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

19/08/201825/09/2018

Trail Troll – MTB Art

How often do you see art installations when you are on a bike?

Road riders see the most given they’re on roads and bike paths which have more art in public spaces, but it is rare for trail riders.

So how to bring more art to MTB trails?

Easy – have an arts festival in an MTB forest.

That way you can promote the outdoors, trail use (biking/walking), sustainability, community and the arts all in one place.

The annual Breckenridge International Arts Festival (BIFA) is one such event that showcases how exceptionally well the trail-art unity can work.

And this year BIFA’s trail art installation was particularly impressive…..

Trail Troll- MTB Art

This year Danish artist @thomasdambo created the most awesome thing I’ve seen in a long time on an MTB bike trail (aside from the actual wicked bike trail systems themselves).

A massive Trail Troll made from out of wood from the surrounding forest.

The best part of this part of this Trail Troll?

Hidden inside is a heart-shaped stone the local kids gave the artist when he was building the installation.

And – only those who ride (or walk) up the trail can access the sculpture.

For those who want to see it: Start at the trail sign at the east end of the Northern parking lot and walk up the trail to stairs. At the top of the stairs take a left and then a right onto Moonstone Trail and hike up the trail for 20-30 minutes.

The Trail Troll installation, BIFA and @breckcreate collectively, are brilliant models of how the trail using community (riders, walkers and others) can collaborate with industries to extend and innovative tourism, sustainability and public/arts opportunities and access.

What is the BIFA?

This festival is held annually in Breckenridge, Colorado (USA).

It is a unique meshworking and celebration of all things active, outdoors and creative.

Inspired by themes of environment and mountain culture, the Breckenridge International Festival of Arts brings together a variety of performances, installations, exhibitions, screenings, workshops, talks, and surprise collaborations, with an eclectic mix of music, theatre, film, visual and street arts, and family entertainment.

BIFA 2018 was held August 9-19th.

The festival’s key themes are:

Music & Performance
Visual Arts
Multidisciplinary
Film and Cinematic Arts
Contemporary Circus
Acoustic Flow
Workshops, Talks and Demos
….and most importantly for MTBers- the TRAIL MIX program!

What is the BIFA Trail Mix?

Trail Mix combines art, music, hiking and biking along the trails of Breckenridge through free outdoor concerts and environmental installations, featuring pop-up performances throughout BIFA. Featuring artworks by Nicole Banowetz, Thomas Dambo and Edina Tokodi. Co-presented with Breckenridge Music Festival.

The Trail Troll was a key part of this year’s Trail Mix Offering.

So if you are in the area – grab your bike and get on Moonstone Trail to check it out.

For those who are not in Colorado – perhaps the Trail Troll will fire up the imagination and action for an installation for your local trail.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Happy Trail Trolls!

09/08/201813/08/2018

Thigh Bicycle Tattoos

Bicycle Tattoos - on thighs. Bicycles Create Change.com 9th August, 2018 — Source: Swoopsworld Pinterest)

Many cyclists are fanatical about bikes.

There are umpteen ways for bicycle enthusiasts to exhibit and share their love of bikes.

One of the most permanent commitments is to get it tattooed on your body.

I posted my first bicycle themed tattooed blog post here on bicycles create change back in August 2016, called Cycle Ink (Part 1).

I wanted to give a snapshot of the variety of bike tattoos and to showcase some of the standard and more unusual styles of bicycle tattoos around.

However, permanent tattoos are not everyone. So, my next bicycle tattoo blog post, was on Bicycle Temporary Tattoos (April 23rd, 2017).

Thigh Bicycle Tattoos

For this post, I wanted to see what kind of bicycle tattoos there are out there specifically on thighs.

I’ve seen a wonderful array of individual, quirky and incredible cycling tattoos over the years (go to a Singlespeed World Championship and you will know what I mean!) and I love how bold and unique they are.

I chose the tattoos below, not because they are the best looking tattoos, but because they show a good range of personalities and styles (both in riders and tattoos!).

I divided them up into 4 categories.

Here’s what I found….

1. For the fun of the ride

The first group of thigh bike tattoos include those that are fun, light, playful and a little bit sexy.

2. Colour and movement

Other people prefer some colour and movement in their tattoos.

3. Each part is a thing of beauty

Tattoos also celebrate the mechanical nature of ‘the parts of the greater whole’ and various types of bikes.

4. The hard truth about cycling power

For others, it is the raw pedal power that excites and motivates.

And there are many others!

Love them or hate them, tattoos are here to stay.

Some riders have bike tattoos and some riders don’t – maybe someone you ride with has one – but you just can’t see it.

So next time you are on a ride, keep your eyes open for a cycling tattoo gem and have a chat with someone who has their tattooed love of bicycles on display.

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!

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!!

13/03/201818/04/2018

Holi Festival 2018

Video courtesy: Paviter Kumar Noori

Holi Festival 2018

Last weekend, I headed down to the Brisbane Holi Festival 2018 celebrations.

I was drawn to this event for a number of reasons: it is a wonderful cultural celebration, it was being held in an area of Brisbane I have not been to, and most importantly, there was an organised public bike ride to kick off the festivities!

I saw this community event on the Brisbane City Council website – and this is what is said:

Dress in white for the Holi Festival of Colours at Rocks Riverside Park and be prepared to get dirty when the colour throwing begins. Cycle to the event with the Two Wheels Bike Ride and try yoga, Bollywood dancing, delicious food and dance in the rain before the festival closes in an explosion of flying coloured powder.

