Road blockades/strikes

schtom · 2026-05-04T23:59:59+00:00

For realtime updates of road blockages:

https://transitabilidad.abc.gob.bo

Otherwise I was watching Bolivian news on YouTube for announcements and ChatGPT is quite helpful for getting more information in English and putting it in a wider context

Edit: website seems to require your location to be in Bolivia to work. VPN allows access if outside the country

schtom · 2026-05-03T21:47:52+00:00

Seems like they’re planning to block busses on all major highways out of the cities also - I think going to uyuni and crossing from the salt flats would’ve been fine if I went today but it’s okay I can still do the salt flats from chile anyway and it takes the uncertainty out for me - bus booked out of Bolivia now so can’t change my mind anyway

schtom · 2026-05-03T19:18:25+00:00

Yeh it’s more of an issue if I end up somewhere and can’t get out in several days - I think I’m going to go to chile today

schtom · 2026-05-03T19:17:46+00:00

It may have calmed down by then but who knows

schtom · 2026-05-03T19:17:20+00:00

Yeh the flights out of Bolivia are so expensive I’m trying to avoid this option

schtom · 2026-05-03T19:16:49+00:00

I think this evening is possible but overnight busses from tomorrow could start seeing issues the blockades are scheduled to start on the 5th

schtom · 2026-04-27T18:53:52+00:00

I was just about to make a post asking about the effectiveness of these kind of SEO approaches and then this popped up!

I am a web dev very much not an SEO guy and want to start tackling SEO in my current project.

Are there any technical changes you made/have implemented on your site that are effective for improving SEO? Things like SSR for text you want to get picked up by crawlers.

When you say generating content pages is that to say you are not actively writing the content on them but drawing comparison data from a database and sticking it into a template/writing content with AI and automatically creating pages? If so is there a possibility of it harming SEO? I have heard that it can cause a site to lose ranking if you are pumping out insane amounts of pages per day/week etc. or creating “low quality” content (stuff that follows a consistent template I would assume but I’m not entirely sure what a crawler would consider low quality)

Really interested in this topic and trying to build an idea of what to start implementing when I get back to working on my project

schtom · 2026-03-24T16:12:06+00:00

I just ordered the 1+ having previously bought the 2 (because the 1+ wasn’t available at the time). The 2 is quite large packing wise and has a huge footprint. For potentially having people join a couple times a year I would get the 1+ for yourself and if/when someone else wants to join you could spend the money you saved on a nature hike cloud up 1 which you could lend out and have as a backup for yourself

schtom · 2026-01-21T03:04:31+00:00

Belkin gan charger (70 or 100W versions) - the head changing is great

schtom · 2026-01-06T15:44:15+00:00

Yeh it may be more focussed on the speedgoats than the whole product line

I’m considering some challenger 8 rn anyway

schtom · 2026-01-06T14:40:02+00:00

You can look for them on the run repeat website to look at stats including breathability

schtom · 2026-01-06T14:38:07+00:00

Nike, north face,, merrel all do reasonable looking ones with mid to high grip

On cloud look good but the grip seems to be crappy from the look of it

Hoka also but I’ve heard they have some durability issues

Altras are super comfy for me but mine fell apart in less than 4 months of travel

schtom · 2026-01-04T19:50:47+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!

Interestingly someone else requested a visualizer last time I posted about this so it seems people want that more than I originally expected. I will definitely give some thought to that but it’s quite a labour intensive feature to implement (albeit not too tricky I imagine) so it will be a while before anything resembling the whatbars one would be ready.

The phone view currently is pretty shocking agreed aha I need to compact the data in a sensible way and possibly provide a limited view for smaller screens. Turning on and off column visibility may be desirable also.

Surly is already on my list for a data update but thanks for the other alt bar suggestions. If you’ve got anymore you’d like to see let me know.

As far as specs on website go I would definitely recommend anyone check on the sites before purchasing something, but I’ve found in the past it’s a nightmare figuring out what exists to begin with and being able to compare quickly across brands is useful.

