I admit it. This picture was taken a few years ago, but I think I still look vaguely like that. Depends on the day (and the time of day). And today, just before I uploaded this picture, an Indonesian English student told me how much she liked my nose. I heard that a lot in Indonesia. Apparently, a large nose like mine is a good …
Read the full story »Rabbit Bites, Schwalbe Tires, Clikstand, and Camera Repairs
Thursday October 16, 2014
6:30 a.m. Bird Nest Guest House
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Some events of note took place yesterday. For one, the rabbit that I have such an odd relationship with actually bit someone hard enough to draw blood. An actual Western family showed up here at the guest house yesterday afternoon – a family with two young boys. I watched them arrive and I wondered what …
New Tires and a Stuck Seatpost
Monday October 13, 2014, 7:00 a.m. Bird Nest Guest House
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I finally took the chance, and yesterday morning I ordered a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tires from Chain Reaction Cycles in Britain. I’ve found that the bike shops and camping gear shops in Europe are much easier to deal with than the ones in the US. They are much more accustomed to shipping …
More Modifications and Upgrades to the Bike
Sunday October 12, 2014, 7;15 a.m. Bird Nest Guest House
Kuala lumpur, Malaysia
Another day yesterday in the historic city of Kuala Lumpur. So what amazing tourist sites did I visit? What cultural events did I attend? What new foods did I sample? What words did I learn in a foreign language?
None of the above. As usual, I spent the day in bicycle shops. I’m not complaining …
New 9-Speed Chain and New Cassette
Saturday October 11, 2014, 5:30 a.m. Bird Nest Guest House
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I did return to the bike shop (called Bike Pro, by the way) yesterday. Jason was there, and I was happy about that. He was working on a couple of other very fancy bikes, but he was happy to chat with me about my bike and changing the chain. It’s been great to be …
Overhauling Bottom Bracket and Headset
Friday October 10, 2014
6:15 a.m. Bird Nest Guest House
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The big adventure for yesterday was riding back to the Bike Pro shop for more repairs. Getting there was a nightmare. No other word for it. I believe the bike shop is about ten kilometers away, and it took me nearly three hours to get there. I’ve never seen a city like this in terms …
Rebuilding My Wheels with Sapim Leader Spokes
Saturday, October 4, 2014
5:50 a.m. Bird Nest Guest House
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Yesterday was all about the bike. The plan was to ride my bike to the Bike Pro shop and have Jason rebuild my wheels with Sapim Leader spokes. After looking at my maps of the city, however, I changed my mind. I just couldn’t face the hours of cycling on the highway system, and instead …
Thinking About Buying an MSR Whisperlite Universal
Thursday October 4, 2014
8:00 a.m. Bird Nest Guest House
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The argument grows stronger for buying a computer. I went to the Internet café to download the latest installment of my shopping adventures in Kuala Lumpur, and it took an hour and fifteen minutes just to download one file from the NEO. I had a second file partially filled up, and the total download time …
“Error 404 – Not Found” – and Permalinks “Save Changes”
Thursday, October 2, 2014
6:20 a.m. Bird Nest Guest House
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I experienced some success, though very frustrating success, with the website. I had sent an email to my hosting company,m and I got the usual techo-babble reply. I felt I had the right to contact them because they had recently moved my website to a different server. I suggested that my website had crashed because …