La Via hacia Estambul
A cena era presente Emilio Rigatti, che insieme a Rumiz e Altan lo scorso anno ha pedalato da Trieste a Istambul. Del viaggio ha scritto il libro "La strada per Istambul". Domani mattina pedalerà con noi fino a Mestre.
Le ciclovie del Signore sono infinite
Le ciclovie del Signore sono infinite. In una di queste, sabato scorso, vi ho incontrato Emilio Rigatti, professore di lettere, scrittore ma soprattutto esploratore di orizzonti, rivoluzionario ciclista, disertore dal grande esercito degli inscatolati.
La diserzione automobilisticaintervista a Emilio Rigatti
VoIP on a bike
A bicycle-powered, Linux-based VoIP system brings developing communities into the 21st century.
A bicycle-powered, Linux (Overview, Articles, Company)-based VoIP system: not your usual high-tech architecture. But what if you were one of the more than 1 billion people living without electricity? No power, no phone.
The mission of Inveneo, a nonprofit group of inveterate high-tech adventurers, is to bring developing communities that never reached a 20th century level of infrastructure into the 21st century. Its bicycle-powered system brings not just VoIP but also e-mail and Web browsing to remote areas, using a combination of Linux and the Asterisk (Overview, Articles, Company) open source PBX.
Inveneo puts everything together with off-the-shelf hardware that is low-cost, easily replaced, and — it is hoped — easy to troubleshoot and fix. It uses Wi-Fi networking to route traffic to a central hub with existing phone infrastructure, with a range as far as 100 miles.
The bicycle, mostly used as a backup to solar power, gives the rider one hour on the phone for every 15 minutes of work. In a village, a user might trade pedaling time for phone time — or get paid by someone who wants to use the phone but doesn’t want to work so hard.
The lack of or the unreliability of power and phone lines as well as the high cost of access to existing infrastructure severely limit the ability of NGOs to provide services. Communities are isolated and depend on intermediaries for information - often leading e.g. to weak bargaining positions. This can lead to undervaluing the prices of their crops or paying too high of prices for materials they require.
Inveneo has designed a communications network that allows NGOs and the supported communities to communicate between various stations as well as into the existing phone network and Internet. The
stations provide computing and phone capabilities while operating with battery power charged from solar panels or bicycle generators. Wireless networking (WiFi / 802.11x) provides the communication between the various stations and the central hub. Voice over IP (VoIP) is used to transmit phone calls from the stations to the hub. The
central hub provides the interface to the existing phone network (PSTN) and Internet. Through use of
relay stations the reach of the wireless network can be extended to cover distances of up to approximately 60 km (37 miles) from central hub to the stations.
http://www.inveneo.org/?q=pedalnetwork
Aqui un Macondo desatado en el Foro de Lonely Planet por cuenta de un cicloturista posudo que le dio por usar este espacio como buzon de Lonely Hearts. Por el tono un tanto arrogante y conquistador recibio un par de comentarios mamagallistas, el hombre respondio bravo, le siguieron dando cuerda, peló el cobre, se salió de la ropa y se convirtio en el hazmerreir de la comunidad forista internacional pues termino amenazando hasta el moderador. Un suceso insolito de la Web registrado aun en paginas nerdas que nada que ver con ciclismo o viajes. Yo encontre el
Link al thread en el Web Watch de The Guardian. Es surreal y muy gracioso el humor negro de los demás foristas en medio del patetismo de la situación inicial.
Aqui va la cita del posting original.
"...Be everything as it may, this transcontinental, international cyclotouriste is navigating to locate a good companion for an extended bicycling tour. Good is defined as---female, healthy, cyclist, with a sense of bold adventure, and the willingness to be compatable on an extended world tour with yours truly.
Starting time is---not any time soon.
Route is---to be decided by those on tour---you and me.
Length of time is---to be decided.
I be fifty-three, healthy, six feet, 180 pounds, good looking but nothing to get all up in the air about, blond receding hair, green eyes, university grad., writer, teacher. Can work in exotic locations and have done so, easy to get along with, adventurous, survivor, world traveler. Have bicycled thirty thousand miles through nineteen countries---USA, Canada, Mexico, western Europe, eastern Europe, former Soviet Union, China, south Korea..."
Design specific for long distance touring - Rider specific, full custom geometry
- MSRP $1600
- Design specific for long distance touring
- Size specific tubing to assure uniform ride quality throughout the range of sizes
- All tubes are sealed except the seat tube to minimize corrosion and enhance frame longevity
Seat Tube and Frame Maintenance - Rack mounts and low rider mounts included
Bruce Gordon Rock N' Road Tour
Designed for serious loaded touring, with tubing and frame geometry that ensures a stable ride.
