One Piece Riding Kit

From the Sponge Bob kit to the one piece coveralls, the testing for a new kit never really stops. Thanks to my clothing sponsor Harlok Design Group Inc. for hooking me up with a set of coveralls for the Taiwan winter.

Coveralls:
increase the ability to be a mechanic by at least 55%.
that are a size too small may reduce movement by 37%.
increase core temperature by 10 degrees.
increased awesomeness by 24%.
sex appeal down 5% ... due to grease and paint stains.


James has been riding and building a couple of days a week. He likes to go fast and take it up and he has been successful at both. He firmly believes that the Rampant is the bike for Taiwan, maybe the bike for all of Asia.





Keep Riding.

Rob Dunnet

Lunch Hour

I took an extended lunch on Tuesday to go ride my bike. After spending the first five or six hours of my day answering emails I decided it was time to get out of the house and onto my bike.

James has been practicing this move for weeks. It is his finishing move when the side mount does not work.

FOR MORE PICTURES CLICK HERE …

Another Weekend in Kaohsiung

It is odd for James and I to have weekend riding partners. And it is odder when those riding partners are 外國人 (foreigners). This weekend Mike Dutton from Spank Industries, Clem Martin from Commencal, Aurelien “Leo” Leaux from Koxx and a couple of other friends showed up early Saturday morning for some riding.

(James will a monster table over the big left handed hip)

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Going for Distance

Like my hero Ricky Bobby, James has decided that it is time to go fast. The only difference between James and my hero Ricky is that James likes to go fast and hit jumps. With the right combination of jump and speed anything can happen. For me flying 25 or 30 feet on my Amp is not my idea of safe. Would much rather hit it first on my Wildcard. But James is a little bit different, he builds something and then will hit i with whatever bike he has. With both my Amp and Wildcard out of commission I was left to watch and shoot pictures.

 

FOR MORE PICTURES CLICK HERE …

The Resurrection of the San Pi

James has been hard at work here in Kaohsiung. It is nice to come home and find new jumps just waiting for me. We rode most of Sunday afternoon, the trail was fast and the jumps felt good … the only problem is both James and I felt like we had SARS or Swine Flu.

We managed to get some pictures to show the trail, most with little to no style. We will do better next week.

FOR MORE PICTURES CLICK HERE ...

Kaohsiung Clown Style

In my absence James has been hard at work clearing out dead bamboo, clearing grass and shoveling dirt. We had been talking about building a step up and when I showed up today it was already there. Maybe I should go away more often …

Props to James for building the new step up. We spent all afternoon jumping and tweaking it.

Note: click on pictures for full size ...

I have the new Manitou Circus dirt jump fork on my Amp. I have about a dozen rides on the Circus, I had high expectations after reading initial reviews and the fork has exceeded those expectations. During Sea Otter I picked up the perfect accessory for the Circus. Thanks Rich, Len and Sean at Manitou for the hook up.

For more information on the circus go here or here or here … I would get another one just for another clown nose.

Keep Riding.

Rob Dunnet

2 Guys 1 Bike

No one has ridden our jump line in almost a year. When we got back to Taiwan after four months of being in Canada there was so much grass that nothing could be ridden. Every spring someone lights a fire that burns up all the grass. This year it burnt up all the grass and most of our tools. But on the bright side we do not have to fight with the grass anymore.

James has been rebuilding … We took my Wildcard out today and took turns on the bike and camera.

James:

Rob:

  

    

I would like to thank my new trainer “Kesuke Miyagi”. His style and influence really show in this last picture.       Keep Riding.

Rob Dunnet

Random Nonsense from India, Thailand and Laos

I was not in India with Morgan and James, it looked like they had a lot of fun while waiting on the side of the road. You will see what I am talking about …

In the last clip James is pushing me and the Xtracycle up a hill. They actually had to do this on some of the steeper climbs. There was so much weight back there that I was climbing at a snail’s pace.

Rob

Thailand and Laos Pictures

I have just uploaded over a hundred pictures from our bike trip to Northern Thailand and Laos. Check them out on pinkbike …

Keep riding,

Rob

Luang Pra Bang to Koh Phangan

          

The plan was to ride from Luang Pra Bang to the Thai border crossing in Nong Khai. It would have been four hundred kilometres through one of the most mountainous regions in Laos. We were going to stretch it out over seven or eight days and try to enjoy it as much as we could. Due to an urge to get to the beach and limited time James was going to take the bus to the border. Morgan and I were then going to meet him in Bangkok before he flew back to Taiwan. While discussing our plan James suggested that we all take the bus to Vang Vien which is half way to Vientiane. Then he would spend a couple of days there with us and when we started riding for the border he would take the bus onward. When we got to the bus station the next morning the price for a ticket to Vang Vien was the same as the price to Vientiane. James did not want to have to pay for two bus tickets so he purchased a ticket to Vientiane. It did not take long before we talked ourselves out of riding to the border and into sitting on a beach in the south of Thailand.

We boarded the bus at 2pm and did not arrive in Vientiane until two or three the next morning. The border is 25 or 30 kilometres outside of Vientiane and does not open until 6am. We rode around Vientiane looking for something to eat and then decided that we would just start out for the border. Arriving an hour before the border opened we tried to fall asleep on the side of the road.

 

We crossed the border and booked a ticket on the night train to Bangkok. We biked into town and booked a hotel for the day to try to get some sleep. The train we booked did not have any sleeper cars so we were stuck trying to sleep in what turned out to be the most uncomfortable train seats. Not as bad the the third class wood benches, but pretty horrible. And in third class there is always the option of sleeping on the floor.

 

 

James and I had to apply for Taiwanese visas so when we arrived in Bangkok we got a hotel room, showered and headed for the Taiwanese Visa Office. What is usually a painful experience turned out to be pretty easy and we were back at the hotel asleep in no time.

After another night on a train (sleeping car) and a boat ride we arrived on Koh Phagan. For the time being we will be trading the lycra bike shorts and helmets in for swim trunks and snorkels. I forgot my speedo so there will be no speedo shots this trip. We all have to leave Thailand before the 14th of February. James is going home, Morgan and I are not sure what we will do.

We will be using the bikes on the island for transportation. But it looks like the bike adventure maybe over. If we find anything worth riding I will get some pictures and post something.

I would like to thank:

Jay for the Viento frames. Some may argue that they are not touring bikes, but I think they worked out pretty amazingly. The roads in Laos are not in the best shape and I could not imagine riding on them on anything other than a mountain bike. Sure if I could do it again there would be things I would change on my bike … but I would still want to be on a Viento.

Gavin and Mike from Spank Industries. The Vomax rims are probably the lightest weight rims I have ever used and they have stood up to the abuse of riding day after day for the past couple of weeks.

 

Fritz from Kail Protectives for keeping my head safe. I did not think a dirt jump helmet was going to be the best choice for a touring helmet but, I was surprised at how comfortable and cool it really was.

My brother Morgan for being on camera duty for most of the trip. Any of the good pictures were probably taken by him. Derek from Race Face, the guys from Xtracycle and Thai Customs for the memories.

It has been a great adventure,

Rob Dunnet