Bikey Boy rap...!

The family went out without me on Saturday night. I had a busy day and came home to an empty house!

I'm pretty sure it was the first time in a couple of years! I could have done anything but I wasted my time on the computer again..! Well it wasn't a total waste of time, I did manage to play my own choice of music on the sterio... through the speakers! As loud as I wanted! YEH!

Sam took the kids to the NT Schools concert IMAGINE. They were bombed out when they got back so we put the kids to bed and Sam told me all about the show. Apparently there were plenty of great performances but what the kids really liked was. The Bikey Boys from Nyirripi!

She was sure I'd like them and insisted that we look them up on Youtube straight away. We did, and I do!

Check out their video it's very cool!

Bikey Boys From Nyirripi

Some great lyrics in this song, fun dancing but, strangely, the Bikey Boys only have one bike between the lot of them!

"My bike is a bird, I fly around town.
Looking for food, crawling on the ground.
Watch out because it might be you.
There's no tellin what my bike bird could do"

Or how about this line?

"...It's me, My bike, and the dirt road!"

The beginning of the song reminded me of a section in the middle of 'The Brothers Cup' by Red Hot Chilli Peppers, a little bit.

What is the message in this song?
BIKES ARE FUN!
Rap On Boys.. and get yourself some more bikes!

Bikes and poverty

I've been thinking a lot about bikes lately... again!
Having spent the past week crawling from bed to panadol and back to bed I am very grateful to be back on my feet (more or less) and back on my bike! What makes this even better is that just when the long-bike was about to fall apart completely my friend brought back the Avanti (The third new bike I've ever owned!) which I'd left with him about 8 months ago.... and (drum roll please assorted happy crickets and birds) The Dry Season appeared this morning as if from nowhere!

What a great day!

So, this afternoon I spent tinkering around with the kids bikes in the back yard, sipping a much longed for cup of coffee and delighting at the prospect of my eldest moving up to a larger frame. A chance encounter with a local bicycle Wizard also helped renew my enthusiasm for fixing stuff! I even dared to think about the forgotten 4 wheeled project bike I'd left squashed between the canoe and the compost bin in the darker regions of the back!

Time to clean out the bike shed and get some wheels on the road.

This evening I even managed to catch up on some of the bicycle blogs and amongst them I found this an interesting video about a bicycle project that is helping to reduce poverty.

(VIDEO REMOVED)

Check out: The Bicycle City. Trailer from Greg Sucharew on Vimeo.

Since mobility is a major issue for many people I have been inspired to try and find a solution to the two halves of a 4 wheeled bike in my back yard. Let's hope something good happens with this pile of wasted bike.
There's a lady somewhere in Darwin who has a son with mobility problems who would really love to be able to get out on a bike. I promised her she could have this one if I ever got it going.... It's killing me to think it may never get there. 

The 4 wheeled contraption which I hope to resurrect