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IT's the year of the tikitTM, and after an enthusiastic reception in the USA, Asia and the EU, it ventured to the land downunder with the Galfromdownunder ... |
Pictured right: David Larson of Bicycle Victoria says, "You got a tikit to ride this tram, gal!" RELATED STORIES Burn Carbs Not Hydrocarbs A mini sustainability symposium featuring movers and shakers of the Sydney and Brisbane bicycle scene, Why not stage an event like this in your city? Out of this world in Cowra The 12th Australian BF Club gathering: cow-calling, blind stokers, the planet Saturn, and more! |
 Pictured right: Peter Holloway of Cycle Science, our new Melbourne dealer, with BF fans Alan and Sally Hutchison MOVIES Melbourne: May the folder be with you ... celebrating the folder's right of passage on Melbourne trams with Bicycle Victoria VP David Larson Melbourne: Bike Friday in Melbourne riding with the Melbourne Bicycle Touring Club et al Sydney: BikeBar, our new Sydney Dealer Bring on the cogs and coffee! Movie is on this BikeBar dealer page Sydney: The tikitTM in Trumper Park, Paddiington, now this is a real 'urban jungle' in the heart of Paddington, Sydney Canberra: Dreams on Wheels a glimpse at the Jan Gehl exhibition with the Bike Friday Club of Canberra Brisbane: Cycle2City Bike Garage A haven for the serious CBD Bicycle Commuter. Galfromdownunder takes a wander with Director John Hack prior to the Burn Carbs Not Hydrocarbs symposium Brisbane: Bike Friday Club of Brisbane ride with cool music by Pocket Rocket Pro owner Nigel Dick Brisbane: ABC Radio Brisbane's Phil Smith interviews the Galfromdownunder on 'when does a person give up driving?' Perhaps when gas costs $100 a tank! |
 Pictured right: The Webb family were triple the fun in Brisbane PHOTO GALLERIES SYDNEY PHOTO GALLERY Doing our bit for the "Sustainable Sydney" crusade. See also Burn Carbs Not Hydrocarbs, Sydney MELBOURNE PHOTO GALLERY Riding with the Melbourne Bicycle Touring Club, Gal Filmfest CANBERRA PHOTO GALLERY Gal FilmFest@ ANU, Jan Gehl Sustainbility Exhibition, Pedal Power talk BRISBANE PHOTO GALLERY See also Burn Carbs Not Hydrocarbs, Brisbane
Poster for Gal Filmfest Melbourne May 13 | Canberra May 15 | Brisbane July 9 |
 An on the road update ... contact me by email lynette at bikefriday.com, 0420 968 067 March-July 2008 I HAD two objectives for this trip downunder - attend and report on the 12 Australian Bike Friday Club gathering (see full multimedia report) and find a bike shop to represent Bike Friday in each of Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. At present we have one dealer, Epic Cycles in Brisbane, doing a great job, but quite understandably, folks more south would like to be able to wander into a shop closer to their back door. SYDNEY Sydney is proved to be the challenge. Despite the Sustainable Sydney banners flapping in the breeze and a Sydney Cycling Strategy passed by the powers that be, there is some resistance to the multi-modal bicycle - partly because the mass transit system is as overloaded as the streets at rush hour. Which comes first, the folding bicycle or space on the train/bus? Well, for many, you could avoid the train altogether and launch out under your own steam. You just have to know how, and connecting with your local bicycle users group is a start. We're trying to help bridge that knowledge gap by holding a "mini sustainability symposium". I met with Sydney cycling advocates Fiona Campbell (pictured with me outside the offices of Bicycle NSW) and Adrian Boss, both folding bike owners who are helping stage this informal evening - designed to inform locals about ways to ease themselves into cycling for work, rest and play - see Burn Carbs Not Hydrocarbs and come along May 29 if you're in the area. Thanks to Clarence St Cyclery for making their shop available as a space to stage the presentation. More Sydney soon when I get back to Sydney May 23. STOP PRESS! We've secured a dealer in Sydney! Please welcome Liam Kelly and Bike Bar Bondi Junction to the fold. How do you welcome him? Go to his shop and test ride a tikitTM! |
Pictured: Keith Warburton, founder of MBTC, marvels at a tikitTM balancing act... I've heard all the reports about Melbourne bicycle usage jumping to an all time high in the last two years. And just as well - the traffic has become roobar to towbar since I last lived here, pre 1997. The bicycle shops also appear to be ore receptive, inviting me to come and show the tikitTM to them, or maybe that's just the Melbourne politeness! The Melbourne Bicycle Touring Club is till going strong with many familiar faces from ten years ago looking no older than ten years ago - like I say, must be all that bike riding and in the case of our bikes, all that "kiddie" bike riding! I did a fabulous 50km tour of Melbourne's trails and bike paths, all linked up by club member Peter. Moulton Rep Michael Kater put out the world and several Moultons and a Brompton showed up - out numbering the one Friday that came, saw and conquered (me). However, we did have two Friday owners in the group - their Fridays were packed in suitcases or on their way over from Eugene. Colin Freestone and I shared the podium at the weekly MBTC meeting, Colin promoting his Sulawesi trip and me folding the tikitTM. MBTC club founder and bicycle enthusiast Keith Warburton is pictured here marveling at the tikit balancing on the end of a folding pedal - do not try this unsupervised! |
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 Last time I flew Virgin Blue they allowed me to roll my Crusoe up to the counter naked (the Crusoe that is) and it arrived ship shape under their "Oversized Baggage" banner. See airport tips for that story. Things have changed - they now let you take it in a bag or box as sporting goods, which count for 5 of your 20 kg allowance no matter how heavy the bike is. Cool! Except that despite my jaunty "I heart baggage handlers" tags I got from Brookstone Stuffarama, it did sustain some suspicious though not too serious scrunching. Then several people told me Virgin are the worst for handling baggage. Oh no! I hope management reads this and issues kid gloves. The Sydney-Melb flight was $89 with a duration of 2 hours or so; the train was $91 and a very long haul. Yes, I burned a little jet fuel ... and perhaps, we get what we pay for ... UPDATE: I flew Virgin from Brisbane to Sydney with the tikitTM in its transit cover and it fared slightly less well - needless to say I am ordering new parts for it pronto. Perhaps if one was to leave the cover off altogether it might attract better treatment - or just put it in the suitcase and be done with it! - LC |
tikitTM World's Fastest Folder with the Famous Friday Ride |