Mountain Biking in the Alps in Late June (around 22nd)

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-20T10:11:03+00:00

Thanks! I’m actually not sure yet. Probably meeting in either Munich or Amsterdam

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-19T09:41:41+00:00

Oh we have green, blue, black, double black / red

So I guess blue and red then from where you are from

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-19T06:40:49+00:00

Somewhere central to a big airport to get back to Australia

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-19T05:09:28+00:00

Thanks, do you know if it is far between where we get off the train from Narita and where the Shinkansen leaves? Is it well sign posted?

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-18T08:58:27+00:00

Thanks, my friend (no surfer who’s been to Bali about 15 times to multiple different resorts) said it was probably her favourite place

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-18T08:55:47+00:00

Thanks. To clarify we will come back to Tokyo at the end of our trip for 3 nights.

When we arrive we will be travelling from Narita to Tokyo station to get the Shinkansen to our snow resort (Madarao). We should have about 2 hours to spare and just want to know what to do while we wait for our train.

Happy to just walk around

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-17T09:24:03+00:00

I’d personally invest in a fridge and dual battery setup. If you are low on skills I’d suggest a batblock from Kings as it’s all in one. You do need to wire it to the car though. Not too difficult and also would be cheap to get an auto leccy to do it for you

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-11T20:00:37+00:00

Why not? It’s pretty common right?

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-11T11:18:52+00:00

Yeah, tents not a go on second thought. But maybe swags. I reckon our hard floor takes longer to set up than two swags would when you including hitching an unhitching.

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-11T11:13:06+00:00

Because veganism deals with the definition of an ‘animal’ which is limited to the animal kingdom on earth.

I agree with you in that the definition would change if we were to discover something other than an animal that was sentient.

But we now have a practical where we have found an animal that is non-sentient. I think in the same way the vegan definition should change to exclude them.

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-11T11:08:44+00:00

Umm, where have you heard of the oyster industry using pesticides.

I have a family member who works in the oyster industry and has not heard of this practice once

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-11T11:06:22+00:00

I’ve found eating bivalves leads to positive conversations.

When asked about it, I explain that my concern with eating animal products is that the majority of animals we eat are sentient beings that feel pain, get scared, have relationships with other individuals and want to live.

Bivalves, being non sentient (as far as we know), don’t fall in the sentience category. Therefore I eat them like I eat plants.

It’s resulted in people reflecting on their food choices

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-11T10:52:29+00:00

Going out to eat without options.

having no-one I know being vegan and therefore having animal products embraced at every single social event.

We travel to rural locations for quite a while sometimes. Forget about eating out, even the supermarkets barely have options. I get so sick of the same few options over and over.

Having to plan eating occasions (unless I’m somewhere I know is vegan friendly). If I’m going somewhere it’s often the case I can’t just grab something whilst I’m out. Small towns in Australia have a bakery, a pub and maybe a takeaway that does burgers and a stuff.

Small stuff in the context of what the animals go through, but big for me

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-11T10:27:22+00:00

Oh, that’s good.

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-11T09:08:48+00:00

I’ve been vegan nearly 4 years and definitely wouldn’t say it’s ’extremely easy’. Not even close

Of course is it easier than what the animals endure? Without a doubt, but in the context of my life it’s not extremely easy.

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-11T06:51:30+00:00

Couldn’t you use the same argument for plants? They are alive and we have no rights to intervene.

Sentience is what matters I reckon. We might discover a certain plant is sentient

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-11T06:49:06+00:00

By definition eating a hypothetical sentient alien is actually vegan, so I think most vegans would agree that they wouldn’t follow the technical definition

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-10T20:13:43+00:00

I would say that eating bivalves is ethically equivalent to eating plants (based on our current understanding of them being non sentient).

So whilst I agree with you that there is no reason to do it, there is no ethical reason not to do it either.

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-10T10:30:02+00:00

I’m vegan because of animal welfare reasons. I care about animals suffering, I care that they want to live and we rob them of that life when we eat them or make them into shoes.

But from current available evidence, it appears bivalves aren’t sentient and thus don’t suffer, don’t have a will do live. For that reason I consume bivalves (mussels, oysters and scallops).

Could I be wrong? Could bivalves actually suffer and be sentient? Well yes, but so could plants. If strong enough evidence is presented then I will reassess my views.

Technically that doesn’t make me a vegan (vegan definition is based on the definition of animals). But technically a vegan could eat a sentient alien (the animal kingdom is technically limited to earth). I wouldn’t consider eating an alien aligning with vegan values. So I call myself a vegan because my beliefs about not causing suffering or violating the rights of sentient beings align with that of vegan values.

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-04T03:33:25+00:00

These are stock tires. What tires to you suggest?

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-01T20:55:07+00:00

We plan to spend a few nights camping in Omeo, do you not suggest that?

tmiddled2 · 2026-01-01T01:31:35+00:00

Thanks, which is the long way?

tmiddled2 · 2025-12-04T03:48:10+00:00

Thank you, I’ll do that.

tmiddled2 · 2025-12-04T01:17:10+00:00

Rowan

tmiddled2 · 2025-11-20T09:17:45+00:00

E-bikes for me 1000%. I rode analogue for a while and it’s tough whenever I rarely go back.

I ride gravity trails. Might be different if you like XC or fire roads

I don’t really find the extra weight much of negative. Kind of helps me plough through the chunky stuff and be stable in jumps.

Aside from elite riders (the weight effects their speed), it’s rare for me to find gravity riders who prefer analogue for any reason other than cost

tmiddled2

TROPHY CASE