And almost 1,800 blog posts, 2,000 photos and 700 videos…
Ken's Blog
Almost forgot…
February 18th, 2012Final flurry of statistics
February 18th, 2012Miles ridden Almost 20,000 (about 30,000 kilometres) – so, by any measure, quite a long way…!
Revolutions (of the wheels) Sixteen million
Continents Four – Europe, Asia, Australia, North America
Countries 17
Border crossings 31
Visas 10
US States 12 (including night in Hawaii – no time to surf!)
Coldest -15 oC in New Mexico
Hottest Forties in Kazakhstan and China’s Gobi desert
Cyclones One – Yasi – Northern Australia
Highest point Over 8,000 feet – Emory Pass – New Mexico
Lowest point Turpan – pronounced Turvan – Basin, Western China – below sea level
Favourite nations New Zealand, North America, Serbia, Georgia (also the friendliest)
Most expensive country Australia (cost of living about 2-3 times that of the UK)
Cheapest countries China and the Republic of Georgia
Most corrupt nation – Azerbaijan – if you don’t pay a bribe you’d never leave. Ever.
Detentions by border guards 2 – Kazakhstan (shorter of the two!) and Australia
Uprisings (just missed) Bishkek, Capital of Central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan, and sporadic (unreported) ethnic civil unrest in Western China
Toughest challenges Loneliness – especially in China – and tropical humidity in Northern Australia
Lowest point Few hours after drinking kumus – fermented mare’s milk
Most bizarre moment Tearing around Republic of Georgia in a police car (sightseeing courtesy of a local Mayor!)
Most used words Nee-how – Hello! – and Sh-e, Sh-e, nee – Thank-you – in Mandarin
Least heard expressions Have a nice day! (in US – rarely said) and It’s free! (in (expensive) Australia – rarely heard)
Favourite foods Stack of pancakes with maple syrup – US – and stuffed dumplings – China
Favourite places Camping amongst wild bears in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon, and nights spent in Chinese truck stops – for less than 20 yuan – about two pounds
Bikes Just one – my trusty Somerset built two-wheeled steed
Punctures 10 – with just one in whole of North America
Spokes broken or loosened – not a single one, and wheels still look pretty true
Most elusive wildlife Wild bears in North America – saw just one cub – and deadly snakes in Australia – two in the wild
Most common wildlife Wallabies – like a kangaroo but smaller – in Australia
[With especial thanks to Tim for the encouragement to compile these…]
Alaska… a few facts
September 11th, 2011A few facts about Alaska… some quite surprising…
It’s BIG – about one fifth of the rest of the US
But with a small population – just 600,000 people, half of whom live in Anchorage
Which isn’t the Capital – that’s Juneau. Despite electing Sarah Palin as Governor, Alaskans are clearly a shrewd bunch, choosing to put their politicians on an island. One you can’t actually drive to directly from Anchorage, instead having to travel through Canada.
Alaska is also the northern-most, western-most and eastern-most State. And has over 100,000 glaciers.
The State bird is the willow ptarmigan. Although you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s the mosquito…
Barrow, in the far north of Alaska, doesn’t see the sun – at all – for almost three months of the year. 18 November – 24 January. And, between 10 May and 2 August, it never sets.
Alaska’s State flag was the result of a school art project. Eight gold stars.
Australia – a few statistics…
August 27th, 2011A random selection of dubious statistics… strictly for amusement.. Enjoy
Most ironic TV programme – "Conviction Kitchen" – those with a criminal past battle it out for a fresh start…
Distance ridden – Close on 4,000 kilometres. Which is about the same as London to Istanbul. Hardly surprising as it’s not just a country, it’s an entire continent.
Cyclones encountered – Just one – Yasi – but it was the largest, most fearsome to hit Australia’s mainland in living memory
Favourite spot – Mary Valley, north west of Brisbane
Premiers met – One – Anna Bligh
Days lost to flooded highways – Two – trapped for a few extra days in the small but likeable town of Bowen
Local TV and radio interviews – Two TV news pieces, one spot on Talk Radio, and a newspaper article
Prostitutes – Just one, for coffee and a chat – strictly research, and I paid only for the drinks
Cheapest paid pitch – $8 – about five pounds
Best camp kitchen – Innisfail – at a site managed by Maureen
Easiest job – Weather forecaster, Far North Queensland, during the wet season – hmmm, rain today?
Miscreant drivers reported to the Police – One – errant truck driver who seemed to think it amusing to try and, quite literally, run me off the road
Detentions by Public Officials – One – albeit briefly, by an Immigration Officer querying why I’d returned to Australia from New Zealand – errr, because I’ve a multiple entry visa that allows me to do so…
[Ed. That’s quite enough stats for one continent]
New Zealand – a few fuggers
July 24th, 2011Today’s Kiwese word or phrase: "McKennock". Fixes cars
Sheep spotted – very few
Hobbits – even less
Naff cups of coffee – nil – absolutely none
Wet days – very few
Glaciers visited – one – Franz Josef
Cyclists met – one – Caroline
Time spent at sea – about six hours (didn’t want to overdo it)
French military tourists met – nil
[Ed. That’s quite enough statistics for now…]
Measuring the miles
January 30th, 201116,028 kilometres – 9959 miles
Distance cycled. So far. My own, reasoned, estimate had been about 10,000 miles. But now I’d got a much more accurate figure from all the GPS fixes I’d collected over the past five hundred or so days.
