New School Year 2024 新的學年 2024
Despite this summer holiday being much longer than usual for my son, time flew by, and now it’s already September. Most students started their school term last week, and today, it’s finally his turn....
Category: Challenges
Summer Holidays Ride 2024 暑假單車遊 2024
Summer in the UK is quite short, only lasts for about three months. By August, the sun starts setting after 8 p.m., and soon the days get shorter again. A few days ago, my son suggested we should going on a long-distance cycling trip given the slightly longer daylight and the fact that school hasn’t started yet. As he was so excited, I should have no reason to say no. However, in view of the pain in my right wrist, which probably caused by tendonitis, that haunting me for a few months, a long ride might make it worse!.
英國的夏天日子不算長，只有短短三個月，踏入八月，下午八點後便開始日落，又回復日短夜長的日子。早幾天兒子提議趁日間時段稍長，而且仍未開學，不如一起來個長程的單車一日遊。難得他有這個興趣，我理應義無反悔的應成，但心想近幾個月右手腕隱隱作痛，相信是筋膜發炎所致，勉強踩長程車，一不小心，可能手尾會更長！
My DIY Bike Rack – UK Edition 自家製單車架 – 英國版
Ever since my son’s bike was stolen from our underground parking lot two years ago, I’ve brought my own road bike back home. Along with the mountain bike I recently bought for my son, finding a place to store my three bikes at home has become quite a challenge.
自從前年兒子放在停車場的單車被盗後，我日常使用的公路單車已搬回家内，連同最近為兒子再買的攀山車，在家中找個地方存放我的三部單車已成為一個頗大的困擾 。
Round Trip Ride – Hammersmith & Notting Hill 走一轉系列 – Hammersmith & Notting Hill
Looking back often brings surprises or delights, much like when I recently moved my blog posts to my new site. I noticed that there were several half-written cycling posts left gathering dust. Instead of letting them as they were, I’ve decided to tie up those loose ends and hopefully boost some more traffic to my new blog. Although these rides were made over two years ago, in the ever-unchanging British landscape, I don’t think there will be much difference today.
回顧通常都會帶來一些驚或喜，就像我早前把網誌文章搬到新網站一樣，竟發覺有好幾篇單車遊的紀錄只寫了一半，但又不知何解地被擱置於一傍。與其繼續放低不理，我決定要為這些紀錄做個了結，亦希望可為網誌增加多一點流量。雖然我這些單車騎行已是兩年多前的事，但以英國的千載不變的生活環境，相信今天看來亦不會有太大的差別。
Bike Climb Improvement Project 單車爬攀改善計劃
Riding uphill places a greater strain on the heart, which can be challenging for individuals like me with cardiovascular conditions. In my early days of road cycling, I got my first road bike, the Giant TCR SLR1, that came with Shimano Ultegra 6800 53/39T racing crankset. This made it quite tough for a beginner cyclist like me. Two years later, I used this bike for cycling tour around Taiwan and despite I had already switched to a bigger 32T cog, climbing the challenging slopes of Shouka and the North-Yilan Highway was still a struggle to me.
騎乘斜坡對心臟的負荷較大，對於我這類有心血管疾病的人來說不是易事。早期對公路車認識不多，第一部購入的公路車 Giant TCR SLR1 是配備 Shimano Ultegra 6800 53/39T 的競賽 Crankset，令我這單車初哥騎得非常之吃力。還記得當年到台灣環島騎的亦是這部車，縱使已轉用了 32T 飛輪，攀爬壽卡及北宜公路的兩段路仍是苦不堪言，因此在我購入的第二部公路車 Giant TCR Advanced SL1 時就指定配上 50/34T crankset。
Home Automation 家居自動化
It has been almost a year since I moved into my current apartment. Apart from daily household chores, the introduction of home automation has taken up most of my time. And the story begins with the pendant lights in the living and dining rooms.
搬入現時居所差不多一年了，這段日子除了日常家居打理外，花得最多時間可算是引入家居自動化這個概念。 而故事就是從客、飯廳的吊燈開始。
Simple Guitar Repair 簡單電結他維修
Life was really boring during my course of Shingles recovery and I planned to pickup my aging Line 6 Variax 500 electric guitar to pass time. As the guitar had not been played for nearly two years, two of the tuners could not be tightened and the strings were out of tune shortly after few hours. Close inspection found that the plastic washer of those tuners disappeared.
休養期間生活有點百無聊賴，找來我的古董 Line 6 Variax 500 電結他消磨時間。 由于這電結他差不多有兩年没有彈過，在調音時發覺其中兩條低音絃線的 tuner 有點鬆，調好音後不到半天便走音，細看原來是 tuners 有破損，其中的膠墊圈已失掉。
Localisation for my bike? 單車也要本土化?
