Tubeless Tyres

Just a quick note.

In September I went to Singapore.
There were lots of interesting things but what caught my eye in particular was the fact that tubeless bicycle tyres are already in common use!

Based on the media I've seen about them I thought they were a concept that was being developed. It turns out that Western media sources are way behind the 8 ball.

Settling in

Still not much closer to reaching equilibrium but the dry season is always like that, too much happening, routines all messed up.

Thought I'd post a few more photos from the space I'm in until I'm able to write.

 A mate left town to start a new life in Alice Springs and needed to unload some of his hoarded treasures so I inherited among a few other things, a fantastic 1970s (or 80s) family tent! It has now become my new bike stable! I doubt it will survive a wet season but makes a cozy work space in the dry.

Since we moved in I've managed to semi-restore this old trike for the kids. I'm surprised how stable it is, they've had a great time riding it round our new, enormous back yard.

Trike, tent.... and the aged pooch.

Finally a quiet place to sit and work on my bikes!

Mint

We've also done some extensive planting, both in the garden and pots. It's so great to have space to grow things... food garden on it's way!

Drafting a Bike Plan

The City where I live... and maybe you do too has just released a Draft of it's Bike Plan for the next 5 years.

Kids riding against the traffic, no helmets....Why?
I don't believe I am a control freak. I just get agitated when I see people doing something that defies logic. I understand the reasoning people use for riding against the traffic. The argument just doesn't stand up to logical scrutiny. If they were doing it out of contempt for rules or to tempt fate or play chicken with a potentially high impact death, that would make sense... However I am quite sure most people do this because they think it gives them some mastery over the road and circumstances because they can see oncoming traffic, it makes no sense.

The plan comes in three volumes, including baseline data, The Proposed purposes of the plan and it's implimentation.

Darwin is a really great place for  cycling but infrastructure is inconsistent and there are major attitude problems on our roads and shared cycle paths. Anyone who rides a bike will know that cyclists do not fit neatly into a single demographic. Cyclists needs are quite diverse, similarly are our attitudes toward road use, other users and how we prefer to ride. I hope the study has been able to take into consideration some of this diversity.

I'm gonna head down to the library to get hold of a hard copy, if you're interested in how our municipality is attempting to address cyclists needs and plans to cater for us over the next 5 years then you can read it yourself HERE.

http://www.darwin.nt.gov.au/darwinbikeplan

Distant rumblings... calling through a dimly lit tunnel

A month or so passes without a word.

Too many things going on, I had nothing to say about it but I wanted to save this video somewhere I can find it again so I'll post a bit to fill you in on the month past... what I can recall...

 Just a quick explanation about the video... A year or so ago I listened to the three audio books by Jed McKenna. In the Book Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment, McKenna presents a pretty wild hypothesis about the book Moby Dick. The book had been sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of years, discarded barely touched from the University library, and had procrastinated about reading it.  Anyway about a month or so ago I started reading it and, with my experience of the story already heavily influenced by the mythical teacher McKenna I decided to accompany the book by listening to Spiritually Incorrect... again. Again it has blown me away!

Moby Dick is considered one of the greatest American books ever written and according to McKenna nobody really gets it. There are a plethora of descriptions of the book and explanations of the story but bugger all that gives any acknowledgement of McKenna's description of the story, which I reckon nails it! Why? Maybe it's just too bloody scary for most folks to consider. 

Coincidentally I recently turned the calendar on my wall over to April, two weeks after the fact, and discover the cryptic text 'callmeIshmae...'. The calendar is an artistic combination of sketches and words or some pages just a jumble of letters which come together to make an image. This one is of a guy (the Artist Kris) swimming in the sea and a giant octopus (with six tentacles, my kids have pointed out) the swimmer is sketched but the sea and the creature (the Muse) are made of a thread of letters...  I glanced at the image and the opening lines of the book Moby-Dick. "Call me Ishmael" leapt out at me.

MELVILL'S  Transformation

And what of the month that's passed?

Well back in March there was a major meeting at my work with all the big players. My old boss came back to town a little dismayed by the state of the organization... particularly that part he left in my hands. It's a part of the world that focuses on the metaphysical but requires considerable effort to prevent the ethereal aspirations of it's members from plunging the practical devices of money, property and various other required resources into a horrendous deficit. The fulfillment of the collective mission and dreams can occasionally be confused by personal ambitions. Anyway the whole arena is bizarre to me; convoluted and prone to all kinds of misinterpretation and mischief. We had a chat, it got a bit heated and I may have upset him by laughing at the absurdity of his expectations. Felt pretty good to be free of any sense of responsibility for materializing the ridiculous expectations of deluded power addicts.

