Bicycle Decoration in Northern Nigeria

Post-Sydney conference has been busy with the final teaching week of Trimester 2 which means saying good-bye to classes and completing final assessment marking (*PHEW!*). On the PhD front, I’ve been working on my Ethics Application and putting together a Continuing Scholarship application to go full-time starting next year. During research, I found the below article about Nigerian bicycle decoration in a journal called Africa Arts. It is a blast from the past (1999), but I was delighted to see art bikes being featured in research literature. It gave me hope for academia …and a few ideas for a possible journal article! Below are a few of the more interesting creative highlights from the article. Enjoy! NG.

This week I was stoked to find this article:

Renne, E., & Usman, D. (1999). Bicycle Decoration and Everyday Aesthetics in Northern Nigeria. African Arts, 32(2), 46-92. doi: 10.2307/3337602.

This article starts with a discussion about “the dichotomy perceived to exist between objects considered to be every-day items and those considered to be traditional artworks is artificial in the Northern Nigerian context” (p. 46) and was written to probe the “continuity between the refined and intensified forms of experience that are works of art and the everyday events, doings, and sufferings” (Dewey 1934 p. 3).

Ultimately, the aim of this paper is to explore how the decoration of bicycles and the display of other everyday things in Northern Nigeria reflect an aesthetic process whereby the artist’s technical mastery of materials and creative innovation evokes a pleasurable response in the viewer.

Bicycle Decoration in Northern Nigeria

Essentially, there are two main ways locals Zaria and Jos (Northern Nigeria) decorate their bike:

1. Traditional decoration (has 3 steps)

Step 1: Cloth or paper is used to cover the frame of the bike. Cloth is more expensive, but is washable.

Step 2: The frame is then painted usually in two contrasting colours.

Step 3: Decorative accessories are used for embellishments. These include handlebar tassels, mudguard decorations, fringed seat covers and pedals, plastic flowers and stickers.

2. Stickers only (new style)

Increasingly, coloured and metallic stickers are being used to completely cover the bike. The advantage here is that Day-Glo stickers can be incorporated into the design for increased night riding safety.

It should be noted that when the authors talk about ‘stickers’, they are referring mainly to sticky tape and vinyl/plastic type adhesive stickers (see picture below). The colours and designs of the stickers strongly reflect the local cultural aesthetic – which is best seen incorporated into the local architecture.

Given that this article was published in 1999, there was little access and variety to what we know as ‘stickers’ today. Even so, the idea of covering a bike in stickers still works, especially considering sticker today express messages individually, as well as en masse. So great thought could be applied to the placement, arrangement, colour and the overall message that the owner wants to convey if they were using today’s vast array of sticker types.

Creative take-aways

I found this study interesting as it was focused on the skill of art and craft as a specific cultural signifier – whilst equally emphasising the everyday practicality of bicycles (used as tools, objects and transportation) as being something that is both beautify and functional.

There were a few design, aesthetics and creative approaches to embellishing objects (such as bikes) that were particularly interesting, for example, the concepts of:

conveying a feeling of balance, but not necessarily symmetry
creating a sense of balance amidst uncertainly
fusing material and ideas through technical aptitude
Gell’s (1992) observation that “the awe inspired by the unimaginable technological transformation of materials is akin to being charmed or enchantment” – suggesting an almost magical, anthropomorphic quality to the bicycle designs
that unity in design is temporary
Bamana carver-sculptor have a spirit-mentor to guide their practice and need to show technical aptitude as well as visual imagination to be successful

I also love the idea that bike artists can pursue an ‘aesthetic impulse’ and in decorating a bike there are opportunities for ‘resistance’, such as “striving for discontinuity and disorder”, “novelty in action” and expressing a “greater range and depth of insight and increase poignancy in feeling”.

A bit of cultural context

In Northern Nigeria where this study took place, bicycles are ubiquitous.

They are commonly are associated with long-distance trading and with ritual practices that express certain social (brides ride the handlebars of their grooms bicycles to go to their husband’s houses), psychological (unsafe riding in rural villages suggests mental health issues) and/or literary (bicycles feature in well-known poetry) and political (bicycles were used in a range of political demonstrations) in states.

In the local language, the term kaya is described as an “invaluable word [that] can be used to mean almost anything”, although it may be loosely translated as”load” or as objects related to a certain activity. Thus, just as kayan doki refers to articles associated with horses (doki), kayan keke refers to decorative things associated with bicycles (keke). In the past bicycles have been referred to as dokin k’arfe – or ‘horse of iron’ – which I think it quite apt!

Renne, E., & Usman, D. (1999). Bicycle Decoration and Everyday Aesthetics in Northern Nigeria. African Arts, 32(2), 46-92. doi: 10.2307/3337602.

