A Cyclist's Life in Tenerife (Canary Islands)

WHAT I DO BELIEVE IN:

(note that I haven’t said «Science»)

WHAT I DON’T BELIEVE IN:

Tags: Mental Anguish // Add Comment »

The band is Powderfinger. No it’s not from Tenerife, not even from Spain or Europe… but all the way from Australia (like me). This is the sort of music that gets me going… it just rocks and nothing more needs to be said.

Tags: Inspiration. // Add Comment »

I have come to learn a lot about providing a reliable bike hire service here in Tenerife. Most cyclists rent our bikes from 5 to 7 days and cycle an average of 300-500km or more. In that time, the riders make at least one ascent up to the base of Mt Teide. It’s not uncommon for clients to climb a cumulative total of 10,000 vertical metres!

I’m not 100% convinced that they check the bike over during the time that they’ve rented it either. Needless to say, these pro hire bikes have a very hard life indeed. However, contrary to what you might think, we rarely see genuine mechanical breakdowns. The secret is that our bikes are regularly serviced -every single week- after every single use.

So welcome to Part II of how to make a «bombproof reliable» bike. Here I’m going to share with you some easy ways to achieve that smooth-running, ultra-reliable drivetrain. Part I: Wheels & Tyres can be viewed here.

1. Regularly clean your drivetrain! The chain and sprockets are the heart of a bicycle’s drivetrain. They are also the first parts to wear out. They’re not cheap to replace- so it pays to look after these parts. You’ll get the most life out of your drivetrain if you periodically clean the chain, chainrings and cassette.
   • There’s no need to invest in special «chain cleaning devices»; in my opinion, they’re not terribly effective, and the mess they remove from your chain tends to leak out and make a mess out of the rest of your bike. If you use the reccommended special degreasers, they’re not particular cheap chain cleaning solutions either.
   • Instead, simply clean the chain and the rear cogs with a rag. The best method is to first rub the lower part of the chain backwards and forwards. When that is clean, move on to the next section. Wipe around the chainrings on the crankset. Then use the rag to clean between the cogs on the rear cluster, as that’s where most of the residue ends up. Also clean the little pulley wheels on the rear derailleur. The last step is to apply a few drops of light or oil or wax-based lubricant.
   • By far the best guide to bicycle chain maintenance can be found on the KMC website. Follow their advice to the letter!
   • Of course, if you find all of this to be a major chore, you might like to have a look at this nifty invention: «The Scottoiler Cycle Oiler dramatically improves the service-life, efficiency and cleanliness of bicycle transmission.» It was first devised as an automatic chain lubrication system for motorcyles and has since become extremely popular with motorbike riders. It sparingly applies a liquid-based oil at regular intervals, and hence the chain doesn’t get so dirty. (más…)

Tags: Learning Curve // 1 Comment »

Last week I ordered a new batch of official www.Tenerife-Training.net T-shirts! Short sleeve T-shirts are available in small, medium and large & cost only €12.50 each. Long sleeve T-shirts are available in medium and large sizes for only €15. They’ll most likely be available before the end of April, 2008.

Tags: Lucky Dip // 1 Comment »

Amaral is a very famous Spanish pop/rock band almost unknown outside Spain. Amaral originated in 1997 in Zaragoza, in the North-East of Spain. The band consists of Eva Amaral and Juan Aguirre. The following videos are in fact the first three tracks of Amaral’s third album, Estrella de mar (2002).

Sin ti no soy nada (without you I am nothing), music videoclip:

Morirí­a por vos (I would die for you), music videoclip:

Toda la noche en la calle (All night in the street), acoustic version:

Tags: Inspiration. // Add Comment »

How to measure a bike frame:

Bicycles are measured in several different ways. The usual sizing measurement relates to the seat tube length, given in centimetres for road bikes and inches for mountain bikes. The best way to measure the seat tube is from the centre of the bottom bracket shell to the centre of the top tube. Centre to top seat-tube measurements are often quoted (like in the diagram shown here), but in my opinion they aren’t as useful as centre-centre measurements because they often overestimate the size of the frame. This is especially the case with modern frames which now utilise top tubes with humongous outer diameters.

Unfortunately, with the advent of compact sizing, sizing has become even more difficult. As you can probably tell, I’m not a big fan of compact geometry bikes. The main reason for their introduction by the Giant bicycle corporation was to reduce the number of frame moulds required for the construction of their new composite bikes. Increasing frame stiffness, reducing frame weight and improving fit certainly weren’t the first considerations when the idea of compact frame sizing was conceived. I’ve come to loathe them even more when people don’t know how to quote their effective top tube & seat tube lengths. (más…)

Tags: Learning Curve // 6 Comments »

Sorry for the lousy cartoon - it was the only semi-decent one I could find about bicycle races. Anyway, I’ve just uploaded the Canary Islands cycle racing events calender for 2008; It is written in Spanish & you can download it HERE in pdf format.

