Bike friendly hobbies

[hubbike]

When you set off on a bike trip it's easy to think that all the cycling and sightseeing will occupy your time. But, especially on a longer trip, the stuff that interests you at home is probably still going to interest you on the road. I wonder what your hobbies are and which of them lend themselves to being packed into panniers and taken with?

I have experimented with brewing mead on the bike, carrying musical instruments (quite a pain), wild swimming, writing, reading, making a string hammock, hiking, mountaineering, running, learning Spanish. Cooking is fun but can be difficult with limited equipment.

What biking hobbies do you have and how do you make them work?

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Photography is th eobvious one I guess

 

[Bodhbh]

I have experimented with brewing mead on the bike...

How exactly does that work?

I like to go swimming wherever possible. Nothing better than jumping in a lake or the sea after a long and sweaty day on the bike. Also like to explore on foot. Not much else apart from eating and boozing!

 

[numbnuts]

Kite flying I have one like this and doesn't take up much room

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqbIndTUpgs

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Most tours I have done I haven't had time to do a hobby...most of th edays are taken up riding, exploring, etc then th eevenings are shopping cooking washing sleeping...maybe I should stay in one place longer

 

[hubbike]

How exactly does that work?

http://peterhubbard.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/making-mead.html

 

[Pottsy]

Great idea for a thread.

Having said that, I don't have much to add - I generally just cycle, eat and drink and take a few photos.

 

[G3CWI]

My hobby is amateur radio so sometime I combine that with cycling. They go well together.

 

[Bodhbh]

http://peterhubbard.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/making-mead.html

Interesting. That's a pretty minimalist approach. I'm guessing it ends up still sweet and 8 or 10% abv. I've brewed mead in the past and tbh it's been horrible. Well that was as a 17yr old trying to make cheap plonk, anyhow I've been considering having another pop. Although I was going to go for this one...which I thought was simplified, but not compared to the 'cyclebrewers' one:

http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_rapidrecipe&page=viewrecipe&Itemid=6&recipe_id=118

 

[hubbike]

My hobby is amateur radio so sometime I combine that with cycling. They go well together.

that's interesting. What does amateur radio involve? are you listening or transmitting?

 

[hubbike]

Interesting. That's a pretty minimalist approach. I'm guessing it ends up still sweet and 8 or 10% abv.

Probably not that much unless you use wine yeast. Trouble with bread yeast is lot's of fizz. rigging some sort of air-lock (a balloon?) might have been an advantage

 

[ColinJ]

I have a lightweight Bluetooth keyboard for my Galaxy Tablet which makes typing a lot easier than using a touch keyboard. The Tab, keyboard and charger only weigh about 700 g in total so they are ideal for carrying on the bike. I can use the Tab for navigation, reading, writing, editing my photos, internet access (if I find a wifi hotspot or tether it to my phone) or just playing games. Ideal for carrying with me on the long tours I hope to undertake in the future.

 

[Bodhbh]

Probably not that much unless you use wine yeast. Trouble with bread yeast is lot's of fizz. rigging some sort of air-lock (a balloon?) might have been an advantage

Tempted to give it a try. Not like there's much lost if I don't like it. Similar I guess to German 'sturm' (freshly or still fermenting grape juice).

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I wouldn't quite call it a hobby*, but bird watching goes well with cycling. I've only got a pair of cheap and heavy binoculars so I rarely carry them around with me but it's surprising how easily bird song and calls cut through the noise of traffic and wind. And it's usually very easy to stop quickly and have a listen and a look. Quiet riverside paths are ideal and they perfectly suit my hill climbing abilities .

*Though I would call this a hobby:

 

[ufkacbln]

Churches, pubs, local history, ancient sites and Green Men!

... and before some wit makes the obviuso comment - I mean Green Men in an architectural and folklore sense