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Catastophic Failure

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 2024 River to Rail ride 3 of us joined up for the ride, 2 on diamond frame bicycles, and one on a recumbent We had ridden with our friend on the recumbent numerous times previously and began to notice something that didnt seem right. Look closely, very closely, at the rear wheel See how it is tilted slightly to the  right? Compare its vertical angle to that of the front wheels We thought is was simply a matter of alignment in the frame and didnt mention anything about it to our friend. 20 miles into the ride, I stopped at an intersection to double check our routing Recumbent friend pulled up along side me to the right on a slightly sloping road surface Suddenly he tipped over to his right for no apparent reason I felt terrible for stopping and causing him to topple over Then we discovered . . . . He didnt tip over due to the road surface . . . . The frame had snapped in half just ahead of the seating area Was that misaligned wheel indicating an issue with the frame? We believ...
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Scotland/Poland

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A frustrating drive to the airport through Melbourne's permanently gridlocked traffic. But we arrived in plenty of time for our flight. We caught the tram from passport control to the departure gate.   Then a direct flight to Dubai in a full Airbus A380. They hold up to 880 passengers and I didn't see any spare seats. Sixteen hours, three films, three meals and no sleep later, we arrived cramped and tired in Dubai.   Coming in to land at Dubai. A large network of freeways weaves through the city. It is hard to believe that Dubai got its first paved road as recently as 1970. There are dozens of skyscrapers, including the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa. It was 34C when we landed. Tolerable. But it wasn't yet 5am and it promised to be a hot day. The Dubai Mall claims to be the biggest shopping centre in the world, and also the most visited place on Earth in 2023. Among other things, it has an ice skating rink and a fountain the size of a Melbourne city bl...
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Some Favorite Quotes

"The whole thing is, as it has always been, the control of the minds of people" (Paraphrased from Preston James --  'The Wide World a Geography') "Give me some 18 and 19 year olds and I'll have them believing anything I want them to believe" (Educator 1970's) "Don't believe anything you hear,  and very little of what you see" (Service station customer) 'You would be surprised by how little time others spend thinking about you" (Dr. Phil) "If you don't like listening to this radio station, find one you do like and listen to it" (Dave Baum WIND radio)  "Politicians are like diapers, they need to be changed often and for the same reason" (Robin Williams -- "Man of the Year" movie) "You know?  When you come down to it -- no one really gives a shit" (Athletic Director at a Central Illinois High School) {Codicil:  True for many if not most, but not all) "There a'int nobody gonna te...
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