Rob's World

Welcome to Rob's World, the (cheesily titled) homepage of Robin Rainton.

As things here don't get updated that much, check out the feeds below from my NoBMoB blog (MTB riding), Garmin Connect (GPS based exercise and other fun) and on the right there, shared items from Google Reader (items from around the web I thought were worth a look).

Given I'm mainly too lazy/busy (take your pick) to write a full 'blog very often there's now a Microblog which you'll also find on Facebook and Twitter, and maybe a few other places too.

My Garmin Connect

Microblog... everyday ramblings interspersed with posts from trips and other activities.

Thu 17 May
15:00

Views from the road, above St May, from above Rémuzat, South of Col de Soubeyrand & South Col d'Ey. Great day out.

Wed 16 May
13:00

Vulture spotting on the cliffs above Rémuzat. Got some half decent shots & amazing to see these guys flying so close.

Sat 12 May
09:10

A 2nd trip to Avignon is a bit nicer. Lesson: do not approach a city from it's train station for the best impression.

Tue 15 May
13:13

Views from this morning's jolly (but rather cold and windy would you believe?!) ride over a few cols.

Sun 13 May
11:26

Wasn't going to go riding this arvo (it's a bit windy & want to watch the Giro). But now thinking I perhaps should

Thu 10 May
13:00

Hmmmmm... roast chicken for lunch. Although the Indonesian interpretation of roast potatoes is a little unusual

Sun 13 May
08:01

OMG! Just installed iTunes and created an Apple account. All hope is now lost. Ah... maybe not as I still don't own any Apple hardware

Sun 13 May
06:30

@YouTube 'net slow here. Vid keeps pausing to buffer. So just left it to finish. Then hit reply. No cache & restarts D/L. Player is useless!

Sat 12 May
14:11

Trip computer said 95km range left but thought it time to refuel. Still, 822km since last time is pretty good, eh?

Fri 11 May
19:21

So we just counted them and seems today, amongst other things, I've eaten 7 eggs and 3 bananas. Pas de problème? #BalancedDiet

The below are collections of posts/images organised by trip or subject or other events. Click on the title or image to view each.

Apr 2012

Faucon Apr/May '12

Second leg of our year in Europe finds us close by the foot of Mont Ventoux.

NB: Work in progress.

Mar 2012

Paris-Nice 2012

Being in France, less than two hours drive from a couple of stages of the Paris-Nice 'race to the sun', and being keen cycling fans what is one to do?

We drove to Mende one afternoon to catch the end of the stage into that town, then the following morning headed over to Suze-la-Rousse for the start the following day.

Sadly our plans to catch the finish on that first day were scuttled by a closed road but we still managed to catch an all-to-brief sight of riders at the final sprint point 3km from the finish before running into the cafe right next door to see the action unfold up the final climb.

Catching the start of the following stage was, I think, much more interesting and impressive. As well as being able to get up close and personal with the teams and equipment bonus points were awarded for an encounter or two with some of our favorite riders. We then got to watch the neutralised peloton leave behind the race referee. A great day - the start of a stage race is highly recommended from this experience!

Mar 2012

Anduze Mar/Apr '12

The first real part of our trip to discover the South of France, Chez Wills in Anduze became our home for 6 weeks.

Firstly, what a beautiful little gite this is - everything one could need. A nice walking route and so many amazing cycle friendly roads at the doorstep.

We mostly spent this time relaxing and enjoying the sun when it shone by eating outside and enjoying the wonderful views from the patio. Not only of the surrounding hills, but also the garden meticulously maintained by our host with a varied selection of lawns, orchard, flowering plants and trees.

It has to be said that March and April can still be a chilly time in this area though, but the temperature never stopped us from cycling or doing other things when we liked.

The gite was so nice thought, those 'other things' (cycling aside) didn't happen that often. However, the highlight of any trip to this region must be a hike around Gorge de la Jonte (Corniches du Causse Méjean I believe the route is called) - absolutely stunning. A trip to pretty little town of Nîmes is also highly recommended.

I'm sure our host wouldn't mind it being mentioned, that we also had an insight into how various practicalities work here in France, after all - that was part of the idea of the trip. Let's just say we now have a first hand experience of the interesting ways utilities are provided here!

Feb 2012

Ski Alpe'd Huez, Feb '12

This was a kind of pre-holiday holiday

En-route to our longer term accommodation in the South of France we managed to find time to get in a week of skiing in Alpe d'Huez.

The season this year had been a bit lacking in snow and warm weather didn't really help skiing conditions, but... it's not very often you get to hit the piste in glorious spring sunshine for the whole week. One really can't complain at all!

Feb 2012

England Feb '12

The start of a big adventure! Flying into Birmingham we had a chance to visit a few people before heading off into France. Great catching up with a lot of people not seen for many years.

Search rainton.com with Google. Only as of when it last crawled these pages, but hey, better than nothing!