Hello world. How's it going? This haphazard collection of thoughts and jottings aims to reflect what captures my interest or curiosity. Generally it won't be hard hitting, deeply insightful or political. I get enough of that at work... All views are my own etc. To set the scene, I'm a 40-something who lives in a seaside town in the East coast of Scotland with my partner, daughter and Dachshund. Cycling, a non-technical fascination with technology, music and the outdoors generally occupy what spare thoughtspace I have. You may notice some emerging themes...
Tearing through a deserted city centre on £2k’s worth of bicycle that doesn’t belong to you is surely a novel way of spending a lockdown evening. But hold the presses - ‘ Middle-aged civil servant in lockdown cycle-theft rampage ’ - I’m helping shuttle leftover food from supermarkets to foodbanks and homeless shelters. Streetwork, part of the Simon Community, is using unwanted food to support homeless and vulnerable people across the city. It’s also proving to be a great way of tackling food waste for supermarkets, a perennial headache for them in terms of disposal. Every day, a tireless crew of Streetwork volunteers, supplemented by staff from Cycling Scotland and members of Ronde Cycling Club, is piloting a fleet of superb electric cargo bikes. Thanks to the generosity of Edinburgh Bike Co-Op and The Edinburgh Festival of Cycling we have some fantastic bikes to ride while regular mechanical back-up comes from Electric Cycles. Funnily enough for someone in a cycling club, I like b