You’d think there’d be some nifty software to calculate the distances between fixes. But no. Not that I’ve been able to find. Rather, you must devise your own. Or ask your webmaster to help.
Enough statistics. Early morning here in Cairns. Might have to go and do a couple of loops of Cairns. Bag another 41 miles. Hit the magic 10,000.
[With especial thanks to James the webmaster for devising the software to calculate the distance ridden]
China – a few statistics
January 1st, 2011A random selection of statistics, some serious, others just to amuse, chosen by the author after a particularly strong coffee… There’s quite a few, but it is a big country, and I’ve been here a while. Enjoy!
Population of China – Over 1.3 billion, 51% of whom now live in cities
Most surprising discovery – The sheer amount of construction – infrastructure, offices, shopping centres, housing – true nation building
Biggest myth about China – You can see the Great Wall from space – no. Why should you be able to? It’s about ten metres wide, mostly earthworks and so the same colour as the surrounding terrain. More chance of spotting Hadrian’s…
Second biggest myth about China – Rice is the staple. Not exactly. Much more noodles in the west. Probably because rice grows in the more wet, humid south eastern part of the country.
Greatest Chinese invention – Toilet paper
Nicest city – Xi’an, central China. Probably best known as the home of the Terracotta Army
Most distasteful sight – Spitting in the street, particularly prevalent in eastern China
Second most distasteful sight – Overweight men rolling up their shirts, exposing their midriffs, to try and keep cool in hot weather – city of Urumqi, western China
Most irritating discovery – Talking Chinese calculators
Second most irritating discovery – Blocking mainstream websites like Facebook, video hosting services such as Vimeo or YouTube. And The Outward Bound Trust’s own site.
Most intriguing discovery – The often low standard of English practiced by those who teach it in State schools. Especially their oral ability
Distance travelled from UK – About 16,000 kilometres / 10,000 miles
Longest (most epic) day – Riding into Kuytun, western China – 162 kilometres / hundred miles across the desert
Hottest day – They blur. Somewhere in the Gobi desert, western China. Into the forties
Highest point – Road tunnel east of the provincial town of Jingning, central China. Close on 7,600 feet. Second place goes to Lake Sayram Hu, in western China, near the border with Kazakhstan – about 7,000 feet. Quite beautiful
Lowest point – Turpan Basin, western China. Few hundred feet below sea level. See also medical dramas below…
Most photographed object – Me. By the Chinese
Most useful item carried – Letter of introduction in Chinese – one of four things that never leave my side – the other three being my wallet, passport and phrase book
Most novel (for a Westerner) place to spend a night – Heavy Goods Vehicle cab, somewhere in the Gobi desert, western China
Item I most wish I’d brought with me – Phrase book with more than just ten pages devoted to Mandarin
Item I brought but probably shouldn’t have bothered with – the phrase book I actually had…
Favourite food – Stuffed dumplings, similar to those found in much of Central Asia
Best coffee – Hotel Ibis, Xi’an, Central China – not the free stuff included with the breakfast buffet, the one you have to buy from the bar
Best pseudo-full English breakfast – Fat chance. But did find some lovely tuna sandwiches and fruit scones in the city of Nanchang, eastern China
Stops by the police – Once – en route to Turpan in Western China – by traffic officers concerned for my safety in by then gale force winds
Most dangerous place to cycle – Chinese towns and cities
Most common TV advert – Breast enhancement lotions – not a jot of evidence they work….
Medical dramas – Copious – if that’s the right expression – amounts of travellers diarrhoea, western China. Oh how we laugh about it now…
Number of manual workers eligible to take the Chinese Civil Service entrance examination in 2010 – Less than 200 – but, if successful, they’ve a 1:14 chance of a job, against the norm of about 1:1,000
Favourite Chinese language film – With English subtitles – Fourteen Blades – released 2010
Number of Chinese visas – A staggering four – a sixty day one from Malta (not used), two ninety day ones from London and a zero entry thirty day one obtained in Xi’an, China
Favourite white lie.. Asked by a border guard if my phone would work in China, I explained I really wasn’t sure, hadn’t had chance to try it…. It’s a satellite phone. Works anywhere on the planet. So probably ok.
And finally… Even the CIA – yes, The CIA, have their mugs manufactured in China. Bet they x-ray them….
[With thanks to Tim for suggesting I put some statistics together, and Claudia for encouraging me!]
Ken’s vital statistics
September 8th, 2010A few facts and figures about life on the road… strictly to entertain and amuse
Greatest weakness – decent cup of black coffee – on a mission to find the best…
Second greatest weakness – my razor – nothing comes close to a good wet shave – not a huge fan of beards, indeed, never dated a woman with one, and no plans to start now..
Third greatest weakness – fluffy towels and a hot shower – it’s not a crime you know – dreaming that is!
Fourth – and final – greatest weakness – cotton boxer shorts, one pair carried, special occasions only. Along with my deodorant.
Favourite television programme – “Shoestring” – early 80s drama about private eye Eddie Shoestring, filmed in and around Bristol and Bath, lead played by Trevor Eve – three episodes available on www.trevoreveonline.com – am almost word perfect now!
Favourite internet radio station – UK’s Absolute 80s – www.absolute80s.com – fortunately without a ’no repeat’ guarantee!
Food I miss the most – rum truffles, the proper ones made from old cake, laced with essence, or even the real stuff
Favourite weather – nothing beats a nice temperate climate, just like that in Blighty…
[Editor: That’s enough for now.. Back to the Gobi]
Terms & Conditions of Use | Copyright © 2009-2024 Ken Roberts