Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
“Great hotel, great food” - Tripadvisor.com
“Great hotel, great food” - Tripadvisor.com: "
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Date of review: Feb 16, 2011 - New
We had a really good weekend, we stayed for two nights and had two eveing meals in the restaurant, both were excellent. The quality and quantity were outstanding. The first evening we had starters and main course but couldn't manage a sweet and so the second evening we had a main course and sweet, it was all great. The staff were very friendly and helpful. We requested an extra heater in the bedroom and it was there within minutes. We had booked before a special offer for Valentines weekend was available but still got the weekend at the reduced price. We will be going again.
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Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Free riding
Free riding: "
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No we're not talking about hurling yourself off cliffs or riding along lolly sticks shouting "dude" and "pinner" to each other like Bill and Teds most excellent pedalling adventure. No I'm talking about the fact that the most commonly asked question (apart from can we nick bits of the site for our school project) is "how much do you have to pay to ride the trails?"
Philosophically speaking we could fill a whole book about the investement of sweat, the food needed to rpovide it, the complex wrangling and loss of earnings/dog house credit with work and wives plus the price of bikes and their depreciation in value after a single lap of a trail. In actual put your hand in your pocket terms though the Welsh trails are totally free to ride.
Yup that's right, not toll bar, no ticket, no man in a guardsmans hat with a bus conductor machine, just an open gate which says 'trails this way, all the fun you can eat for free.'
Yes most of the centres have a pay and display car park, but frankly for the amount of millions ploughed into the trail and centre development a few quid to leave your car is a small price that you'd pay almost anywhere you left it apart from your own drive. The jet washes aren't anymore expensive than the ones at your local garage either and you needn't ever worry about Wales running out of water by using them. By using the parking, the washers and filling up your face in the cafes you're also proving it's worth investing even more money into new trails and facilities. So remember that if you think it's clever to park on the edge of the forest and get in the way of all the local traffic to save a couple of quid, because ultimately the future of mountain biking in Wales is in your hands.
That's all really. Just to say the trails are free and we reckon that's a really bloody good thing that deserves supporting and celebrating with an extra slice of cake at the cafe next time you ride.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
From the Archives: Top 10 Facts From America Bikes
From the Archives: Top 10 Facts From America Bikes: "
Related posts:
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[We occasionally pull articles from our archives to re-post. This list from America Bikes is too good to not re-publish now and then. —Alan]
From America Bikes:
- Bicycling and walking make up 10% of all trips made in the U.S., but receive less than 2% of federal transportation funding.
- Bicyclists and pedestrians account for 13% of traffic fatalities, but receive less than 1% of federal safety funding.
- 40% of all trips in America are two miles or less, 74% of which are traveled by car.
- Americans spend, on average, 18% of their annual income for transportation. The average annual operating cost of a bicycle is 3.75% ($308) of an average car ($8,220).
- A small reduction in driving causes a large drop in traffic. In 2008, the number of vehicle miles traveled dropped 3%, translating to a nearly 30% reduction in peak hour congestion.
- Transportation sources account for 70% of our nation's oil consumption and for 30% of total U.S. GHC emissions.
- Simply increasing bicycling and walking from 10% of trips to 13% could lead to fuel savings of around 3.8 billion gallons a year. This is equivalent to having 19 million more hybrid cars on the road.
- 89% of Americans believe that transportation investments should support the goals of reducing energy use.
- 71% of Americans report that they would like to bicycle more. 53% favor increasing federal spending on bicycle lanes and paths.
- For the price of one mile of four-lane urban highway, around $50 million, hundreds of miles of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure can be built, an investment that could complete an entire network of active transportation facilities for a mid-sized city.
More →
Related posts:
- Top 10 Facts From America Bikes
- Our Automobile Use
- Encouraging Signs
- The True Price of Cars
- The Economic Benefits of Bicycle Infrastructure Investments
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Climber stands after 1,000ft fall
Climber stands after 1,000ft fall: "A climber who fell 1,000ft (305m) down a mountain and survived was found by his astonished rescuers standing up reading a map."
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