The chain broke on my long bike as I was riding home from work. Bike's been sitting out the back for at least three weeks, I finally fixed it this morning and adjusted the gears and once again I'm happy with my bike. 

About three weeks ago I booked two tickets to Bali and back for me and one of the kids. Booked them on a whim with no regard for carbon emissions or environmental impact...  Just booked them because they were extremely cheep and I've gotta go! I'll reconcile my conscience later. Maybe my Greenie friends can help me rationalize when they get back from climate change talks in Europe or Melbourne or wherever they happen to be this week. ;)

A couple of weeks ago I made an urgent trip to Melbourne to visit my mum. She had some stomach problems and it sounded serious. I booked a flight and flew down there on the same day I heard of her illness. Got off the plane at 6:30 am at Tullamarine and walked 12 km through farmland and across small creeks and the Maribynong River valley.
It was magic to just walk. I had a single carry on bag with an improvised strap, a pair of shorts, t-shirt and thongs and a print out of directions from Google maps to guide me. The air was cool and I felt so free just wandering along roads that nobody ever walks. I passed a taxi depot with 100s of cabs, dilapidated farms on land set aside for the next freeway or factory outlet, stands remnant woodland, barely a blur of green to drivers but amazing pockets of nature to me on foot. I passed a mist covered dam with ducks, it was probably full of yabbies, if I had time I could have scored a feed. I saw a yellow rubber duck in the middle of a cow paddock, fog emitted from my nostrils and mouth as I walked, the sky was becoming light, the air was cool I walked comfortably without a bead of sweat. magpies swooped and watched me from their positions on a single power line in otherwise empty fields.

As I crossed the Maribyrnong I discovered a couple of large carp which had been caught and left to dry, getting closer to suburban Keillor I passed a strawberry farm, further on there were tomato crops full of ripe fruit ready to pick... I was tempted. By the time I arrived at my sister's I felt calm and content. My ankles were sore, I'm out of shape, but I seriously considered walking the next 25 km to my parents place on the other side of town.

Walking to my sister's place I listened to the audio CD of Spiritual Warfare. It is a kind of selfish, self indulgent trip listening to Jed McKenna. I suppose it's Nihilism but I don't really know anything about that so I can't say for sure. At times like these people will usually turn to their faith. Faith Works, no doubt about it. But somehow I am comfortable contemplating absolute nothingness! Somehow contemplation of absolute annihilation of the Ego and all it's jingle jangle attachments sets me at ease in times of stress. It's bleak but it's OK. As I walked I focused on my breathing. I walked and breathed and appreciated the novelty of being on the road/path alone, no one to tell me go this way or that way, no one to tell me No, you can't.

I felt right about going down there. Before I arrived mum had been admitted into hospital, while I was there she had a couple of days of tests, two days after I left she spent 10 hours on the operating table! Bowel Cancer! One week ago we had no idea! There's not much more that can be said about it really.

When I got back to Darwin I was exhausted and had a cold. I lay down on the tiles in the bedroom and rested for two whole days. Thinking of mum's illness I remembered the Chi'Kung I used to do. I thought to myself  it would do her and Dad wonders... I started that deep diaphragm breathing and continued for two whole days, off and on. I got up occasionally to eat or stretch my legs but that was about it. Two days passed, I woke up on Monday morning and went to work. I could have stayed there on the floor breathing for the rest of the week. I felt centered, unhurried, not perturbed by anything. Mum's operation took place while I was lying on the floor (meditating?) my mind blank.

  

A whole bunch of weird stuff has happened lately, mostly too weird to tell. Including having a couple of bikes stolen from the back yard by punk kids... All it amounts to though is that life is changing. I'm not sure what into so I guess I'll just try to breath on it.

Thinking outside the Square

What would I be doing if I had just a little more time? Well I'd like to think that if I had more time on my hands I'd be out the back tinkering and fiddling with my bikes or learning how to build an outrigger canoe... You know, stuff like that! Catching up on all the hours I wasted in my youth.

