting dirt and smell out of clothes tells us that you need:
You can understand the cleaning process as a formula:
clean = [heat] x [movement] x [time]
The larger the result of the multiplication of the three, the cleaner your socks get. And you can compensate some of each of them with more of the other.
A washing machine may use water hotter than your hands can stand. And it definitely takes much more time (usually 30 to 90 minutes). So you can only compensate both by real good movement.
Meaning you have to manually rub the socks against each other for 2 -3 minutes. Or even use them like gloves and then rub their bottom parts (which are the dirty parts) against each other with your hands inside. This method is a much more effective movement than the soft and random rotation of a washing machine. And this is how you compensate for a good result.
Now you have dissolved the dirt and smell with the shampoo, but both is still in the socks. So give it a good rinse. And another one. And another one. Until nothing but clear water runs out.
Twist the socks much as you can. To will get them 1/3 dry.
Two more steps, and you are done:
To get your socks 2/3 dry, use a dry towel. Put it on the floor and place your socks nicely on top. Make them as wide as possible to enlarge the wet surface that gets in touch with the dry towel.
Now roll the towel until the socks are fully rolled in.
And now apply pressure.
For me that works best if I stand on the rolled towel.
Let your weight work on the least surface of your feet. In other words: stand on your heels, and now stand on one heel only. This gives the most pressure to the towel. Make sure that all parts of the towel get that pressure, from far left to far right.
Rotate the towel around its axis for 90 degrees. And repeat.
Now your cotton socks are 2/3 dry. And if your socks are made of a synthetic material you may even be done already.
But cotton soaks much water per weight (this is why we like cotton towels so much), and it does not let the water go easily (this is another reason for cotton towels).
Since we fought cotton with cotton, we are not fully done yet.
My last step: get a hair dryer, pull the socks over its opening – and now apply full power!
Make sure that the sock does not block the dryer from working. Otherwise it will overheat. You can either test this by putting your other hand over (just a part) of the inlet filter on the opposite side. If you feel the air streaming into the dryer, everything is fine. Or you test whether enough air is getting through the socks. You can actually feel the humidity getting blown out.
If not, you can try to pull the sock longer. This makes the mesh a bit larger and lets the air through more easily.
The hair dryer will gently inflate the sock, and the hot air will evenly leave the sock and take all humidity out.
After just 30 or 60 seconds your sock is dry.
Well, almost dry. Since the very upper part will still be 1/3 wet. That bit, that was pulled over the dryer. But that does not bother you and will quickly dry when wearing them.
In my case the whole procedure took me 4 – 5 minutes. And now my socks don’t smell any more and I feel much more comfortable sitting in the lounge without shoes again and writing this blogpost.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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Grab the TooMoo220 fast Facts Click Here
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]There are two rides this year The TOOMOO 220 and the inaugural MINIMOO 110
The 2016 TOOMOO 220 is not an event and certainly not a race, at 220 kilometres with 2,000m of elevation gain, the TOOMOO 220 is a supported group ride; designed to take you out of your comfort zone and test you like never before.
220k is a long haul in anybody’s language, we suggest you participate in some training rides to prepare and test yourself.
The 2016 MINIMOO 110 is limited to 50 only participants and will start with a bus ride for you and your bike out to Somerset Dam where you will join the 220 riders as they make the halfway point. We will then ride as a collective from Somerset to Mooloolaba finishing as one at the iconic Mooloolaba Surf Club right on the beach.
The MINIMOO has been created by popular demand to accommodate those who want to participate in all things TOOMOO but just don’t have the legs for 220 ks in a day[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1462163911239-0248d4a9-e133-4″ include=”714013,714014,714015,714016,714017,714018,714019,714020″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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I recently read an article by Hanny Allston an Ultra Runner who has made observations of endurance athletes and their fuelling strategies. The following is a summary of her classifications of athletes when it comes to correct fuelling. Consider where you may classify yourself at different times:
The Blank Stare Athlete
Your central nervous system is seriously affected. In essence, you have become similar to a diabetic with low blood glucose levels. Whatever you are drinking and eating is inadequate to supply sodium and glucose to the transporter pumps in your cellular membranes and thus, energy to your brain. Try to learn to listen to your central nervous system. Negative thought processes, clumsiness, feeling cold, dizziness, vertigo, numb feet or hands, or even nausea can all be symptomatic of low glucose levels in the brain. If you experience the glazed-over appearance, feed with instant glucose along with a higher sodium concentration electrolyte. If you are nauseous, you can rinse your mouth with glucose as the oral mucosa has a direct glucose absorption pathway to the brain. If this helps, you can then start to slowly feed glucose via gels or a preferred carbohydrate source.
