... we hadn't heard of it either, until we had a call from a very nice chap in Colorado USA this week.
Basically, you custom-build the teeniest skateboard imaginable & then use your fingers to do flips, stunts & tricks with it. Some people seem to take it VERY seriously & indeed our caller bought some very high-spec Japanese miniature bearings for his board, as he wants to take it to the next level & enter competitions with his board.
I suppose at least it keeps the requirement for safety equipment & giant concrete skateparks to a minimum :0)
This was screened as part of the London Bicycle Film Festival 2010 & we thought it was worth another look. Check out http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/london/ for more news
The Sunswift IV (aka IVy) might look like a mobile dinner table, but it's actually the world's fastest solar-powered vehicle. The table-top on wheels got the official nod from the Guinness Book of World Records last week, for hitting a top speed of 88km/h (about 55 mph) -- nearly 10 km/h faster than the previous record-holder, the GM Sunraycer, which bears a striking resemblance to a disembodied Android monster. IVy, designed by Sunswift, a student-run non-profit at the University of New South Wales, reached its top speed using 1050 watts, about 400 watts less than the Sunraycer, and performed it's record-smashing run without the 25kg battery it's usually packing. Faster runs have been clocked, including by IVy, but Guinness has not been on hand for confirmation. Plenty of room for a roof box & a bike rack on top too!! Might not run so fast in rain-spattered January British weather though...
We are very proud to announce that the Tweed Run, a truly British cycling romp through the streets of our fair capital, is this year being exported to the USA - our cousins across the Atlantic can now share in the joys of dressing up in as much expensive wool as they can muster & cycling across New York - jolly good show chaps!!!
Elton at Angler's Net has featured the following article:
"We seem to have been very fortunate here in East Anglia, as the weather has been fairly mild in comparison to much of the country.
However, I don't think our friends in the frozen north can claim to have experienced anything quite as drastic as this short clip below, which shows a LOT of carp sitting under what is said to be 18” of thick ice. Given that the area is carpeted in carp, and is said to be the size of a football field, we can only guess that there must be thousands of carp waiting under the ice there.
I should point out that you should NEVER attempt to walk on ice in the UK. Every year, people lose their lives as a result.
I'm not entirely sure where this lake is, but judging by the sheer volume of carp and the fact that no food will have fallen from the sky for them for quite some time, I reckon even MY bite alarms might scream into action if I got to fish it after a thaw!"
What an amazing clip - there is also the news of a very warm January on the cards so there should be no excuse but to go out & get fishing this weekend :0)
We follow the fabulous site http://crapwalthamforest.blogspot.com/ - full of news, views, rants & comic looks at the mad, bad & dangerous to know world of British cycling. The article shown below gave us a right old chuckle:
"The new Olympics cycling park...
This new cycling park close to the Olympic Village is nearing completion, allowing visitors to watch cyclists in their natural environment of mud, broken glass and infrastructure obstructed by vegetation.
CAUTION. Please stay well back from the fence as the cyclists often appear stressed and angry and may be verbally abusive"
Do please check out their site for lots more wry looks at eccentric English traffic laws & road chaos!
A rocket-launch captured on film in Norway... AWESOME!!!!!
The rocket was launched from Andøya Rocket Range near Andenes, Norway, and carried instruments about 200 miles (320 kilometers) into the atmosphere to observe the aurora and the associated flow of heat, particles, and electromagnetic energy. The rocket eventually landed in the ocean about 900 miles (1450 km) from the launch site.
