No doubt you’ll reckon the first 30 seconds from The Hollowmen. It wasn’t until listening to it twice that my internal memory drive kicked in that I actually recall hearing North by North on community FM back in the 80’s. Which goes to show if you cram your head with too much shit, the good stuff gets buried and partially forgotten.

Love one of the comments left on YouTube:

Been dating this tune intensely enough to marry it.

After 18 years I tend to agree. Now to track down some Flying Nun compilations.

Marcel liked bicycles so much he decided to create this DIY truing stand, much to the admiration of his fellow Dadaists who really liked bikes too.

Like a true Dadaist, Marcel built up this wheel with 2-cross on one side and 3-cross on the other.

Pablo loved bicycles, so he made this bronze cast of a early bullhorn prototype and matched it with a lovely Brookes saddle imitation, thus creating a precursor to Sheldon Browns “Hardman Saddle” by several decades.

Yeah I’m rather busy elsewhere and not really focussed on this blogging stuff. Although I strongly suggest having a good, long read of what is detailed on the YCAT site, if you give more than a flying proverbial about sustainable transport, your local community or even state government transparency. I think the entire East-West Needs Assessment palavar is going to bring out unpleasant home truths. In 1977 people actually built barricades down on Alexandra Parade against the encroaching F19. With that in mind, it’s going to be intriguing to observe where peoples priorities are situated on the proposed road tunnel, as it shapes up to be the one of the biggest infrastructure developments ever proposed in Australia’s history.

Who’s more concerned in keeping their future job prospects over voicing serious environmental concerns? Who are more concerned with maintaining the party status quo over fighting against factional bullshit? Who is more concerned with pretending the massive road tunnel proposal doesn’t exist in their reality and will only kick up a tokenistic protest attempt like a pissy bicycle ride when the massive tunneling roadshow rolls into Fitzroy, Collingwood, Carlton, Kensington & Sunshine? Sadly time will tell when it comes to sorting out those who honestly give a shit vs. camp followers.

Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel: John Quinton

No dam and no going back

The High Court ruling on July 1, 1983 not only stopped hydro-electric development on the lower Gordon and Franklin rivers, it was the climax of a great national drama, ending years of politicking and protest which changed the country forever.

The issue destroyed the governments of two Tasmanian premiers, Doug Lowe and Harry Holgate, and loosened Labor’s grip on the state, establishing the Liberals as a significant player for the first time in decades, under the tough-talking, pro-development leadership of premier Robin Gray.

25 years ago today I was too scared to catch the school bus home in fear of another fight. Instead I walked home, relieved that the High Court had made the correct decision but terrified of the social implications to come. Social implications are pretty harsh when you’re a teenager. Peer groups and so-called grown ups can be very cruel when you’re too young to face up to a fight or know how to win. Just don’t even consider thinking about trying to intimidate me now. You know who you are.

CNSNews.com: The Threat to the Car
Recent evidence that automobile use is declining in America and that some Americans are making significant — and in some cases not readily reversible — changes in their lives because of escalating gas prices should be worrisome signs for those who love liberty.

No device is more in keeping with the American spirit than the automobile. Privately owned cars and trucks allow us to go where we want, when want. They are freedom machines.

Cripes. Better hide that subscription to ReNew before the AFP kick the door down.

Still, some liberals would like to use government to force Americans out of their cars.

They believe in socialized transportation, not free-market transportation.

In a free-market transportation system, a person purchases his own vehicle with his own money, buys his own gas with his own money and can drive his vehicle anywhere there is a road — and, if he has the right kind of vehicle, some places where there are no roads.

Admittedly, the roads generally are constructed by government, albeit with funds extracted from the earnings and gasoline purchases of drivers.

In a socialist transportation system, the government takes the taxpayers’ money and purchases vehicles — often buses or trains — for itself or a government-funded agency. Where and when these vehicles go is determined by the government.

Well I’ll be fucked. Mystery solved, thats where the Doncaster train went.

In a free-market transportation system, a person travels solely in the company of people with whom he has freely chosen to travel. In a socialist transportation system, a person may be compelled to travel in the company of people he does not know and who could even be a danger to him.

I have no doubt that most Americans who love the freedom of movement they derive from owning and operating a car or truck have recognized efforts by various levels of government to induce them to stop, or limit, their driving and cajole or compel them to leave the free-market transportation system and submit to the socialist transportation system.

