Latest Additions to the Travel Site
22/01/2012
With quite a while to wait until my next trip, I need to make the best use of my time! As a way of passing time and preparing for my trip, I have decided to build my own Expedition Bicycle. It will be based on the bare bones of my Dawes Sardar, but tailored a little better towards off road cycling. At the same time, I am aiming to improve the look of the site. The layout needs to change with a new template, I want to encourage visitors to become more interactive and offer a user registration where people can leave comments, I need to organise my previous trips and get the new proposed one on a menu, and much more!
I am still accepting Guest Bloggers, and if you are interested in submitting a guest blog article to Daves Travel Pages, then please drop me a line to dave (at) davestravelpages.com.
Valentines Day Travel Plans? Friday, 03 February 2012 17:52 |  Written by Dave |   
It’s a bit hard to believe, but Valentine’s Day is approaching quickly, which means that it is about time to start planning your special day with your loved one! This is a very tradition-oriented holiday, which of course means that there are hundreds of little ideas that just about everybody considers when deciding on a gift or an event. You can buy your loved one a present, take him or her out to brunch or dinner, buy her flowers from Marks & Spencer, buy him chocolates, etc., and all of these are perfectly good options that will generally make whomever you love feel special and appreciated. However, there is also a certain desire among many people to go “above and beyond” on this holiday for loving couples, and do something that will truly be special and memorable. Ever thought of travel? A brief getaway (or of course, a longer vacation, if you can manage one!) can be a great way to spend some special time with the person you leave, and can make this year’s Valentine’s Day stand out in memory. The first travel destination to be considered by anyone within reasonable distance of western Europe has to be Paris. While there is something a bit tired about the concept of “romance in Paris,” there is no denying this beautiful, historic city’s ample supply of romantic settings and atmospheres, which makes it a perfect place to stay over Valentine’s Day. You and your loved one can get a nice small hotel room together in the city, and then spend time together doing whatever you like, be it touring the city during the day and finding an intimate restaurant at night, or whatever else you may like. Particularly if your loved one has never been to Paris before, a short trip there may be a very memorable gift indeed! There are of course other options to consider outside of the rather cliché romantic getaway to Paris. For example, if you live in the UK, you have a wide variety of scenic areas to consider, many of which are home to a number of well-regarded, intimate hotel settings. For example, travel to Edinburgh for a change of pace, some great historical locations, and appealing landscapes, or head to Cornwall if you’d like to get down by the water’s edge. Really, where you decide to go is based entirely upon your individual preferences in a travel location – however, be sure to consider the option in general. A nice Valentine’s Day vacation can be extremely romantic and enjoyable. Last Updated (Friday, 03 February 2012 17:57) Building an Expedition Bicycle – Butterfly HandlebarsFriday, 27 January 2012 22:04 | Written by Dave |
Building an Expedition Bicycle – Butterfly Handlebars
As mentioned in the previous blog post, I will be building my own expedition bicycle for my next cycling trip around the world. One of the first components that I wanted to add, was a new handlebar in the form of butterfly handlebars, sometimes known as trekking handlebars.
I managed to find a pair on eBay which described themselves as lightly used, and they cost me £18.50 including postage.
The make is XLC, who, I have to say, I have never heard of. A little internet research indicates that they are a German company that sell bicycle accessories of most descriptions. The model number is AL-O69 which seems to be discontinued.
The handlebars that arrived were taped (averagely) and with bar ends. It also seems to have never been fitted to a bicycle, with none of the scuff marks you would normally associate with fitting.
Verdict – Pleased with my purchase!
I have not fitted them as of yet, because now, I will need to source new brakes and gear shifters which will be my next task. Let's see what else eBay has to offer! Last Updated (Friday, 27 January 2012 22:11) Building an Expedition Bicycle - IntroductionSunday, 22 January 2012 23:19 | Written by Dave |
Building an Expedition Bicycle
It's going to take a while to save for my next trip, and so to keep myself interested, motivated and busy whilst I am doing so, I have decided to build my own expedition bicycle. Whilst I have ridden fairly standard bikes for my cycling trips so far through places as varied as Sudan, Bolivia and Alaska, the bikes did have some limitations. It's these limitations that I want to improve upon, in order to build a bicycle that is better suited to both myself and a long distance, long term cycling expedition.
To start off with, I will be using my steel framed Dawes Sardar that I used to cycle from Alaska to Argentina. Now, its taken a bit of a battering, it was never quite perfect and a lot needs replacing BUT I have to start somewhere. I figure that if I do a bit at a time, it will become apparent if I need to use a new frame or not quite quickly, and I can always just transfer over the parts that I am happy with to the new frame in that event. Ideally, the frame will still be solid and good to the task, saving me a fair wedge of cash!
So far, I have three basic criteria for a new expedition bicycle, although as the weeks and months go by, I am sure that this list will expand!
Handlebars – I want butterfly bars, or trekking bars as they are also known. Previous trips have seen me cycle with road racing style handlebars almost exclusively. Despite what most people think, this does give you a greater range of hand positions than traditional mountain bike handlebars. However, the downside to this is that they tend to be a bit low and there is less stability on real rough tracks. I am hoping that the butterfly bars will solve this. Suspension Forks – I would like some basic suspension forks that can cope with dirt and gravel tracks and off road cycling in general. However, they should also be able to “lock out” for when I am road cycling, and they should also be pretty idiot and bomb proof when it comes to maintenance. I have used rigid forks on all my trips, and although I have cycled thousands of miles of unsealed road and tracks, I wonder how much more comfortable it would have been with a little suspension! In addition, the rigid forks on the Dawes bikes that I have used have never been able to take a wide tyre. The suspension fork should also be able to take at least a 2 inch tyre. Saddle – Once you have clocked up a few miles, you are going to get arse ache... plain and simple! I have never had a great deal of luck with saddles, but have heard that Brooks saddles are worth the extra price tag that comes with them. The B17 seems to be the “classic” saddle, and so this is the one that I will be going for.
Last Updated (Sunday, 22 January 2012 23:30) Top 50 Travel SubjectsMonday, 29 November 2010 20:41 | Written by Dave |
The Top 50 Travel SubjectsThis is a page in development. As the keen observer may notice, none of these subjects link anywhere yet, and there is not 50 of them either! However, it is something I will be working on over the course of time as part of a long term strategy for the website. I would like to turn it more into a travel information site, and it seems these subjects would be a good place to start. this page will eventually be on the front. I will keep the travelogue going of course, but i feel that i will get more page views if I write and optimise around the travel subjects below.
Last Updated (Tuesday, 03 January 2012 22:51) Submit your Travel BlogMonday, 08 November 2010 13:09 | Written by Dave |
Submit your Travel BlogSubmit your travel blog here! If you have a travel blog, then create some more exposure for it, gain visitors, and have a link back from my travel blog to yours!! To submit your travel blog, simply leave a comment in the box below, writing a brief description of your blog, and of course leaving the web address back to it. To really make the back link count, write your travel blogs title as the “author name”. All links from Daves Travel Pages are DO-FOLLOW ! Book a hostel onlineSaturday, 03 April 2010 01:01 | Written by Dave |
Book a hostel onlineConcerned with arriving in a strange city at an unfavourable time ? By booking a hostel online, you know your bed is reserved, leaving you hassle free.
Last Updated (Saturday, 03 April 2010 01:28) |
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