Water under the bridge.

I was trawling though my computer today in an effort to make it tidier when I came across a folder from a long time ago. Not all that exciting beside the fact that this photo was taken no more than half an hour after I met Rachael for the first time. I must have thought she was special even after such a short chat.


It was two days before New Years 2007. I'd just returned from Afghanistan, was in a relationship, lived 2 and a half thousand kilometres away and was spending the summer crashing at my olds. A lot of water has gone under the bridge!

Rocket Fuel.

Everyone knows that it's not hard to twist my arm and make me buy some random bike related item; whether it be fashion, bling or air tickets. The other day as I was 'studying' and came across a cool little site selling hand made hats made of recycled fabrics and almost exclusively individual or limited production designs. Rocket Fuel.

So I bought one......express post saw it in my hot little hands within a business day.


So how does it work? Really well. It was a crisp day in Canberra as usual and I decided to 'study' all day by sleeping in, jumping on a fixie, breakfasting at Cafe Essen, buying some nice wool pants, picking up an ebay purchased vintage Campag shifter and just ambling around the bike paths of the Capital. The hat kept my head warm, was comfy and looked better at a cafe than my racing striped cotton cycling caps.


I really like the hat and can see my self wearing it a lot, even when not on a tredly.

Natural colours.

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The good life.

It's been a good week so far. Bought a pile of stuff I don't need on Saturday (including 2 pairs my favourite MacPac short which are out of production but still stocked at MacPac........I found it exciting anyway).

Sunday was spent riding. A very crisp morning road ride with the bunch who call themselves 'il Groupetto', followed by a big breaky at Cafe Essen. Then it was off to Mt Stromlo for an arvo mountain bike ride. The weather at the moment is perfect, just above ten degrees and sunny.


Then today I slept in. Yes it's Monday but I have the week off to 'study'. The reason 'studying' is a bit of a joke is that I only need four percent in my Communication & Informations Systems exam to pass. Yes, I'm that good.

So I took a pile of crap to the dump and stopped at the dump shop. Every now and then you're in the right place at the right time.

I bought this Bennet Racer for a twenty. It wouldn't be far from the truth to say it has never been ridden. The rims are chrome and barely show any contact with the brake pads. The chainrings are grease free and the tyres are original but brand new. This is pretty good considering it'd have to be from the early seventies; judging by the Shimano 'Thunder Bird II' and 'Eagle' front and rear derailleurs. Bennett was a spin-off from Malvern Star back in the day; it has no markings but I wouldn't hesitate to say it's a cheap Asian frame badged 'Bennett' for sale in Australia.


So I thought I'd pick it up for someone to use as a pub bike. For fifty bucks of course.......

On the way home I thought I'd drop in to the bakery a few of my friends have been raving about, The Flute in Fyshwick. It happens to be situated in the middle of an industrial area, which makes it even more like you're stepping into a different world. I bought a trio of sandwiches made of mini baguettes and devoured them atop Mt Ainslie, admiring the snowy mountains in the distance. The sour dough loaf/ring/thing and the danish made it home.


Let's hope the rest of the week is just as good.

Canberra Tweed Ride.

Every now and then someone comes up with a brilliant idea, most of these ideas have bikes and alcohol involved. On Saturday I was lucky enough to be involved in one, The Canberra Tweed Ride.


As the poster suggests, we met up at Gorman House for a coffee and a few minutes of admiring each others bikes. There certainly was a good mix; all unique, some rare, some rescued from the dump and some cobbled together out of old parts.


While some were just proud Monarchists.....




We headed out through the streets of Canberra, there were some astounded looks and lots of smiles.






It wasn't long before our first stop for a mechanical. There certainly wasn't any hurry as it takes a while to smoke a pipe.


We soon arrived at Olims, where Steve had organised a presentation to the best dressed gentleman.



I'm not sure if Olims has seen this much tweed since it's establishment sixty years ago.




We hit the streets again on our way to The Front in Lyneham.


We owned the road.


Steve was happy to see some local art on the walls.




The award was also made to the best bike of the day, A ninteen thirties no-name rescued from a dumpster. (Seen in the photo five up).


The mean streets of Canberra dealt a harsh blow when Lainey was punched in the face by a passing bogan. Completely unprovoked and spineless, the man waited till the last person before he took action; obviously too scared to take the brunt of the Tweed wearing men in the bunch. Maybe she should have been wearing her Roler Derby getup, he would have thought twice then. Luckily she was carrying an emergency beverage and a rest was had before moving on.


We settled into the Phoenix after being rudely treated at the Wig & Pen by a bogan staff member, such a disappointment; maybe the local bogan sporting team had lost some kind of local bogan sporting competition and all the bogans were angry that day?!?!?

The female fashion award was judged and much merriment was had by all before the gentlemen and ladies started fading away like ghosts of a far simpler time.......





......I didn't fade away til three in the morning. Had to escort Lainey home on her bike (didn't want her to see the unsightly underbelly of Canberra again that day), crashed once and was so cold by the time I reached my house that I could not use my fingers to turn the key in the door. Do they make winter weight tweed gloves????

Thanks need to go to Steve, John (Mr RiotAct below) and everyone else that made the day fantastic.