tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35408160577669344112024-03-14T05:51:21.816-04:00Out HereI travel a lot as a bicycle tour guide for Tour d'Afrique. Sometimes I write about it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-65238979526047622202012-01-13T14:06:00.000-05:002012-01-13T15:05:55.957-05:00What the Heck is Hairtail? A Food Decoder for 2012 Silk Route Riders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_LisKxebuC0/TukQfDjyBvI/AAAAAAAAKQA/GC7aG1QkHSc/s1600/Lightbox_1322107707794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_LisKxebuC0/TukQfDjyBvI/AAAAAAAAKQA/GC7aG1QkHSc/s320/Lightbox_1322107707794.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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For our first few weeks in China a lot of our meals will be in local restaurants and hotels. When we eat as a group in China we will order for the entire group. However when you are out cycling and want to stop at a restaurant you will need to order on your own. </div>
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In larger towns and cities restaurants may have english menus or pictures of the food on the wall that you can point too. You can also walk around the restaurant and point at what other people are eating, a slightly embarrassing but effective method of ordering. In many of the small villages we cycle though you will have to make due with hand signals and making animal noises to place your order.</div>
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Smartphone owners can always use one of the travel apps we recommended in a <a href="http://www.tourdafrique.com/blog/news/5-phone-apps-that-really-work-when-you-are-travelling">previous pos</a>t but others might find this food decoder handy. </div>
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Our local guide, Zabi (pictured above in the green jacket), provided us with this food decoder to help make the ordering process a bit easier. Print it out and carry it with you on tour, I think you'll find it comes in pretty handy. </div>
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I've reached out to Zabi to find out what 'agaric' and 'hairtail' are, if you know please tell us in the comments. </div>
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Paul </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YEyZiXUExZ4/TxBWOtxGFRI/AAAAAAAAKfc/3RYKfQ8u7w0/s1600/Chinesefoods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YEyZiXUExZ4/TxBWOtxGFRI/AAAAAAAAKfc/3RYKfQ8u7w0/s1600/Chinesefoods.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-47632408270990691052011-12-23T10:08:00.003-05:002011-12-28T09:49:09.746-05:00The Best Smartphone Apps work offline. Here are 4 You Probably Haven't Heard Of and One You Probably Don't Use Enough<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container zemanta-img" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Travel can be intimidating. You don’t speak the language, you don’t know local customs and you have no idea how much things should cost. Figuring that stuff out is certainly part of the fun but wouldn’t it be nice if it was just a little easier? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Google Translate, maps, Wikipedia and other apps are great resources but try using them when roaming and your cell phone bill could rival the GDP of developing country. And if you traveling in out of the way places you might not have a data connection at all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On a recent trip to China I tested several phone apps that work without a data connection to see how helpful they would be. I was in China for 3 weeks scouting a new route for our </span><a href="http://www.tourdafrique.com/tours/silkroute" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Silk Route Bike Tour</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I travelled from Shanghai to Lanzhou though urban and rural areas alike. All 5 of these apps served me well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><a href="https://market.android.com/search?q=jibbigo" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jibbiggo</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Free app,</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$4.99 for each language pack in the Android Market, also available for iPhone</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jibbigo is a lot like Google Translate except that it works offline. The app itself is free but you have to pay for each language pack you download. The app uses about 14 MB of space on your phone. The Mandarin language pack I bought used 1.6 MB. This is the one downside to offline apps, you need to have adequate storage space on your phone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best Use</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your not going to use this app to have any in depth conversations but if you need to ask for a toilet in a hurry or order at a local restaurant it will do the trick. Over time you’ll even begin to pick up words so you can rely on the app less and less. It even has a history function so you don’t have to type in phrases you’ve used before. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One word of caution is to choose the words you want translated carefully. For example when I was looking for a bathroom I typed ‘washroom’ in to the app which translated to ‘shower room’ in Mandarin. When I entered the word ‘toilet’ however I got the right translation</span></div>
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<b style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="200" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/6MkR1HnCZgc8iUVfe6B1AVsE0o31UsZfq-A3C8uvC2jFh8I3BpfGXAhQWqGmxKTYqN6WKDWR6epOt0oTZpVLwSsB_0xcOySW567xWCHwplJVsYfl1RA" width="119" /></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.osa.android.navdroyd&hl=en" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NavDroyd</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$6.93 in the Android Market</span><b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NavDroyd uses Open Street Maps (OSM) to help you get around a city or country. Like Jibbigo you first install the app and then download the maps for the countries you are interested in. It used about 9 MB for the app itself and 56 MB for my maps of China. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best Use:</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The most useful feature for me was the ability to attach a ‘pin’ to my location. This allowed me to pin my hotel on the map then wander aimlessly through cites like Shanghai, Nanjing, Xian etc… without having to worry about how long it would take me to find my way home. I’d also use it to ‘pin’ items I wanted to return to later like a restaurant that looked good or market stall where I wanted to pick something up on the way back to the hotel. The level of detail was good enough that helped us to find a route around Lake Tai, something our paper chinese maps could not do. </span></div>
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<b style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="186px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/9zaVUi6U7kmBD73P02VCxRNHF9Cp61I1s7tOgpRFktF_WX3OWSoJenJ0rpoROyNBONUQAFTt-0D_eghHTOZ9vp5PfDYTVF6ZLw4uXjuj_thh9Z1lx9Y" width="112px;" /></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.xe.currency" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">XE Currency Exchange</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Free in the Android Market</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps not useful for everyone but on our tours we cross a lot of borders at some pretty obscure border crossings. This often means dealing with some black market currency traders and it pays to know the official exchange rate. XE Currency allows you to update the rates when you have a wifi connection and then stores them offline for you. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.amazon.kindle">Kindle </a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Free in the Android Market and on Itunes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are countless travel apps on the market and I’ve found many of them useful. But rather than clutter my phone with dozens of individual travel apps I’ve begun using the Kindle App. When Combined with a web service like </span><a href="http://www.readability.com/" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Readability</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> it really becomes a powerful travel tool. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An easy use of the app is to download any guidebooks on the places you will be visiting and store them on your phone. Read them on the plane and use the Kindle’s notes and highlights feature to save the relevant bit for later reference. There are not a lot of guidebooks for Kindle yet but there are a few. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Used with the we service </span><a href="http://www.readability.com/" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Readability</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the kindle app really becomes powerful. It allows you to send almost any web page to your kindle in a reader friendly format. You’ll need the paid version of Readability ($5 a month) but it is well worth it. You can then search the web for all the relevant bits of information you’d like to have on your trip and with a few clicks of the mouse send them to your phone to be referenced later. Brilliant. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lightbox.android.photos" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Light Box</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Free in the Android Market</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Light box is currently my favorite photo app. It works as well as the stock camera app and it has several filters that allow you to alter your photo immediately after taking it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best Use</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My favorite feature is the ability to caption and geo-locate each picture immediately after taking it. After a photo is taken a text box appears, type a quick description and save the photo. Later, when you have a wifi connection you can upload the photo to Twitter or Facebook using the previously typed caption as the text for the post. My only gripe is that when I download the photos to my laptop the text does not become the file name, that would be a nice feature. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So there are five of my favorites, tested and approved! I realize they are mostly for Android phones but that’s what I use and I hate to recommend something I haven’t tried myself. What are your favorites? I’d love to hear about them in the comments. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Paul McManus designs and guides long distance bike tours for Tour d’Afrique Ltd. His next trip will be the Silk Tour Bike Tour from Shanghai to Istanbul starting in May 2012. Find out more at </span><a href="http://www.tourdafrique.com/" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold; white-space: normal;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.tourdafrique.com.</span></a><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=ba003344-aab4-46e1-8eef-1ae8649181a1" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-47648386303096771142011-12-22T11:23:00.001-05:002011-12-27T10:06:52.785-05:00A 20 Room Hospital for 250,000 People<br />