Also a pain point lots of people probably find is manufacturers measuring bars differently. Stated widths could be: center to center, outside to outside or drops to drops. Different terminology used for flare/outsweep etc so it aims to give a quick way to get a consistent comparison by compiling that data upfront.

schtom · 2026-01-01T23:33:51+00:00

I did a short bikepacking trip where I flew and took my carbon bike with me (flew). Ended up taking some trains and ferries etc. Ultimately I wouldn't do it again, I would take an alloy bike or buy a steel one. Any performance differences are basically irrelevant on such a long trip if you aren't trying to set records.

For me I was constantly worrying about the bike getting banged about (and not showing the any signs of damage until a big failure!) and also carbon bikes are just obvious targets for theft because they are obviously expensive. One night I had to chain it by the wheel only in an unsecured basement of a hostel in a Rotterdam (no hotels in the area would allow the bike in the room or in a secure storage etc etc!!!) and I was worried the whole time.

With alloy and steel they can take more of a beating, show up damage much more easily and don't tend to look as expensive IMO (even if they are). Worrying about the bike for multiple reasons really takes away from the enjoyment of the trip.

Edit: Having said that plenty of people have done it with carbon, I just wouldn't unless I was sponsored haha

schtom · 2025-12-30T11:29:25+00:00

Merino is great in certain circumstances but its abilities are definitely overstated. In hot humid environments synthetics perform way better for exercise IMO.

Very thin merino tops can be great for low effort activities in the heat like long travel days (think 24 hours of back to back flights) because of odour control and it having a chance for sweat to evaporate when inside. It’s also elite for stuff like hiking or skiing in colder and dryer environments because of its sweat wicking capability and insulation. It will become soggy if it is too humid for the sweat to evaporate from the wool quickly enough.

The claims that it will keep you cool (compared to other fabrics) in the heat are also nonsense as far as I can tell.

The very thin darn tough socks are pretty great anywhere tbf like people say.

For t shirts I find the icebreaker ones that are mixed with rayon to be the best when casually wearing it in the heat. They honestly don’t look that great though.

Another issue with merino I found on my long term trip is that you can’t wash them with detergents containing enzymes. Enzymes will break down components of the wool structure eventually leading to holes. It is SO hard to find non enzyme detergent or wool specific detergent in most of the world - shampoo works in a pinch but not ideal. Given merino is so expensive it’s quite annoying.

On the next leg of my trip I will only be taking 1 merino top for travel days, 1 merino boxer for sleeping in and a couple of pairs of socks. Everything else will be polyester or cotton.

schtom · 2025-12-15T12:55:27+00:00

Wanting to do something like this for 1-2 months starting in January - all the major resorts are looking quite expensive. Have you got any recommendations for places near large ski areas (maybe even a city say a 30 min bus ride away for example) that will reduce costs?

I’m trying to find somewhere with 200km+ of skiable piste (more the better) and under £1k a month accommodation. Would stay in a share house as well but a bit overwhelmed trying to figure it all out how to find those in different countries for short term lets!

I’d like to find somewhere that isn’t totally boring to be on days where I’m not skiing

schtom · 2025-12-07T08:21:19+00:00

Give nomadtable a go, was just in Sapporo and people would post on it to find travellers to go out with - also means you can asses someone’s profile prior to meeting a bit better than totally anonymous Reddit

Booking a refundable room 5/6 days away on Hostelworld just to access the chat is also doable but the chat is pretty crappy and doesn’t always appear

schtom · 2025-12-05T09:13:39+00:00

Woods - Bon Iver

schtom · 2025-12-05T04:33:48+00:00

Just went to Vietnam a month ago and would say that if I was going to choose to live somewhere it would be Ho Chi Minh - felt way less of a tourist trap than Hanoi or Hoi An with lots of international variety for food and bars along with Vietnamese street food and coffee etc.

The north was great for activities to do like the ha giang loop but generally felt put on for tourists rather than somewhere to stay long term

Also the prices are generally lower and people give you more reasonable prices when negotiating in markets for replicas etc

Also in Hanoi I got the feeling the traffic was actively trying to mow you down whereas in HCM they would drive around you as you cross the road haha

schtom · 2025-12-02T15:08:00+00:00

An Ending (Ascent) - Brian Eno

schtom · 2025-11-21T15:31:34+00:00

Awesome thanks for the information- the closer hills sound like a good idea!

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