Preview: ’87 Schwinn Prelude Café Racer
Quick teaser pic for my latest bike build, a retro mod 1987 Schwinn Prelude
Photo: Young Gum
Beautiful little Gum Tree coming up in coastal Victoria.
The gaming of social media platforms
I've been thinking a lot about ethics and technology, and drawing some initial conclusions about what the future holds…
Victoria Divide 500
Last month I attended a slide night at my favourite Melbourne bike shop Commuter Cycles. The subject was the Victoria Divide 550, a 557km bikepacking route through northern Victoria. As someone who’s eager to start bikepacking I was very much looking-forward to the night. Kia, Lewis, and Wil talk about their experiences riding the Victoria Divide 550. The slide night was packed, standing room only. And some of that was outside the door! There’s obviously a keen interest for bikepacking locally which is obviously great news.
Photo: Port Phillip Bay
Looking back at Portsea from Point Nepean
Lego Voltron
Voltron! Busted out some new Lego this weekend: Lego Ideas Voltron (set 21311). I grew up with both Lego and the five lion version of Voltron so there was absolutely no way I would miss this. It had been sitting in storage for almost a year first at my parents’ house and then in the cupboard downstairs. But this weekend found me with good weather, a balcony, and a free afternoon. I’ll leave the build details and proper review to folk more nerdy than I, but I’ll say three things: This thing is yuuuge!
Salsa (Grav)El Mariachi
Pretty bikes are pretty The Salsa (Grav)El Mariachi. This is the bike that pulled me through Gravel Camp earlier this year. It’s the frame from a Salsa El Mariachi I bought as a complete bike in 2014 while living in Texas. This steel frame was short-lived though; only a few months after the purchase Craigslist offered up a titanium frame — same model, same size — at a price I couldn’t pass up. Since then, the steel El Mar frame has been patiently waiting in the dark corners of the garage for a Frankenstein-ian rebirth.
Photo: La Larr Ba Gauwa
The Aussie bush ain’t bad While visiting my folks in Kyneton (country) Victoria, I took the opportunity to visit La Larr Ba Gauwa, a brand new mountain bike park opened just over a year ago in Harcourt (30km north of Kyneton). I’d never heard of it until stumbling across the parking lot signage a few months back when exploring the area. This was my first visit. But it won’t be my last. I rode the “north trails” today which are the fast, flowy, jumpy trails of the park.
CarTarp 1000
As an avid cyclist I often have to transport my bike to a location that’s beyond riding to. My preference is to avoid the bike-on-top-of-the-car option because I’m paranoid of driving into the garage and destroying the bike, racks, and the roof of the car. The Golf R doesn’t officially support adding a tow ball/hitch (although third-party option exist) so I had to get creative. CarTarp 1000 Behold! CarTarp 1000™®©✌️. A simple design to protect the car from dirty bike parts after a ride.