Sweetest Little Pea

Beaker is our parakeet (budgie). I don't have a lot of pictures of him, because he's usually pretty camera-shy. This past weekend he was in a mood for it, though.

Pretty bird!
Descriptive, but also one of his favorite things to say.

Man oh man, does Beaker love him some bananas.
He's very happy about the banana. Budgies' pupils shrink when they're excited. (Compare with the eyes in the first picture.)

The skin is actually his favorite part.
I am so totally nuts about this bird!
It takes a little while to teach budgies to speak, but it's definitely worth it. Beaker does a few tricks too. "Gimme a kiss" gets you nose kisses, and he'll fly to you when you say, "C'mere". If he feels like it.
I've been bad about not teaching him new things to say lately. But he picked one up anyway. He's got a little Ferris wheel with bells that he loves to throw to the floor. We got in the habit of saying, "Excuse me!" when he does that... and now he says it too!
Notes on parakeets/budgies:
If you ever buy a parakeet, I can't recommend this enough: find one that will sit on your finger in the store. I probably traumatized our first budgie by trying so hard to make friends with an unfriendly bird. There are all sorts of taming techniques, but none worked on poor Mr. Jitters.
When budgies are first delivered to the store, they are usually fairly tame. But it only takes a day or two for them to learn (from the other birds) to flee from the hand. So plan in advance and ask your pet store to call you when the birds first arrive.

New beginning

Getting totally forked on the weekend may be the catalyst for a new beginning.
My hybrid bike, which has toured in three countries, and which I haven't yet got around to naming is probably going to be replaced. I have had a quick search of possible replacement forks on the Internet, and they aren't cheap. In fact, when I consider the things I'll soon need to replace on my current ride (I've only changed a single gear cable in over 8,000km), it may work out cheaper to just buy a new machine and have done with it. The best news is that I have the option to rand sack the current bike and keep the parts that still have some value, some of which may be of some use in getting The Black Magic back to a standard at which it can be used for centuries.
I think there is a lesson in this incident. While my hybrid is (was) perfectly capable of handling dirt roads, it probably wasn't up to being consistently ridden to hell and back. If I apply the old 80/20 rule, I should be able to utilise the more robust frame and forks of The Black Magic and eliminate much of the wear on the new steed, which can then be used as a touring machine, handling the occasional dirt road, but predominantly riding sealed/paved surfaces at home. I may even restore The Black Magic to a permanent commuter role, so good has it's performance been this week.
Sometimes the darkest hour can be the catalyst for a new beginning.

• In other news, I'm getting a little tired of hearing/reading reports of road "accidents", hearing the police complaining about having to deal with so many of them, before reading the old "no charges will be pressed" line. Wake up. If the police are really tired of dealing with these incidents, they are the ones who are in the best position to do the most to stop them. How about actually enforcing the traffic laws? It's not bloody rocket science, but would probably halve the road toll within 12 months if it was actually supported by some magistrates who might actually apply the penalties written in law. Either way, if the police aren't prepared to do their job, they should resign and leave it for someone else who will.

Thatched Mushroom

I have got a busy day ahead of me and probably won't have time to post later, so here is a lovely thatched cottage which we saw yesterday. One of the little treasures of Lincolnshire.

No reaction

Haven't been on much the last couple of days. I figure it's about time for an update. In my last entry I referred to a punch-throwing/car-throwing yobbo that I encountered on Sunday evening. However, the surprising thing has been the total lack of reaction to this incident from the cycling advocates whom I've contacted (Bicycle Queensland, Bicycle Gold Coast, and anyone who read the thread over at bikeforums). Especially when compared with other "hit and run" incidents which weren't quite as blatantly deliberate (albeit quite suspicious).

Granted, I wasn't hit, however, a less experienced, less cynical and less judgemental cyclist would have been. And while such incidents (fortunately) are relatively rare, this is proof that they still happen. Admittedly, the muted reaction may be partially my own fault. After all, I didn't have a pen and paper with me to record the details of the vehicle (a registration # would have been all I needed), but it does still raise one or two questions about why there is so much more focus on the supposedly "accidental" incidents than the blatantly deliberate ones. Have we just accepted ths sort of behaviour as something that can (and will) never be changed? Are advocates so wrapped up in the "building things" ideal that they pay more attention to the incidents they expect to give more credence to this mantra?

In something more positive, it hasn't stopped me from riding (why would it after Sunday night?). Yesterday morning was particularly pleasant with the low-lying cloud near Hinze Dam. That place seems different everytime I go out there, and it does serve a purpose for quick hills when I need them (and right now, I need them as much as ever!).


