The end of cycling to work

Finally sold off my vintage Falcon bike. I had been cycling to work since last year but several factors meant that I could no longer continue doing so. My wife breaking her leg was the main reason - this meant that I had to send and pick up the kids from school. I often had classes in the evening and I was not comfortable cycling in the dark along the lonely canal paths.

In the end, the bike was left outside without any protection and the shiny mudguards and chain slowly rusted.

In the end, I had to let the bike go. I once had grand ideas about completely restoring it but never got round to doing it.

Next time, I think I would probably go for a brand new bike customised to me.

Till then, it is the end of cycling to work for me.

Replacing my Swatch watch strap

A couple of weeks back, I posted about the easiest way to upgrade the look of your watch - by changing the strap.

Well, why stop at that.

The old aluminium strap on my old Swatch Irony Chrono watch was showing it's age and I decided that it needed a nice new strap.

I had a nice new black leather strap but the problem is that replacing straps on Swatch watches is not straightforward because of their unique and proprietary 3-prong lug design.

So I decided to modify the strap to fit the watch lugs. I used the original strap as a template and cut away the necessary pieces of leather from the strap using my sharp Stanley knife.

I was confident that it would work and it did - a perfect fit.

West Midlands Safari Park - 3rd Visit

This was our 3rd visit to the Safari Park - this time with my sis-in-law and her family.

Not sure why but this time, we saw fewer animals but we had fun.

WARNING: Loads of pictures coming up.

Noah's ark

See how huge that Rhino is

Ostrich

Here you are allowed to feed the animals

You are not allowed to feed the camels. They have a nasty bite. Looks smug, doesn't he or she?

My daughter tackling the wall. Much better than last time.

Hungry Hippo

Two lost kids

Tired of your old watch: Change the strap

Unlike some crazy watch collectors who have several watches, most people normally have one beater watch which they wear everyday. Many don't even use a watch any more. However, if you do wear watches, there is an easy way to change the look and feel immediately : just by changing the strap. All you need is a new strap and some tools.

That's what I did with my old Sekonda watch. It is a Rolex GMT Master homage with a Pepsi (blue and red) bezel powered by a Miyota quartz movement. 

I bought a blue, red and white Nato strap - Royal Air Force colours, on eBay. I hoped that it would match the colours of the Pepsi bezel. Used the strap spring bar remover tool to remove the strap pins and replaced the bracelet with the new strap.

Now I have a watch that looks and feels totally different. The Nato strap feel much more comfortable as compared to the stainless steel bracelet.

What do you think?

The Royal Enfield Continental GT [Video]

From Ace Cafe, London to Madras Café, Chennai. Nice video.

The specs of this Indian "Cafe racer":

• 535cc air cooled four-stroke engine/ 30bhp/ five-speed transmission
• Pirelli tyres
• Brakes: Single front disc and Brembo caliper
• Price is around £5,199.

Caludon Castle and St George

The answer to "Where in Coventry 3?" post is Caludon Castle in Caludon Castle park in Wyken. The park is supposed to have once belonged to Lady Godiva.

Also I just found out that it is related to St George (of the St George and the Dragon fame and the patron saint of England).

Anyway, here are some more pics:

My kids enjoying themselves at the park

Artist Pete Urmston's impression of what the Castle once looked like in the 16th Century

Related Links:

Did St George come from Coventry and what and where was the dragon?

Trip to the highlands 2013 - 3: Isle of Skye

Around this time last year, we were driving around the Scottish highlands. We drove from the Great Glen Water Park, South Laggan to the Isle of Skye, a distance of around 101 miles. One of the best drives I have ever gone for in my life. Here are some pictures from our trip:

It was a long journey and even started snowing on the way but the weather improved when we reached the Island.

At Portree,

The Harbour

After eating lunch, we took the scenic route to Struan on the Western side of the island. We only passed about 3 cars on the way and sometimes we were the only car for miles around.

No cars around for miles

At Struan

On the way back, we took the ferry to the mainland.