Cycling from the land

At the end of 2011 on the 11^th of November we moved to Brazil and bought some land to set up a more independent and meditative lifestyle. We started in a flat in Curitiba, then about a year later moved to Canela which is the closest town to the land.

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Resources from Barry

Sheldon Brown died a couple of years ago, but his stuff is the oldest and the best. Often when I'm googling tech info, his site will be the first result.

Jobst Brandt's stuff. I love him - he's only ever had 2 bikes, and he only got the second one because he wrote off the first one in a crash. He's more purist than me. Very technical, but no bullshit, and that's very rare in the cycle trade.

Ken Kifer on living in cabins in the middle of nowhere and living with bikes. This guy was really ontoit and much of what he wrote will apply directly to you guys.

Jan Heine published some gorgeous coffee table books of old French bikes, which I own and drool over regularly. He's like me but moreso - will ride 1200 Km in one go, for instance. He also bought the rights to the Rene Herse brand and they are now made in Colorado (at US$6K for a frame). The Japanese, who only copy the best, reckoned Rene Herses were the best bikes ever made, and I agree.

So read his posts for ideas of what works and has stood the test of time, as an antidote to bike shop bullshit. There's no need to spend big money, but the principles he describes - like dampening vibration at its source by using fat, supple tyres instead of a suspension fork, which costs more, is heavier and will wear out - make heaps of sense. Also Jan's stuff is a good antidote to Racing-ism. Race bikes have always influenced shops and that can be a good thing, but nowadays it mostly means fragile, overpriced stuff that's designed to make you go fast, not to make you comfortable. Remember, racing is about pain tolerance, not speed!

So have a dip into these links and you'll have a good theoretical grasp of what's what. Then you can go shopping, knowing that you'll know more than the sales guy, which is as it should be!