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

Ride to work day

Xtracycle does Ride to Work

Yesterday was National Ride to Work Day and it came complete with free breakfast and coffee for those who wanted to cycle into one of the officially listed Ride to Work Day free breakfasts. **Yay**
October is a pretty tough month to be trying to convince people to ride to work in Darwin! The humidity is generally quite a bit higher than it was just a month or so earlier. Regardless of the heat there was quite a good turnout in the City. Unfortunately I heard later that the breakfast at the Uni went a bit pear shaped.

Rain the night before made the morning ride wet and hot! To compound my discomfort I had only 10 pounds pressure in my tires! I tried to get some air at a couple of servos but some little creeps had cut the hoses so I had to drag my slow, lazy butt all the way into town!
Having chosen to go the long way around Nightcliff foreshore I arrived at the Roma Bar feeling totally exhausted! I was in such a state that people actually thought there had been another downpour somewhere along the way!
"No rain actually guys just me sweating!" ... "Eeww!"

Hey there's Annie with Hector the road safety cat



Isn't that Charles from the Environment center arriving at the party?


Wheel chair access?


Roma Bar... Good coffee but the cue was sooooo long

Equality for Arnhem Landers?

Since I have been too busy living to write about what I like to do with my life there have been very few posts here at the Balanda Eyes blog...
Plenty has been happening but I don't have much time to tell the story of it all. My job has been pretty busy over the past couple of weeks, I've had a shocker of a cold for a week or so, the family has also been unwell, I started guitar lessons tonight (I think my teacher agrees that I have no rhythm). Haven't ridden to work in over a week and I've already had to let the belt out a notch!

If you're interested in the state of justice in this country (Australia) and wonder about what is happening on indigenous communities in Arnhem Land you might like to watch this video



Ceremony - Yirritja Ngarra 'Riyawarray: Common Ground

http://hub.witness.org/en/node/8866

There is law in Arnhem Land and a culture that has withstood many assaults from the domineering culture that has imposed this current Federal intervention. Despite the offenses committed against these people they are still prepared to share their culture and their knowledge. When will we take up the offer of friendship and understanding?

Another sad story to add to the list. (Warning: this story refers to a recently deceased person)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/10/2387412.htm

If you think these issues have nothing to do with your life... you may be right. But one day you may wake to find that oppression and domination are the codes that govern this country.

Still cycling

I haven't posted much since putting the xtracycle together.
So for an update I thought I'd just like to say that I LOVE IT! This bike is awesome! I am riding it all the time and now want to get rid of all/most of my other bikes! I don't need them any more.
I feel complete on this bike and my 4 year old loves it too!

I will be doing the weekly shopping this week on the xtracycle so hope to put those huge bags to the test.

The road to work gets pretty busy and there's a terrible lip between the bitumen and the curb. It's a main road with a speed limit of 80km and nowhere safe for cyclists to ride so I tend to get into the zone while I'm on there, kind of enclosing myself in a mental tunnel, holding the straitest line as close to the edge of the road as I can. There hasn't been too much trouble with drivers lately but there can sometimes be. I have to admit that I sometimes find the agro from drivers unsettling. I know that when I remain focussed I can block out a lot of the road drama and just keep to my task of staying upright and out of the line of aggressive drivers. However I need a way to deal with the occasional unprovoked outburst of "Road Rage" directed at me as a cyclist.
I found just the thing on the Sydney Body Art Blog this morning. The post was some sagely advise from the 'Swami Velotananda' and it has given me a new way of dealing with what I had previously thought was negativity from other road users.

Now I can't wait to get back out there and share in all that love On the Road!
Peace.

Xtracycle Finaly fitted

My new Xtracycle - cargo bike - dream machine

With virtually no free time available to me over the past couple of weeks, I've managed to fit the free Radical kit to my old mountain bike without a drama.
It was really easy to put the whole kit together. After whipping off the rear wheel, chain, dérailleur and brakes I was able to connect the frames, mostly with my left hand while holding a baby in my right arm!
Although I rarely had time to go out and actually work on the bike I actually managed to read bits of the instruction manual from time to time! This allowed me time to think about the process before diving in and trying to do it all in a single unconsidered spree.
After removing the rear wheel I discovered that the original wheel had a couple of broken spokes and several bent ones! (I have no idea when or how this happened!) I also discovered that the original dérailleur wouldn't fit well so I bought a new 'free wheel' and made a trip to the tip shop for a dérailleur. I connected the extra chain links to a brand new chain and ran the chain through the cogs of the rear dérailleur. The new chain had more links than I needed so one night I snuck out in the dark and removed the excess from the chain then re-connected it... Not sure if I took too many.
Having thought about how the cables would all go together I managed to thread the gear cable and tune the gears in a matter of a couple of minutes before breakfast (Not something I am at all practiced at!) The cables and extra housing fitted perfectly.
I needed some new brakes but couldn't wait to see how it looked so I put on the free loaders and snap deck, pumped up the tires and took her for a spin. WOW! The gears changed beautifully! The chain felt smooth and peddled easily with no slack! Best of all the bike felt more stable than I'd expected! It rolled true and I could take my hands off the bars and coast along easily! It was awesome! I couldn't wipe the smile off my face!
Over the past couple of years I'd read heaps of testimonies and had become a little cynical. maybe the authors were all part of the Xtracycle propagandah machine? or could they just simply be wanting to justify their expensive purchase? Or were they simply towing the line for the sake of making political or even fashion statements? Maybe? But now that I've ridden an Xtracycle I have to say I love it simply because of the way it feels to ride! And the stand actually holds my bike up straight!

I have now attached a new set of V brakes and have taken my 4 year old for a ride and the jury is agreed. The Xtracycle Rocks!

A FreeRadical

Yesterday afternoon I got home to find a card from the Post Office. My FreeRadical had arrived!
I have finally taken the plunge and purchased an Xtracycle conversion kit.
I have been deliberating over spending the money for about two years since I first heard of the Xtracycle but have decided this is something that must be done!

I could not find a dealer in Darwin, or even Australia for that matter. When I mentioned it to the sales fella at one of my local bike shops, he snuffed at the idea and wasn't interested in them at all. So I searched further afield. I contacted the Xtracycle crew in USA and they suggested I talk to the guys at Southend Cycles in Levin, New Zealand.
Brian and Brenden were really keen to ship the unit to Darwin and had it here within a week of me ordering!


The conversion kit unpacked

So now I have the hardware, I need to attach it! There are a few issues I am concerned about, such as the frames fitting each other, the long chain and getting the gears working. I will try to give a couple of posts to share these experiences as I progress towards an almost "car(e) free" existence!