January 2011 Blog Posts (20)

Last Sunday, I rode my first Audax Alpine Classic Extreme (or the ACE 250) down in Northern Victoria. This ride was simply fantastic and the thing I love about Audax riding is the opportunity to…

I have had a vision and the turning point for the golden era of cycling is almost upon us.

I was out running on Sunday evening, on the way home I got to the intersection of Bourke & Cowper Wharf Roadway and having overdone it a bit I paused and looked up at the new cycle signage. Through the perspiration pouring down my face the words on the sign that said “Taylor Square” started to waiver and they became “The Future” and in the clouds I could see what appeared to be the…

I've just finished reading Hugh Mackay's latest offering, 'What makes us tick'.  There was lots of great stuff in there; plenty of fodder for interesting discussions with people on a variety of topics.

One section which really struck me was when he was describing the role of the car in the chapter "The desire for 'My place'"

‘I've lost count of the number of times I've heard people…

Stallion Bikes

I came across this from a City of Sydney email

Thought it might be worth posting... (I have no connection to them at all)

Has anyone dealt with them? Do you think they are good value?

I also noted that the Watershed has cargo bikes for free hire - how awesome!!!!!

Love the inner burbs...

We were at Enmore Pool this morning and out of the ten bikes parked there two were cargo bikes (my Cabby and a Christiania) and of the remaining eight bikes, seven had baby seats. Proof that the cycling boom and the Inner West baby boom are very complimentary complementary. The…

My bike was stolen on the way back from a trip to tassie - I need a replacement - and I'm a little undecided....

So if you can help at all, I'm looking for something with these criteria:

• I ride everyday so I guess it's good to have something comfortable
• I like to go cycle touring so something that doesn't mind the hills and bumps
• I like to carry excessive amounts of stuff (and ocassionally dink people) so something sturdy
• I don't want it to be…

In 2010 I cycled a total of 8607km, which is 2264km less than last year. 7260km of this was commuting, which saved me at least $891 in fuel costs and stopped me spewing an extra 1.7 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. It also amounted to cycling to work for 152.5 days out of a possible 252 workdays.

I had two stacks, which accounted for most of the 2264km less cycling than last year (holidays most of the rest). One stack resulted in a broken wrist, 6 weeks off the bike and…

"Good morning Dublin. Who wants a ride this afternoon ?"

That was how Lance's tradition of Twitter rides started. Since then he's put together rides in several cities, not so impromptu these days, police and ambulance are involved to make sure everyone is safe and the roads are managed.

Last…

We flew out of Brisbane on Thursday morning and into Adelaide, and it appeared that we'd brought our weather with us. Neil Finn would be proud!

After buying a couple of umbrellas Miles and I set out for a walk into the city. First stop, the very excellent Bicycle Express in the Adelaide CBD to organise a loaner bike for Miles (in case a certain opportunity comes up). If you ever need a bike or any bits and pieces…

You can meet some "interesting" people while cycling. I don't refer to the type who, safely ensconced in their metal cocoons, abuse you verbally and sometimes hurl missiles. No, it is sometimes people who are not in cars and who you are not expecting to be "interesting" who surprise you.

Last night I decided that I really must get some miles in if I was to have any chance of completing the 250km Alpine Classic Extreme course out of Bright in a matter of days.

Friday is probably…

Lucky Bike got a rear view mirror for Christmas and has been pestering me to fit it. Bike had a dropbar plugend mirror before but it was impossible, it was so low you had to be contortionist to use it and after a few minutes my knee would knock it out of alignment, so it got dumped.



The new one is a Mirrycle…

This Christmas, I asked Santa for a bubble machine. I had obviously been a good boy, as he obliged, and I was the proud recipient of an Early Learning Centre bubble-o-matic, compete with batteries and a large bottle of bubble mixture.

A quick test showed that it was capable of producing a large volume of…

Well, I did make it out for a ride yesterday, and given the time of year thought I should make my annual pilgrimage to Watson's Bay on the fixie.

Amazingly this is the first recreational ride of 2010 that I have done on my own. Ive been out a handful of times with friends this year, but not on my own. Strange to…