My Mrs is from SA and she HATES this country, you do get trapped indoors with the kids due to the crap weather, she is used to a house backing onto a white sandy beach, riding horse along the shore and lots and lots of out door sports and socialising.
Based on fiends and relatives who have migrated there Australia seems similar to SA (without he violence and reverse racism), Good weather breeds a friendly social society it seems.
There are lots of good things about the UK but the weather is not one of them
For those of you with handlebars, check this out. It’s a nice, cheaper alternative to grips or tape. I got my bars two months ago, but they got scuffed up and, frankly, a bit deformed near the ends. I don’t like that; I want my unicycle looking nice, even if scuffed bars still do exactly what they’re supposed to. So, I found an old inner tube I wasn’t using anymore and cut out two pieces that were about the length of my bars. This was the result.
Nice, right? I’d imagine it will take a few falls and also absorb the impact so the bars themselves don’t take any damage. If one casing does need replacing, I still have the rest of my inner tube to use!
It was pretty hot in San Jose. I headed to the Santa Cruz mountains for some relief from the heat. A short 10 mile cruise on the KH26. Single track and fire road. Few technical sections, mostly smooth.
The overall ride did not involve any lengthy climbs/descents. A total elevation gain of 1,634 feet. Lots of short steep sections. Great for a good workout with lots easy sections. No need to stop (except when falling off in a rutty, rooty, rocky bit of trail :D).
Lovely ride mbalmer
Great picc Muni Addict
Here’s a quick vid below. The first section is me on my 24’', then next bit is some rascal who rode over the bridge and along the side of the castle.
Have you visited Aus, NZ or the UK? Personally I have (obviously I live in one!) and I’d very happily move to either of Aus or NZ - though with a very strong preference for NZ. However there are some things I’d certainly miss about here - the history we have for one (I suppose if you’re not used to having that you might not miss it so much). We’re also a slightly unusual group on this forum as we appreciate outdoor stuff a lot more - many people can’t wait to escape NZ or Aus and love living in London which has lots of things they don’t have there (personally I’ve lived in London and hated it!) I guess things may have changed a bit in NZ since I was last there 12 years ago, but in some ways it had a very behind the times and old fashioned feel.
You may be right in your preferences, but the UK really isn’t so bad if you choose the right bit - really quite nice round here. Even for you it also has the advantage of easy travel to lots of other European countries, whilst visiting anywhere else from NZ is a 3+ hour flight away.
I don’t think I’d want to move to the US though, so no offence taken
I have not been to the UK, but have been close by, did a lot of world traveling before I got married and had kids, looking forward to doing more in a couple years. I understand that every place has it’s pros and cons, I have lived overseas in Spain and West Africa, as well as on both the sides of the USA, high alpine, high desert, northern rainforest, subtropical rainforest, mediterranean climes, desert island, etc…
What I find to be ideal is a place that is close to nature, both the people and the geography. In the states this can be a challenge as not all populations feel the same about nature, esp in the Southeast USA where fast food and TV seem to be more important. It looks like I’ll be going back to the West, either Oregon or Utah.
This discussion did get me thinking about moving outside the USA, but the problem is with employment; I’m a Nurse Practitioner and my wife is in school to be a Nurse Practitioner. This “role” is not as common outside the USA, so jobs are hard to find; I did a quick search and found none in NZ or AUS
There are certainly some places in Europe that call to me
There is a place I call “home”, a place I share a history with cutural and geographically, so even if I don’t like my country’s politics and I find certain aspects of my country to be less than ideal, it is hard to be away from home for too long. But I can always take sabbaticals
New Nimbus! Whoop!’
The only complaint I have is the packing. Every Uni I’ve bought (this the first one from UDC) has just had the wheel flopping around. One of the KH cranks was almost poking through the box on this one and got scared up BUT it’ll get scratched before too long. I’m super happy with it and can’t wait to get it all dirty!
I went out for 15 miles tonight on the Coker, as a result of a beautiful, mild evening that I didn’t have to work on for once. Naturally, like most normal teenage boys, I decided to go for a unicycle ride in my spare time Here’s some pictures.
Good idea. So far my knees have borne the brunt of Schlumpf related incidents. On the 24, accidental downshifts are responsible for most of my troubles. I did hit the pavement falling off of my 36 guni while riding past a college women running team. Guess I was a bit distracted. Slid on my hands, knees, and chest. Rubbed the zipper off of my jacket, and my ribs were sore for a few weeks.
BUT it’ll get scratched before too long. I’m super happy with it and can’t wait to get it all dirty!
Here’s some pictures.
