GREAT TANDEM FUN

Had a heap of fun just spinning along with other tandem teams. Of course no team is quite as quick as Team Keast.... but they're doin' ok! Here are 3 teams on the Reisling trail at Clare.

This stuff is a big feature round here. Doesn't matter where you look or where you pedal.... there'll be another winery!!

Fay and I wore our North West Tandem Rally bike shirts from Corvallis, 2006. That was a heap of fun over in Washington state.

Today we wore our North West Tandem Rally shirts from "Rollin' On The River" at Spokane in 1998. That was great fun too, thanks Michael and Eileen and others.

Here Margaret D and Bronwyn L and others have done a top job (once again) of organising our annual rally here in Oz. Thanks guys.

LE TANDEM TOUR DE DUBBO

Here's the team - Matt, Linda, Fay, Gra, Janice and Bernie

Matt and Linda are the World's best best tyre repair team.

They are hoping to represent Australia in the next Olympics.


Sadly Linda was not a huge magpie fan.

Behind Gra and Bernie are the "movers and shakers".

The team at the Drover's Dog pub in Eumungerie.

Thanks Trace for looking after us so well.

Just running repairs! Fay was always happy to stop!

We sure had a ton of fun on the Le Tandem Tour de Dubbo. Saturday we did 62 km which was a lap of Basher and a bit more. That of course included a leisurely stop for coffee at the Grapevine in Brisbane St Dubbo. Sunday was a bigger day - to Eumungerie and back via Mogriguy. These guys reckoned we were just making up the names as we went along.

On Monday we headed out Old Dubbo Road. Too bad the wind was going the wrong way. Sorry about that folks.

There were two Bike Friday tandems and one Burley tandem (big wheels!) And just think, we didn't need our support roadie Dicko until the 11th hour on Monday! Thanks Dicko.

Damn good to get those knicks off eh guys?

BIKE FRIDAY - COWRA

Fay and I with Banana Split

Graham Brown with our Tikit

Lynette Chang repairs a puncture

Our Avan setup

118 cycling enthusiasts joined together for a great weekend in Cowra. Their common bond – Bike Fridays!
Bike Friday cycles are built by Green Gear Cycling in Eugene Oregon in the United States. Each year the Australian Club has a gathering to which about 100 – 130 attend. There are all sorts of models – Crusoes, New World Tourists, Two’sDays, Qs, Traveller XLs, Tikits, Gnus, Llamas, Air Fridays, Twin Airs and Pocket Rockets. We rode our tandem Two’sDay (which is named Banana Split Sundae!) but we also took Fay’s new Tikit. It was lucky we did because our mate Graham Brown (vintage cyclist from Rutherglen in Victoria) found his rear hub was stuffed and so was very appreciative of Fay’s loan of her blue Tikit.
Fay and I along with Bronwyn and Walter and Margaret had organised the weekend and planned the routes. We rode 54 on Thursday, 47 on Friday, 82 on Saturday and 27 on Sunday. I didn’t wan the weekend to end and was riding quite slowly on the Sunday. Fay had had enough and wanted to get to lunch destination NOW! (It is important for the captain – person on the front of a tandem – and the stoker – person on the back of a tandem – to communicate and even AGREE!)
The cyclists came from just about every state in Australia. Next year’s ride will be at the end of March at Halls Gap in Victoria. I think we’ll book early!
Peter “Kooka” Berra came out from Eugene to ride with us, to answer questions, to sort out people’s individual concerns and share his knowledge. He’s a good bloke, and if we could only do something about the way he speaks, he could well be considered one of us.
Margaret Day is our “leader” and keeps us on track. What a task!
We raised money this year for the Amy Gillett Foundation.
Next year – Halls Gap!

IT'S FRIDAY, SUNDAY'S COMIN'

Above - a whole bunch of Fridays!!

Well, things are a bit quiet at present. Peta and Jon’s wedding is over, they’ve had their honeymoon and we have a few things ahead:

• Thur 27 Mar - Bike Friday gathering in Cowra
  Wed 2 Apr – Visit to my dentist (Phil) in Tumut
  Sat 5 Apr – Liz’ wedding in Cooma
  Sat 12 Apr – Stuart & Bec’s wedding in Wollongong
  Sat 19 Apr – Bill departs for Canada

After these events we will head to Busselton, Western Australia for the annual Avan rally. We’ll probably depart about 21 April…. Just depends on Reidy.