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.8238456516992301"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arrow Web Hospital Helps 76,000 People a Year </span></span></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.8238456516992301"><img height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YTze0Ibvlow2S56r-0SW9VYRUfxkWmKkZxNWNnfz3YinEg-Xrbi36PDUbm-dviuNyONMZpORkCFQuAFGSTQqJxdFovNtff4ImCWhZpFhayfmpYAtL74" width="299" /></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Arrow Web Team</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arrow Web Hospital has been a partner of the Tour d'Afrique Foundation since 2009. Founded in 2005 by four friends with money out of their own pockets the two room clinic has grown to a 20 room hospital in just 5 short years. Today their are still the only affordable health care provider in Africa's second largest slum. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A bit of History</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2005 when Arrow Web first opened its small two room clinic they were the only provider of affordable care in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-1.31666666667,36.7833333333&spn=0.1,0.1&q=-1.31666666667,36.7833333333%20(Kibera)&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Kibera">Kibera</a>, a 2.5 square km slum in Nairobi that is home to more than 250,000 people. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2005 Arrow Web treated 3990 patients. By 2010 they had moved to a 20 room hospital and treated 76,643 patients! They added a dental clinic, eye care clinic and pharmacy to their services. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They also began to realize that no one hospital was big enough to assist all the patients in the catchment area. They needed an outreach program that could provide basic health care services by visiting people in their homes. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.8238456516992301"><img height="299" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/oel4xXzGYenFa6XsRFtgc49qiascH5YQOtZakBBB5fhzoBIwjMCk61IaRdGlLXpm9uMFJx2f-oB4IjpZimynMauhj-iS7CIMClMM2irvmuuCcJnlOtg" width="400" /></b></div>
</span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8238456516992301" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How We Got Involved:</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2009 Rebecca Cherono, managing director of the Great Rift Valley Development Association, recommended we donate bicycles to Arrow Web to help support their newly created outreach program. In 2009 we donated 15 bicycles to Arrow Web. It was also the first time I would meet Bram Simiyu, co founder and project coordinator at Arrow Web, a man who continues to impress me with his dedication to this day. Bram a a few friends started Arrow Web, with money from their own pockets, in 2005 and have grown it to a full service hospital in just a few short years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2009 Arrow Web’s outreach workers assisted 9561 people though the delivery of medicine, health education and basic health services to the people in Kibera. In 2010 we donated 15 more bicycles to to the program and Arrow Web’s outreach volunteers increased their reach to assist 24,745 patients in their catchment area! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though all of the credit for the programs success goes to Bram and his team at Arrow Web, we are very proud to be a part of their success. </span><br />
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<b><img height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/bYsD5fzhbe4uZzbg51Nhv84-l051A1Oy2XY16Pn5CWnWPXCAKPRhFrIYpOgn6Up_PNLZwGPb8NhEGO_LxrOH_YHCLsc_BuDAUTZLtNVZPzGWXWmivks" width="400" /></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How You Can Help: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By raising funds for the Tour d’Afrique Foundation you are helping us support the efforts of organizations like Arrow Web. But of course the hospital needs more than just bikes. If you’d like to contribute to Arrow Web Hospital directly to support the activities of the hospital you can do so by visiting the website listed below. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Related Links: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Donate to the Tour d’Afrique Foundation: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Help us provide more bikes to Health Workers in Africa, visit our </span><a href="http://tourdafrique.com/donate" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">donation page</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learn More About Arrow Web Hospital: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arrow Web Website: </span><a href="http://www.arrowkenya.org/index.php" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.arrowkenya.org/index.php</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=3a5ec228-18f6-4f81-9f49-ed66c2604756" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-50652382613623911142011-12-22T11:06:00.002-05:002011-12-22T11:08:50.218-05:00A Schedule of Our 2012 Bike Donations in Africa<br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7831059331074357"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our 2012 Bike Donations In Africa </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The Tour d'Afrique Foundation Donates Bikes to Health Workers and Outreach Organizations Across Africa</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Below is a list of our 2012 Bike Donations in Africa. The list is a work in progress and changes may be made but this should give you some idea about the recipients and the dates of the ceremonies. More up to date information about each donation will be provided to you on tour. </span></b></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are fundraising for the </span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://tourdafrique.com/what-we-do/foundation" style="font-weight: bold;">Tour d’Afrique Foundation</a> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">these are the organizations and projects that your efforts will support. If you have questions or would like more information about any of these project please email us at </span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="mailto:info@tourdafrique.com" style="font-weight: bold;">info@tourdafrique.com</a></span></div>
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<b><img height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/9BZtQ29a0QdOkx0Mif90uHtPbpc5X-v-yxmMoNL3x47KIWE_-BRg3mF6ha1fAo1tWzO58hJeCAVAYiYNgBsjXa_cWA4XhyrRFaUfZVYuTgNdGaaDCKE" width="400" /></b></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">2011 Donation In Gondar, Ethiopia</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Riders Pooled their money and in addition to bikes, donated school uniforms</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gondar, Ethiopia</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Date: Sunday, Feb 12, 2012</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Time: 9 am - 12 pm, including coffee ceremony</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Partner Organization: LINK Ethiopia</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bikes donated to: TBD</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Link Ethiopia</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a charity working to support education in Ethiopia and to increase cultural awareness between young people in Ethiopia and the UK. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Details:</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a special donation ceremony organized by 2010 Rider Tony Nester who has worked with the school for the past 5 years. Riders will be picked up from the hotel at 9 am and taken to Arbatu Ensesa School where the donation ceremony will Occur. Bikes will be donated through LINK Ethiopia and school uniforms will be handed out to students of the school. Ceremony will include a tour of the schools (they have a really neat garden), an exhibition football match with the kids and a Traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read more about Link Ethiopia here: </span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.linkethiopia.org/index.html" style="font-weight: bold;">http://www.linkethiopia.org/index.html</a></span></div>