Yeah, actually public transport shits me at time too, but not to the paranoid extent this chap seems to be chewing hard on. I’ll spare you the rest, read the entire article at the link supplied above. But you do need to peruse this bit:

Hopefully, the 8 percent who have taken to socialized transportation represents a trend that can be reversed.

We should drill our own oil — now. And, when the supply naturally diminishes to where prices drive the market elsewhere, American entrepreneurs must create another fuel whose production the government cannot readily curtail, and that keeps Americans driving where they want to, when they want to, in privately owned cars.

You should kiss your arse goodbye — now.

Luckily in retrospect bicycles weren’t mentioned in this commentary, as anything to the right of Genghis Khan is probably a Castro aficionado to T. P. Jeffrey. I was going to attempt a reasonable deconstruction of steaming pile of denial bollox, but my personal time is probably better utilised by finishing up a delicious homebrew stout and basking in the glow of a reasonably pleasant day that avoided the EastLink muppet ride.

Matthew Bellemy has turned 30. Well done young man, take a bow. I’m a bit long in the tooth to be a Muse fan chick, but am thankful for all those arpeggios that have renewed my interest in music of late. Now if only I could of attended all of the Sparks Concert series ones, one life goal would be complete. Oh, ok, and finish a Paris-Brest-Paris in under 85 hours, then my life would really be complete if one wasn’t half-dead and utterly fucked from the extreme exertion. Although with shrinking oil supplies and overdemand it’s bit of a longshot that One Day I’ll either do the PBP or see the Maels live in concert. We can only dream.

Or buy the DVDs of somebody else seeing or doing what I wanted to do.

Part One: Cyclists Special (1955) - A British Transport Films account of inspirational tweed cyclists.

Part Two: Cyclists Special (1955) - A British Transport Films account of inspirational tweed cyclists.

Connex and V/Line could learn a thing, or several, from this smashing educational CTC video found via Tweed Cycling Club. Nice tips about taking bicycles on trains, cycling skills, group riding, socialising and the wonders of a jolly good day in the outdoors. Wizard! Ok lets not ask awkward questions right now why only a few years ago CTC organised protests involving cardboard bikes re: bicycles on trains access.

x-posted ‘Style over Speed‘ on Melbourne Cyclist.

A short promotional video I made for the upcoming Ride of Silence on 24 May 2008. Images: Brisbane and Bendigo RoS. Music: January Rain by Hunters and Collectors.

Ride of Silence Australia: Adelaide, Bendigo, Bowral, Canberra, Melbourne, Mount Isa, Sydney and Townsville.

Further Australian Ride details here.

Diversion tactic 1: Why can’t riding a bike or dealing with misdirected aggression be as this much fun?

The blog title alone should score me a few hits with the pig shooters & roided up cartards. What’s this one about then?

This.

“I’m not a cyclists hater, I’m not nothing,” Jason told Macquarie Radio this morning.

“I was just driving along and I had a car failure and now I’m in trouble - I dunno.”

Oh the hiliarity which has ensured since “Jason” had his epic moment of cognitive and mechanical dissonance on Sydneys Southern Cross Drive on Thursday morning. Not only did he piss off from a road incident (yes, obviously clearly illegal), the lad then had the temerity to go on 2GB and have a chat. (more…)

So, if you’re in Canberra or visiting soon, the re-opening of the Royal Danish Embassy includes a cycling themed exhibition entitled “Dreams on Wheels: Danish Cycling Culture for Urban Sustainability”.

The exhibition includes an amazing bicycle film festival (see the program in the links below!), speakers program, a community day and free rides on an original Copenhagen Citybike.

From the Danish Embassy site: The exhibition is curated by Thomas Ermacora, Founder of Etikstudio, and has previously been shown at the Danish House in Paris, The Danish Design Centre in Copenhagen, and Harbourfront Centre of Toronto.

The concept is driven by the motivation to illustrate how a “cyclocentric” approach to urban development stimulates environmental concern and sustainable civic behaviour.

Dreams on Wheels can be seen at the Showcase Gallery, Commonwealth Place, Canberra, ACT from 3 May to the 1 June 2008. Admission is free and open to people of all ages.

• More information
• Film Program
• Speakers Program
• Community Day

Sounds like heaps o’ fun for the entire family. Singles & bicycles catered for too.

Gosh!