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Watch out for the Dairy and the Sweet stuff…
Cheers Steve
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RearViz – RearSaftey
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Training, fitness and good health all go hand in hand, but what is often missed in this thinking, is the mental health and the visionary aspects as opposed to the more common perception of physical health benefits. Having a challenge will almost always galvanise the mind into producing the habits and mental disciplines to get us out of bed in the morning and train, but a challenge has a way of firing up the embers and exciting all aspects of our previously mundane life.
I guess it’s a lot like the ‘Chicken or the Egg’ – the reality is that we need both, just take that first step -right? – but for me it’s always been about the vision first, a vision that I can touch and feel, you know the type of vision that fills your quiet moments, that lift your spirits into action. For me the physical stuff just follows to serve my vision. When it comes to the “rubber hitting the road” action part of this equation, I would have to say its pretty dam ugly sometimes – taking that first step on a run or the strong head wind on a colder morning as my pedals do not serve up the expected power ratios…hmmm why am I here again? I am the only one that thinks that way…right?
Goals sound like such an over rated cheesey cliché that haunts us from the shadows and very often freezes me into temporary inaction, but the reality is this… every time I have succeeded there were ALWAYS 5 things that were working for me…
So what comes first? the Vision or the Challenge…because in my books the other 3 points will never come into play until I have bought into the ‘Challenge’ part..What do you reckon?
If you are in Victoria and its getting chillier by the day, just maybe this challenge will reach out and touch your vision?
Why not dive into the “Fast Facts” of Bicycle Victoria’s “Around The Bays 2016”
It’s great that someone has stepped out and done something positive…for me its a choice that we all make and Ray made his. Ray and RearViz now give you the choice when it comes to safety, whilst this may not suit everyone I am sure it will suit most cyclists, not only for peace of mind, but this could actually save your life…Read Raymond’s story and decide for yourself…
“After nearly hitting a cyclist with his car four years ago, Australian business owner Raymond Crane came up with an idea. With a compact makeup mirror, ripped up wet suit material and a bunch of staples, the first ever RearViz mirror was created. From then, the idea quickly transitioned into a packaged product and onto the arms of cyclists around the world. The product is an arm-mounted rear vision mirror that allows cyclists to look forward and see behind their bike for oncoming traffic. Now often referred to as ‘the next best thing to a helmet’ the RearViz mirror is combating rider safety in a big way.
RearViz is a weather resistant collapsible convex bicycle mirror, mounted on the arm, using an adjustable armband to keep in place. It has been ergonomically designed to be adjusted to suit all arm sizes and arm positioning, allowing the user to acquire rear vision through a range of rear view angles and perspectives. The position of the rear view bike mirror can be adjusted to many positions through its ability to swivel and is able to stay in a desired position. Being mounted on the arm permits the user to engage the widest part of the body, which will allow the most rearward vision, having the ability to be used on either or both arms.
Unlike the conventional bicycle mirror, RearViz is lightweight, stylish and practical, so regardless what bike you ride, RearViz allows easy adaption to any kind of activity. We believe that RearViz is probably the only bicycle mirror on the market that won’t vibrate and distort your vision from road vibration as it’s mounted on your arm and not your bike. Interchangeable accessories are also available for you to swap it up between various disk colours and even our new Universal Camera Mount!
Capture the moment with a new RearViz Universal Camera Mount. The UT-35 Universal Camera Mount is our best GoPro mount yet. With a fully rotatable, arm-fixed camera mount suitable for a diverse range of cameras and other devices, this flexible mount allows you to catch quality footage with ease, comfort and style. Film on the go and do it all hands-free. Just attach your action camera and strap it to your arm, leg, body or board to enjoy a fully rotatable action camera mount for any sport or activity. Surf, snowboard, cycle, drive, fly or skate? Whatever sport you do, make sure you capture every moment with our Universal Camera Mount.
The RearViz mirror is designed for the rider not just the bike and is the next best thing to having eyes in the back of your head. Mounted on your arm eliminates vibration and positioning loss, enabling you to have an improved awareness about what’s happening behind you without the hassle of constantly adjusting your mirror.
Further enhancements will be rolled out in the near future, so stay tuned for more exciting features and products.”
RearViz is bringing safety back to Cycling and is definitely worth your consideration www.rearviz.com
RearViz put in a lot of work into promoting Safe Community Cycling Events
such as Ride Rotary Events
Does your community event need to connect and relate better to its fast evolving community? maybe you you should dive in and “Learn More”
