Follow us on Twitter

Daves Travel Pages

Dave briggs

My name is Dave Briggs, and welcome to www.davestravelpages.com , my travelogue site. I am an Adventure Cyclist from England, and my latest trip is to cycle from Alaska to Argentina. I started in July 2009, and estimate that it will take 18 months, so please drop by again to check on my progress !

To read my current travelogue, use this link Alaska to Argentina., or simply have a look around the site to see my previous adventures, thoughts and views. The site is bigger than you might think, so put the kettle on, relax, and enjoy !


  • Google Bookmarks
  • Twitter
  • Windows Live
  • Facebook
  • MySpace
  • deli.cio.us
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks


KIA Dubstep Contest B

After having a bit of a surf on the net, I stumbled across this competition that might appeal to some people, so I thought I would write about it here. Combining three unlikely sources, which are Kia, Dubstep and Euro 2012, the Kia Dubstep Competition is a bit of fun, and offers some great prizes.

Contestants are asked to submit a video of them dancing to a dubstep tune, namely “I can't stop” from DJ Flux Pavilion, and it can be in any style. There are some serious dancers in there, but also some really clever and funny routines as well. 

The prizes are pretty awesome, with there being 8 finalists that will win a trip to Euro 2012 including flights and tickets, and the big prize of winning a new Kia Picanto. Not bad! Unfortunately, my particular dancing "style" is probably not video friendly - But that doesn't mean that you cant try it! And hey, if you win, and suddenly find that you can't go, I will take the ticket off you if it helps!

Why not give it a go - Enter the competition now!

kia dubstep contest


Sponsored Post

Viral video by ebuzzing

Last Updated (Monday, 14 May 2012 19:27)

 

Magicshine MJ-816E Bike Lights

Magicshine MJ-816E Bike Lights


Its not often that I get approached to review a product, but when I do, I definitely jump at the chance! So, when I was asked to review some MJ-816E bike lights by Magicshine, I said Yes Please! By chance, the retailer was also a Northampton based company, and the local connection made it all the better.


I had some definite plans of how I wanted to review this light, involving a lengthy night time ride and other such things. As you will read, this didn't exactly happen, but the lights certainly had a good run out regardless!

 

 

Magicgshine MJ-816E

 


I was sent some Magicshine MJ-816E to review as pictured above, and they arrived well packaged and promptly via Royal Mail (in fact, they arrived a mere 16 hours after I agreed to do the review!). When I opened the box, my first reaction was “Wow!” There seemed so much in there, and it was only at that point that I realised what exactly I had been sent. With its solid looking rechargeable battery unit, this was a light unlike anything else I had used. In the past, I had used bike lights to be seen by, but this was a bike light to see by – I hope you appreciate the difference.

 

 

magicshine mj-816e

 


It arrived with a certain amount of charge already in the battery, and so human nature led me to test it in my office at work to begin with. Pretty unscientifically, it involved me turning it on and pointing it at people when they walked in, whereby the most common reaction was “what the f***, that's bright. I have black bits floating in front of my eyes.” Kids, don't try that at home!


The next stage of me testing the Magicshine MJ-816E out, was to recharge it fully. Now, this took about 1.5 hours, but as it already had some charge in there, I couldn't say how long it would take to fully charge from flat. I guess it might be double this, but as I normally recharge things overnight whilst I sleep, recharge times of less than 5 hours have never really bothered me anyway.

 

 

magicshine mj816e

 


Once it was recharged, I had then planned to test it out on the bike. Well, the weather had been terrible for the last few days, and I mean REALLY terrible. The so called drought announcement had brought along a seemingly never ending week of rain, and in fact, certain parts of Northampton were close to flooding. Call me a wimp, but this was not pleasant cycling weather, and so I dodged a day, waiting for the rain to stop.


It was during me dodging it, that the Magicshine MJ-816E got a rather unique test. At about 23.00 there was a power cut, and whilst most sensible people would be heading to bed at that time, I am not most sensible people! For the next hour, the bike lights got their best test, as I checked the fuse box, made a coffee on my gas hob, switched my laptop on with battery, and connected to the internet via my mobile phone – That's the modern way to cope with a power cut!


The Magicshine Mj-816E bike lights lasted at their very strongest setting for a good hour. After this point, the brightness of the light understandably dimmed, but it was still shinning strong enough to light up my home office area comfortably. I dare say, that if I had used the lights on the lower setting (the sidelights only rather than all three), then they would have lasted a lot longer.