Versatile - 700c geometry will accept standard road tires, as well as the fattest 700x45c off-road capable tires.
Can be ordered with either drop bars or flat. Or you can order it with both kinds of bars with our optional QS2s (Quick Switch System).
Equipped with braze-ons for our 4130 tubular steel racks, 3 water bottle mounts, fender mounts,and cable stops for brakes and gears.
Standard sizes: 38, 41, 44, 47, 50, 53, 56, 59 cm center to center.
Frame and fork TIG welded at Bruce Gordon Cycles, Petaluma, California.
Standard colors: Powder coated in Metallic Red, Metallic Blue, Metallic Black.
9 speed DEORE XT equipped $2550.00 (+ freight & assembly)
9 speed DEORE XT equipped w/ racks $2820.00 (+ freight & assembly)
frame & fork - no parts $1350.00 (+ freight & assembly)
Chrome-Moly Rear Rack
"No one builds racks that are as strong, rigid or well finished." - Bicycle Rider
The Bruce Gordon Rear Touring Rack has been called "the Mercedes Benz of racks" by the enthusiasts press. It's easy to see why.
We use different gauges of 4130 chrome-moly steel tubing. Its unique shape is designed to maximize pannier support for unparalleled stability on the road. We even include separate eyelets to facilitate more rigid fender mounting. It is fully adjustable and available in 16 models for a perfect fit on any bicycle. And, in the Bruce Gordon tradition, it looks as good as it performs. In fact, in terms of engineering, construction and outright performance, it sets the standard for the next generation of touring racks.
Features: Machine mitered joints, separate fender mounting eyelets, 4130 chrome-moly tubing (tensile strength 95,000 psi, more than twice that of 6061 T6 aluminum).
Area of pannier support: 81 square inches. Fully adjustable to fit almost any bike. TIG welded by hand.
The Bruce Gordon Rear Touring Rack $159.00
With the Airnimal we have aimed to design a bike that rides like a high-quality machine, yet folds very compactly for travel.
Quickness of folding was not one of our main design criteria, as we thought there are already excellent bikes on the market that achieve this. The challenge was to produce something that rides as well as, if not better than, a 700C road bike or a 26" mtb, but at the same time gives a most compact fold. So we were aiming to achieve both extremes. The challenge was reconciling these two extremes.
"Adventure Cycling Association
is America's bicycle travel inspiration and resource;
creating bike routes, offering bicycle tours,
and publishing the Adventure Cyclist magazine.
Self-contained bike trips are our specialty."
It all started back in 1974 with a group of like-minded, idealistic visionaries who, like H.G. Wells, Albert Einstein, and other great thinkers, believed the world would be a better place if the bicycle played a more important role in it. These idealists not only wanted people to ride bicycles but also to travel very long distances by that mode and to see the nation's landscapes, history, and people from that vantage point.
For a quick look at our organization's history, try this timeline. For even more description, read on.... http://www.adv-cycling.org/
This sequence illustrates how a large road bike equipped with ergo style shifters can be packed. The derailer cables were disconnected using Bruce Gordon cable splitters and the chainring (self extracting) and front brake caliper were removed to facilitate packing. Each bike may pack differently and the method shown here may need to be modified for other bicycles. This bicycle is shown with protective tube covers and compression members removed for easier identification of the frame pieces in this packing sequence. Be sure to adequately protect tubes and components when shipping a bicycle. The chainring was removed due to the large size of the frame. Most bikes do not require removal of the chainring although it can make packing much easier in some situations.
http://www.sandsmachine.com/pack_r4.htm
Castelon Cycles and Design
custom titanium touring bike with BTC
A comment from Bob Canon regarding his BTC equipped bike
"I rode my bicycle from Sacramento, California to Missoula, Montana fully loaded with touring equipment during June and July of 1996. One would not even know that there was a set of the BTC's built into its titanium frame until he or she looks down and sees one on the top tube and one on the down tube. The bike rides as I would expect it to if no BTC set was installed."
Bob Canon, TOUR LEADER for Adventure Cycling Association, Oxnard, CA
9-20-98
"Your BTC (Bicycle Torque Coupling) continues to function flawlessly. It is such a beautiful piece of precision manufacturing. I've added another 7000 miles to the bike. It now has gone 17,000 miles and provided wonderful riding comfort"
Bob Canon, TOUR LEADER for Adventure Cycling Association, Oxnard, CA