I am inspired by the creative people I have come to know both personally and via the internet. One fella who's work I really enjoy is Peter Wagner from Davis (Bicycle capital of the USA). Peter's creations all perform some kind of function, usually locomotion, over land or even water. They are fashioned from old bicycle parts but with the added ingredient of eccentric physics and uncommon dimensions! He calls his creations Whimcycles and they bring a lot of joy to the people in his community.

Check out this great video of my 'Buddy' Peter and some of his friends.
Film maker Nicolette Daskalakis really captured some of the magic in this short documentary.


Whymcycles: A Boy and His Bikes from Nicolette Daskalakis on Vimeo.

 This is Flestering at it's best!

"Don't dream it.... be it."

Apologies to the writers of Rocky Horror, this post has nothing to do with the Rocky Horror Picture Show and I probably could have saved that quote for something related to the play or film, whatever. But the catch phrase really fits this situation.
The following video offers an alternative to how things are and shows how the Dutch have successfully realized a dream.

Introducing the Dutch Cycling Embassy!




Cycling For Everyone from Dutch Cycling Embassy on Vimeo.

This video dispels any myths that might exist about Holland always being bicycle friendly. They were headed down the same path as every other industrialized country! Cars begun to dominate the Streets of Holland's major cities just like everywhere else in the world. Holland didn't just happen to become a bicycle friendly country... They chose to respond to the negative social and environmental impacts of motor vehicles by deliberately creating bicycle friendly infrastructure for the sake of their citizens!
We can do the same in our cities... If we wish!

Long bike out of action

Time to give the trusty Xtra-long treadly a spell.
After 2 years and 10 months of daily commuting and general getting about, The Xtracycle is officially off the road!

It's been my main mode of transport for nearly 3 years but is now in desperate need of an overhaul.

List of stuff that is somewhat broken or just doesn't work any more....

- Saddle (vinyl split and cushion exposed)
- Brake pads (warn out)
- Brake cables (stiffening)
- Snap Deck (Laminated sheets separating, timber veneer splitting)
- Rear gear (shifter just won't grip the cable any more)
- Bottom Bracket (warn out, bearing case rusted and busted. Axel...)

 

 (What's left of axle and bearings... There were insects (cicadas) in there!)

 

 

 (Brakes, saddle, gear selector. Stuff that isn't cutting it)

I had intended to fix most of those bits and pieces that should be considered general maintenance but could never find a spare moment... The final straw came when I was slightly unwell one day and found myself grinding away in a bad gear, the chain ring moving in a sideways motion and too much friction radiating from the center bracket. I stopped the bike looked down at the play in the chain ring and found myself unable to continue at even a moderate pace. I limped the bike home and dreaded riding it again! (I rode it one more time when I went looking for Rosellas but found it was no longer fun!)

Now that my favorite machine is off the road I am alternating between two other bikes.

1. The Train-bike - An old Beach Cruise with an alleycat extension and a Weerider for taking the kids out and about.

2. The Pink Wonder - My old Shogun Katana road bike, for commuting and longer tours.

I have to say I am really enjoying being back on the road bike. It's a bike that fit's me perfectly and, (when I can stop the rear wheel from rubbing on the left chain stay!)it gets me to work 10 minutes quicker with energy to spare.

Lately this is the bike I've been taking out for morning rides. The speed allows me to get further and see more before having to turn back home in time for the family breakfast routine.

The morning rides are like a return to some kind of sanity... problem is that they make the other things I do... like work, seem somewhat less sane.

This morning I had the alarm set for 4:30am but was too tired to get up, but woke again at 5:15am, which is slightly too late for me to get as far as I would prefer, but I decided to ride anyway.

The moon had almost set and unfortunately the batteries on my headlight were waning, I was really struggling to stay on the path, it became really difficult with all the bicycle traffic coming the other way shining extremely bright lights in my eyes. I reckon there were about 30 bikes on the path between Karama and Palmerston this morning. The air was so fresh, but the conditions were perfect for riding fast, no sweat... (well not much sweat anyway).

By the time I reached the Palmerston bicycle overpass the sky was beginning to lighten up so I decided that would be far enough. It's not a bad spot to turn around, so I rolled back down the hill to the Robertson Baracks junction and sat for a while watching the sky change color as more and more bicycles rolled on past.

5 minutes of bliss before shooting off home as the sun began it's trajectory... (well the earth actually but you know what I mean)

Just burst the bubble!

Not sure where to start this post but today I determined that I would write something.


