Author Archives: Andrew

Dear diary …

Oh yeah, just briefly ...

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So I was pretty happy yesterday when I found out that Brad Norman had secured permission from BCC for his cyclocross race. Emailed a couple of people to tell them about it, planned to post something here, etc etc. And Scott Kirton announced the date for the Ipswich cyclocross as well!

Then I thought: what I need is a way to ensure that briztreadley’s massive and ever-growing readership knows exactly which cool events are on the horizon. Because when I find out about fun stuff you can do on a bike, I don’t want to keep it to myself! I want the world to know, so you & they & I can ride/race together.

So check out the briztreadley Events Calendar (especially the two cyclocross races in July and August). Let me know of great events that you are organising that I can plug. And let’s go for a ride. On-road, dirt-road, grass-track, off-road singletrack. (Church house gin house, schoolhouse outhouse) It’s all fun on your bike.

Take to the highway, won’t you lend me your name

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Just a couple of pix from the South Bank bunch’s participation in the Grafton-Inverell cyclosportif on the weekend.

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I was merely driving the support bus on the day. And taking the occasional photo.

Dave P was one of the riders … here’s a bit from his email to the group afterwards …

Gentlemen riders and gentle support crew,

Thank you for an amazing ‘big’ day on the bike. It’s hard to single out any particular event, but: the little talking to I received at Heffron Lookout; the honey shots received there and at other times; the fantastic encouragement from everyone in the peleton; the magnificent views eclipsed only by a gorgeous gourmet homemade lunch (eaten in bare feet which added yet another dimension); the warm camaraderie of sitting with self-satisfaction amongst a fellow group of smelly cyclists at the post-ride dinner having a quiet beer; the rapidly receding memory of cramps here and there and an awfully flat feeling at certain other times. All rank as important memories of the day.

No, if any one thing stands out it is the vision of four little orange dots (well – various sized dots really) about 5 km ahead at wonderfully regular intervals and the certain knowledge of food, wet fluids and exceedingly dry words of support. Thank you Bruce, Andrew Greg(arious) and Jan (ranked only by size). Thank you too (in non-size order) Machinegun, Dean, Dean, David H, Ernesto, Billy, Jack R, and Ian J. Now that the memory of any pain has receded, all G2I virginal feelings have gone as well!

Thank you all for the opportunity to do the G2I with an impressive group of riders and support crew. Maybe 13 is a lucky number.

Nice words!

 

Want to go for a ride? Start here. Or here.

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View Ride Leader Locations in a larger map …

Scody Ride To Work Day is Wednesday 14 March. Free breakfast at King George Square.  Considering you already ride to work anyway, at least you can be rewarded for it on this day!

I love Bike Week, and Ride To Work Day is almost my favourite event of the week. But so is the Film Night, and the Amazing Race, and the Bike Week Cup!

(Fingers crossed for my annual date with K-dog at the Film Night. Last year Kerryn brought her husband along on our date. Unconventional!)

Indeed we do

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It’s quite some way off, but does this sound like a great day out or what:

We Like Bikes is a Brisbane City Council-sponsored event on Sunday May 20, 12-5pm. Held along the Teneriffe bikeway, Brisbane’s bicycle enthusiasts can enjoy live music, performances, workshops, food and beverages and even a “hot rod” bike competition as they cycle along the river. It’s alcohol-free, family friendly and a chance to unite Brisbane’s diverse cycling cultures.

That’s in an email from Ellie Freeman. I look forward to hearing more about this!

Ambition makes you look pretty ugly

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Phil and I are on the radio tomorrow. And by the magic of the Internets you can listen to it now. And I thought I was bad at jumping the gun.

Still getting used to this “record on Friday/broadcast on Sunday” thing. I can’t do the recording session next week cos I’ll be with a South Bank crew in a mini-bus on the way to Grafton.

But when next week’s show (that I won’t be on) is broadcast, I’ll will be in the same mini-bus on the way back from Inverell. So that’s what I should have said. Make the edit in your head when you listen to this week’s show. Please.

This week’s show features penny farthing guru (and onetime proprietor of Berretto’s Bikes) Brett Richardson on the nearly-dead art of frame-building.

And SBB’s own Nick O’Donnell giving it some spin on the subject of Bertie‘s (temporary) embouncement from the sport.

And if you like radio, and cyclists (which I know you do) you should listen to 4ZZZ on Saturday afternoons, 1-2pm. That’s the timeslot of two lovely cyclists, Domenico and Eleanor. I would link to a podcast or somesuch, but Dom seems to have been a teeny bit slack on that front lately (he said with the self-righteousness of someone who has two whole episodes to archive).

Echo chamber

Oh yeah, just briefly ...

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When your talented friends are busting themselves to bring some public attention to new artists and performers, kicking in a  few bucks seems like the very least you can do.

Who listens to the radio?

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That’s a link to the first show last week

Lots of friends listened in last Sunday to me & Phil chatting on the radio. I gotta relax, when I listen to it I think I sound a bit too eager, a bit too earnest. But that’s OK, I’m transmitting enthusiasm for cycling as well.

If you want to listen in this Sunday — Papergirl Bne, building a penny farthing, Bertie gets the boot — 1.30-2pm, here are some ways you can do it.

  1. Buy a digital radio. About $50 for the cheapest ones on Dealsdirect or eBay. About $75 from the ABC Shop or JB Hifi. But I think I will save up for a decent stereo one, or look around for a while for a good deal at least.
  2. TuneIn Radio Pro app on your iPhone or iPad. Look for ABC 612 Brisbane. Worked just fine on my home wireless network (until about five minutes before the end when the Internet dropped out!). I have my iPhone plugged into my stereo so I can listen on the good speakers.
  3. The ABC iPhone app, also on iPhone or iPad. Same deal, except I have found it to be less reliable than TuneIn Radio.
  4. On your computer. Go to ABC Brisbane and look for the Listen Live link. ABC Brisbane is the one you want.

And it is true that we need a name for the segment. I like ‘Sunday Spin’, which @brucewez came up with. But what do you think?

I got so city girl on you

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Papergirl Brisbane was both a very cool idea and a lot of fun.

It was also the first event for me in a slightly new role. Not just enthusiast for all things cycling, not just Bicycle Queensland person/advocate, not just blogger/photographer for briztreadley and/or RideQ.

But also co-host of a cycling program on ABC Digital local radio on Sunday afternoon with Phil Smith.

Here’s a rough cut of the piece for next Sunday on the radio. Don’t tell anyone.

I like this little series of pix where Noelia has given two boys some art in the Queen Street mall.

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And some of my better pix from the day.

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Only in my mind does this Tegan and Sara song have any connection to Papergirl. And one more call to an external site using a Flash widget to slow my site to a crawl. Click play, though, it’s worth it.

The high cost of not really thinking

Oh yeah, just briefly ...

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Here’s what is percolating around my head at the moment:

And here’s a cheesey pop song from my youth.