Full article: Bicycle Decoration in Northern Nigeria (Renne & Usman, 1999)

04/10/201810/10/2018

Bike Palooza Bendigo

08/09/201811/09/2018

Along a long road – a bicycle storybook

I saw this book in my local library and I couldn’t resist the cover.

This quirky picture book for preschoolers (ages 3-6) is the first foray into children’s books by Frank Viva, an award-winning illustrator/graphic artist for Esquire, Time and The New Yorker.

The story focuses on a winding, uninterrupted road that is both a stylistic feature of Viva’s work, a fundamental that leads the reader through the story and a necessary motif given this particular story – which is of course…cycling along a lon road!

The road features prominently and runs from the very start of the book by loops across the inside front cover, then out across each page as it weaves around towns, farms, a theme park, forests and past ocean foreshores.

The cyclist is on an elongated bicycle, which he expertly rides through tunnels, over bridges, up and down hills and around bends…. all in order to get to the end FAST – only to start the journey all over again!

Here’s an excerpt:

Along a long road gaining speed

Again and again and again

Along a long road going fast

Around a round bend near the end

And start all over again

This book appears simplistic, however, the winding long road, even cadence of text, the steadfastness of the cyclist and the ever-changing, yet familiar scenery – all have a rhythm and movement that many riders will identify with.

Just like the cyclist in the book, many riders have felt the compulsion to ‘just keep going!’.

The illustrations are minimalist and use a limited palette of four key muted tones to focus attention on the activity in the book.

The pages are thoughtfully designed and are clear and easy to look at. Hidden on pages are little gems, like whales diving in the ocean, dragonflies and tractors in fields.

My favourite part in the book is when the cyclist is stopped by an apple on the road out the front of a library…after the apple is moved, our cyclist is off again after waving to a little boy, his mother and their dog.

Few people know that Frank Viva originally created this project as one continuous, thirty-five-foot-long artwork. Amazing!l Athough Frank might be new to children’s books, he is certainly not new to cycling – as he is an avid rider and has cycle-toured many countries.

I like this book because it reminds me of riding my bike around Brisbane: the bayside, the theme park, the forest and the farming country – and all the happy times I’ve had wooshing around the city and getting to where I want to go FAST ….. it is lovely to see it expressed in such a unique and whimsical way.

More fun picture books for kids about bikes, please!

So, if you see this book in a bookstore or the library – take the time to flip through it- it is an entertaining, easy and highly recommended read.

Thanks Frank!

Video: Frankviva

05/07/201810/07/2018

The Cyclo Knitter

Dutch cycling enthusiast and designer George Barratt-Jones has created a human-powered automated bicycle-knitting machine called the Cyclo Knitter.

The Cyclo Knitter is essentially a bicycle-powered loom that is activated by light exercise.

George’s modification of a standard bicycle attached to a wooden frame and loom is such that when a rider cycles, the automatic loom attached to it will knit a fully completed scarf in 5 mins.

To launch his invention, the Cyclo Knitter was installed on a Dutch railway platform – as homage to the original inspiration for the machine, which was how to use the spare time waiting for a train in a productive manner.

A train platform is also an ideal place to showcase the Cyclo Knitter given that many commuters are already waiting on the platform for trains to arrive, so they had a spare 5 mins – and the novelty bike was a welcomed curiosity.

Best of all, those who trialled it were also rewarded with their very own ‘bespoke’ cycle-made scarf (*Aww DAD!! Not in front of my friends!!*).

Design and functionality

The Cyclo Knitter is a remarkably neat and compact invention. It is functional, quirky and innovative and is also very beautifully crafted and skillfully designed.

The Cyclo Knitter is set-up so that when the pedals turn, the spinning front wheel powers a knitting machine placed on top of a wooden tower at the front of the bike. As the rider pedals, they can watch in real time, as the knitted fabric comes from the top of the tower and is woven into a brand-new custom-made scarf. Awesome!

When George set up the Cyclo Knitter, the sign alongside it read:

Bored? Cold? Create!

Genius!

Here’s a quick video of what happened on the train platform…

Cyclo Knitter by George Barratt-Jones from George Barratt-Jones on Vimeo.

Of his video, George states:

“Imagine it’s the midst of winter. You are cold and bored waiting for your train at the station. This pedal powered machine gets you warm by moving, you are making something while you wait and in the end, you are left with a free scarf! That you can decide to keep yourself or give to someone who needs it more. Its all about spreading joy and making those boring moments more fun.”

To see more of the Cyclo-knitter and how it was made – click here.

Why is it so good?

Go Dutch – lead the way!

It is great to see such an innovative design, fun and functionality coming together in this unique bicycle modification.

It has a sleek design and aesthetic, but the whole assemblage also folds down into a convenient and portable flatpack item, which is ideal for moving between locations (see below).