I’ve been getting right into the cycling this week… 60+ on Mon and Tue and then 103 on Wed. (That’s km of course.)

Tomorrow (Good Friday) is a special day for me. It’s the day we remember the death of Jesus. He died an horrific death on the cross a couple of thousand years ago. Thanks goodness … I mean… thank God he rose again!!!

Here are the words to a couple of songs we sang today (yes, I'm adding this on Good Friday!)

It's Friday.... but Sunday's comin'!!!

ABOVE ALL

Above all powers, above all kings

Above all nature and all created things

Above all wisdom and all the ways of man

You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones

Above all wonders the world has ever known

Above all wealth and treasures of the earth

There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified

Laid behind a stone

You lived to die

Rejected and alone

Like a rose Trampled on the ground

You took the fall And thought of me Above all

WORTHY IS THE LAMB

Thank you for the cross, Lord
Thank You for the price You paid.

Bearing all my sin and shame, In love You came

And gave amazing grace.

Thank You for this love, Lord,

Thank You for the nail-pierced hands.

Washed me in Your cleansing flow,

Now all I know: Your forgiveness and embrace.

Worthy is the Lamb

Seated on the throne,

Crown You now with many crowns You reign victorious,

High and lifted up Jesus, Son of God,

The darling of heaven crucified.

Worthy is the Lamb.Worthy is the Lamb.

Darlene ZschechCopyright © 2000 Darlene Zschech/HillsongPublishing/Kingsway Music

Tandem Tour de Dubbo

Just finished a great ride with 4 other tandem teams. Did we have a heap of fun? Did we ever!
Rode 72, 79 and 51 km on the three days. Averaged around 20. It was start out easy and then back off as Jim B would say.
Stayed in a couple of beaut pubs at Yeoval (Royal) and Geurie (Mitchell Inn). Well priced.
There were 3 Bike Fridays, a Burley and 1 Trek. They came from Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and Armidale.
Looks like it'll be on the agenda next year for sure. Any early bird bookings?

BIKE FRIDAY

Photos include Peter Berra on his BF Pocket Gnu and the last one is Hanna folding her TIKIT.

Just been to our first Bike Friday gathering. It was held in Hahndorf, in the Adelaide Hills. Yes, the 11th annual Australian Bike Friday Club event took place up and down the hills of Mt Barker and Mt Lofty Ranges and neighbouring hills (don’t think we missed any).
About 110 people who ride Bike Friday bicycles turned up for the big event. Seeing we bought a Bike Friday tandem Two’sDay in March last year while overseas, we thought we’d attend our first Bike Friday gathering. Our bike is named Sundae Banana Split – SBS. Yes, we were both on SBS!
We rode about 57 km on day 1 @ 16 kph. The next day was an easier day. We rode up and down as in the first day, but only 55 km. Our average speed was boosted to 17 kph! We got a max speed of 74.9 kph on one of the hills. Day 3 was not as hilly and temps dropped below 30. We averaged 18.6 kph on the 54 km on day 3. We did 74 kph on one hill and then 78 on the next one. What a buzz! Fay reckons that’s fast enough and she owns half the bike!
There were quite a number of tandems amongst the myriad of single bikes. There was even a triple which cleverly converted to a regular tandem. It simply depended on whether 1 or 2 of his young children wanted to ride as to how he configured the bike.
I expect the terrain around Cowra will be significantly less hilly than the Adelaide Hills in March 2008!
Peter “Kooka” Berra and Hanna Scholz from Bike Friday factory in Eugene, Oregon, joined the group. They brought a new product – the Tikit! What a neat commuter bike at $1195 US. Kooka also took time to fine tune our highly engineered steeds. When you’re climbing hills like we were, you need your bike in tip top condition. Our gears had been playing up, but once goldfingers Kooka took our Sundae in hand, it worked superbly well with all 27 gears working efficiently. Thanks Peter. Hope to see you and the lovely Hanna in Cowra in 08 unless her Dad decides to come out instead.

LATE NEWS (Tues 24): Now in Wagga after spending 4 days at the Avan gathering in Swan Hill, Victoria. Anzac Day tomorrow.