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2011 Bike Donation in Bahir Dar</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bahir Dar, Ethiopia</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Date: February 14, 2011</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Time: Tuesday Feb 14th, 2012</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Partner Organization: Anti Malaria Association (AMA)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bikes donated to: AMA</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Use of Bikes: Bikes will be donated to AMA’s health outreach workers. Health outreach workers provide basic health services and health education to the underserved populations in the Bahir Dar area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anti Malaria Association: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> AMA is a non-partisan, non-religious, indigenous NGO committed to empower the community in order to improving the health status of the very poor. Focus is on preventing the spread and mitigating the impacts of malaria, HIV/AIDS and other major communicable diseases and providing reproductive health services through it's outreach programs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Details: This ceremony will take place the day the tour arrives in Bahir Dar at our Hotel. TdA will be donating bikes to AMA so they may reach more people in their health outreach efforts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learn more about AMA here: </span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.amaethio.org/" style="font-weight: bold;">http://www.amaethio.org/</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<b><img height="208px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/8sv2-eluKw87wSm18vpmytsDrv7vnVJnEEW7B_lGIX7zq_0y26SF-5F7L4qLJdVVrdALKRTds-ub8r26_4uVhceiYleD15Gu7S5jxBCeW_wgupc1xvs" width="278px;" /></b></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Wheels of Africa Bike Outreach with Kids</span></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nairobi, Kenya</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Date: March 11,2012 Time: 9 am - 11 pm. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Partner Organizations: Wheels of Africa, Great Rift Valley Development Agency (GRVDA), Bikes donated to: Arrow Web Hospital, others TBD</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Use of Bikes: </u></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bikes will be donated to Arrow Web Hospitals heath outreach workers who provide basic medial services and much needs health education in the Kayole-Soweto Slum of Nairobi. Arrow Web outfits each bike with a hospital sign and a rear rack to carry a basic medical kit. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Out First Income Generation Project: </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wheels of Africa</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (WoA) is a Nairobi based bike charity formed to champion the culture of cycling in Africa. They host various cycling events, teach cycling at local schools and provide bike mechanic services through their Bike Doctors program. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">For the past year we have been working with WoA to organize a shipment of bicycles to Nairobi so they can start a community bike shop. The bikes arrived last week and we look forward to visiting the shop on tour. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Details of the Donation Ceremony: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Usually one of our larger donation ceremonies, details for this ceremony are still being worked out but most likely it will be held at our camp in Nairobi on the rest day. Bike donations will be made to Arrow Web Hospital and at least one other Nairobi based organization. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i></i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learn More about Wheels of Africa here: </span><a href="http://www.wheelsofafrica.or.ke/" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.wheelsofafrica.or.ke/</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learn More about Arrow Web Hospital: </span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://arrowkenya.org/" style="font-weight: bold;">http://arrowkenya.org/</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Livingstone, Zambia:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Date: April 14, 2012</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Time: TBD</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Partner Organizations: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Safari Par Excellence (SafPar), The Happy Africa Foundation (THAF), African Impact</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bikes Donated to: TBD</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Happy Africa Foundation</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> supports community and conservation projects in eastern and southern Africa. Bikes will be donated to THAF for distribution to Home Based Care Workers that they organization supports. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">African Impact </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">helped to establish the Happy Africa Foundation Foundation and provides much of the charity’s resources, in terms of staff, logistical support and its administration at all of its projects. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Safari Par Excellence</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> operates the Zambezi Waterfront where the donation ceremony will be held as helps up to organize the donation ceremony. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 19px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Details:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Details for this donation ceremony are still being organized. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More about Safpar: </span><a href="http://www.safpar.net/" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.safpar.net/</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More about THAF: </span><a href="http://happyafricafoundation.org/" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://happyafricafoundation.org/</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More about African Impact: </span><a href="http://happyafricafoundation.org/our-partners/african-impact/" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://happyafricafoundation.org/our-partners/african-impact/</span></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-37449681021596593642011-12-20T18:01:00.000-05:002011-12-23T09:52:38.110-05:004 Pieces of Unconventional Travel Wisdom From an Unconventional Guy<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container zemanta-img" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody style="width: 250px;">
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45191620@N07/4276607290" imageanchor="1" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: clear:left;"><img alt="Tour d'Afrique 2010 riders near Sukkara pyramids" border="0" class="zemanta-img-inserted" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4276607290_5b6fb77d68_m.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 0.8em;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption zemanta-img-attribution" style="text-align: center;">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45191620@N07/4276607290">Tour d'Afrique</a> via Flickr</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>A guest post by my Co-worker, Miles McDonald:</u></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.48655094439163804"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With the end of the year coming I’ve made a pre-emptive New Years resolution. I am going to better the world. How? By sharing some travel wisdom accrued over the last 20 years as a traveller and as Tour Guide for <a href="http://tourdafrique.com/tours/silkroute">Tour d'Afrique</a>. </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It pains me to part with this wisdom, but in the end the knowledge is greater than any one person and should be shared. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Speaking the Language:</span><br />
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<li style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If you don't understand what someone is saying to you in a foreign language, just smile and nod your head as if you do understand, and reply in your own language about whatever you think they may be saying. Never admit that you don't understand.</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Getting Lost:</span><br />
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<li style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If you have arrived somewhere you never planned to go simply pretend that it was always your destination and act relaxed. Never admit that you don't know where you are.</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One Eating:</span><br />
<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
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<li style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If you are unsure of cultural norms while sitting to eat with locals, simply say you are not hungry and refuse to eat. Never admit that you do not know the local customs.</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Meeting other Travelers:</span><br />
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<li style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If another foreigner asks you for information, pretend you are a local and that you do not understand them. Never admit that you are a foreigner.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some people may think there should be at least 10 tips above, and if you’re one of those people, I suggest you add your own travel tips to the list and re-post this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Miles</span></div>
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<a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=ba003344-aab4-46e1-8eef-1ae8649181a1" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-29922105449725808932011-12-18T16:55:00.000-05:002011-12-21T09:24:18.995-05:00A Bunch of Random Tips for the Silk Route Bike Tour in No Particular Order<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container zemanta-img" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shanghaiviewpic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: clear:left;"><img alt="English: The skyline of Shanghai, China." border="0" class="zemanta-img-inserted" height="265" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Shanghaiviewpic1.jpg/300px-Shanghaiviewpic1.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 0.8em;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption zemanta-img-attribution" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shanghaiviewpic1.jpg">Wikipedia</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 19px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I learned a lot of things on my scouting trip to China. Here is a random assortment you may find helpful if you are joining us on our <a href="http://tourdafrique.com/tours/silkroute">Silk Route Bike Tour</a>. These tips obviously apply to China. I'll share some tips for the other 6 countries we'll be riding through later on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Shanghai has two Airports. One is largely domestic, the other largely international (but not exclusively). Be sure you know which one you fly into because they are 30 km apart. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Most of our hotels in China do not have laundry service. Local laundries require 24 hours to wash your clothes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Don’t ever stop in middle of a road/bike path, unless you are fond of being run over by an electric scooter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Bring a bell or horn. A really loud one. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also bring mirror and handlebar bag that has a map case.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Wean yourself off of coffee before coming. Get used to drinking tea. </span></div>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/bkVryVcRRCRg-qXnK7G6Ef-F5yhBQSe5_sAj1vdUpW5KrtXrsSImfbOx_V7Y8INBrYVIWCM6Z5iZ-xqkmCvOkYqtLJ_9y-7R2qrLHkIo44jjemG8x9I" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" id="internal-source-marker_0.8497930380981416" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/bkVryVcRRCRg-qXnK7G6Ef-F5yhBQSe5_sAj1vdUpW5KrtXrsSImfbOx_V7Y8INBrYVIWCM6Z5iZ-xqkmCvOkYqtLJ_9y-7R2qrLHkIo44jjemG8x9I" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Carry the name of each hotel we stay in written in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_Chinese" rel="wikipedia" title="Mandarin Chinese">Mandarin</a> with you each day. Believe me, at some point this will save your ass. Especially if you follow the advice at the end of this list. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Internet in most of the hotels we stay in is cable only, no wifi, so iPad and Mac Air users are out of luck </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-If you enter your hotel and the lights don’t work it is because you didn’t insert your key card into the automatic cut off switch at the door. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Hotels charge for dirty towels and sheets. A lot. They will check your room thoroughly before you check out. So don't clean your bike with a towel and don't steal anything. </span></div>
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<a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SIM_Card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: clear:left;"><img alt="Hornjoserbsce: A sim card" border="0" class="zemanta-img-inserted" height="225" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/SIM_Card.jpg/300px-SIM_Card.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption zemanta-img-attribution" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SIM_Card.jpg">Wikipedia</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-SIM cards and phones are cheap in Shanghai, you should plan on getting one. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Every time you take a cab take picture the cab’s ID and phone number, just in case you forget something.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-You will have to carry your bags upstairs at most hotels in china so pack accordingly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Always carry Toilet paper. (this is a good rule for all our tours actually).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-If you don’t like noodles, I hope you like rice. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption zemanta-img-attribution" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sparkling-bottled-water.jpg">Wikipedia</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Drink bottled water or boiled water. A lot of the water is not safe to drink. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Learn to use chopsticks. Long chopsticks were easier for me to use than short ones. Wooden ones were easier to use than plastic or metal. I've heard the reusable plastic chopsticks restaurants use are rarely cleaned well so its best to use the disposable ones or bring your own. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Buy a filter mask for dust and smog (if you have allergies or asthma take extra precautions)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">-No skinny tires. All tires should be 28mm or wider. You've been warned. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>And Finally: </b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Get lost. It’s fun and China is very safe and fun to explore. Just get found again before I have to come looking for you! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well there you go. I told you they were assorted! More coherent info about preparing for the <a href="http://tourdafrique.com/tours/silkroute">Silk Route Bike Tour</a> coming soon, including a food decoder and some awesome language tips. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Been to China? Have some tips of your own? Love to hear them in the comments. </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul </span></div>
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<a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=38aa07ed-2b4e-4631-9204-237e8dea6a36" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-85274291548288005192011-12-18T16:18:00.002-05:002011-12-19T09:41:10.678-05:005 Quick Links: The Silk Route<br />
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<img height="254px;" id="internal-source-marker_0.7630644363816828" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xuNBMMjk9vXCjUhgIqQ9ShO58nOhqGf7m6LUUWdQM7o_V8h2101srTbLP3oHUpIRBvtCIgi2Bkm4czrZgK7g_IPV8MWGxgZ1UnKYucqhzytdduf1ebo" width="339px;" /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"> Karakol Lake </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">photo by Christine McDonald via Travelling Two Blog</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For obvious reasons I read a lot of things about the <a href="http://tourdafrique.com/tours/silkroute">Silk Route</a> these days. Here is a selection of a few posts from my favorite travel bloggers and one bonus link I think is neatto. If you like what you read, please let them know in the comments. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Turkish Recipies - </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From the Expat blog Turkeys for Life. These guys post some great pics and stories with insights from their lives in Turkey. This is a good post of turkish recipes... yum! </span><br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.turkeysforlife.com/2011/12/turkish-food-recipes-2011-favourites.html">http://www.turkeysforlife.com/2011/12/turkish-food-recipes-2011-favourites.html</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85dSXSqhpAiXiiTKOspwL0W4N4k8CWjkJjGRDC3IUNCm8vn1dcwL1vehgKIiLse5OGPqd_tI27f8PC6FCHss-As6e-7Bso90vj5ES-aKjRsIDyOvZUgVoGDuX6KgF6XkzsUYe0mWDmso/s1600/Turkish+food+Turkish+recipes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85dSXSqhpAiXiiTKOspwL0W4N4k8CWjkJjGRDC3IUNCm8vn1dcwL1vehgKIiLse5OGPqd_tI27f8PC6FCHss-As6e-7Bso90vj5ES-aKjRsIDyOvZUgVoGDuX6KgF6XkzsUYe0mWDmso/s320/Turkish+food+Turkish+recipes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b></b></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you click on just one link, make it this one.... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beautiful Panoramic Photo of Disco ball Mosque</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - from Uncornered Market, This panoramic shot of the "disco ball mosque" is captivating. </span><br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.uncorneredmarket.com/2011/12/shah-cheragh-mosque-shiraz-panorama/">http://www.uncorneredmarket.com/2011/12/shah-cheragh-mosque-shiraz-panorama/</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbH0ZPQs7LeogRSblE1eR1XRG5z5xsuQbEtmiloSerb1tJas1-81T2EbEkXleuqsamyqQ6r-Hf9xfO9hjXDwbfVzszY6jIqpaiSFmX19EKRgisX9ajSDnPu5PUCdrwsfwMwFfZz6kW1mg/s1600/Iran_Esfahan_Mosque.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbH0ZPQs7LeogRSblE1eR1XRG5z5xsuQbEtmiloSerb1tJas1-81T2EbEkXleuqsamyqQ6r-Hf9xfO9hjXDwbfVzszY6jIqpaiSFmX19EKRgisX9ajSDnPu5PUCdrwsfwMwFfZz6kW1mg/s320/Iran_Esfahan_Mosque.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Tehran Markets, in Pictures - </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From Angela Corrias at Chasing the Unexpected - My favorite thing to do in any country is visit the local markets. Angela does a good job of capturing Iran's </span></div>
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<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.chasingtheunexpected.com/2011/10/tehran-in-pictures-local-markets-and-sweets-shops/">http://www.chasingtheunexpected.com/2011/10/tehran-in-pictures-local-markets-and-sweets-shops/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cycling the Pamir Highway - </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10 Questions with Christine McDonald on Travelling Two's blog. Great stories and advice from people who have been there and done that. </span><br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://travellingtwo.com/resources/10questions/pamir-highway">http://travellingtwo.com/resources/10questions/pamir-highway</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Video of Turpan, China</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Not a travel blog but a series of videos from the Silk Road Music Project. Part 10 of a series. </span><br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sEWIKW15Ss&feature=youtube_gdata">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sEWIKW15Ss&feature=youtube_gdata</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Want more? You can follow me on </span><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/pauljmcm"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> where I post lots of links pertaining to tours I’m researching or follow me on </span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/115773559306672754858/about">Google Plus</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bonus Link: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Worlds Cheapest (and lightest?) Multi Tool for bike repair - DIY - </span><br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.biketinker.com/2011/projects/worlds-cheapest-multi-tool/">http://www.biketinker.com/2011/projects/worlds-cheapest-multi-tool/</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-61103203965623127422011-12-14T17:41:00.001-05:002011-12-17T17:56:10.309-05:00Black Boogers and Shaolin Priests, A Day on the New Silk Route Bike Tour<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" id="internal-source-marker_0.6923735425807536" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/IkWB-_3nV92tkM4bUTn5klYBm4tEkyaggMdBfzvmJ3Ub9Qm-8AH2qbuuzJZSXTBsk7qc2ZYfFrvl1j2uYUPZuWslZyXMDJTdB9CWwSlpYcx3NPf4CR8" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Half Way up Songshan Mountain, a Prayer Tree Glows Against the Early Morning Monochrome Landscape</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Right now I am wearing gloves in my hotel room just outside Dengfeng, China. The 70 CNY ($10) hotel we’ve chosen for the tour might be lacking a few of the finer things (like heat) but it does have one advantage, it is located 300 meters from the gate of the famous Shaolin Temple, birthplace of KungFu. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m here scouting the new route of the <a href="http://tourdafrique.com/tours/silkroute">2012 Silk Route Bike Tour</a>. In 2012 the tour will run East to West (a much better direction. It will start in Shanghai and finish in Istanbul. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fortunately for us when we bike through here on tour in 2012 the weather will be warm so the heat will not be a problem. And the hotel is not without its charms. It is run by a very nice Chinese family and has hot showers and internet. The restaurant downstairs serves a wicked stir fired rabbit, complete with paws and face (it’s surprisingly hard to eat a rabbit when you’re looking at its cooked face). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why do Monks and Priests Always put their temples at the top of a Mountain?</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/LoduQ2buFHAKBFiR_AXrTDaPjlF_XY6lDM_7OmxZgH3uwGsbNrQ73GOJTSaT2pevfdQPGFnNn1FvHasOXdV5fk2TWQhtCqDTwu60M9jXkwh53XqMk_Q" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Songshan Temple</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The ride into Dengfeng will be a long one, about 150 km with a few good hills to finish the day (I know how much riders just love it when camp is at the top of a long climb). The Temple is surrounded by mountains, a welcome relief from the rest of eastern china, which has been pathetically flat thus far. The Shaolin Temple is very close to the hotel so riders will have plenty of time to visit it in the morning before our short ride of 60 km to our rest day in Luoyang, China. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Figuring I could see the Shaolin Temple when I return on tour in 2012, I took some time to climb to another nearby attraction, the Songshan Temple. The hotel owner told me it was difficult to get to but really that only made we want to do it more. In my experience the more difficult something is to get to, the more rewarding the experience usually is. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="439px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/I6-6DtX-TV4cwo53EAHjsSksZKtWiuDVWZtrlgGnXKjOFEjYP_FwZCHHmXbjzDsyxkpMJdQLKPh2rY127Bom61g7zztbemJ08O1vsw8SFKIjJCid4A4" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="585px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long Way Down, you can just see the outline of the steps below</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stair Master</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A six kilometer long flight of stairs leads to the temple. It was tough. My guide dropped off after about 2 kms of climbing. I told him I would only go a little further then come back, but I think we both new I was lying. I wanted to reach the top. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After about 3 kms the route begins to hug the mountain side, dip under rock ledges and cross some impressive gorges. I felt a little like Frodo climbing to Mordor, save for the big fiery eye at the top. I was alone on the steps at seven in the morning and for two hours I climbed without seeing or hearing anyone but the wind and birds (a real treat after two weeks in China, which is </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">never </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">quiet). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the top the temple was under renovation. The grounds were full of stone cutters and carpenters hard at work in the chill air. The temple itself was pretty impressive. But more impressive were </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">these guys:</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/2ZiByO9XKwc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="color: #c0504d; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the video it’s hard to see, but what you are witnessing is a group of about 15 men trying to drag what must be a 500 kg brass bell up to the top of the mountain. And all the while that they are trying to heave this thing up one step at a time other men are passing them with 50 kg sacks of sand on their heads! Made me feel a little silly for being winded at all. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/12JiVjvqeSfCCRfbgzrp_3mEgPyaJ2JqspISo_YkIHILX8Ev2YCu7oHAdUTSAGr4i8WarE59d11z1YHI2S60Y7kXX-gNE1LKOEjsWeAEJT6n9aVLdXo" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thick Dust Coated Everything in Gao Zhou</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">500 Yards of Foulness</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before reaching Dengfeng riders will have to cycle through the city of Gao Zhou. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gao Zhou is perhaps one of the dirtiest cities I have ever visited in my life. The streets were muddy and the air was filled with cement and coal dust from a half dozen mines and factories that surround the city. Everything was coated in a thick grey layer of dust. The landscape had been stripped bare in China’s search for resources to build the infrastructure to support 20% of the world’s population. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The dry air, mixed with all that dust gives you some pretty epic boogers. (I'll spare you a photo of that!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But riding through the city will only take an hour or so and soon the mountains that surround the Temples near Dengfeng come into view and the road improves. You climb into the mountains past centuries old temples and parks and up to the Shaolin Temple where a giant statue of a monk greets you and humbles you. All in all, I think it will be a pretty good day of riding. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More Pics: </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/xHpbEHAJYq1rcpq_vePIdvfoA9-lSAn1bSol0h4HSKyJ2hyTGCg0ArScmtr7XXfbbdYCv84k1aPOvAEG-qmf_sGc_W1P6EdIURXV9KDahbNNhN1BMUg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pagoda Forest</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="640px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/j3AtTTW4g-MdVF6JRtEvvAOoYPhW65DC32_1JucVOUF_g_EsQ8GzQhdnnWZgb16MdMsiwLIScRIWZl4jEnKv1OlRVe6ck91uHECU-qso2Ym-lsl9wO4" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="480px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of these scary guys around... Raaahahagggghhhh!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yum! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/vw79sZRX-R_VCr4mPto5nx1Tut-tNIF6nrynhpNhzmLdSYsGiy-jd3dixkVEjqRvIwUnCPoVMep1FcuqTQJYNd7W9nxm121RA8vGHHDtY0SeOp4KBvI" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some Light Traffic </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/j8skW_Yk323_sZjs8ZQuH7LAKYIqOKjBStzJwdUPP-6VUZaSeVad13HQMDlOrGmE3UJ6tNRl8L4_xHqNDm2lRzGJlOJ0ckuybPSevn6gTXmp81qcQLU" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure where this was, some out of the way temple in the middle of nowhere (the best kind)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Temple Air was filled with Incense</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/PAEGgE9z4hVSXjV11kUcq3Pf27e4tnhrF3XpzrtiRnbKmXyyxkIpCf7AytRaEaYlGvwMkD1UwWdut9DrzmCrJHJMPfkzCwjElShDADBT-GqfuxXzR5c" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House of 500 Buddhas. I didn't Count them, but there were a lot. Each One was Unique as well. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/y0MG8uHExfltE8dTCrJ7i9Bd-RSfQkUnY7JODofFmQw72xjBs4x9uOV_7TrEo8viRHiEEvKMKTf55FTbpniYYESBT22NT4XSeZieWlOjcny_BOfFeVU" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a cool little Moon Gate </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;">
<a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=82b5e0b6-f3fe-4d49-b6cc-f20ca93d7fcb" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0Dengfeng, Zhengzhou, Henan, China34.453663 113.05046134.2441755 112.734604 34.6631505 113.36631799999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-45187403295623677092011-12-14T11:00:00.000-05:002011-12-14T11:00:32.723-05:00The Gift Guide That Will Help Your Cycling Friends Sleep at Night<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQa_-JZsaNg2tBbQP-YYCy6AmrlJQtVtmtaWLvkSyBMDva6hF8QJH18BXaQPUrLBA9EvatgXudO0XydihdKsF7n1V8wq_jWSXc5LVo5IJt1Bu8kg7PaE5hkyUDhcd2c0TsDl80o6CGvVU/s1600/Santa+Hat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQa_-JZsaNg2tBbQP-YYCy6AmrlJQtVtmtaWLvkSyBMDva6hF8QJH18BXaQPUrLBA9EvatgXudO0XydihdKsF7n1V8wq_jWSXc5LVo5IJt1Bu8kg7PaE5hkyUDhcd2c0TsDl80o6CGvVU/s320/Santa+Hat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I've never written a gift guide before. It's a little intimidating to be honest. Buying gear for a cyclist is comparable to buying shoes for your girlfriend. Your almost guaranteed to get it wrong. <br />
<br />
But if you have a friend or loved one joining us on an expedition I can promise you that what gear to bring has kept them awake at night more than once. Prepping for a 4 month bike tour is expensive and the list of gear is long. So I wrote this guide to help you help them ease the anxiety a bit. I hope it helps.<br />
<br />
With the exception of the North Face tent, I've used and continue to use all the products I recommend here. I'm hoping Santa brings me the tent this year, otherwise I'll have to dig deep and buy it for myself.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><u>The TdA Gift Guide:</u></span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b>Essential Gear:</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<a href="http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/marathon_mondial">Schwalbe Marathon Mondial Tires</a> - $50 to $90 each tire (did I mention preparing for tour can be expensive?)<br />
<br />
Anyone joining us on tour will need at least two sets of tires, some times 3. Year in and Year out Schwalbe tires out perform any other tire on tour. You'll need to find out what size wheels your cyclists will be using. The choices are 26" or 29" / 700c). Once you know that you can buy the appropriate width tire. I recommend a 35mm tire for 29" / 700c wheels and a 2.0 width tire for 26" wheels. Guaranteed to put a smile on any cyclist face. <br />
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<a href="http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/sc-gear/minibus-23.html">North Face Minibus Tent</a> - $359<br />
