When somebody suggests we meet, two things now happen.
My immediate thought is “I hope I can ride there”. Sometimes they’ll suggest a location. I’m then relieved if it’s somewhere within an easy riding distance (which to me is about a ten kilometre radius from home). Alternatively, I might be a little apprehensive because it’s not.
Coalescing with this might be an opportunity to recommend an alternative place to meet. This is where self-interest has a conversation with the greater good. In my head, a volley of questions fire: “can I suggest somewhere close to home?” “Do I suggest somewhere halfway?” “What’s fair given the circumstances?”
Selecting a place to meet has often been a conundrum for me. Every place is so different in how it feels. Every person is so different in what they like or need. I’ve always thought carefully about which location is going to suit that person and the purpose for which we’re meeting. I also consider what I might enjoy on that day as well. Even after I arrive at a cafe, I’ve been known to change tables three or four times. I’m grateful to share this peculiar need with other friends who, like me, would prefer to be looked upon strangely for changing tables rather than sitting somewhere that’s not comfortable or suitable for that day.
Last Sunday was extremely hot and humid. The weather had been gathering its heat all week. Towns were reaching peak temperatures. To add to the current heat wave, news reports announced that globally 2014 was the hottest year in recorded data.
Eleven days earlier, I’d received an email from friends suggesting we meet. They would be on the Gold Coast for two days. We hadn’t seen each other for twelve months. We always enjoy catching up and sharing stories from our lives. They would be staying at Main Beach.
Enter apprehensive thoughts! Main Beach is the other end of the Gold Coast. It’s not close to my home and way outside my arbitrary ten-kilometre comfort radius.
We agreed to meet late Sunday afternoon at their apartment at Main Beach. I figured that if they’ve travelled 36 hours on a plane from New York, then my riding twenty kilometres up the road to Main Beach is only fair.
Though, as Sunday approached, my apprehension grew. Each day, the heat and humidity was intensifying. Thunderstorms were brewing. They were forecast for Sunday.
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I had just finished writing an email to a friend and thought I’d look at his page on Facebook. I was still setting up my Facebook page (which is now up and active, if you’d like to connect with me there) and was interested to see how Sean’s page was set up. Well!…what did I see but a photograph of me, arms stretched wide in ‘explore’ mode with a caption that read:
“THE CYBER RIDERS CLUB NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2015
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT. NEW HON PATRON.”
Now I knew of Sean’s Cyber Riders Club as a page on his blog where he shares stories and photos of bike rides that he and his friends have enjoyed riding under the motto of ‘Walking Up Hill and Riding Down Hill – That’s Life’. However, I wasn’t prepared for what I read next.
“It is with great pleasure that I, Harry Handlebar, as President and Founding Member, of the Cyber Riders Club, announce that Kylie Minogue our long serving Patron has stepped aside to allow Gail Rehbein to take up the position of Patron of The Cyber Riders Club.”
“253 more words” it said. Naturally, I clicked the link to read more.
It turns out that my long time friend Sean (aka Harry Handlebar, President of the Club) is so impressed with my plans to ride through the seasons that he’s persuaded Kylie to step aside! What an honour…but replacing Kylie? I just can’t believe it! I’d like to thank…my parents, my family, the unending support of my partner and of course Kylie for her gracious exit after such a long patronage of The Cyber Riders Club. I’ll aim to do my very best to set a sterling example for the other club members.
Sean, like me, enjoys bike-riding and writing. You can follow his stories on his blog, Sean Fraser
In keeping with The Cyber Riders Club inspiring motto and its photograph of Sean’s mum, my post has a photograph of Joan, my mum, who I’m sure would be very proud of my new appointment. She was, after all, quite a Kylie fan 😉
Some weeks before this bike experiment was conceived, I registered for a bicycle maintenance workshop. The Gold Coast City Council has a very active program of community workshops and classes, and amongst them is a series devoted to bike-riding. They’re part of the Council’s campaign to promote active travel, encouraging people with the clever prompt to ‘change the way you move’. The outline of the workshop read well, it was nearby and it was free!
I’ve ridden a bike for many years but have never felt very confident about bike maintenance. I know some of the basics about looking after my bike but I’ve always relied on taking it to a bike shop for a regular service. And for flat tyres, well I’ve relied on other people being around to help me change it or pick me up and drive my bike and me home. However, this year I decided I wanted to be more self-sufficient, at least more capable with those skills. Plus I’ve owned my current bike for over two years and never had a puncture. The odds were, one was getting closer.
So last Wednesday, a day scattered with showers that were threatening to wash out the workshop, I gathered with eight other recreational bike-riders, two expert cyclists who were our workshop instructors and one would-be bike-rider who has been a bit unsure about whether bike-riding is for her or not. Oh and there were also two young girls on school holidays who arrived with a tiny white bike wearing beads on its spokes that clicked and clacked as they wheeled it along.
This is what I enjoyed and valued most about this workshop – it was very practical.
The rain held off and for ninety minutes we all stood with our bikes under the shade of a cotton tree learning Better Bike Maintenance. Our instructors Jen Alcorn and Adam started with fitting our helmets properly. Everyone’s helmet was checked and individual adjustments made to ensure each helmet was a firm snug fit. I appreciated this because mine was in fact too loose and, until then, I hadn’t realised. Next we learnt about checking for the right tyre inflation, how to know what inflation is right for your bike (not all tyres are the same) and then everyone applied that knowledge by pumping their tyres with the pumps Jen had brought along.
This is what I enjoyed and valued most about this workshop – it was very practical. I’ve read about bike maintenance and tried it myself but to be guided to apply it to your own bike and learn the intricacies of your own bike with the support of people with expert knowledge was really valuable.
Bikes come in many shapes and sizes. The basics are the same but each has specific features. Those differences might be due to the type of bike – road bike, hybrid, cross-trail, touring bike, all of which were present at our workshop. They might also differ because of specific fittings on the individual bike such as electronic gears rather than manual gears. What this means is that being able to know the peculiarities of your own bike, hands on, is valuable knowledge to have.
By the close of our ninety minute workshop, we’d also stepped through removing the front tyre, removing the rear tyre, everyday maintenance, and emergency repairs like changing a flat tyre. And that brings me to the tack in my tyre. As I removed my rear tyre following the steps Jen and Adam had demonstrated so well, someone noticed a thumbtack firmly pinned into the tread of my tyre.
“Don’t worry”, Adam said, “We’ll be fixing that today!”
And we did! I did!
As Jen pulled out the tack, the air hissed free and the tyre went flat. Then, with a new tube in hand, a pair of tyre levers, plenty of clear guidance from the instructors and a little bit of grunt, I managed to change the flat tyre and have my bike ready to ride home.
It was definitely good timing to find a tack in my tyre. And I now feel a lot more confident about looking after my bike – and me! – when I’m out riding.
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a bike for all seasons 