I'm still a little undecided about where to go this weekend. "Officially" I'm supposed to be leading the Tweed Mystery Ride to cover for Martin, but I'm not expecting anyone to get in touch now that I've taken over. If they don't, it leaves me with options. I could head for O'Reilly's (I usually do when I've had it with the world). Alternatively, I could say sod it all and jump on a train to the Glasshouse Mountains. I just don't know at this point.

More Snow

You think I have abandoned my blog - just no riding. Nothing much to report.
The last couple days, I got out to ride. Friday evening was Full Moon Ride. Urgh, the trail was clear/snow covered/icy. The temperature dropped when the sun set. Just not fun riding. I made about 4 miles. Cellar 19 was too crowded and noisy - so I headed home.
Sunday was a nice day. Time to get the bike out and ride. Riverfront trail was slushy to clear & dry. One spot was icy. Rode up almost to N 25th St.
Yesterday, I was a little tired and not sure about riding. But getting that metal between my legs was all it took, and there was not way I could lose a beautiful 55 degree day!. I was ready to ride! When I got to N. 25th, I decided to try riding the "mini" Tour de Bluffs. From N 15th, when down through town, over to S 16th Ave, on to Indian Creek trail. Wheel spray got my butt a little damp and had to walk the bike on the trail connection to the trailer park. Still had a good 14 mile ride.
Good timing. Today dawned cold and windy - 10 degrees and 40 mph winds. Snow (1-2") in the forecast for later today. Spinning @ Xtreme Wheels tonight.

Don't Ride Wet/Soft Trails

Friday, I rode up the Wabash Trace to Margaritaville. Slow going compared the last ride of last year. Trail is not in its summer hard-pack condition. That, and the first ride up this year, I only made 8mph up the hill.
Speaking of trail condition, Tuesday Greg (maintainer of the Trace from CB to Silver City) graded the trail surface. Even after running the grader off the trail, there are still ruts from riding when the surface is wet.
Now I know we all have gotten cabin fever this winter. But, when you ride on the wet trail, you are doing damage to the trail surface. That 1 ride you just couldn't make without, causes untold others riders misery with a rough trail surface.
The photo above is bicycle tracks in the crushed limestone surface when inconsiderate riders ride a wet trail.
After a rest stop, I headed down the hill and then over to Lake Manawa to check out the mountain bike trail. The last week we had lots of drying wind - hoping the trails are rideable.
I rode W Sidewinder, which was dry. Headed over to E Sidewinder. When I got into the wooded part, I saw that the trail is very soft, with deep ruts. It was time to stop, turn around, and ride someplace else. The second photo is of the ruts in the trail tread.
At the parking lot, I met a couple other riders. When I mentioned that the trail was too soft, one said it was good -- just soft spots and wet spots to ride around. URGH. I told him doing that damages the trail.
In this part of the country, riding on wet trails does great damage. Its not like places were the trails are on rock. I think the magazines do a disservice when they publish photos of riders plowing down muddy trails. Photos of mud encased bikes and riders enforces this image of the mountain bike rider.
Next time you ride soft/wet trails, think about who has to repair that trail. They do not heal themselves - it takes hours of dedicated volunteers to repair your hour of "fun".

Epics

The thing that always attracts me to a place like Mt Jerusalem, is that the name "Mt Jerusalem" has a certain ring to it, that someone who has ridden across Mt Jerusalem has made some kind of epic journey. In truth, Saturday's ride, with 197km (including 50km or so on dirt) and over 2,000 metres of climbing might be considered epic by some (which is fine by me). However, what surprised me was the constrasts in the early part of the ride. In just a few kilometres I was able to go from this...

... to this.

That was before the ride really started. The two key climbs (both on dirt roads) are the back way across the Burringbar Range, and Mt Jerusalem itself. The second one is steep enough to make the dirt section a real challenge, but it was on the first where disaster almost struck. I was marvelling at the scenery from the switchbacks, and almost crashed on a loose patch of gravel. I suppose it would have only been a low speed crash as I was climbing at the time, and might have even served as a wake-up call.

As it was, I was feeling great on the climb of Mt Jerusalem later, even if the gravel was presenting a challenge. The changing forest types crossing the range from east to west are always inspiring, as are the views. I also noticed a few potential spots for "stealth" camping that I might use on future tours in the area.

After the usual screaming technical descent (albeit not worrying me as much as usual this time), I just had to hitch a ride on a tailwind to go home. The only real downside was that I didn't spend longer out there. I really should have done, just made a whole day out of it. It was just about a perfect day for general existence. But then, I suppose there will be other days. "Winter" is on it's way at last!