Living in a tent for 4 months changes the way you think about tents. This is compounded by the fact that the tent will be used in deserts as a well as mountains and in more than a few rainstorms. The Minibus tent covers all the bases well. It looks like it pitches quickly and tautly, has great head room for a two man tent, two doors, lots of pockets for gear and allows for 'fly only' pitching, a feature that I personally love for those hot desert days. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Nice to have Gear:</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.luxurylite.com/cotindex.html">Lite Cot </a>- $220<br />
Sleeping on the ground gets old. Especially when that ground is rocky or rough. the Lite Cot eliminates the problem by providing a lightweight sleeping cot that packs down to the size of a thermarest. I no longer bring a sleeping pad on tour, just a lite cot. Takes an extra 5 minutes to set up / break down but totally worth it for the comfort. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051QVESA/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=14076367795&ref=pd_sl_4fwpfwq2jg_b">Kindle E Reader</a> - $79<br />
I wouldn't travel without this anymore. The battery lasts forever and you can carry hundreds and hundreds of books in a 6 oz package. Since the kindle also allows you to store PDFs you can also store anything from any website using services like<a href="http://www.readability.com/"> Readability</a>. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/tubes">Schwalbe Tubes</a> - $9 each<br />
I've mentioned that I am a big fan a Schwalbe tires. Well same goes for their tubes. They cost close to 3 times as much as their chinese or korean counterparts though. But I can vouch for the durability of the SV-17, their touring tube. Especially in scorching hot conditions where I've seen cheaper tubes spontaneously explode. Riders are going to need 6 to 8 spare tubes on one of our trips. Note that tubes, like tires, come in different widths and sizes. The SV-17s fit a wide variety of widths and come in 26" and 29" / 700c sizes. They also come with two different types of valve and the valves come in different lengths. A 40 mm presta valve will work for most cyclists on tour. <br />
<br />
<b>Stocking Stuffers</b><br />
<br />
Tire levers - big surprise, <a href="http://www.schwalbetires.com/tire_levers_page">Schwalbe</a> makes some great ones. <br />
Rim Tape, - few people bring spare rim tape on tour, they should. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pedro-Nylon-Strips-Yellow-124763/dp/B00145VP1I">Pedros</a> and <a href="http://www.schwalbetires.com/accessories/rim_tape">Schwalbe</a> tape is good. <br />
Multi Tool - a good multi tool is a life saver. The <a href="http://www.parktool.com/product/i-beam-mini-fold-up-hex-wrench-screwdriver-star-driver-set-ib-2">Park Tool IB-2</a> or <a href="http://www.parktool.com/product/rescue-tool-mtb-3">Park Rescue Tool</a> are my favorites.<br />
Seat bag - A place to keep essential items like tools and a spare tube. Lots of options here. <br />
Kickstand - Its hard to overstate how great a kickstand is to have on tour. Racers might disagree though. <br />
<br />
So there you go. The first ever TdA Gift Guide (and I didn't even plug our <a href="http://issuu.com/davidonabike/docs/tda10">new book</a> - ... ahem ... available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/10-Celebrating-Afrique-Bicycle-Expedition/dp/0981130410/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323876991&sr=8-1">amazon.com</a>). Let me know in the comments if you found this guide useful or have other suggestions. <br />
<br />
Happy Holidays!<br />
<br />
Paul<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: transparent;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.13192973705008626" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul McManus Designs and Guides Long Distance Bike Tours for Tour d’Afrique Ltd. Currently he is preparing for the Silk Route Bike Tour from Shanghai to Istanbul which starts in May 2012. Find out more at </span><a href="http://tourdafrique.com/tours/silkroute"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://tourdafrique.com/tours/silkroute</span></a></div><br />
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<br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=bf87b91a-cca8-4c66-83f5-5275fde8ebf3" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-30031749129179602252011-11-09T14:31:00.001-05:002011-11-09T14:31:22.021-05:00Bike Jax: Velocity Moving Wheel Production to Jacksonville<div class='posterous_autopost'><div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile5.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/tourdafrique/rpdeJkcDjDBtBfbtnikeHsDGmEdydlyybwBFnmllvFskzAFcddhbuDynJmIq/media_http1bpblogspot_dtqCc.png.scaled1000.png"><img alt="Media_http1bpblogspot_dtqcc" height="130" src="http://getfile6.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/tourdafrique/rpdeJkcDjDBtBfbtnikeHsDGmEdydlyybwBFnmllvFskzAFcddhbuDynJmIq/media_http1bpblogspot_dtqCc.png.scaled500.png" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.bikejax.org/2011/11/velocity-moving-wheel-production-to.html">bikejax.org</a></div> <p>Nice</p></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-15461821602055999442011-11-09T13:52:00.000-05:002011-11-09T13:52:05.185-05:00How to get 300 bikes from Montana to Nairobi by Christmas<span class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: left;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Billingsmontana.JPG" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="View of Billings, MT, from the Rims." height="150" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Billingsmontana.JPG/300px-Billingsmontana.JPG" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 0.8em;" width="200" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 300px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Billings, Montana Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Billingsmontana.JPG">Wikipedia</a></i></span></span></span><br />
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<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="zemanta-img separator zemanta-action-dragged" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kibera.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Slum Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya." height="150" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Kibera.jpg/300px-Kibera.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="200" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i> Nairobi, Kenya Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kibera.jpg">Wikipedia</a></i></span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Step One: </span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Start in 14 months in advance. </b></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I first met Prisca in Nairobi about 8 months after we had started working together. I had worked with her friend and fellow Wheels of Africa member, Martin Wambua the previous year when he joined us for a month to train as a mechanic for our Cairo to Cape Town bike tour. Martin, as it turns out would would be one of the best mechanics ever to work the tour and Wheels of Africa, under Prisca's leadership would soon be the proud owner of 320 use bikes from Billings, Montana. </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Step Two:</span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Have a Damn Good plan and some Damn Good Help</b></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plan_C.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Prisca contacted me about starting a community bike shop in Nairobi in October 2010. It took over a month for us to put together a viable business model and plan. Prisca and her team would put together a plan, I would critique it and they would go back to the drawing board. The plan got better and better and eventually they created a plan that would succeed better they we could have every expected and attract the attention of everyone they showed it to. </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Mike Link, at BEN Namibia, gave us a lot of advice and was very important to the projects success. In fact, it was Mike who introduced us to Dan Austin who ran the Bikes for Humanity Chapter in Montana (now called Wheels of Change), the organization that would ultimately collect and ship the bikes to us. Dan had several hurdles to jump though to get the bikes ready and shipped and he generously shipped them at no cost to Wheels of Africa. It was generosity like this that recently won Dan the <a href="http://www.adventuretravelnews.com/austin-lehman-adventures-receives-travel-leisure-magazine%E2%80%99s-2011-global-vision-award-for-corporate-innovation">Global Vision</a> Award from Travel and Leisure Magazine. We also got a ton of advice from Keith Oberg at Bikes for the World and hope to work with him on future bike shipments to the shop. </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">And this list would not be complete without mentioning 2010 Tour d'Afrique rider Gerald Coniel who made a generous donation to the Tour d'Afrique Foundation to support this project. Gerald's assistance gave us a huge head start in funding the start up cost for the bike shop. </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Step Three:</b></span><br />
<b>Sit and wait (and prepare)</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
As we speak the a container of 320 bikes is floating out there on the ocean enroute to Mombasa. barring the intervention of Somali pirates it should reach port on November 29, 2011. <br />
<br />
Prisca and her team at Wheels of Africa are busy building shop and storage space for when the bikes arrive. They have pre-sold 100 bikes! That's enough money to cover the next shipment of bikes free and clear of any assistance or loans from outside organizations. Demand his high for the remaining bikes so while the focus is on building and marketing the shop they are also working on where the next shipment will come from. <br />
<br />
We are exceptionally excited to see the shop when the 2012 Tour d'Afrique arrive in Nairobi and look forward to give Prisca and her team big pat on the back!<br />
<br />
If you'd like to find out more about the Wheels of Africa Bike Shop Project or have questions about the Tour d'Afrique Foundation you can reach us at <a href="mailto:info@tourdafrique.com">info@tourdafrique.com. </a><br />
<br />
<b>Help Us Create More Opportunities Like this One</b><br />
<br />
