Becoming Bike-Friendly

My local shopping centre isn't one of those large department store/chain store hubs where everyone in a 10 kilometre radius spends hours wandering aimlessly looking at stuff they really don't need. It consists of an IGA and half a dozen or so small independent (mainly family run) businesses. Only the locals would know it exists as it isn't on any main roads. It always surprised me that the carparks were full when most of the customers probably live within a kilometre or two.

I mentioned to one of the store-owners about a year ago that I was amazed there were no bike racks. His main argument was that you weren't supposed to bring bikes into the centre. I figured that you weren't supposed to bring cars into the centre either but there was still somewhere to park.

Imagine my excitement at walking around the corner and seeing new bike racks.

No more locking my bike to the main gates or one of the lamp poles.

Is your local centre walkable or ridable? Is you local centre bike friendly?

Take care

A Leisurely Afternoon Ride

As you may know, we only have one car, so bikes play a pretty important role here. One of us will generally ride to work so having a good bike is necessary. I have been riding a Merida mountain bike for the last few years. It was a hand-me-down and has served me well.

During our time in Berlin I fell in love with the bikes ridden there. Everyone seemed to have Dutch style (sit up) bikes and they all looked so comfortable riding these.

I had been finding that my mountain bike was causing me some neck and lower back discomfort from the position I needed to be in to ride. I realised that it was time to get a bike especially for me.

After quite a lot of research I decided on a Gazelle. All of the reviews I read were really positive and I liked that one of the comments mentioned that these bikes were made in the Netherlands, not in China, by people who were paid fairly for their work. A few weeks ago I managed to test ride a Gazelle but it was a little on the small side. The dealers were wonderful and organised getting a bigger orange (well, it is Dutch) bike in for me to try.

The call came in from Mercer Cycles, the only Gazelle dealer in Perth, about a week ago, letting me know that the bike was now in stock. With wet weather and a sick kiddo, I hadn't managed to get down there for a test ride. Today was the day and there was no way I wasn't getting down there.

After a ride, and some altering of handlebars and seat, I was totally smitten. I decided this was an investment worth making. It felt beautifully smooth to ride and incredibly comfortable sitting upright. It has been designed and made really well.

The plan was always to ride it home if I went ahead and bought it, so I had packed a backpack with my helmet gloves,, some water and snacks for the journey up the coast.

This is where the hard work started. I had looked up the route during the week so knew that it was going to be nearly a 30 kilometre ride to get home. Thankfully the view on the trip was beautiful. It was pretty much along the coast the whole way.The only time I had to head in through the suburbs was where the army barracks goes right down to the beach, so I had to go around.

Getting out of Fremantle

Stopping for a snack at Floreat Beach

Birds sitting on the rock

Looking north

Fisherman at North Beach

The whole ride was pretty leisurely and took about two and a half hours. I didn't wan't to push myself too hard as I hadn't done that ride before and I wanted to get used to the bike. I walked into the house a the end and felt pretty good. Just wait until tomorrow: there may be an update on the condition of my legs.

I am really happy with the bike but just need to do a little tweeking with the saddle position. Sitting up straight for a journey of that size is much easier than being hunched over. 

I hope you all had a leisurely Saturday.

Take care

Bonjour Mon Lovlies

I have just arrived in Paris after a wonderful five days in and around Barcelona. This is our last stop before we set down some roots for a while. We have five months planned in one city but I am not going to let you know where just yet. There is too much to tell you about so far.

This is just a quick one as I am about to head off to bed but feel that this little space has been some what neglected recently with all of the fun over at Sow. Give. Grow. (i do hope that those of you getting your next season seedlings on the go have had a read about the next Giving Day and have decided to join in the sneakiness.) I always feel a little lost with no real internet connection.

During our evening walk to gather some supplies for dinner, we stumbled across some bicycles for rent in the streets. This is such a wonderful idea and was amazed after a bit of research how many countries do something like this.

I am reading a great book as I travel called A Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz and he talks about what a great system this is apart from the fact that the ones near his house are either always out or have been locked up by someone with their own lock.

As I am from a city that is spread out and not really cycle-friendly, I would love to get some comments from people in cities where this sort of system operates, or where cycling is easy to do. Do you like it? Does it work?

Off to bed to get ready for a day of exploring tomorrow. If only we had been here a week ago to bask in the glory of Cadel Evans' win. Oh well.

Take care

Farmers' Market Fabulousness

For over a year now we have had a ritual Saturday morning visit to a farmers' markets. Our market of choice is a good 20 minute drive away. This is also the closest market.

This morning things were different. We all dressed ready for riding our bikes to a new market that was opening today. It was so lovely to ride out bikes for the 20 minutes that would normally be spent dealing with impatient Saturday morning drivers, traffic lights and parking issues.

First stop was breakfast with sausage sizzles and bacon and egg rolls consumed, while I walked around and looked at all of the stalls. Bread, quiche, fruit, vegetables and preserves were quickly running out. I was glad we had arrived early as I think many of the stall holders had underestimated the turnout.

I was happy the Freshline Organics were there as they usually have a great supply of delicious fruit and veg.

I must say that my 'Find of the Morning' was a bunch of purple carrots. We can't wait to give these a try.

Being in my community, it meant that there were a lot of people that we knew that we were all able to stop and chat with. For many of them this was their first taste of a farmers' market and they all seemed fairly impressed.

I try to ride my bike where possible and recently purchased a fabulous quick-release basket. This simple bike accessory has already saved us many trips to the shop in the car. It didn't let me down today either.

This is where I now need some help. There were bunches of kale but I had no idea what to do with it. I have heard about people making kale chips but I'm just not too sure. I would really love to hear about what other people do with it.

Take care