To begin with the dry season is here! Yes.... The mood is shifting as that feeling like Spring fever takes over and the body and soul bristle with anxious energy and anticipation of moving into an exciting season.

A combination of the change of seasons, a series of profound coincidences (I can't elaborate it would ruin the whole experience!) and a desperate desire to shift gear and direction have allowed me to Burst a Bubble that I had been shrouded in for several YEARS!

Various domestic responsibilities coupled with my insatiable desire to explore, wander and drift had caused me to spend too many evenings living vicariously via the virtual world of the Internet!

I've discovered a lot of great stuff in here and found ways to take part and even contribute. There is so much information, entertainments and distractions but ultimately it's not a real life! Actually I think the 'net' result has only been to piss my wife off and make me crave a real life even more... not to mention the amount of sleep I've lost!

Now since I'm writing in this internet blog it's obvious that I am not giving it away completely! But I have decided to quit browsing and drop all superfluous subscriptions. I have explored the social networking gig and found it extremely unsatisfying... Just like mainstream media these things appear only to create status anxiety and take up valuable time that could be spent far more creatively!

Did you know that when you shut down your Facebook account the spying little creep of a thing presents you with a list of your closest friends who will miss you when you're gone! Ha! Not Bloody Likely! Actually if you want to know how many 'friends' you have shut down your Facebook and see who calls you to see what's up.... (If the phone doesn't ring, don't worry it just means that you are free to follow your dreams without the hindrance of unnecessary cometary)

Now that the dry is here we are spending heaps more time outside. I've fallen back into my old habit of going to bed before midnight and rising before dawn! The mornings have been awesome! We've managed to go on some great little rides around Casuarina Coastal reserve with the kids. Parks, playgrounds and even blowing bubbles in the back yard!

(bubbles! Try it it's FUN!)

Cycling in the dry is much the wetter more humid months!I arrive at work dry and fresh and there are heaps more bikes on the road but the head winds tend to make the trip home a bit slower. I'm not complaining! Even though the Long Bike needs a major overhaul I can't bear not riding it to work every day so will postpone the fix up for another month!

Like I said in the previous post I have dragged a rusty old project from the tangle of vines in the back yard. The poles and U-bolts I pulled from our old trampoline have sufficed as a temporary fix until I find the right size tubing that I can bolt to the frame. I'd love to have the time, space and gear to fix it right up but I will be getting rid of it as soon as it's presentable!

(Four wheeled mobile)

Maybe I'll post here again but if not... Don't worry I'm probably actually living my Tao!

Simplify

Right now here in Darwin we are experiencing the eye of category 1 Cyclone Carlos. Prior to the development of the tropical low and the accompanying 'very' wet (Over 400mm in 24 hours) weather I was busy getting on with simplifying my life and leaving the blogging world behind me. Just give it up, cold turkey like a bad habit or addiction... (I'm sure Thoreau wouldn't have spent his days blogging...! He'd probably have some great derogatory description for those who waste their time on such egocentric nonsense)

Instead of blogging mindless 'twitter' I have been reading 'Walden' by Henry David Thoreau and spending my days exploring, walking, paddling, planting etc... and loving it! But now I'm housebound, taking shelter from Carlos, the Wind and the Rain,and I'm too close to the computer to resist.

Here's some things I've seen over the past month or so.


(A great train headed south)


(A walk through the mangroves amongst the Mud-skippers)


(A mossy wonderland)


(Wild Ginger on a hillside in Litchfield National Park)


(Giant Myrtle Beach trees in a sacred gully in the Otways)


(Paddling a swollen river in Geelong)


(A living sculpture of plants and food in Collingwood)


(A magical era of bicycle innovation and invention)

Over the past month I have enjoyed some really wonderful experiences. I have shared most of these with the ones I love and we have felt blessed to live in a place that has so much natural beauty and to have the right to travel freely to almost any place we like in this country. 

I have also seen the continued trauma and pain suffered by Asylum Seekers and the lack of compassion shown by our Governments, media and many members of our society toward these vulnerable people. 

I have seen the continuation of racist policies and sanctioned discrimination against Indigenous people in the Northern Territory and I have seen the destruction and defilement of places that are incredibly dear to me.