Those two Giant TCR bicycles that delivered to UK were bought through authorised dealer in Hong Kong few years ago.
Being the world’s biggest bicycle manufacturer, Giant bicycles sold in different parts of the world have to conform to local regulations and riding practices. As such, there are variations in the use of components and settings for these bikes across the world.
隨行到英國的兩部 Giant TCR 公路單車，於香港的代理購入已有數年。
基於全球單車第一品牌 Giant Bicycle 產品行銷世界各地，需配合當地的法規及使用習慣，因此無論在設計細節，零件使用或設定亦會有一定的差異。
Do It Yourself 自己的事自己動手做
Since I had published my last post on replacing my road bike tyres, some of my friends living aboard mentioned that DIY is the way to go to save money and possible lead time. I absolutely agreed with them and do believe that mastering DIY skills is another objective to achieve in UK.
居於外地的朋友們對我上一篇自行更換單車軚的網誌，都不約而同提出日常維修工作如果找店家或 Handy man 做，除了費用高外，往往亦要等很久，因此學習自己做 (DIY) 是必然的事。這個我完全同意，亦是移居英國後其中一個學習目標。
Life is just Bits and Pieces 生活就是一些無聊的點滴
Since moving into our new apartment in late May, it seems that I was extremely busy. Spending most of the time tidying up those bits and pieces, moving the furniture around and went shopping household items. I considered myself so exhausted that I didn’t even have the mood to write any post for this blog.
自五月尾搬入新居後，每天總是看似非常忙碌；不是執拾東西，便是把家具移來移去，又或是再添置家居用品，亦因此總提不起勁去寫文章。
Round Trip Ride – London Eye 走一轉系列 – London Eye
Even though I have been living in UK for nearly one year, I still found London’s winter very cold and couldn’t stand the piercing cold wind especially riding outdoor. That explained why I had not go cycling for several months. Anyway, it just happened that I still had a number of cycling trips that I could share with you here.
Comparing with those previous journeys around suburbs or countryside, I attempted some completely different trips across cities. When mentioning city, the first came to mind was definitely our famous cosmopolitan city London. And my destination was central London, the Parliament House, Big Ben and London Eye.
雖然在英國住了差不多一年，倫敦的冬天對於生長於香港的我仍是有點冷，騎單車的話，迎着陣陣刺面寒風更不好過，因此自去年十一月後已有數月沒騎車出外，還好先前尚有多個行程可在此和大家分享。
相比早前走的市郊路線，去年九月尾想過要作不同的嘗試，來個穿越城市之旅。説起城市當然第一時間就想起英國的國際大都會倫敦，而目的地就是倫敦市中心，國會大樓，大笨鐘以及 London Eye。
Riding with my boss 與 Boss 走一轉
Studying in UK is really wonderful, there are so many term breaks throughout the school year. Just like the recent Spring Term Break that began on 1st of April, my little boss started staying at home with nothing to do again. Early Sunday morning, he suggested to go cycling, which I had no reason to turn down despite of the cold and windy weather.
在英國讀書真好，年中 term break 多到難以至信，剛過去的四月一日又是 Spring Term Break 的開始，家中小老闆又再百無聊賴的 hea 在家，星期日早上，難得他提議午後騎車出外走走，雖然天氣非常寒冷，我也無法拒絶。
Round Trip Ride – Putney Heath 走一轉系列 – Putney Heath
For the past cycling trips, I used to take those relatively flat roads and footpaths. In this round of my Round Trip Ride, I would include some bike climbs in my visit to another adjacent district, the Borough of Wandsworth and with Putney Heath as my destination. The return trip would go through Richmond Park and back to the Kingston twon centre. The total distance was estimated to be around 29 Km.
過往的單車路線大多是以較平坦的車路或小徑為主，今次會嘗試加多一點爬坡路段。行程以 Borough of Wandsworth 的 Putney Heath 為目的地，回程會穿越 Richmond Park 返回 Kingston 市中心，行程預計約 29 公里。
Round Trip Ride – Epsom & Ashtead 走一轉系列 – Epsom & Ashtead
In this round of my Round Trip Ride, I will share with you my visit to another adjacent district, the Borough of Epsom and Ewell, plus an unplanned short ride to Borough of Mole Valley as well.
今次要介绍的行程主要會到 Borough of Epsom and Ewell，同場加影 Borough of Mole Valley。
Round Trip Ride – East Molesey 走一轉系列 – East Molesey
There are seven Local Government Districts adjacent to Kingston Upon Thames. Wimbledon and Raynes Park that I recently rode to belong to one of these, the London Borough of Merton. In this round of my Round Trip Ride, I will share with you my visit to another district, the Borough of Elmbridge. The destination is East Molesey.