Tags: News Reel, Ride the Volcano! // Add Comment »

I thought I would share my knowledge on how to make your bike more reliable, starting with the wheels & tyres. Yes, the most obvious problem encoutered when riding is still the age old flat tyre. While flat tyres can never be completely eliminated, most punctures can be prevented by adhering to the next five guidelines:

1. Maintaining sufficient air pressure significantly reduces the chances of pinch flats (the most common type of puncture). For a 23c tyre, you need to pump up the pressure to at least 100psi (7 bars), or more if you’re a heavy rider. Rear tyres carry more weight than front tyres, so you should preferably inflate these a little more than the front tyre
2. Use premium-quality rim tape, which stops tubes from chafing against the spoke holes in the rim. I use cloth tape, similar to that made by Zéfal.
3. Don’t skimp and save on your tyres! Cheap tyres are just not worth it – they’ll be cut to shreds long before the tread wears out. Really good tyres provide an enhanced level of flat protection in the form of a higher density casing & puncture resistant aramid belts. (más…)

Tags: Learning Curve // 1 Comment »

OK, he’s finally added me to my myspace profile after a loooong delay, so here’s my tribute to Mario Cipollini! I’m not going to bore you with his long list of race performances which you can easily get elsewhere. Wikipedia cites the following:

Mario Cipollini is an Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance (his first pro win came in 1989, his last in 2005; 191 victories in all) and his colourful personality.

Although he was an adept sprinter, climbing was not Mario’s forté; despite entering the Tour de France 8 times and winning 12 stages, he always dropped out before the race even hit the mountains, casually slipping into the back of his team support car… no, he was never going to be a real overall contender.

His competition results aside, he takes top honours for the best dressed cyclist both on and off the bike. When riding, he is well known for his outlandish lycra skin suits… my personal favourite is the zebra pattern he wore in the days when he was sponsored by Specialized. Off the bike, he has extravagant taste in designer clothing, owning literally hundreds of formal suits, ties and shoes. Yes it seems to be true: Italians must have a 6th sense when it comes to STYLE!

Those that have met or interviewed Mario Cipollini say that he is very charming, tall (190cm) and handsome. Along with that long fringe of hair, he is reputation as both the «Lion King» and «Super Mario» are well deserved.

Tags: Inspiration. // Add Comment »

ITER refers to the windmill farms as «Parques Eólicos» not «Molinos» as you might think. And unlike the fake, stationary molino that was built not far from my place last year, these ones actually work! There are three such wind parks located at Grandailla & Arico in the South of Tenerife, with a combined annual energy production of 36.764 MWh/year. These are enough to effectively reduce the petroleum consumption by 3170 tonnes per year, which is what would have been used to generate the same amount of energy from conventional means.

They may all look the same, but ITER uses aerogenerators which are supplied from several different manufacturers: Vestas, Ecotecnia, Made, and Enercon. They’re currently experimenting which ones are the most suitable (offering least noise & superior performance).

Interestingly, Spain already generates the highest proportion of it’s energy from wind energy (compared to other countries) and the new industry is booming. (más…)

Tags: Inspiration., Island Life // 1 Comment »

It’s not often I post an article in both the «Inspiration» and «Island Life» categories simultaneously. But looking out the bus window earlier last month, I noticed a strange series of dark, tilted platforms located in an arid coastal region of Granadilla. They’re only visible from freeway TF1 for a few seconds. To my eyes, it appeared to be a vast series of solar-cell panels forming one giant array.

Well after doing a bit of investigating, the project turns out to be called «SOLTEN«, constructed and operated by the Instituto Tecnológico y de Energí­as Renovables (ITER). My hunch was correct: SOLTEN is reportedly the biggest photovoltaic solar power station in Europe, so I’m really suprised I haven’t heard about it before!

The SOLTEN solar installation was initially expected to consist of 150 solar energy modules; each module was comprised of 576 photovoltaic solar cell panels distributed in 24 rows and yielding up to 100 kilowatts of electricity. The installation was expected to generate a total energy capacity of 15 Megawatts of power. Source.

Instead, SOLTEN has been conceived in two steps, SOLTEN I and SOLTEN II. The photovoltaic solar units ultilised in the SOLTEN project are fabricated by Kyocera, ITER, Yingli and Solarworld. The good news is that the energy that is generated will be connected to the local electricity grid, which is managed by Unelco-Endesa.  (más…)

Tags: Inspiration., Island Life // 1 Comment »

You’ve probably already seen this as it is one of the most watched videos on youtube. I really love this video! I lived in Sydney for 28 years so it is even more special for me as I recognise all the locations where it was filmed.

Tags: Inspiration. // Add Comment »

Limited time only: 20% OFF all rental bikes throughout May & June!

Just three simple conditions:

1) This offer applies to deliveries around the El Puerto de la Cruz region only.

2) To be eligable, you must quote the keywords: «vertebrae ceramic«.

3) This offer is obviously subject to the availability of bikes in your sizes…

Tags: News Reel, Sales Pitch // Add Comment »

Here’s the section where we will present you with the latest merchandise. Many products will be available later in the year; all products will be offered at amazing prices & all with the tenerife-training logo: water bottles, carbon bidon cages, ingenious multi-tools, cycling apparal. We’ll possibly add further items for free, such as: key rings, calendars & screen-savers, etc. We already have the free stickers & T-Shirts… If you have any ideas, feel free to leave a comment here.