It's a busy time in this life and everything seems to be moving way too fast. I resolved at the end of last year to make better use of my time and not bother too much with useless things. The more practical the better and there's no point to prattling on about it. I may find that while tapping away on this keyboard I have missed a perfect opportunity to learn to knit, sharpen a tool, identify a plant, skin a rabbit or grow a bean! Right now I could be writing a letter to a certain Shire Council challenging them on their decision to allow developers to channel their stinking festering drain pipes from their environmentally disastrous housing estate straight into the Plenty River that I love!
Maybe if I'd had just one spare day I could have spent it collecting all the shit that has washed through those drains and dumped it in the nearest showroom of that housing estate? Now that would have been time well spent!


(The destruction of the fields where I used to roam)

I took my boy out to the fields so he could experience the fresh air, the smell of the grass and to feel the dry bark and clay under his feet just as I did when I was his age! Alas I was too late! They have taken it all away!

Bicycle apparel for the Top End

Darwin Bicycle Chic
Several months ago while visiting one of the very trendy bicycle shops in town I allowed myself to drift across the shop into the area where they sell all that fancy licra stuff. I'd been reading the Fat Cyclist blog and was half sucked in to buying one of his stylized Fat Cyclist skivvy, skin tight top things. I like the name and thought it would be a laugh... I couldn't believe how much of that stuff they have for sale or how expensive it is!

Having read one or Too Many bicycle blogs I have noticed that some cyclists are really into their gear.

Whether people are into road riding, racing or just hanging out being cool on the street there's a lot of people out there who really want to look cool. Apparently what you wear is important. Whether the intention is to help you go faster or just look good cycling clobber is basically deigned with the idea that it is functional while riding a bicycle. There appears to be a whole world of fashion surrounding bicycle culture so I thought I'd contribute some of my personal preferences to the discussion of appropriate cycling apparel.

Bicycle Clobber Review

Here is my preferred outfit for Cycling in Darwin during the months January - May ..... August - December (June and July get a bit cool so I occasionally wear a T-shirt or even something with long sleeves.)

• Helmet -  $20 Bought brand new about 5 years ago. The padding has fallen out which caused me to improvise. I now wear a back to front baseball cap under the helmet which provides both padding to my scon and shade to the back of my neck...
• Vest - $2  These are pretty easy to find in Darwin oppshops and at the tip. This one is actually an ex Anset Airlines vest! (A classic!)It is highly visible in both day and night, loose fitting and has a small pocket just the right size for my music playing thingie.
• Cammo Shorts - $2 Opp Shop special. I love these shorts but unfortunately the synthetic doesn't stretch to match my rapidly expanding middle. Lots of pockets, cool cammo colour scheme and groovy tie up fly with valcro backup... (OK They don't look great when they're tight or with jelly like flesh hanging over the edges!)
  
• Imitation Crocs - $? My mum bought them for me 3 years ago... She thought I liked them... I never really liked them I don't know why she thought I did. I have to admit that I've finally gotten used to wearing them since I accidentally left my thongs somewhere! It is handy to have something on your feet especially if you've got sharp peddles. When I first started wearing these the rubber was really grippy and I kept catching my toe nails on them! It's taken a while to wear them in but I've finally gotten used to them so they will do until I find another pair of thongs.

(See the reflective tape really does shine when there's is a light on it!)




This is by far my favorite cycle gear. It's all synthetic so it's not the 'nicest' stuff to wear but once the sweat starts to flow I don't particularly like wearing wet clingy T-Shirts or having sweaty wet patches in the front or rear of my cotton shorts!

Shoes
Besides the usual divisions between the 'licra clad' and 'Street-wear crowds, helmeted or non helmeted and so on and so forth etc... etc... I've never quite understood the debate over clipless or non clipless footwear.

What's the deal with that? When my cycle shoes were new they had some clip-on straps across the heal. I used to strap them on but the plastic rivets got bashed off as they brushed against the crank of my bike, so ended up riding without them... I was clipless I suppose.... For goodness sake! It hardly made any difference! but try riding shoeless on Bear Trap peddles!

I don't particularly like riding barefoot, at least not on the peddles that I am currently using. It's a bit like wearing masseur sandals, made of rusty nails!   

Although I prefer to wear thongs I have become used to wearing the rubber clogs. When I ride my road bike I can get them to stick in the toe-clips and I can slide my feet in and out of them when I dismount.

Quite a good cycle shoe.

10/10/10 = NUC Wheels of Change

350.org has done it again!

"Dear friends,

It's happening--and it’s even bigger than we thought it would be.

