Longest row so far 7078m.
I’ve been focussing on doing thirty minutes per row, but on this occasion, I thought I would push through for an extra ten minutes. My pace wasn’t great overall, but I did the fastest...
Row row row your Concept2 gently down the stream.
Last November, Jo mentioned she wanted to get a rowing machine. Her reasons were she would like to get fitter, it was an excellent all-body workout, and it was one of the best gym...
Twenty years of cats.
I was looking at our cat photo album recently and couldn’t believe how many photos there were of them. There are many different cat poses, sleeping positions and cats getting up to serious mischief....
How to reduce your electricity bill by using solar battery storage?
Solar battery storage without solar panels answers the question posted above. In short, we charge batteries during the off-peak tariff and discharge them during peak time, thus saving money. Off-Peak Tariff: 21:30 to 02:29...
How to integrate FoxESS into Home Assistant on a Raspberry Pi?
This post is about setting up FoxESS (Inverter and solar batteries) in Home Assistant and the steps to get the integration to work, allowing real-time data to be viewed in a dashboard on a...
21 micro habits to do every day to improve your life.
I watched a great video today by The Art of Improvement on Micro Habits. I’ll share the link to the video down below. Write down three things you’re grateful for. Being alive to experience...
Remembering Queen Elizabeth II.
We join the nation and the commonwealth countries in mourning & remembering Queen Elizabeth II. For the past twenty-two and a half years, we’ve had the privilege to experience the Queen and the Royal...
Cyrusher e-bike ride to Hurst Green via Titsey Plantation.
Yesterday I replaced my old 26 x 4.0 tyre with a new Fincci 26 x 4.0 Inch 100-559 fat tyre. While the tyre was off, I inspected the rim and noticed it was buckled...
Bowen loves beer
There is currently a job vacancy at ALDI, which is very tempting for all beer drinkers. Sadly, it looks like the unpaid role is a bummer because, with my global knowledge of beer, it...
Cyrusher e-bike ride to Tandridge via Woldingham.
My bike was still unrideable due to the front wheel falling off the rim all the time, so I took Jo’s bike and rode a lovely route to Tandridge via Woldingham. I decided to...
Cyrusher e-bike ride to Unhappy Valley where my tyre fell off the rim.
After the shortish ride circular yesterday, Rob was keen to tackle a longer route. The man does ride a road bike in South Africa almost every day and rides distances of 25 to 45...
Cyrusher e-bike ride along and down the North Downs with Rob.
We rode the XF900 Cyrusher’s along a relatively short circular route that I am very familiar with as I’ve ridden it several times on my Brompton fold-up bike. Riding the Cyrusher is much more...
A visit to Scotney Castle with Mom.
With my Mom in town alone and Jo working, we decided to visit a National Trust gem, Scotney Castle. This 14th-century moated castle also has a Victorian country mansion on the property. It was...
A visit to Brooklands Museum the birthplace of British motorsport.
The Brooklands Museum is a must-see for lovers of classic cars, aviation and British war history. The day we went, it was the Brooklands Easter Classic Car show. Anyone could show off their car...
Cyrusher e-bike ride to Banstead Heath via Reigate Hill.
We did a lovely 20-mile e-bike ride to Banstead Heath via Merstham, Walton on the Hill, Reigate Gill, Gatton Park and back home to Bletchingley. There were quite a lot of bluebells flowering in...
Bowen makes some biltong.
Bowen loves biltong. Thankfully Bowen is not a vegan or vegetarian. Man, that would suck! For the non-educated folk, biltong is dried meat cured with a mix of spices, salt, pepper and vinegar. This...
Finnegan is climbing everything at the moment.
Our Siamese kitten Finnegan has discovered the conservatory roof. After he discovered the shed roof with his pal Bailey, we thought that would be his favourite spot, but he loves walking along the fence...
Our monster Cyrusher XF900 EFT-MTB can tackle any terrain.
I don’t know if EFT-MTB is a real acronym, but in this post, it stands for Electric Fat Tyre Mountain Bike. Last year, Jo and I bought the Cyrusher XF900 Electric Fat Bike. It...
We are Mike and Jo Bowen. Originally from South Africa, we moved to the United Kingdom in 1999. Mike is the blogger,