Tags: Lucky Dip // Add Comment »

 Over the next hour or so, I’ll be performing some website maintenance & updating some files. I just thought you’d like to know. Expect glitches.

Tags: News Reel // Add Comment »

The phrase «quantum leap» is most often used by people who know sod all about quantum mechanics. Usually what they mean to say is that whatever they’re talking about provides a huge step forward. If they knew anything, they would know that quantum mechanics is the study of subatomic particle interactions.

By its own definition, a quantum leap is a miniscule jump. The classic example is a single atom; when it absorbs a certain amount of energy, an electron orbiting the nucleus instantly jumps from a low energy state to a higher energy state. An excited electron can also fall back to a lower energy state while spontaneously emitting a photon in the process. These are said to be quantum leaps as they involve discreet, discontinuous energy levels. Ironically, I first heard the phrase «quantum leap» being used by an ignorant science tv show presenter.

In physics, a quantum leap or quantum jump is a change of an electron from one energy state to another within an atom….. In real physical systems a quantum leap is not necessarily a large change, and can in fact be very insignificant….. In the popular sense, the term is usually applied to mean a large or significant change, which is thus not strictly correct.

Tags: Science Simplified // Add Comment »

One thing that I like about life here in Tenerife is that the people aren’t rich enough to take part in the consumer culture that is so rampant everywhere else. It’s been a while since I wrote anything for this section «Vida Enigmática», so here’s my take on current consumerism:

Just a few decades ago, the reason we gave to buy something new was because what we had simply broke and could no longer be repaired. The art of repair seems to have been forgotten alright. Lost in fact. To the point where today, material goods are no longer repairable because to do so is uneconomical. Often, you replaced things with an identical unit. How many times does that happen today? Never. Why? Because even if we wanted to, the flux of change is so great, it is no longer possible to buy the same item even only 1 or 2 years later.

(más…)

Tags: Vida Enigmática // 1 Comment »

Petrol is a mixture of several different organic carbon compounds. The most common molecules in petrol are the alkanes, consisting of straight or branched carbon chains with between 5-8 carbon atoms saturated with hydrogen molecules (pentane, hexane, heptane and octane).

This is the chemical formula for the complete combustion of octane:

2 C₈H₁₈ + 25 O₂ = 18 H₂O + 16 CO₂

As you can see from this simple equation, for every single octane molecule that is burned, 8 molecules of CO₂ are produced. The standard unit measure of compounds is the mole. 1 mole of octane weighs 114 grams and contains avogadro’s number of molecules, 6.023 x 10²³. 1 mole of CO₂gas weighs 44 grams, but takes up much more volume. It’s important to remember from the ideal gas law that at standard laboratory conditions (25°C and 1 atmosphere pressure) one mole of gas at occupies 24.5 litres. One litre of petrol contains ~737.22 grams of liquid (or ~6.47 moles). Therefore, when one litre of petrol is burned, 2.28kg of CO₂ are produced, equivalent to 1268 litres of of CO₂ gas!! Every single 50 litre tank full of petrol will produce over 63,400 litres of CO₂ gas (63.4 m³), or a volume equivalent to an imaginary cube with sides 4 metres long.

I find it interesting that people talk in terms of kilograms of CO₂ because it really underestimates the quantity of gas we’re dealing with. Gases weigh hardly anything! In fact, 1kg of  CO₂ equals 557 litres! Why don’t we learn to quote the data figures of  CO₂ in litres instead? How much petrol must be burned to get 1kg of CO₂ gas? The answer is that only 324 grams of petrol will yield 1 kg of CO₂. (más…)

Tags: Science Simplified // 2 Comments »

As of the 15th of April, we will be reducing prices for renting 4 or more bikes! To make it fairer for everyone, we also need to optimise our existing pricing structure for renting 2 or 3 road racing / mountain bikes. What this means in real terms is that for the most part, the prices for renting 2 or 3 bicycles will increase slightly (since they were overly discounted to begin with). To clarify, all the current bike rental prices for single bikes will either remain the same or reduce.

Furthermore, the current pricing structure will be honoured for all bookings made before this time. The new rental prices for groups hiring 4 or more bicycles will come into effect immediately. Please email me for a quote. So if you’re thinking about coming to Tenerife for that well earned cycling holiday vacation, this is one more incentive to reserve the best bikes at the best prices!

Tags: News Reel, Sales Pitch, That's Business // Add Comment »

Today, I thought I’d share with my readers this fantastic old link to the many flags of the Canary Islands! It is a comprehensive site (dating back to at least before 1999) with all the islands represented, and many municipalities within each island. It includes a brief history section of each region, flag descriptions and important dates. Further descriptions about the History of the Canarian flag and its coat of arms make interesting reading.

I’m pleased to discover that the author, José Manuel Erbez, is now promoting a new site based on the content of of the old site with a blog layout, Symbols of the Canary Islands, although it currently doesn’t have all the flags of the old site uploaded. Like the old site, the new site is also available in three languages: Spanish, English and German.

Tags: Island Life // Add Comment »