It is wonderful to see such a refreshingly new utilisation a bicycle – and an approach that makes cycling AND knitting more interesting -and accessible – to the general public.

The added bonus of a free rider-made scarf is genius.

I hope we see more creative and community orientated bicycle projects like this in the future.

Image: Colossal

All images are still from the Vimeo video, except last two as indicated.

26/06/201810/07/2018

The Art of Looping

I had a great time at Queensland College of the Arts (QCA) this week at an intensive workshop with some of Griffith’s most talented artists. Here’s an overview of what we did for our 2-day The Art of Looping Workshop – Enjoy!

@victoriawareham

Day 1

I arrived at the QCA Southbank Design Studio and met my usual partner in creative crime, Claire Tracey. I’ve not been to the studio before and was impressed with the setup. The room had workstations set up with screens and we were issued with extra equipment and tools like speakers, MP3 recorders and other technical materials we would need. We all had mobile phones and a few, like me, had their laptops as well.

There were 19 participants in total, three of whom I knew. So it was a good mixture of mostly new and some familiar faces.

After an intro from the organisers, our presenter Alex Murray-Leslie showed us some of her latest work which explores electronic footwear, lights, environs and video – very interesting!

Then we went around the group and introduced ourselves and our art practice.

We then moved to a different space and took notes as each person read aloud a section from one of the texts they had bought. The readings ranged from textbooks, academic journals, song lyrics, children’s books and people’s own musings. We did a free writing activity and then got into set up in our “looping’ groups” just before lunch.

My Looping team consisting of three other amazing artists: Xhaohui Yang, Paula Payne, Hannah Reardon-Smith and me. Paula is a terrific painter, Hannah is a flautist with the Conservatorium and Xhaohui brought a few of her amazing pieces with her and we ended up using them every day.

After lunch, we all visited fellow Looper Karen Stone’s exhibition and heard her speak about her work. My team ended up staying in the exhibition space to continue filming – and we got a number of impromptu vignettes there …like…

Then we had free time to start shooting short videos. Our team spent the rest of the afternoon trialling and erroring ideas, discussing, designing and investigating how things could work when looped.

We spent the rest of the afternoon working on little projects in pairs and as a group. It was good fun to work with other people and it was a deliberately open format, so we could self-direct and follow ideas as much or as little as we wanted.

I was pretty tired by the end of the first day. Once I got home, I did a 29 min Teacher’s Tech crash Youtube course on DaVinci Resolve 14. I have had this editing software on my computer for some time, but have not made the time yet to use it. As we were one of the groups that didn’t have a video expert, it was the ideal time to learn new skills. The crash course was just enough to hack together a few ideas – perfect!

Day 2

Most people brought ‘extras’ on the second day: costumes, makeup, props, jewellery, pieces of our own art – and I brought in Leki. We started out by going on an ‘excursion’. Those with outfits put them on, others lugged gear and props. We wandered around Southbank and heading over The Goodwill Bridge and into the Gardens on the other side shooting scenes and scenarios as we went. It was great fun.

We explored lawns, garden beds, went up trees, into drains, through car parks, down flights of stairs, sat on rocks and cause some happy mayhem along the way. All the while in colourful costumes, sprouting text and being directed by fellow Loopers – much to the curiosity of random passerbys.

On one particular sortie, Claire, Alex and I found ourselves on Level 6 of the QUT Law building, whereI rode Leki across an overpass while poor Law students undertook a Law exam next door – we were quietly respectful, but the contrast between the two groups was palpable- good luck students!

After our excursion, we all headed back to the Design Studio and spent some time collating, editing and exporting our Loops. They were raw, rough and fun.

As you would expect, each team produced totally different loops. They varied widely in concept, production and technical delivery. It was really interesting to see what others had been working on and what were we able to produce in such a short space of time.

As a final showcase, filled every screen in the Design Studio with team loops, so we could walk around and see what people had been working on. Quite a few academics also came down to see our final presentations – it looked awesome.

Take-aways of time spent Looping

I was really inspired and impressed by the work and skills of my Looper team and the other participants.
It was great working on set with Claire again – we have such great creative synergy. It reminded me that public art and performance are so engaging and fun to create, but also that it is hard work.
I really enjoyed the variety of activities: I liked the warm-up intro, reading and writing that lead to the group work – it worked well to orientate us and get the creative juices flowing.
I liked that the open format pushed me to relax into whatever was happening, to relinquish the idea that ‘I need to know what I am doing’ or always have structure – the learning was organic.
I learnt a new skill (DaVinci Resolve Software) enough to put together an experimental short clip – which I would not have done in such a way if I had not done the workshop.
It was also great to have designated adult play-time – what a joy! So precious!
My team were easy going, innovative and everyone brought something to the table – and it was lovely being in a space where there was no right or wrong ideas or actions – just ‘seeing what might happen if we do this’ or ‘Let’s try X here’ – such a rare delight!
It was also great to get about and about in Brisbane to do some live shooting. I was very proud crossing The Goodwill Bridge with my fellow Loopers and being part of this beautiful, courageous, colourfully-dressed band of creatives exploring the city streets, buildings and gardens of Brisbane.

