There's a Boom Box On My Bike...

CRX or BMX? This New York Times piece "Biking to a Different Beat" is too cool for school.. Only in Noo Yawk...

Boulder - Bike Friendly City Built Foot By Foot, not Mile by Mile

I wonder how long it will be before Sydney can produce a video like this one, from Boulder, USA. This Colorado town has miles of wonderful bike riding opportunities. Gary Lacy, former Boulder City Planner highlights the philosophy - "Build it foot by foot, not mile by mile". There's hope yet. Somehow I don't believe the ubiquitous Sydney one-finger salute - shared endearingly between cyclists and drivers - is used as widely in the progressive town of  Boulder. There are some great strategies here. Well worth watching in full!

Is Unicycling the New Black?

OK, so if two wheeler cycling and vintage-a-rama are all the rage right now, I reckon unicycling is the new black. No, no not just for the Leave it to Beaver types (as featured in this 1960s ad).  I did but notice a few at the Sydney Spring Cycle 2009. My observation...Who needs pilates and core muscle exercises when you know how to unicycle?

Now then, what can be more fun than unicycle HOCKEY! Here's a youtube link to some unicycle hockey at this year's Sydney Spring Cycle. Haven't tried it myself. Anyone...Anyone???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD595RESv4s

If you're interested, the Australian Unicycle Society has a 'wheely good' website (pardon the pun...theirs not mine ;-) ) with lots of facts for anyone interested in ditching a wheel. http://www.unicycling.org.au

It will only be a matter of time before the pennyfarthing makes a popularist comeback. A world where the Hummer and the pennyfarthing can co-exist? Hmmmm....

Oh! That's a Tube!

So I asked Donna, our AustCycle instructor, "what does a tube actually look like out of the packet? Does it have a valve does it?"

I don't profess to be an expert but I'm learning and that's what the Aust Cycle Cycle Skills intiative is all about. http://www.austcycle.com.au

The afternoon started at 1.30pm at the C.A.R.E.S facility in St Peters. I was already feeling chuffed, having mastered attaching my new tow bar and bike rack to my car all by myself. By the end of the three hour session, the small group of 7 became familiar with another side of Sydney and another side of themselves. We discovered we could ride on tar road from the Inner West to the East without the fear of dreaded Sydney traffic and its ubiquitous one-finger salute. By far the SCARIEST traffic encountered on the day was on the short ride from the C.A.R.E.S. facility carpark to meet the group. One had to dodge the hundreds of little toddler tikes around the mock-mini-traffic playground and, let me tell you, those tikes weren't givin' way!

We also discovered a few maintenance and riding tips that made us all the more confident and enthusiastic to get out there again. A simple instruction, such as how to start, was really worthwhile. I was cycling up mountains in the Andes just two months ago and would have loved to know the proper way to start then. Seems obvious but how many of us stop and start properly? By the way, it's really hard to look chic and ride in the Andes, especially when you can't actually breathe.

Cycle Chic