So, whilst I didn't test them out on the road, here is my opinion about them, listed as a pro's and con's, and followed by my own personal opinion.


Pro's


Incredibly bright lights. They will fully illuminate a wide stretch of road, or serve as an excellent way of lighting up a room in a power cut!


Rechargeable – The lithium/Lion battery thing is recharged by the mains, saving on battery costs.


The little on off switch goes through different colour stages depending on what battery level there is. This is a lovely little touch that lets you know how much battery is left.


Con's


The whole unit of battery and light is heavier than normal.


Battery life – The battery life of this model is not superb, probably lasting only the equivalent of one days commute to and from work during the winter. Not a big deal as it can be recharged overnight, but worth mentioning.


My thoughts on the Magicshine MJ-816E


This piece of kit is probably best suited for people who are looking at wanting to go on cycle rides during the winter, and don't want to worry about what will happen if it gets dark too quickly. The hours bright light is more than good enough for riding through forests or down dirt tracks to get back to base, and the remainder light as it goes dimmer, adequate for riding on the roads or pavements back home. The light is also well suited for getting to and from work during the winter if roads do not have brilliant lighting, as long as it is recharged every day or two.

From my point of view, the Magicshine MJ-816E proved very handy in a power cut! From now on, if it's not on my bike, it will be somewhere I can lay my hands on it quickly in an emergency!

 

Thank you very much Magicshine for giving me one of your products to review . If you would like me to review a cycling, camping or electronic product related to travel, then please drop me a line at dave (at) davestravelpages.com




Last Updated (Thursday, 03 May 2012 20:39)

 

Altura Classic Crochet Mitts

Altura Classic Crochet Mitts

I am buying bits of various cycling gear in preparation for my next cycling expedition, and my latest purchase was a pair of cycling gloves in the form of some Altura Classic Crochet Mitts. I bought these through Wiggle, and they cost £15.29. Below, you can find the pictures of them.

 

 

Altura Classic Crochet Mitts
 
 
Altura Classic Crochet Mitts

 

 

I bought them in a size large, which in hindsight is possibly a little small for my hand, although not uncomfortably so. They are tan in colour, and have really well padded palms. Its most unique feature though, is the crochet sections on the back of the hands. This lets air flow come through, and also, makes it look that little bit different.

I took them out on a 60km ride today, and they were great, with my palm not becoming too sweaty. What i would say though, is the nice tan colour is probably not going to last that way for very long! All in all though, they are a good pair of gloves which should last a long time.

Last Updated (Sunday, 15 April 2012 17:13)

 

Top 50 Travel Subjects

 

The Top 50 Travel Subjects

This 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.

10 Best Travel 

10 Worst travel 

 Accommodations

 Adventure

 Airline Tickets

 ATM Machines

 Backpacks

 Blogs

 Budgets

 Clothes

 Computers

 Cooking

 Couchsurfing

 Countries

 Countries I Have Visited

 Dangers

 Gear

 Health

 Hostels

 Hotels

 Internet

 Languages

 Laundry

 Maps

 Mobile Office

 Money

 Movies

Music

My 7 Wonders

Packing

Photography

 Religion

 Restaurants

 Security

 Souvenirs

 Skype

 Time

 Travel Books

 Travel Links

 Travel Quotes

 Videos

 Visas

 Water

 Web Design

 Writing

   
   

Last Updated (Thursday, 16 February 2012 18:10)

 

Submit your Travel Blog

Submit your Travel Blog

 

Submit 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 online

Book a hostel online

Concerned 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)

 
Travel Quotes
“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.”
Daves Travel Pages
JoomlaWatch Stats 1.2.9 by Matej Koval
Friends

Book tours to India with Bales Worldwide

Check out luxury tours with Virgin to see what your next holiday could be!


For the best Prices on the Best Las Vegas Hotels – book at Best of Vegas

Banner

Travel Friends

Get Great Timeshare Deals on the Timeshare Resale Market

Visitors Counter
mod_vvisit_countermod_vvisit_countermod_vvisit_countermod_vvisit_countermod_vvisit_countermod_vvisit_countermod_vvisit_counter
mod_vvisit_counterToday1013
mod_vvisit_counterYesterday1267
mod_vvisit_counterThis week7375
mod_vvisit_counterLast week8304
mod_vvisit_counterThis month20769
mod_vvisit_counterLast month35754
mod_vvisit_counterAll639290

Online (20 minutes ago): 21
Your IP: 38.107.179.223
,
Now is: 2012-05-19 20:18
Dave on Twitter
Breadcrumbs
Home