Looper Awards of Excellence

For a finale, Claire and I awarded each of our fellow loopers (and fearless leaders) a custom-made recycled Looper Award of Excellence medal, each of which we had made out of an array of recycled materials like bike inner tubes and parts, beer caps, repurposed bits-and-bobs, jewellery pieces and other found objects (see below). Just doing our bit to get more bikes in the creative arts!!

Thank you!

A massive thank you to Beck and Sue for organising this event.

To Alex for running the workshop – we had a great time!

To my team for being right there with me – you were awesome!

To all our other fellow loopers … for being equally amazing!

I can’t wait for the next workshop!

05/06/201814/06/2018

Happy World Bicycle Day 2018

Happy Inaugural World Bicycle Day 2018!!

I hope you, your bike and your riding mates had a great day yesterday.

I had an awesome time riding Leki ALL DAY!

Leki and I cruised around our local neighbourhood, caught up with friends, locals and other riders. In fact, I rode so much that I ended up loosing my voice and was quite tender the next day. Success!

Ride more, be happy, get fit, enjoy the outdoors and build positive community!

World Bicycle Day 2018

According to the UN, the aim of World Bicycle Day (WBD) is to :

devote particular attention to the bicycle in cross-cutting development strategies and to include the bicycle in international, regional, national and subnational development policies and programmes;
encourage improvements in road safety and integrate it into sustainable mobility and transport infrastructure planning and design, in particular through policies and measures to actively protect and promote pedestrian safety and cycling mobility, with a view to broader health outcomes, particularly the prevention of injuries and non-communicable diseases;
encourage stakeholders to emphasize and advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development, strengthening education, including physical education, for children and young people, promoting health, preventing disease, promoting tolerance, mutual understanding and respect and facilitating social inclusion and a culture of peace;
Encourages the adoption of best practices and means to promote the bicycle among all members of society, and in this regard welcomes initiatives to organize bicycle rides at the national and local levels as a means of strengthening physical and mental health and well-being and developing a culture of cycling in society.

A lone bicyclist speeds through traffic on a busy street in Brooklyn, New York, USA. UN Photo/Andre Istria Source: UN Photo/Andre Istria

There were many events locally and internationally celebrated World Bicycle Day.

Below are three places – one in Australia (Adelaide, South Australia) and two international (India and Denmark), that caught my eye this year.

RADelaide (Adelaide, South Australia).

I have a particular place in my heart for biking and Adelaide. It is a city that has an unwaviering passion for cycling – as well as being stunningly beautiful and having some of the freindliest locals I’ve met (and all of them were bike crazy!)

The last time I was in Adelaide, was to attended the 2017 Australian Walking and Cycling Conference, where I also presented a session called Creating Memorable Community Bike Projects.

So I was interested to see what Adelaide did for WBD 2018.

The Port Adelaide Bicycle Users Group (PortBUG), celebrated World Bike Day 2018 with a BISA/Bike SA Community Ride from Victoria Park to Elder Park. This event had several hundred bicyclists turned up all ready to celebrate in style as you can see below…

India

India is an important place to include for World Bicycle Day (June 3rd) as it is also the official host for World Environment Day (6th June).

In India, it was the politicians getting involved to celebrate World Bicycle Day.

In New Dehli, Vice President Naidu (below on the bike) said that “cycling is the best and cheapest form of exercise to keep ourselves healthy and people must be encouraged to adopt such environment-friendly mode of transport.”

One of the local newspapers, the Daily Kiran reported that VP Naidu addressed “a gathering of cyclists and environmentalists after inaugurating the Bicycle Rally and NDMC’s Smart Cycle Station for Public Bike Sharing on the occasion.

He said that the campaign to promote the use of bicycle must be taken up on a sustained basis and it should not be confined to a ritualistic exercise on the World Bicycle Day”.

Denmark

Copenhagen and Amsterdam are well known for consistently being the top two cities in the world for cycling. Both capital cities are considered to be the benchmark that other places look to for ways to improve urban cycling planning, infrastructure and participation.

This fun fact-filled video released for World Bicycle Day 2018 by Visit Demark servers not only as an inspiration to aspire towards, but also as a wonderful promotion for the best that urban cycling can offer. Here’s to hoping…(*sigh*)!

However you chose to celebrate it

I hope you had a fun first ever World Bicycle Day!

Viva la Bici! Happy riding all!