What is Holi Festival?

The Holi Festival is known as the ‘Festival of Colour”.

It is an Indian cultural festival that celebrates community, fun and colour. It is the original event where people throw coloured powder over each other as a way of connecting people, having fun and celebrating life.

To find out more information about the significance, background and rituals of a more traditional Holi Festival, click here.

So what happened?

Here’s how I first saw the event advertised:

Which sounded right up my alley! I’m in!

So I called my creative collaborator, Claire. We packed the car up for the day with our colourful bikes, dressed in white and headed out to have some fun.

There was lots of Bollywood dancing, food stalls, demonstrations and lots of DJs that kept the dancing crowd happy – and continuous colour throwing!

After our ride along the river, we were a little hot and sweaty. So, we grabbed some delicious lunch and hung out in the shade. It was great to watch groups of kids getting crazy, families arriving and friends frolicking.

That was the best part of the day for me.

The DJs really started getting going around 1 pm. By then, the crowd had started built and was in full swing, so we headed into the main area for a boogie and to get amongst it.

We were instantly set upon by happy festival-goers (our clothes were VERY white and obviously needed some ‘help’) and while we were chatting and meeting new people, we danced around and got drenched by water cannons and splashed with colour.

The Indian community is so warm and friendly. It was so affirming to see so many ages, shapes, nationalities, ethnicities and mixes of people – it was a delight to be part of.

This kind of event represents the kind of community that I want to live in.

Awesome!

Leki was a real hit.

When it was time to leave, Claire and I grabbed our bikes to ride back…and we got accosted from all sides by punters wanting to have their photos taken with Leki (and the flower helmet beanie)!

How could we say no?

A minor hiccup

We had a minor hiccup on the day – we missed the organised ride.

Below is the ticket I received after booking. Claire and I (and Leki) happily took off on the day with our bikes to join the ride. The only problem was that we didn’t have enough info to find the location for the start of the ride in time.

The location was far too broad – We’d never been to this area before and the GPS stopped us in the middle of a busy street – eck!

We arrived and drove around and around – there were no signs on the main road indicating where the festival was. Finally, we worked out where it was, but by then, we were too late to join the official ride.

So, we went on our own little ride/mission along the riverside, which was great fun!

We had an equally great time exlporing the new bike trails ourselves and then we headed back to join the festivities. By then, it was starting to really get going in the main arena – perfect timing!

We had a great day! We danced, got coloured and we rode our bikes of colours.

By the time I got home, I was very tired – and very happy!

04/03/201807/03/2018

Happy 2018 Sydney Mardi Gras on bicycles!

In homage to the incredible 2018 gay and lesbian Mardi Gras festivities held this week in Australia, this post is about the ways in which bicycles have featured in the Sydney Mardi Gras over the years. Happy strutting and mirror balls all! NG.

Happy 2018 Sydney Mardi Gras on bicycles!

This week was the 40th anniversary of the Sydney gay and lesbian Mardi Gras. I lived in Sydney for 3.5 years and had a wonderful time there. The annual Mardi Gras festival is always a major social and cultural event in my calendar. The colour, sparkles, energy, cheekiness and sheer volume of ..well.. everything ..is truly something to behold.

And this year is extra special because of the historic Yes vote for gay marriages – so there was a gay marriage included in the parade for the first time ever.

Oh… and Cher (at 71) was there killing it as the headline act for the official party – and for the 500,000-strong crowd. Amazing!

If you missed it (or want to see it again!) SBS has the full ‘glitter-filled’ Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras broadcast available online here.

Aside from the well-known The Dykes on Bikes (who are on motorcycles, not pushies of course!), on the surface, there does not seem to be much bicycle action at Mardi Gras.

But… dig a little deeper and you will find that Mardi Gras has a heart of two-wheels! Here are just a few examples…..

Sydney Spokes

The Sydney Spokes is a social cycling group for gay and lesbian riders. This cycling club has an amazing history and connection with the Mardi Gras.

In 1987, Sydney Spokes had it’s first official and public recognition when it was listed in the Mardi Gras Festival Guide. The listing described their first bicycle-theme Mardi Gras entry for that year.

In 1991, the club won 1st Prize Mardi Gras Parade for Best Community Float, which entailed Brett Heil (organiser) and three cyclists ‘towing’ a ute with floating ropes of helium balloons. Upmarket bikes were raised high on the back of the ute and Sydney Spokes riders flanked both sides, whilst other members circled the main float on bikes.

According to the club, the Channel 9 Sunday Evening News (then the highest-rating program on Sydney television) led its Mardi Gras coverage with footage of the Spokes float.

In 1995, the club once again took out a Mardi Gras Parade Prize, this time for Most Outstanding Foreplay, which was awarded for their performance which honoured loved ones who had died of AIDS through the clubs ‘Spirits of the Night’ entry.

There are a few rainbow cycling clubs around like Sydney Sokes – for example, the Velociped Salon Team below….

A gift idea for those rides who have a sock/kit fetish …. (joke intended!)

All across Australia, people celebrate Mardi Gras and rock the rainbow on two-wheels in many different ways.. like this lovely free spirit below photographed in Perth.

And these two brave Sydney Spokers below were snapped in the 2013 Mardi Gras….

And, finally, perhaps this guy below SHOULD have been at Mardi Gras??

However you ended up celebrating Mardi Gras this year – I hope you had a wonderfully sparkly time!

Remember, you don’t have to wait for Mardi Gras to rock the rainbow, get happy and get out on ya bike! Happy Mardi Gras all!

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!