From what we can tell from reports streaming in from East Asia and Australia and New Zealand, 10/10/10 is going to be the biggest day of climate action ever--from one end of the planet to the other, people are already hard at work."
(Bill McKibben 350.org)

10/10/10 marked another 350 day of Climate Action! Yesterday in Darwin there were 3 events planned.




NUC Wheels of Change - A bunch from Nightcliff Uniting Church decided it would be a great idea to ride to Church

Lakeside Drive Community Garden 10/10/10 Working Bee - The Lakeside Drive Community Gardeners chose this date as the time to turn the first sod of soil in the creation of their ambitious new community garden on a spit of land between the road and the Rapid Creek.

Peddalling for the Planet - A bunch of cyclists planned to get together dress their bikes up and ride a 3.5 km circuit to promote climate action.


I was fortunate enough to attend two of these events and the atmosphere was great.

A pretty large bunch of people turned up at Nightcliff Uniting Church on their bikes... I shouldn't have been surprised really! There's a lot of active enthusiastic participants in life who attend that Church. I should have known they wouldn't need much prompting to jump on their bikes and have some fun riding to Church! Unfortunately my family weren't feeling too good on Sunday morning (it seems they'd finally caught the cold I brought home from work a week ago!) so it was a party of one who left our house at 8:30 am. I didn't have to ride far before I met with Penny, then Lucy and her two boys. The 5 of us had quite a pleasant ride along the McMillans Rd cycle path and then past the farm on Rapid Creek. By 9:15 we'd arrived at the Church early enough to watch all the others come peddling in! It was so cool to see everyone rolling up. There were about 5 families who rode together and a bunch of others who peddled solo from various locations around Darwin. I'm pretty sure now the youngest riders were a pair of 3 year olds while the oldest would have been somewhere over 60 years old... The atmosphere was so great that Jana (the Minister and worship leader of the day) had to come out and ring a bicycle bell to get the crowd to come in and join the service!
This spontaneous effort spurred people to think about future rides we might like to do together as a group.

Later in the day at about 4:00pm when my girl was feeling more like riding we hopped on our bikes and rode down to Lakeside Drive where we met with a bunch of others who had peddled down there to start work on the new Community Garden! Once again the atmosphere was buzzing with enthusiasm and a sense of fun! Once again there were a great mix of children and adults all participating in an activity of affirmative action toward a carbon neutral future!



It was great to take part in these events! Being part of a community of people from all age groups working together for a sustainable future is a great buzz. We don't know exactly what the future will bring. Maybe we will never achieve the goal of 350 parts per million of Carbon in the atmosphere but working together as we have may help us to build the skills necessary to participate in a rapidly changing and increasingly hostile environment.

A wedding and a Melbourne bicycle explosion!!

Wow... The fixie culture I'd previously only read about on the Internet is well and truly alive in Melbourne!

Yesterday I played chauffeur at my Sisters wedding, I haven't driven in the City for several years and had no idea where I was going! Actually I don't get to see my family much so getting lost on the way to dropping the newly weds off at their Hotel was an unexpected opportunity to catch up... (Sorry guys!)
The wedding took place at about 4:30pm in a park down in Fitzroy. The park was absolutely pumped full of people having a good time, throwing Frisbees, having picnics, walking their dogs riding bikes and Showing off their latest fashion accessories including odd piercings, tattoos and really cool BIKES! (I wanted to take photos of all the action and the hardware but I was otherwise engaged)It was a great day and we are all very happy to have a new member of the family! Congratulations to both of you and thanks for including us in your plans! (Anyway that's their story so I'll stick to the bikes)

(Wedding in the Park)

There were fixies all over the place! They were all flash looking new bikes but all different. Every one that I saw close up had those two way hubs... (Plenty of people know all about these things but it's all new to me.. One way is a fixed wheel but if you flip the wheel over it is a single speed freewheel. How cool!) While in the inner suburbs of Melbourne I noticed heaps of young guys and girls riding fixies which was a bit of a worry. Having never come across them before I didn't know what to expect but after just an hour of watching them riding around I realized just how damaging the apparently mandatory bad attitude could prove to be for cyclists. A lot of the people I saw riding them had endangered themselves or other cyclists and pedestrians by riding into oncoming traffic (bicycle, motorized and pedestrian), through a bunch of other cyclists, or generally disregarding basic courtesies that are supposed to ensure the safety of road users... What a shame the fastest growing subculture among the cycling world of inner Melbourne has the potential to trash any good will that may have been developing there. (Of course I don't know that it is but have a hunch it could)
I wonder will this new fixie culture last or will the dangerous nature of the bikes and the lifestyle take it's toll?
I have to admit a couple of years ago I did want one but now they're so cool I doubt I'd pass the audition...