18/03/201818/04/2018

Bicycle Short Film People’s Choice Winner

Hooray!

Great news!

Our short film ‘Leki’ took out the People’s Choice Award at the 2018 Brisbane Bike Short Film Festival on Friday night!

For this film, I collaborated with Isabel Turner, who is the spunky, young designer who really made this film happen.

Thanks to all!

Bella and I wanted to say a big thank you to all those who people who voted for us! We very much appreciate your great sense of humour and for supporting more inclusive, active and colourful (cycling) communities. We need more happy people out there like you! Thank you!!

Congratulations also to all the other entrants who made a great effort and contributed their stories and creativity! It was wonderful to see such multiplicity in their approaches, themes and celebration of bikes in Brisbane.

A big thank you also to the organisers, volunteers and sponsors who worked so hard to make this a memorable and fun night.

Without further ado – here is this our 2018 Brisbane Bike Bites People’s Choice film. Enjoy!!

Click here to find out more about the lead-up to the Festival here.

Click here to see the finalists films.

‘LEKI’ Brisbane Bicycle Short Film People’s Choice Winner!

The night started out with a Style over Speed ride for those who could make it (I had to teach). Then there was a boisterous welcome by the bike band on arrival at the Kangaroo Point Multicultural Centre.

It was great to see lots of bikes parked outside for the event. Inside, people milled about eating pizza, drinking and chatting. Then the bell sounded for us to take our seats.

First up was a screening of the six short film finalists. I loved the diversity of each entry – they were all completely different.

I really appreciated the effort and thought that had gone into each entry. I especially liked the moving simplicity of The Route and the down-to-earthiness and kool kustom bikes (and lit-up allure) of Anthony’s Ride your bike. Free your soul.

Before interval, the Spaces for Cycling Brisbane judges announced their top prizes for first, second and third.

A special award went to Tegan Methorst for being the youngest film-maker to enter with her film It moves you.

Then it was time for intermission. More drinks, socialising and pizza. This is where the audience got to cast their votes.

The second part of the night was a filming of the film Why we ride. This is a documentary from Copenhagen exploring the ideas and experiences of a range of cyclists in the Netherlands. It was super interesting and had lots of ideas that have stimulated and progressed very interesting conversations since! (See the trailer for this feature film trailer below.)

The People’s Choice Prize was awarded at the end to close.

What a night!

The making of Leki

At the end of January 2018, Bella moved to the UK for work.

So as a final farewell collaborative project, we decided to put together a bicycle short film entry about my flower bike Leki. Bella did all the hard work behind the screen (scene?) that made this film happen.

We had a great time doing the filming in and around our community.

The interactions and conversations we used were all total strangers that I accosted on the street then and there to interview. We wanted an authentic and true, unedited representation of what local people thought and said about Leki.

It was a little daunting going up to random strangers and asking them to go on film to talk about Leki, but our community was super supportive and up for it.

We filmed around Bayside Wynnym Manly area in Brisbane.

We had many ideas about what we were going to put into it. We discussed doing some of the stories about Leki in animation and adding in some more creative aspects to show off Bella’s skills.

However, in the end, we wanted it to be no-fuss, low-key and accessible, so opted for a straightforward vox pop and storytelling format.

We wanted Leki and the community to speak for itself without ‘jazzing it up’ with any frills – just take it as it is – and enjoy!

We wanted to include a few local sites around our community to up the ‘Brisbane-ness’ of the film (I talk about riding in Melbourne at one stage), so we wanted to be sure people knew we were specifically located and riding around in and around Brisbane.

Local Cycling Community Hero – Richard @ Crossley Cycles

We included an interview with Richard Crossley from Crossley Cycles (Manly, Brisbane) as well. This was important to us for a number of reasons; Richard is not only a wonderful friend and constant supporter of me personally (he loves to chat about my PhD bike research and see what I’m making next out of recycled bike parts and inner tubes, so I am often in his workshop on Saturdays tinkering and chatting with him as he works on his bikes), but he is also a local hero to the Manly cycling community.

Richard has been serving local riders and BMXers at his shop in Manly for 47 years – and he is well loved and well respected by some very big names.

So having Richard in our short film was our way of recognising and honouring his contribution to the range, colour and life of the local Brisbane cycling network. Thanks Richard!

Thanks Bella!!

A massive big thanks to Bella Turner for all her hard work on Leki – and for all the other work we did together. Congratulations…. and best of luck in the UK!!

22/02/201824/02/2018

Bike Rave Melburn – Pink Flamingo 2018

While I was down in Melburn (Melbourne) for a week performing the Bio Bike at the Sustainable Living Festival (SLF), Bike Rave Melbourne Pink Flamingo 2018 was held. I couldn’t believe my luck! Sarah came with me (her on a flower bike, me on the Bio Bike) and we had far too much fun. To the Melburn bike riding community: you are amazing, I miss you and thank you!

