Matthew Lang

I’m pretty chuffed with my blogging habits lately. I’ve covered different topics recently and I’m getting the odd comment here and there. I’m not too bothered about getting masses of people to subscribe to my blog, because that’s not what this about.

There’s 2 main reasons why I’m blogging.

1. It’s good practice for writing

I’m a massive book reader. I’ve been reading fantasy and sci-fi books since I was a kid. When I was in school I spent a fair bit of writing short stories. Then computers became mainstream and I got sucked into programming for the next 20 years.

A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to re-ignite my writing habits and so to give myself some practice, I started blogging about mind mapping. When I exhausted my knowledge of mind mapping, I turned to general blogging about anything and everything.

The whole point of this is that when you’re blogging, you’re writing. When you blog a lot, you write a lot and eventually, well hopefully, you’ll get better at it. I’m hoping that with all this blogging, I’ll become a better writer.

2. It’s out there for everyone to see

Writing for yourself is a great way to get ideas down on paper, but if you want the instant reviews and critique from people then where better than on a blog. Now your writing is out there for all the world to see and criticise.

Don’t be put down by negative feedback though, yes there will be people who criticise the small things, but in that feedback you’ll be able to filter for the negative positive criticisms. Negative, because someone may comment on your writing in a way that you don’t like but agree on, and positive if you can take the criticism and make your writing better.

What next then?

Get a blog and get writing. Simple as that. Dedicate 30 minutes a day to writing about something and publish it. Write about something you specialise in or you’re passionate about. That’s all it takes. Writing is such an over-looked skill these days, yet it plays an important part in many people’s day to day jobs. Everytime you write an email, you’re writing. Creating reports, specifications and documentation is all part of what I do as a developer. If I want to do my job well then it makes sense that I should spend some time writing.

Part of excelling in any career involves how you communicate using any form of medium, whether it’s written or verbal. If you’re a good writer then you can convey information in a clearer way that people can understand and people will notice this. Especially those people in the hiring and promotion positions.

So go on, get writing!

Over 4 years ago I decided to eschew the typical geared bikes of the time and bought myself a Specialized Langster. Initially this bike was to be used for short 2 hour rides, but in time it came to be my preferred bike of choice for commuting and short rides.

While my bike was setup as singlespeed when I bought it, I always had a niggling thought at the back of my mind to flip the backwheel so that I could try it as a fixed wheel bike. One day my neighbour talked me into flipping the back wheel. It’s been nearly a year now since I done this and I haven’t looked back since.

One gear

With no gears to worry about you avoid the nightmare of trying to maintain a smooth set of gears on your bike. This is easy to do in the summer, but for the rest of the year, the elements can take their toll on your bike.

Last winter in the UK, we seen a massive increase in the use of grit on the roads to help clear the snow. While it was great to clear the snow, the grit remained lying at the side of the road. Combine this grit and salt with rain and your going to be spending a lot more time cleaning your gears just to ensure they keep working smoothly. No such problem with a fixed wheel, a simple rub down to remove excess water from your chain and a quick spray of lube and a wipe to remove the excess lube and your bike is set for the next commute.

Minimal braking

After moving to a fixed wheel bike, the next thing I did was remove my back brake. With a fixed wheel, I can use my legs to push back, slowing myself down without touching the rear brake lever. I use the front brake in conjuction with my legs to trim my speed at the moment, but I haven’t quite mastered the ability to completely lock the back wheel yet. Hopefully it should come with a little bit of practice.

Economical

The economy hasn’t been great recently and people are looking for more ways of cutting back on expenses. A fixed wheel bike is not only cheap to buy but also cheap to maintain.

Ever seen a cyclist just zip through the traffic leaving stuck in the grid lock of the morning rush hour? Yeah, that guys going to make it into his work long time before you get there and he probably won’t have spent as much on fuel as you did for your car!

Commuting on this bike has been and will continue to be great thanks to its low maintenance. This bike will last for years to come. Let’s hope I stay fit enough to keep commuting!