(Old fixie from long, long ago)

There were also heaps of 1960s - 80s ladies style bikes, which I am really into at the moment...!
Hey they're comfortable to ride, have great handle bar positioning and are really good for carrying children with because you can easily throw your leg over the centre bar. Oh Yeh and I saw a Christiania bike and one of those really long ones with the barrow at the front... I can't remember what theyre called right now.

Now I have to admit 20 years ago I would have really gone for the exhilleration and high paced action of a fixie... I would have been darting in and out of traffic just like the rest of them but as I get older I'm tending toward the slower laid back style of an old ladies bike... Or the upright sitting possition of the European cargo bikes that are getting around now. Basically I'm beyond caring about looking tough or cool or fast, I just want something that feels good! Damn there's a lot of feel good stuff around the inner suburbs of Melbourne right now!

A transition Decade

I've just participated in the No Impact Week as inspired by Colin Beavan's No Impact Man, Year. Although I couldn't get the whole family on board for every goal the whole thing is about change and mindfulness so even in our failures I would say the week has been a success.
There is still a long way for us to go and each of us will have to come to her own realizations when the time is right. However. The past week has seen less trash, more exercise, healthier food, less processed food, more cycling, more fun with the family, greater awareness of our potential to live softly on the earth!

From 2010 we go into a Transition Decade. A decade of enormous change and innovation. Looking at the innovative drawings my 5 year old is producing I am confident we will see huge leaps in technological solutions to the carbon dioxide problem.

Book launch

On Thursday night my wife and I took the kids into the Northern Territory Library to see the book launch for Ted Egan's new book 'Due Inheritance'.

Mr Egan has long been an outspoken advocate and friend to indigenous people. The gentleman who introduced him at the book launch put his influence as the NT administrator into great perspective. We were reminded of just how important it was to have someone so outspoken and diplomatic as Ted Egan for our Administrator when very few people were willing to speak against the lack of compassion that filled the country at that time! Ted did and at various public events he brought us together as neighbors and friends when so many Australians were looking to condemn with labels like "Cue Jumpers, Itinerants, Longrassers" and so on.
When he was Administrator Ted Egan would get up on a stage and speak directly to the audience like he was talking to a bunch of old friends! He'd speak warmly about his Aboriginal mates, using language or sing songs about Darwin's Chinese founding families and characters like Granny Lum Loy! While Ted was administrator Darwin felt like an oasis from the cesspit of racism and fear that Australia seemed to be becoming during the 'Howard Years'!

Unfortunately the evening didn't turn out a great as I'd hoped it would be. Maybe I was expecting too much or maybe the events of the day had left my nerves in a frayed and agitated state. I just wanted to blurt out a few thoughts that have been burning in me since Thursday night.

On the way in to town at about 5:30pm we drove past a stretch of Bagot road that I often cycle home on at that time of day. Negotiating the usual aggressive traffic we passed some police cars with lights flashing on the other side of the road. They were blocking traffic from a cyclist and his bike which were lying beside the gutter! After both my wife and I acknowledged that something was wrong there was silence while the scene sunk in, we didn't speak for a few minutes... Then my wife became very agitated and exclaimed that it could have been me! ... (I thought to myself. Yes it could easily have been me! I've had several close calls along that road!)

We drove on and found a car park close to the Northern Territory Library. It was early so we had a wander around the library and listened to a choir that happened to be singing in there at the time. I was looking forward to hearing what Ted Egan had to say and to get a copy of the book he'd written. I was hoping his book would challenge ordinary Australians into thinking more carefully about the issues that face Aboriginal People in this country...


It's all very convivial so long as you partake in the Grog culture

We were pretty thirsty but it looked like there would be refreshments and some nibblies for the big event. I went to the bar in the hope of getting a softdrink or some juice. I don't happen to drink alcohol and neither do my wife or kids... Unfortunately when I asked for a non alcoholic drink I was looked at with complete confusion... So I repeated myself. "Do you have anything to drink that does not contain alcohol?" The woman turned to her colleague and referred the question. The reply came... "Oh yehh... I think there's some soda water at the bottom of the Eskie..."