What is a Bike Rave?

For many people, bike raves are the most fun you can have on two wheels! Bike Raves usually follow a route through city streets while pumping out tunes from ‘sound’ bikes. There is usually a theme for each Bike Rave. Any and all riders are welcome (that’s the point!). They stop at predestined locations for a while to socialise, recharge, catch up and have a boogie – GOLD! Bike Raves are highly anticipated, well attended and wicked fun.

Bike Rave Melburn – Pink Flamingo

On Saturday, Feb 10th I rode in the Melburn Pink Flamingo Bike Rave. It was awesome. I would say there were at least 200-250 riders and I was blown away by the variety in the ages and styles of the riders (and bikes) that attended. There were young and old, families/individuals/groups of mates, tall bikes, cargos, art bikes, commuters, fixis, burlesque performers, couriers, bike polo teams.. the list could go on and on – there was everything (and everyone) imaginable!

It was wicked cruising Melbourne city in a massive gang of cool katz with cool music.

Riding along Southbank just after 7 pm meant that the Bike Rave were passing all the cafes, restaurants and bars at dinner time – on a Saturday night. They were packed. It was hilarious to see the reaction of diners and this massive line of pink, fluoro-wearing bike ravers passed them by!

Pedestrians and tourists stopped to gawk as well. People in cars were honking. At the lights halfway through, I got chatting to a father and son who were out riding along the Yarra River and convinced them to join us for an hour, which they did -and they had a ripper time and said they would be back.

I rode and chatted with heaps of people along the way. I love riding near the massive speaker bikes. Because I was riding the Bio Bike, people were offering me drinks all night (bless!) of which I only accepted once we had stopped. Navigating bollards (wings up!) and some of the tighter walking bridges was a little tricky, but other riders were happy to wait, helped out if they could and looked out for me on the road and footpaths. Bloody awesome!

It was super safe and super fun. And I danced my arse off!

I got extra kudos when bike ravers heard that I had come all the way from Brisbane for the event (well.. and the SLF). The Bio Bike was a smash hit – and I got extra points for flat-packing it down into a bike bag and travelling with it from Brisbane. Talk about bringing it to the party!!

I caught up with some familiar faces and also met some wicked new people. Everyone was super welcoming, happy and up for a chat. As the night wore on, lights were turned on. I saw packed dinners and food being shared along with drinks, compliments and laughs.

Around 8.30pm, some of the families started to filter back home, leaving the ragers to push on. The later it got, the more people were looking after each other, until we reached our final destination at Flagstaff Gardens where everyone parked it and hung out until they decided it was time to go home.

(*Sigh*)

Bike rave with an added purpose

Bike Raves are usually free events – but for this particular rave, organisers invited punters to bring along a cash donation for charity Bicycles for Humanity, which they collected throughout the evening. Given my PhD research and predilections of supporting community and international development projects – I was super impressed. Go Melburn!

Here is the official Melburn Bike Rave FB link.

How does the Sound/Music work?

Bike Raves are DIY events. You grab your MP3 player/phone and download the mix (for Pink Flamingo it was a curated a 4-hour mix). The mix is usually full of pumping party tunes to keep the crew bopping and dancing all night long and specifically made for the bike rave. KUDOS!

Just before you leave the meeting place there is a countdown so everyone can sync their music to begin at the same time. This means that where ever you are in the rave you are all listening to the pretty much the same thing (plus or minus 10-15 sec). It also means that if you arrive late, join in or miss the countdown, you can ask another rider what timestamp the track is up to and sync it that way.

For the Pink Flamingo Bike Rave, people had a range of sound setups. Some of the organisers, couriers and Christiana bike owners had especially large speakers setups. They were wicked! There were a few of these rigs dotted around and they really pumped out the tunes. They were awesome fun to ride with if you didn’t have your own music on board.

Other people had basket, booms or computer speakers zip tied to their bikes (or themselves!). There were some pretty impressive creations and some speakers were integrating into costumes, helmets and bikes.

Having a consistent power source and charging batteries was a key consideration for most speaker setups (as was size/weight).

The music for the ride was great! I’m still listening to the track now!

Here’s the Soundcloud link to download the 4hr Bike Rave track.

Image: @neaderstaal

Image above: Soundcloud

Where we went

Meet-up: Bike Rave Melbourne – Pink Flamingo 2018
Start: Saturday, February 10, 2018, 6:00 pm
Finish: Sunday, February 11, 2018, 12:00 am
Meet at: Riverside Skate Park, Alexander Gardens (parkland opposite side of the river from Birrarung Marr), Melbourne, Australia.

After meeting at Riverside Skate Park, we headed off at 7:00 pm.

Here’s the route we took.

Here’s the same route, but in Google Maps.

