Advantages: Nimble, durable, versatile Disadvantages: Gearing too low for speed on downhills
I purchased a GaryFisher Nirvana as a deeply discounted "clearance" item in the late 1990s, and have used it for short commuting and longer weekend rides ever since. The cro-moly frame and fork have worked smoothly and held up well, the wheels have taken a pounding without distorting, and the gears are still functioning without flaw. The small frame accepted fenders, luggage rack, and other unstylish but useful add-ons. This hybrid bike has been nimble, easy to pedal, and durable. My criticisms -- the gearing range is too narrow to generate much speed going down hills and on flats. And the small diameter tires are somewhat inefficient for long distances on the road though ideal for mixed on road and off road use.
GaryFisher sold his company to Trek in the early 1990s, and I suspect that some of the models have been ...
Advantages: somewhere to sleep, Disadvantages: lost my booking, twice
Something of a departure for me in many ways is this one, after the semi disasterous year I enjoyed last year this 12 months of 2008 was marked down as clearing debts and enjoying myself time - how to achieve both being somewhat of an impossible balancing act. But the debts cleared up faster than expected so in early May I turned my head to the new target - having fun, lots of it.
One of the forum sites I am a relatively active member of has pretty regular meet ups, and after deciding it was funtime the next was due to occur in Birmingham at some point during July, so in keeping with the fun but keeping out of debt ethos I went off to find some decent hotel bargains which werent going to cost me a fortune in beer tokens for a taxi.
The cheapest - and one of the most central I was advised - is the Paragon Hotel on Alcester St, one ...
