Posts by Zach Bagnall
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All rather worrying sitting here in London, paying over 3k NZD per month in rent + bills + c/tax for a 2brm in Clapham.
Munich is starting to appeal more than a return "home" to NZ.
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Feed: My Life in Curry, in reply to Russell Brown,
Food memories are the best. You can recreate them in the kitchen. It's why we cook.
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Indeed. Golden Curry looks like the kind of joint I avoid.. shiny black, chrome and blue neon. Two tables occupied at 9:30 this evening. http://i.imgur.com/wR7nDfx.jpg
The most recommended place these days is probably Tayyab's in Whitechapel or nearby Needoo Grill (ex Tayyab's staff). Meat heavy though. For some of that Satya style South Indian joy, Tooting is the spot.
I had the fortune to grow up vegetarian, close to an Indian family and the cuisine has been a staple all my life. My earliest restaurant memory is sitting on brightly coloured floor pillows at Ghopal's (?) in Auckland. Satya is my treat on rare visits back from UK.
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It's already happening at a driver level since yer average car probably contains a smartphone or satnav with realtime traffic info overlay. Traffic routes around damage.
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Surprised this has reached three pages without someone mentioning the R word.. Rapha have build a massive brand based on performance fabrics - lots of merino blends - and understated branding for every day use. Pricey but. Around London you're more likely to see the distinctive contrast arm stripe than a garish pro team logo.
Miltag produce some lovely limited editions too. Firmly in the synthetic jersey category, but with great design including a lot of musician collaborations.
The best NZ gear I've seen is probably the Icebreaker cycling line. Very very nice and - at the outlet stores - incredibly good value. If I wasn't flat broke I'd have bought the whole store when I visited last.
For the survey, I commute to work in some ultra budget no-name jerseys that cost under a tenner each. Hard wearing, sweat wicking and cheap enough to have one for each day of the week. Pocket on the back for keys & cash.
Some mountain bike shorts with a built-in chamois do for summer. In winter when it's freezing+/-2C I wear some roubaix (fleece lined) bib tights with a waterproof shell over the top to cut wind.
For weekend rides in summer it's a merino jersey with rear pockets and proper bib shorts. You could do 100 miles in 25C sun without lycra but you will hate life before the end.
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If anyone's wondering why cycling posts always draw comments from overseas readers with their experiences in other cities, it's because they've seen the future of NZ.
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Cyclists jumping red lights is a whole other kettle of turnips. I see it every day.. the full tilt after-the-red weaving through cross traffic, the furtive scuttle to the median strip during a lull, the bold dash before the green. Every type - young, old, frumpy, lycra, hipster fixed. The only common factor is the reasons they give:
1. stopping and starting sucks man
2. genuine fear of trafficWhich is a bit sad really. Viewing every journey as a pursuit with your life at stake, fighting for space on the road, trying to get to the front to create a gap at every opportunity sounds grim.
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Hard News: When "common sense" isn't, in reply to Maz,
In countries such as The Netherlands and Denmark, where helmets are very rare and hi-vis unheard of, cycling accounts for 30-50+% of commuting, and serious accidents are very rare.
I think that is more down to infrastructure and strict liability than the availability of helmets and reflectors. This is a really good read:
http://lcc.org.uk/pages/holland-in-the-1970s -
My 2c as former NZ driver and now daily cyclist in central London who wants to one day return to NZ and continue cycling..
Driver behavior will improve as number of cyclists continue to increase. Strict Liability - as notably implemented in EU - would certainly help there, in addition to substantial cycle lanes.
Didn't Auckland boost roll out of optic fibre by requiring it to be laid whenever the road was dug up, for any reason? Perhaps cycle lanes could be built out in a similar manner. At least NZ city roads still have enough room to do it.. get started early rather than later.
And specifically on this coroner's recommendations, yes the call for compulsory specialist clothing is unjustified and unhelpful. But the anecdata and kneejerk comments claiming such safety measures are ineffective (along with helmets and by extension lights, professional training, etc) are just silly. You wouldn't drive a car at night without lights or without a wearing a seatbelt and it has nothing to do with the law.
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Hard News: The not-so-Evil Empire, in reply to Russell Brown,
Guess everyone’s really stupid. Or maybe they’re just really good devices.
I fully accept that Macs don’t meet your particular needs. But they work really well for ordinary folks.
FYI this attitude is exactly why a lot of people are turned off Apple products.
Do we really need to turn someone's personal choice of telephone / laptop / tablet / television / toaster into a dividing line between "ordinary folks" and the rest? Please.