Other interesting titbits

There are a few videos on Youtube of the event – here’s an example:

Here is some of the info the organisers released before the event. I really dug their straight shooting and fun style of communication and promotion!

THE WEATHER
If it’s nice out, we ride. If it’s cloudy, we ride. If it’s raining a little, we might ride. If it’s pouring, we don’t ride. Our speakers will get messed up. If you aren’t sure, show up anyways. Someone will be there from 5:30 pm to let people know if the ride is cancelled.

DRESS UP
Pink Flamingo. Now that your bike is a shining beacon, time to fix yourself up. Dress in anything that’s pink. Flamingo, Pink, Flamingo, Pink, Pink, Flamingo. Pink. Flamingo. Sqwuak. One Legged Stand. Beaks Out. Pink Flamingo.

RAVE RULES
There are a few rules that we would like you to follow to ride the rave. This makes it safer for everyone and avoids problems on the night. We’ve never had an issue in the 6 years of running this event, so let’s work together to keep it that way.

1. Wear a helmet.
2. Get working bike lights.
3. Watch out for each other. If someone falls over, pick them up and see if they are ok.
4. Don’t be a dick to the public or Police. The public will most likely be confused. The Police have been quite understanding over the last few years, so don’t be rude. This could ruin the event and any future events.
5. Be safe and sensible when we are crossing at red lights.
6. Clean up after yourself – bring a plastic bag for your rubbish, we are not your parents – we ain’t picking up your shit.
7. Have fun

Check out more photos on Instagram using: #bikeravemelbourne #bikerave #bikerave2018

A massive thank you to the organisers, the riders and Melburn general public. A great time was had. Safe, super fun and a wonderful way to bring riders together and show city Melburn how fun riding bikes can be.

More Bike Raves, please!

This image from Soundcloud. All other images my own, a few pics are drawn from Freedom Cycling & Andrew Rance‘s Youtube videos of the event – thanks guys.

13/02/201803/09/2018

Bio Bike SLF 2018

It’s been an exciting last couple of days! After constructing the Bio Bike in Footscray with Pete and Tom helping me (thanks for being my random lunchtime saviours!), I put the frame on the bike Sarah had procured and all that was left was to put on the finishing touches. Then lunchtime Friday, I set off to ride the Bio Bike the 15 kms from Footscray into the city. I arrived at the Festival site on time, made some adjustments, got changed and then did the Friday night performance solo. Claire and Sarah joined me for Saturday and Sunday. Here’s what happened…

Bio Bike SLF 2018

We had a great time performing with the Bio Bike this weekend at Melbourne’s Sustainable Living Festival (SLF) 2018.

Check out our adventures and the awesome people the Bio Bike met on Instagram

Also see what else was on offer at the SLF 2018 on Instagram via:

So what did the Bio Bike do?

We were mainly located around the food precinct and near the Dome, which was great as there were always people milling about, we had more room to move about and we had much more shade than if we travelled up the guts of the display tents.

We met so many lovely people.

Essentially we asked people three things: 1. why they had come to the festival, or what they had seen at the festival they had liked; 2. what they thought was Australia’s most pressing environmental issue and finally; 3. what were they personally doing to help the environment and be more sustainable.

After chatting about this for a little while, we then said we wanted to award them an Eco Excellence Award for their hard work. We told them the background that each award was upcycled out of bicycles bits, inner tubes and found objects and was totally unique – just like they are! We would give them their award, then get photos with them wearing it.

The response was great.

I loved how different each interactions was.

We made a point of talking to people of different ages (young and old), cultures (from everywhere!), perspectives (some conservative, others super feral), lifestyle choices (urban, rural and some backpackers) – but each interaction was interesting and unique. It was an absolute pleasure.

I got to chat with Bob Brown on Friday just before he went on for the Big Debate. Then on Saturday, Claire, Sarah and I had a great time with Costa from Gardening Australia. (See picture below). Costa remembered Claire and I from our 2014 SLF Leki and the Ova show, and he spent ages with us chatting away, taking videos of us, introducing us to people and taking lots of photos. He is always a delight to catch up with!

Aside from meeting all the wonderful people we met, we got to hear about some amazing projects and ideas.

It was inspiring, humbling and reaffirming.

Claire, Sarah and I worked well together and had a lot of fun.

We wanted our show to be positive because talking about environmental issues can get the best of us down pretty quickly. We also wanted to inject some colour, humour and movement as most of the rest of the festival was stationary (ie stalls and stages), so it was great to have the freedom to roam around and be free to go along the river, up pathways and behind stalls. We found great people everywhere we went!

What needs modifying?

1. After the initial ride in and riding it for Friday’s gig, it became quickly apparent that we needed to make the pod higher. So on Saturday, we raised it and reinforced it where needed. This made being in the Bio Bike much more comfortable.