The Tour d'Afrique Foundation is the charitable arm of Tour d'Afrique Bike Races and Tours. The Foundations donates bikes and support projects all along the route of it's annual bike tour from Cairo to Cape Town. Please support our efforts to promote human powered transportation and income generating projects in Africa by making a donation.<br />
<br />
Donate to the Tour d'Afrique Foundation: <a href="http://tourdafrique.com/donate">http://tourdafrique.com/donate</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Related Links: </b><br />
The Tour d'Afrique Foundation: http://tourdafrique.com/what-we-do/foundation<br />
Bike For the World: http://bikesfortheworld.org/<br />
BEN Namibia: http://www.benbikes.org.za/namibia/<br />
Bicycles for Humanity: http://www.bicycles-for-humanity.org/<br />
Wheels of Change: http://wocmontana.org/<br />
Bikes for the World: http://bikesfortheworld.org/<br />
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<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_a.png?x-id=cc643d9f-043a-49b3-b54f-fafaa4dff037" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-67941034519441873392010-05-26T13:11:00.001-04:002010-05-26T13:11:35.271-04:00SR PicsHere's a few pics from the 2010 Silk Route. From Sile to Safranbolu.<p>-- <br>Paul J McManus<br>Tour Director, Tour d'Afrique Ltd<p>Google Voice #: (850) 564-8756<br>Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/Doodlemac">http://twitter.com/Doodlemac</a><br> <a href="http://twitter.com/tourdafrique">http://twitter.com/tourdafrique</a><br>Linked in: <a href="http://bit.ly/6Ox45s">http://bit.ly/6Ox45s</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-20868262036056298892010-02-04T06:26:00.001-05:002010-02-04T06:26:15.204-05:00Pics<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJXLPwzFEypi_TkYhUi9P_2geNtRNwcr89HgPmazPaCNhqxDi0o_npaGU9E4eUdLWmSwUiZkMl0fuUPXIw418_Gjloqj5U-vjWLr3NOYr7wcSm86bHf4On5LPX5kk1uENhvLZHAEDM8w/s1600-h/CIMG2093-775205.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJXLPwzFEypi_TkYhUi9P_2geNtRNwcr89HgPmazPaCNhqxDi0o_npaGU9E4eUdLWmSwUiZkMl0fuUPXIw418_Gjloqj5U-vjWLr3NOYr7wcSm86bHf4On5LPX5kk1uENhvLZHAEDM8w/s320/CIMG2093-775205.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434348141445262882" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXy1tPtM3sWwBZf0pC5GZ9PZp4AxpTR5Z7dzIb4B_oA5zZB0laxphATyzIZoIHxXdx0Lfv6dQ8Cc2Q9YnanCTFRt2AsWuHFgX8OyfigwZ1MFtPWum2HcLmsRYLc-nNOh7k_OXHe1GWjg0/s1600-h/Finish+line+day+14++157+kms,+3+hrs+27+mins!-777137.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXy1tPtM3sWwBZf0pC5GZ9PZp4AxpTR5Z7dzIb4B_oA5zZB0laxphATyzIZoIHxXdx0Lfv6dQ8Cc2Q9YnanCTFRt2AsWuHFgX8OyfigwZ1MFtPWum2HcLmsRYLc-nNOh7k_OXHe1GWjg0/s320/Finish+line+day+14++157+kms,+3+hrs+27+mins!-777137.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434348149710131298" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8obscfOORkAzGg51e3Id6LDtJUQyNEZ9Hi8YGroxI-msNDmLGcFm_A-DrV_ActzCDYzmvGsBa9vZLEUcaqrgEuTr0mO5rhirf1hhEQIvQVUfrPhr_vH8_2ZflFUsc7EDeu-S5eC0lVKA/s1600-h/Giza-778907.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8obscfOORkAzGg51e3Id6LDtJUQyNEZ9Hi8YGroxI-msNDmLGcFm_A-DrV_ActzCDYzmvGsBa9vZLEUcaqrgEuTr0mO5rhirf1hhEQIvQVUfrPhr_vH8_2ZflFUsc7EDeu-S5eC0lVKA/s320/Giza-778907.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434348158345356114" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJAHakrYvvD804UzIQMQ_4AjmgLNy7JdVwW8kKZN2fHweK4acrq6ZL51dOdbFvPtQHBOg3ryiOZnPrYwnotMsWt8guO9zPJozVjY_nb_AdGZ4P0WXQMoG1ilQSImq1SCRBueA4AT0F5PQ/s1600-h/Idfu,+Egypt-780270.JPG"><img 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href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdruZTKmQjDAMtB03gRsu2a-o-mLsZCRMlNq4VbFPf-cEC64CBw551rt1GouKDPtGG_1FjYxaC5OCMt3-jwQK6yqIPDq23raqXpCaJSd9nm9sXlP9p2tEzTkDDBj9A-kwOj-rLC9q9-0/s1600-h/Janet-784163.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdruZTKmQjDAMtB03gRsu2a-o-mLsZCRMlNq4VbFPf-cEC64CBw551rt1GouKDPtGG_1FjYxaC5OCMt3-jwQK6yqIPDq23raqXpCaJSd9nm9sXlP9p2tEzTkDDBj9A-kwOj-rLC9q9-0/s320/Janet-784163.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434348178215978002" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZg1shyphenhyphen9hZ9AdopCOWuEa2ZOptfb5_YX5i714AfmZDaSPHRRXHcZOS9e3dnX_7SF1tY_6qnzdT_q3zmOwbBUVftgpWdxyxzUQNrNz_3JA6u8hyphenhyphenoWjhKB1q8SJmx2sdToX98JerJSRnmo/s1600-h/Quick+shot+from+the+Bike-785646.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZg1shyphenhyphen9hZ9AdopCOWuEa2ZOptfb5_YX5i714AfmZDaSPHRRXHcZOS9e3dnX_7SF1tY_6qnzdT_q3zmOwbBUVftgpWdxyxzUQNrNz_3JA6u8hyphenhyphenoWjhKB1q8SJmx2sdToX98JerJSRnmo/s320/Quick+shot+from+the+Bike-785646.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434348183315317954" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhI9E1uEa3SPEA3WYSkkcRx50zw_MIRb5Ri_ituoH2Ka0iA1boATL507g-x41NYopVNz0aFQLn1AkHJe1W6DMLw7wmqPhL7rk6AJZOp6x4xKtejmeUNcnrmKRthpE33lhzpJALr-d9YQ/s1600-h/Rail-787235.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhI9E1uEa3SPEA3WYSkkcRx50zw_MIRb5Ri_ituoH2Ka0iA1boATL507g-x41NYopVNz0aFQLn1AkHJe1W6DMLw7wmqPhL7rk6AJZOp6x4xKtejmeUNcnrmKRthpE33lhzpJALr-d9YQ/s320/Rail-787235.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434348194433698114" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx30AvsytWevEcri52dp8HGtHT-WYJ4WHggS7B80EOOE3yQkILFmsFnMK2kQudPJNXeN4lY1DuxUZ3uaoOZnFmkYgBco9swVvUaxbS_bwmJ7KaucY3QlnDw7PLLH7B1qlueg2Zp4nVT_8/s1600-h/The+Start-788658.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx30AvsytWevEcri52dp8HGtHT-WYJ4WHggS7B80EOOE3yQkILFmsFnMK2kQudPJNXeN4lY1DuxUZ3uaoOZnFmkYgBco9swVvUaxbS_bwmJ7KaucY3QlnDw7PLLH7B1qlueg2Zp4nVT_8/s320/The+Start-788658.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434348197626847250" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOWVKzEQvoDBj5vmwN74ALhIGPn6McSHkP2kqlhvvPdgZa6PUTVKdugPYKYGFOoxO7iYMmABSGEL9eEGa0kd5fulwyOapU8hT-EvGaotevGpkNq6Atr_rIvV_17PyqAfBfAlTgX9xX0I/s1600-h/We+offered+this+goat+leftovers+but+he+preferred+newspaper-790102.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOWVKzEQvoDBj5vmwN74ALhIGPn6McSHkP2kqlhvvPdgZa6PUTVKdugPYKYGFOoxO7iYMmABSGEL9eEGa0kd5fulwyOapU8hT-EvGaotevGpkNq6Atr_rIvV_17PyqAfBfAlTgX9xX0I/s320/We+offered+this+goat+leftovers+but+he+preferred+newspaper-790102.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434348205854163938" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdM6cI_yUL40kowOAmVXv80GUlMUvf7-LP4Qf7IiUhiMsZwzxpEdzR_1rCYMKadyUHA6ALE0s3LDO7SiECbOkc-ZNTL7MUmlzLtsbX1dhhUsezAcFrBEaLkefEaraaX2Ml7_oAxwZzJ4/s1600-h/Yum-791582.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdM6cI_yUL40kowOAmVXv80GUlMUvf7-LP4Qf7IiUhiMsZwzxpEdzR_1rCYMKadyUHA6ALE0s3LDO7SiECbOkc-ZNTL7MUmlzLtsbX1dhhUsezAcFrBEaLkefEaraaX2Ml7_oAxwZzJ4/s320/Yum-791582.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434348209177120274" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFYM3pxKSHfhBAgRkWQIEwYSW7Qj2GuYHVhMWji01N7d1u8CMylat7qDJuJo3Lc2abQavsGNkRF9wJ1_TXkBxTv1s5L_UnQyRokX2Rk7r2rw8ToXSBNphOKizZ-D6zmqBfJiaxCpqbfg/s1600-h/Arriving+at+Giza+as+the+sun+rises-793184.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFYM3pxKSHfhBAgRkWQIEwYSW7Qj2GuYHVhMWji01N7d1u8CMylat7qDJuJo3Lc2abQavsGNkRF9wJ1_TXkBxTv1s5L_UnQyRokX2Rk7r2rw8ToXSBNphOKizZ-D6zmqBfJiaxCpqbfg/s320/Arriving+at+Giza+as+the+sun+rises-793184.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434348218307163602" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivG-EAI39zs8w1A4WcPuHsNQC_w1B2jtId80StQqiVZIPY0ygl1k0is6BmDzpdpHpcgyBD64OwwlzBjbyr6X4GyIBMjIeiJke2s_eT4ynWFhr0II1emImbgJXb6b5R1thG59zv7xlGY1w/s1600-h/Arrrrgggghhhh-794486.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivG-EAI39zs8w1A4WcPuHsNQC_w1B2jtId80StQqiVZIPY0ygl1k0is6BmDzpdpHpcgyBD64OwwlzBjbyr6X4GyIBMjIeiJke2s_eT4ynWFhr0II1emImbgJXb6b5R1thG59zv7xlGY1w/s320/Arrrrgggghhhh-794486.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434348220642040130" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqYeytsoEt0gpTx-whTv8Ee2C1PMFmhr_kqzK1URty6BsbuOzsNzHwF8PenqDVbenjNGMVwHAShrPZvTfwDfYQj073xzEAtPuNQriNstmGs9vJ-a8DhoYO8F5_mcuFflgyZ9nN0DZqsQ/s1600-h/Camp+1+of+96!-796497.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqYeytsoEt0gpTx-whTv8Ee2C1PMFmhr_kqzK1URty6BsbuOzsNzHwF8PenqDVbenjNGMVwHAShrPZvTfwDfYQj073xzEAtPuNQriNstmGs9vJ-a8DhoYO8F5_mcuFflgyZ9nN0DZqsQ/s320/Camp+1+of+96!-796497.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434348229111697826" /></a></p><div dir="ltr">Here are a few pics.... none too good I'm afraid.... This year has been great, just now much<br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Paul J McManus<br>Tour Director, Tour d'Afrique Ltd<br><br>Google Voice #: (850) 564-8756 <br> Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/Doodlemac">http://twitter.com/Doodlemac</a><br> <a href="http://twitter.com/tourdafrique">http://twitter.com/tourdafrique</a><br>Linked in: <a href="http://bit.ly/6Ox45s">http://bit.ly/6Ox45s</a><br> </div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-27465958935441595322010-02-04T06:10:00.001-05:002010-02-04T06:10:40.392-05:00Barter Town<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7TguDpWMRqjNj5HZzBQpkp84Y705N_QJpUnE0KJMZ44iD8BEOEF1nKJvf5kTwjTZ34mAj6cYzIEhIZ_V6e22G1anMmbacnSqUoAlO_fSkOgifBuxCHUNVX-rDxf1vG8OHKBrPEv4RK8/s1600-h/CIMG2095-740393.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7TguDpWMRqjNj5HZzBQpkp84Y705N_QJpUnE0KJMZ44iD8BEOEF1nKJvf5kTwjTZ34mAj6cYzIEhIZ_V6e22G1anMmbacnSqUoAlO_fSkOgifBuxCHUNVX-rDxf1vG8OHKBrPEv4RK8/s320/CIMG2095-740393.