Water??? But can't I interest you in some lovely wine?

As a non drinker I do not begrudge other people having a drink, usually it doesn't bother me at all unless people's behavior is not suitable for the environment. So if I'm in a rowdy bar I expect to see somewhat excited and intoxicated people, or if I'm at a restaurant I might expect to see people drinking wine with their meal or at a concert there might be a bar set up and some people drinking. The usual thing... Even a bunch of people sitting around outside under a tree with a cask of wine isn't a particularly disturbing sight. However when I attend an event whether it is public or private, and there has been no provision for anyone but those who are drinking alcohol, that's a whole other thing! On Thursday night what could have been a pleasant time turned into something very unpleasant for me.
Now the whole room closed in around me! Reality came crashing down on my head! Here we were thinking we'd come to be amongst other people sensitive to the issues of Indigenous Australians. I was listening to a man propose all kinds of divisive approaches to dealing with alcohol consumption on Aboriginal communities yet there was precious little consideration for anyone who chose not to drink at the launch of this contentious new book! What if some of those people had actually attended the book launch? What choice would they have? What message would be sent about polite society when all that is offer is Grog?
It was like someone had written a bad script that didn't match the theme of the play! I looked around me and wondered if I was having some kind of bad dream. Maybe soon the white rabbit would come and lead me back to reality... NO! THIS IS REALITY!


More conviviality...

For just one hour I was caught in some kind of Hell where the intelligentsia of a tiny 'Australian colonial outpost' were pontificating in their gay intoxication, what is needed to rectify the condition of their woe begotten Indigenous brothers and sisters. The suffering of the disadvantaged, the besieged "First Australians" seemed like no more than a topic of conversation. In my agitated state the whole thing appeared as a farce!

As we left the launch I saw a fellow sitting awkwardly in a chair at the back of the room and holding a half bottle of red to his lips. An ANGEL I thought! I looked him in the eye and he stared dully at me. I felt for a moment that the truth of it all was sitting right there in front of me. For that moment I saw an honest man! Why not drink it from the bottle if that's what you want? The glasses are only there for effect.

As we drove home the police were still putting together the evidence of the crime scene, apparently the cyclist was the victim of a hit and run! Reported slopily and hidden in an article about Cadel Evans at the bottom ofpage six in this morning's NT news! I called the hospital this morning to find out if he was alright. Apparently he lived...

The Aleoca folding bike

Well my bicycle fetish has landed me with another bike... This one is incredibly practical. It's a folding bike made by a (NOT Italian) company called Aleoca. You can fold it up and stash it away when getting on a buss or when you get to work. It fits easily into the boot of our small ford festiva and best of all it's a dream to ride!


Aleoca folding bike

I happened across the bike while riding past a certain chain store that specializes in selling second hand stuff. I wouldn't normally shop there but this bike really caught my eye! (Probably the metallic paint)

It went together quite easily and was incredibly comfortable and easy to ride when I test rode it. Having bought it I had to subject it to the standard test I give all my bikes. The 10 or so km commute to work and back.


Folding bike on the commute (with full pannier)



Taking in the view of traffic from the shady median strip

Well she passed with flying colours! The gearing is great. It's incredibly comfortable and it cruises along like a dream. I don't care what I look like riding it this bike is really nice to ride! The rack on the back fits my panniers so I can carry as much load as I would on my other road bikes (Except the Xtracycle... It is in a league of it's own!)

To top it all off I actually managed to get my wife to ride it to the pool yesterday (Only a couple of km) and she fell in love with it instantly! The folding bike is a winner! And I have some ideas of how it can be used in conjunction with the Xtracycle... Stay tuned for the new Airport Transfers vehicle!

Rapid Creek Revival

Err the picture tells the story

It was on today... There was heaps of stuff for kids to do. I didn't have time to post about if beforehand so if you didn't already know you've missed out coz it's just finished! Sorry bout that but I tell you I'm really busy!

There was a great band, a Tang Soo Do demonstration, heaps of activities for the kids to do, a fancy dress bike parade and stuff like that. We got fresh fruit and just about everything was free for kids!
Kool!

I took a few pix mostly of bikes...



Catwalk for bikes in fancy dress


Bike show was pretty popular with the kids


Check out the little climber top left... WOW



This cool tandem can be adjusted so that it's suitable for a child or an adult to ride



BIKE FRIDAY - with tinsel