2. Before I left for the ride into the city, I ended up having to put in a modified splint/brace going from the back wheel to the sides of the tank to give the structure some rigidity and help hold the shape so it didn’t swing.

3. The seat had to be set at a certain height so that the rear of the shell didn’t rub on the back wheel. However, this meant that is was precarious for Sarah and Claire to ride the bike and difficult for them to put their feet on the ground to stop/start riding (we had one serious mishap from this). So an alteration is needed so that we are able to lower the seat as needed.

What we learnt

1. Make sure any lighting, cable ties or decorations do not infringe on the handlebars turning or gear leavers. On Saturday night, we strung up lighting all over the pod. It looked amazing! I had to do a quick gaffer job as loose cables started catching when I turned the handlebars and it made navigating tricky and potentially unsafe – but it was easily rectified.

2. We had an interesting discussion with one festival-goer who asked us if we recycled the cable ties. We explained that the pod screen was recycled from a previous project and that we did reuse the longer cable-ties. She suggested that we could use wire to link the bottle top pod together instead of cable-ties, which I thought was a great idea. I’m looking forward experimenting with this suggestion.

3. I am so glad we carried extra gaffer tape, cable ties and scissors – lifesavers!

4. People really appreciated the Eco Excellence Awards. It made me so happy to see how stoked they were to find out that each one is custom-made out of recycled bike parts. I was also super happy to hear people talking about the Awards and the Bio Bike while I was not performing. I overheard people waiting for food and in the beer tent chatting about cool stuff they have seen at the festival, showing their mate the Award they had received from us and saying that they had fun interacting with our performance. Best compliment ever!

Would we do it again?

Hells yeah!

Thanks to all the awesome peeps who made our time amazing!

A massive big thank you to those involved in making the SLF happen, Simon and Andrea in particular. But also all the other volunteers, exhibitors and crew we met.

The SLF crew was so supportive, helpful and encouraging. Thanks so much for having us as part of your team!

To the punters who came up and chatted – thanks, for your energy, stories and time – it was truly a blessing to meet you all, spend some quality time to connect and hear what you have been up to.

And a big salute to City of Melbourne for putting on such an important event. It was great to see the community coming together to discuss such critical issues that affect us all.

Melbourne … you Rock!

09/02/201812/02/2018

Bio Bike: Your Future Thanks You!

This post shows how we constructed the Bio Bike frame into our second performance model, Your Future Thanks You.

See the last couple of posts for first Bio Bike Model: The Eco T(h)anks.

This is the model we will be using for this weekend’s Sustainable Living Festival. I can’t wait!

Click here to get the Festival Highlights Program.

Here’s the listing for our performance from the Festival Program.

Sweet!!!

I am super happy we were forward-thinking enough to make the Bio Bike frame modular. And now that we have two different tops that we can interchange, it makes the Bio Bike frame so much more versatile.

Currently, we have two tops we can use for two different performances.

The Eco T(h)anks and the Eco Protection Corps
Your Future Thanks You

So, it has been all action stations to get the Bio Bike frame that we previously constructed as the based for the Eco T(h)anks into the Your Future Thanks You.

Construction started, of course, with our Bio Bike base…

Claire had done an amazing job bending the PVC piping to shape the pod shell.

We wanted the pod to look a little comical and dinky.

We both agreed that we didn’t want a fully polished piece, we liked the home-made-any-one-can-do-this feel. We also didn’t want to over-engineer, complicate or over-decorate the pod. The whole point was that it was grassroots and fun.

We also wanted people to be able to see that it was clearly made out of recycled materials and that it wasn’t ‘perfect’ – and didn’t need to be to be super fun!

Claire had a previous artwork that we refashioned to be the back of the pod. The green section gave it a bit of colour and we decided to let it flop at the front because we liked the odd and unruly look of it – made you think that there is no way this thing could fly – which was perfect!

The pod shell was constructed out of recycled PET bottles attached together. I then lay it over the pod and zip tied it to the pod frame, while Claire was working on the wings.

Then, Hey Presto! The wings were ready.

Now, all we have to do is attach the propellers and put it on the bike!

I’ll be riding this Bio Bike from Footscray into Federation Square – just as I did for our 2014 SLF roving performance, Leki & the Ova.

I LOVE doing this!

It is a great way for the bike structure to settle in, I get to see if there are any last minute adjustments needed, and it is great to go whizzing by the poor unsuspecting public and see their faces! Honk! Honk!

It makes me super happy to ride our art bikes to the festival site. It gets me in the happy, bikes-are-awesome mood and this awesomeness is carried over into when the performance starts as I am already primed for fun!

Unleash the beast!

Here is the final Bio Bike…

Here’s our listing on the event program below!

See you all there!

Category: Art Bike