My old Keen sandals needed updating. So I was looking around on Keen’s website for a new pair. The Newport H2 are probably their best seller and I now know why. While looking on their site I also found a pair of cycling shoes they called the Commuter. Since my old pair was so comfy to walk in and wear I was dead keen (sorry) to try out the H2s and also the cycling shoe.
But unfortunately I could not find a shop here in London that had the Commuters in store. And if I wanted to try them on I had to get the shop to order a pair in at my cost*), which I wasn’t prepared to do. What if I didn’t fit them.
*) They would order in, if I don’t fit them they would send them back at a cost around 25% in some shops.
I then contacted Keen US, since at the time I couldn’t find a contact details for the European site. They were very helpful and got me in contact with their office in Rotterdam, who helped me to track down a pair on webtogs.co.uk who have a 60 days return policy, which is cheaper than …

My at least five years old Keen Taos (now called Arroyo II) sandals are still going strong. Though well knackered after heavy use in a all weathers and terrain. Used them for commuting, just walking about it and even a hiking up to 2400 meters in the Pyrenees.
I simply love the Keen sandals, breath well, gives you a funny tan line on your feet and very comfortable to walk in. But it is time to get some new sandals.
So I put in an order for some Keen Commuters to take over after my well worn Lake I/O sandals, I hope that size 11 would be enough. Since every where I read say that the Commuters are a bit narrower compared to other Keen sandals.
And I also ordered a pair of Keen Newport H2 to take over from my retired Taos.

The Lake I/O have served me well for the last year, the cleats don’t touch the ground when walking. Which is great because I wear them around eight to ten hours a day walking on various surfaces, in all weathers.

A few weeks ago I blogged about Ghost visitations and since then we have had more.
First it was my Surly LHT that had its back wheel playing up, then Peli’s Eva front wheel and now Tuesday night Pia was haunted.
Eva hasn’t been used for a while and as normal the tyres were a bit soft the front was a bit more than the back. So we pumped the tyres up to see if there was a visit and a few minutes later the front tyre was well soft. So Peli took out the inner tube and set upon fixing the one that was p*nct*red. As you do you pump the inner tube up and look, feel, smell and listen for air coming out but nothing. So Peli pumped it a bit more, nice and big now and still nothing to find, she then let it hang on the door while checking the tyre for cuts and splinters and then fitting the new inner tube. Two or so hours later nothing to see on the “supposed flat” inner tube, go figure.
Tuesday I dug out Pia my MTB come around the town commuter and because I haven’t used her for …

“So, Richard, just to follow up on our talk yesterday I’ve got a few questions for you about the GPS unit you where using. Oh, and a little gentle reminder… :)”
Last night I was dreaming that I was at a travel seminar mainly for cycle tourers. In one of the break I was wandering around in the park that was inside the building/hotel we were at. I spotted Richard sitting in on a bench playing around with a GPS unit, trying to figure out what kind of memory card it takes. And we had a nice little talk over a pint, my shout, about the ins and outs of various GPS units.
Both of us agreed it was hard to pick, since there was so little difference between the units and it all depended on what you where
planning to use it for. The problem that Richard was having was that he had plenty of random memory cards laying around and didn’t like to buy a new one so he wanted to find out which his GPS unit was taking. Though for the life of him he could not find where the memory card was in the unit he had.
I’m sorry Richard …

So on Wednesday the 29 of September 2010 at 12:20 we will be taking of from London and arriving in Melbourne at 20:00 on Thursday the 30th of September.

Description: (From their site) Outdoor folk will be spoiled for choice at this former Victorian rectory, set in 25 acres of relaxing riverside grounds with splendid views of the Royal Forest of Dean and Symonds Yat rock. Hire a canoe and take in the picturesque valley from the River Wye or choose pedal power to explore the Forest of Dean. Walkers will find miles of footpaths to follow – we recommend you start with the Wye Valley Walk which runs past the door.
Site visited: 10th of April 2010.
As seen on the blog: What goes down must go up.
If you arrive here on bicycle to make sure that you have some oomph left in your legs because you have to ride the one and a half miles from Goodrige to the YHA. Up one steep hill then a drop down to Welsh Bickor YHA. They are not lying on their website when they say that there is a very steep hill and a hairpin down to them.
We were very relieved to learn that the kitchen would be open and ready to cook us something. Because there was no way that we would be able to get back up that hill without …

Description: (From their site) An ideal holiday location especially for families or groups keen to visit The Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons, or walk the Offa`s Dyke Path. The village has The Skirrid Mountain Inn, which is the oldest pub in Wales and was used as Judge Jeffrie`s Court. The scenery is superb with The Skirrid Mountain behind and The Black Mountains just beyond the village.
Site visited: 8th of April 2010.
As seen on the blog: The roads have gone pots.
Pen-y-dre is a nice little site attached to the farm, which also is a self catering farm holiday cottages along with a farm Bed & Breakfast, so a bit of everything. We didn’t see the cottages or the B&B from the inside but from the outside they looked very nice.
I had emailed the owner to hear if it was ok to arrive a bit late since we would be on the train from London via Cardiff, which wasn’t a problem. We arrived around 19:30 and was greeted by a barking dog and a smile by the owner, the dog soon went quite as soon as we said hello, some guard dog :)
We where pointed to the campsite which is on the …