與 Kingston Upon Thames 接壤的地區政府管轄區（Local Government Districts）共有七個，早前往 Wimbledon 及 Raynes Park 時已到訪過其中一個，亦即 London Borough of Merton。今次要介绍的行程會到另一個區 Borough of Elmbridge，目的地是 East Molesey 市。
Round Trip Ride – Wimbledon 走一轉系列 – 温布頓
In my previous posts, I had mentioned that I found it a bit boring cycling in parks within the Kingston. So I changed my mind and planned to visit nearby areas with my bike. Not only served as great exercises for me, but also help me to understand more about the areas nearby.
上一篇提過在 Kingston 市內公園踩單車有點悶，於是改變想法，打算到鄰近地區走走，運動之餘又可熟習其他地方。
Short Ride – Bushy Park 灌木公園單車遊
There are several places near Kingston town centre that are great for walking and cycling. These includes Barge Walk and Hampton Court Home Park that I had visited before as well as Bushy Park that I am going to introduce in this post.
Kingston 市中心附近有數個適合漫步或騎單車的著名景點，包括早前我去過的 Barge Walk，漢普敦公園及今次要介紹的灌木公園（Bushy Park）。
Hampton Court Park and River Thames Ride 漫遊漢普敦公園、泰晤士河
Stepping into September, the temperature had slightly dropped to around 15 or 16 ℃. A little bit cool but not that cold. Just as my son had back to school, my wife and I went our for cycling in nearby areas. Some exercise for both of us as well as to search for new cycling routes.
Last week, I rode with my son along Barge Walk. This time, my wife and I would go cycling in the Hampton Court Park.
踏入九月，早上氣溫已降至大約十五、十六度，雖有一點點的涼意，但又未至於寒冷。兒子悠長的暑假剛結束，再重返校園，既然閒著便與太太到附近踩單車，順便找尋新的路線。
上次去了 Barge Walk，今次嘗試往漢普敦公園（Hampton Court Park）走走。
My Boy’s New MTB 兒子的全新攀山單車
In my previous post, I had talked about getting a new bike for my son. This not only allowed him to ride with me during holidays but also help to reduce playing online games at home. After several rounds of product research and shop visits, I finally got his new bike last Saturday.
早前提過要為兒子買單車，除了放假時能與他出外遊玩，亦可盡量減少他留在家中玩 online games，經歷數輪資料搜集及實體店舖拜訪，上星期六終於收到新車。
First Ride in UK 英倫踩單車：落地篇
It has been almost three weeks after my bikes were delivered. Nevertheless, I lack the motivation to go for a ride.
I did not sleep well last night and could not fall asleep again after waking up early in the morning, so I decided to go for a ride.
我的單車回到身邊差不多有三個星期，但不知何故，總是欠點動力出去走一敞。
昨晚睡得不太好，晨早起來又沒法再入睡，決定出去走走。
Self Isolation 自我隔離
We’ve been to UK for two months and most of the times were spent on arranging those bits and pieces of living here. Quite a lot of the works could only be done one at a time and not much shortcut are available for speeding up. With the amount of planning and arrangement, I didn’t have much spare time and couldn’t afford to timely update my blog.
Given that most of the works needed to be done had been settled recently, let me resume the sharing of my UK immigration.
到了英國有兩個多月，大部分時間都花在租屋，搬遷，日常生活及孩子找學校的安排，很多事都要一步一步做，沒有太多㨗徑可走，閒著的時間不多，更提不起勁去更新自己的網誌。
最近要辦的事也完成了七七八八，終於可停下來繼續寫我的移居體驗了！
A Sun Never Set Journey 日不落的旅程
Taking long haul flight is definitely not my cup of tea and the only times were those trips to Europe. Due to time zones difference, most of these flights leave Hong Kong in midnight. Passengers normally went to sleep shortly after the take-off and rushed to the immigration upon arrival next morning.
In consideration of the adverse impact brought about by covid-19, our mid-night flight to UK was rescheduled by BA to the afternoon.
過往甚少乘搭長途機，記憶中只有飛歐洲的數次，通常都是夜機，而大部份乘客一上機就抱頭大睡，早上醒來便匆匆下機。
今次飛英國的航班亦可能在疫情影響下，由深夜提早至同日下午。
Times Up! 夠鐘啦！
If you are fond of photography and used to surf the internet for latest information, you should be aware of DigitalRev TV, Kai as well as Lok. DigitalRev TV was once an extremely popular YouTube channel with around 1.9 Million subscribers and total page views exceeding 430 Million in its glorious days.
如果你對攝影有興趣，閒時會瀏覽網上最新資訊，相信對 DigitalRev TV，Kai 同 Lok 也會有一定的認識。當年這個 YouTube 频道及這對好拍檔極受一眾攝影愛好者所追捧。全盛時期，頻道有190萬的訂戶，瀏覽率亦超過4億。