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434344126487373474" /></a></p><div dir="ltr">Like a scene from a mad max movie, Ferdi came riding around the corner of the truck wearing a soup bowl on his head, secured by a pair of swim goggles. A towl / cape streamed from around his neck and he had two sets of underwear on over his trousers. It was the day before our rest day in Khartoum and it was time for out weekly lost and found game.... The Beer Box. <div> <br></div><div>Riders lose stuff. It's inevitable. They leave it in camp or on the trucks or on the table in the kitchen. It's annoying for the crew to clean up after them so we invented the beer box. Instead of returning lost items to the riders they go in a box where they are stored unitl the day before a rest day. In camp that night we break out the box and hold an auction for the lost items. Riders bid on the items using beer as currency. All debts are to be paid on the rest day. So far the highest bid has been for a jar of Nutella - 25 beers! That may seem hard to understand but ride thru the desert for two weeks and see how valuable that jar of nutella is to you then. </div> <div><br></div><div>The beer auction has apparently spawned the entreprenurial spirit in our riders though. There is a small economy slowly developing in camp. Riders are providing services like tent set up, dish washing, and even bike washing.... for a fee. One of the faster riders has even offered to carry the solar chargers of slower riders to camp so that the can be set up in the noon sun instead of later in the day. It's an interesting twist in the social development of the group. So far they are operating in a cash economy, no credit is available, but who knows..... </div> <div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Sorry no pictures yet. I've taken a couple dozen but nothing really that exciting... except the one shown here - Atomic Racing is now international! </div><div><br></div><div>Things are slowly setting into a routine so I hope to write more and take more pictures. We head into the Sinar State and Dinnar National Park next. Very excited about this. It's a new route for us and a part of Sudan that very few people get to see. </div> <div><br></div><div>Paul <br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Paul J McManus<br>Tour Director, Tour d'Afrique Ltd<br><br>Google Voice #: (850) 564-8756 <br>Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/Doodlemac">http://twitter.com/Doodlemac</a><br> <a href="http://twitter.com/tourdafrique">http://twitter.com/tourdafrique</a><br>Linked in: <a href="http://bit.ly/6Ox45s">http://bit.ly/6Ox45s</a><br> </div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-12074957322468010932010-01-30T02:11:00.001-05:002010-01-30T02:11:59.556-05:00So Far....<DIV><SPAN class=609190213-19012010><FONT face=Arial size=2>9 days down. We are nearing the docks after our 18 hr ferry ride from Aswan to Wadi Halfa on Lake Nasser. The ferry, as expected, was crowded with a mish mash of traders, toursits and local travellers. Every available space on deck had a person sitting, standing or laying down, claiming their spot for the night. The toilets were rank, the cabins were stuffy and smelled sour, like fermented cheese. Still I managed to sleep a good 12 hrs. I guess I needed it. </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=609190213-19012010><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=609190213-19012010><FONT face=Arial size=2>The 61 riders that started from Cairo are a very diverse group representing 14 countries. It's a much younger group than last year but oddly enough it is the young ones who are in bed first and so far have been the least rowdy on rest days. That is bound to change. One of the best parts of the tour are its participants as most people don't try an epic tour like this without having a pretty interesting back story. It's been a struggle just to learn all their names for now but I look forward to spending more time with each rider and hearing about how they came to the decision to pedal accross Africa. </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=609190213-19012010><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=609190213-19012010><FONT face=Arial size=2>The staff, especially our two assistant tour directors, are great. They are learning fast and deal with client issues very well. We were a bit worried about our nurse. She had a real tough time in Cairo, her bags didn't arrive until the day before we left, she was sick, and she was a bit overwhelmed by everything. But now she seems to be settling in fine. The logistics of the tour have been running quite smoothly. We are slowly settling in to a routine, though that will change shortly since our entire route through Sudan will be new this year. So that will mean a lot of scouting and deliberations over distances and road conditions and availabiltiy of local support and water and food. The pay off though is worth it. We'll be riding through parts of Sudan that most tourists never get to see. </FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=609190213-19012010><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=609190213-19012010><FONT face=Arial size=2>The Ferry has docked.... more later. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-15719505496948019872010-01-11T00:02:00.001-05:002010-01-11T00:02:39.825-05:00Traffic (blog update)<div dir="ltr">Here you go Mike, sorry no pictures, no one has taken any yet. <br><br><br>How to describe Cairo Traffic? People in Cairo drive the same way you or I would walk through a shopping mall. Drivers treat the roadway as one big promenade, zigging and zagging where they please, sometimes in the middle of the lane, other times between lanes. On my trip into the city from the airport I counted a dozen times I thought we were going to hit another car and crash. But our driver, like most Egyptian drivers, have a keen sense of the boundaries of their vehicles and are very comfortable driving with other cars surrounding them less than a hands width away. <br> <br>There is hint of logic to they way drivers negotiate the (very) crowded roadways, but just a hint. They honk and flash their lights in a semi-secret code that tells other drivers to move left, hurry up, or watch out. Learning to drive in a city of 8 million people with roadways designed to carry 4 million have given them a 'spidey sense' about when to yield and when to push into traffic aggressively. That's why I say driving in Cairo is akin to walking around a shopping mall, on the day after thanksgiving. <br> <br>So imagine in all this chaos seeing your newly arrived bike, packed snugly in it's cardboard box, the one that will be your constant companion for the next 4 months and 12,000 kms, go flying off the roof of your taxi and into the madness of Cairo traffic. Yeah. <br> <br>If you have a hard time imagining that then just ask Patrick Cantwell. The Aussie rider and his partner were in a cab from the airport when the straps holding their oh so precious bikes to the roof broke. <br><br>Fortunately for Patrick and Wayne their bikes were OK. Patrick's front wheel was damaged but repairable. Rod, another rider at the hotel, helped him to get it rolling and we'll have our mechanic complete the repair when he arrives on Tuesday. No matter how much you prepare. It's hard to prepare for everything that could happen to you on the Tour d'Afrique. <br clear="all"> <br>-- <br>Paul J McManus<br>Tour Director, Tour d'Afrique Ltd<br><br>Google Voice #: (850) 564-8756 <br>Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/Doodlemac">http://twitter.com/Doodlemac</a><br> <a href="http://twitter.com/tourdafrique">http://twitter.com/tourdafrique</a><br> Linked in: <a href="http://bit.ly/6Ox45s">http://bit.ly/6Ox45s</a><br> </div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-87612933036092133652009-12-22T13:28:00.000-05:002009-12-22T13:28:02.822-05:00On the Road Again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HXywZw-Oc5lPE2mtLzPoWTGXamhQsfJ5EHrT8IDakCcNSDpBk0rk_bBDpodUzhvGK6bpHQvfpHJV3kfVMRXYBPc_MRARO1lxV7St9s4OFWAgbS1lpitFYUQOhyjeFd6QYch9gYcj9wA/s1600-h/Blog+Cover+Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HXywZw-Oc5lPE2mtLzPoWTGXamhQsfJ5EHrT8IDakCcNSDpBk0rk_bBDpodUzhvGK6bpHQvfpHJV3kfVMRXYBPc_MRARO1lxV7St9s4OFWAgbS1lpitFYUQOhyjeFd6QYch9gYcj9wA/s320/Blog+Cover+Pic.jpg" /></a><br />
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Well the 2010 <a href="http://www.tourdafrique.com/" mce_href="http://www.tourdafrique.com">Tour d'Afrique</a> is set to start again on Jan 16th 2010. We have a record number of riders signed up this year. Fifty eight full tour riders from 16 different countries. I've been working for the past few months on tour planning a logistics. Interviewing new staff, answering rider questions, setting up our new timing system and revising the way we use our GPS units. I'll try to write blog posts again as regularly as possible. Pictures will be difficult to upload, the internet speeds are just too slow in most countries. I am bringing at net book this year with some photo compression software on it so hopefuly that will help. <br />
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The time back in Tallahassee has gone way to quickly. It's been an incredibly busy time for me. In retrospect perhaps 3 months is too short a time to resettle, restart a business, prepare for another 4 month journey, shut down a business and take off again. Thanks to my family, friends and customers for their understanding and for making things a bit easier. I've got a week left in Tallahassee. Then a few days in Charlotte with my family, a few days in DC to celebrate the new year and then, on Jan 7th, off on another trip from Cairo to Cape Town by bike. <br />
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It's exciting to be a part of the tour as a Tour Director, I hope I don't screw it up!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-20334514152804124382009-11-13T15:01:00.001-05:002009-11-13T15:01:00.739-05:00Lou Dobbs Leaves CNN | The Onion - America's Finest News Source <a href="http://ping.fm/vBpPo">http://ping.fm/vBpPo</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-74964582489635778692009-11-12T08:08:00.001-05:002009-11-12T08:08:59.917-05:00One for all you Tea fans. The physics of dripping teapots <a href="http://ping.fm/0bsWe">http://ping.fm/0bsWe</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-4578466251564675582009-11-11T19:21:00.001-05:002009-11-11T19:21:52.171-05:00Dangerous by Design | Bicycle Times Magazine <a href="http://ping.fm/J67Pu">http://ping.fm/J67Pu</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-49688072736037594322009-11-10T09:38:00.001-05:002009-11-10T09:38:29.174-05:00Bummer! : Snow Leopard Update Kills Atom Hackintoshes | Gadget Lab | Wired.com <a href="http://ping.fm/m0Td6">http://ping.fm/m0Td6</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-55116656544075651912009-11-09T22:29:00.001-05:002009-11-09T22:29:21.189-05:00I guess if you're good enough at tweeting you get your own TV show! Allthough really, his dad should get the show. <a href="http://ping.fm/WI9PP">http://ping.fm/WI9PP</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-14460063472894974252009-11-09T06:50:00.001-05:002009-11-09T06:50:30.587-05:00Microsoft 2019? New UI's look pretty cool. Touch, Voice, Eye tracking... <a href="http://ping.fm/9TjnV">http://ping.fm/9TjnV</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-36173824030917355892009-11-07T08:25:00.001-05:002009-11-07T08:25:47.236-05:00Givv.org consolodates your charitable payments into one <a href="http://givv.org/">http://givv.org/</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3540816057766934411.post-73597427657319480132009-11-04T21:00:00.001-05:002009-11-04T21:00:46.141-05:00Say good bye to your Keys with the Secret knock door opener! <a href="http://ping.fm/D1mrO">http://ping.fm/D1mrO</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12791615562187864573noreply@blogger.com0