I was nervous about the weather. The BOM said that it was going to rain. Then that it wasn’t going to rain. Then it looked like it was going to. But then it didn’t. It was even quite mild – for being winter.
The process the second time was much the same as the first, except that I had all the required bits and pieces, so all I needed was to gather some nice-to-have accoutrements and I was off and running. I brought a string of lights this time to make the park feel a bit more inviting in the wintery darkness.
I should have spent a bit more time selecting better films, I think. It’s not that they weren’t good, but they didn’t feel quite as inspirational (or inspiring) as the previous screening.
The same number of people turned up – probably around 15. But this time there were people there that I’d never met before. It’s a movement! A community! A *thing*.
The idea: a guerilla cinema in the park. I wanted to inspire people to get outside more, and push what they consider “normal” with bicycles and travel by bike. Inspire people. Inspire myself. I came up with the name (it has a pun!), drew quite a bad logo (that I will, one day, get someone to update for me), picked a date, hoped that the weather would be good, and went for it.
I put the call out over Instagram and my Last Minute Adventure Club Whatsapp group and people were keen.
I didn’t want to have to spend a lot of money to set this up, and didn’t think it was necessary to. I bought a big piece of white fabric to use as the screen – that was around $30. I already have a laptop, amplifier, speakers, and power stuff. The only big-ticket item that I needed that I didn’t have was a projector. I asked on Instagram, and a friend was willing to loan me their projector for the event. Perfect. The park near my house where I was planning to host the cinema has a sneaky power-point that I could tap into. Also perfect.
The big day came. The weather was good. I’d downloaded the videos so I didn’t need to rely on internet while in the park. I had sausages to put on the BBQ. I loaded up the bike and set off for the park. Hung the screen. Set up the projector. Wired the sound. Fired up the BBQ. Everything came together beautifully. People turned up. We chatted. Ate. Watched. Chatted some more.
Magic.
You can follow the Cycling Gorilla Cinema on Instagram now. Follow along here: @cycling_gorilla_cinema
I was devastated when I realised that my Unit has a crack in the drive-side rear dropout. I was at the beach when it was spotted. I called half a dozen or so frame builders and welders, and so far only one has been willing to have a proper look at it, inside of 5-6 months, and even they aren’t ready to go for a few more weeks.
I didn’t realise how attached I was to this bike. We’ve had some amazing adventures, and I was planning many more.
Some photos of the broken bike below. I’m hoping I can get some photos of the repaired bike soon. And I need to figure out what colour to paint it.
I’ve reached D-1. Most people omit half of the answer to the question “how many bikes do I need?”, only saying that you need N+1 bikes, where N is the number of bikes you currently have. But the full answer is that you need N+1 bikes until N = D-1 where D is the number of bikes that will cause a divorce, or some other similar upheaval of your life. Anyway. I’m there. We don’t really have room for more bikes, and even though I buying a touring bike would be great, it’s not a good idea. I don’t need it.
I have a gorgeous 2008 Kona Unit 2-9. A rigid, single-speed mountain bike. I love it. I love the suppleness of the steel frame, and riding single-speed is good for the soul. Maybe. I figured that turning this bike into a tourer rather than the commuter I’ve got it set up to be at the moment would be a good way of not crossing into the dangerous N=D territory. It also won’t prevent the bike from being a commuter anyway.
This transformation will take place over a few stages. The first two stages have already happened. On-fork storage, and new handlebars with a few more hand-position options and carrying capacity.
The 2-9 comes with a suspension corrected Project 2 fork. A lovely, simple fork with a straight 1-1/8″ steerer. Simple. Perfect, apart from not having any cage mounts. Local legend Peter Good – wielder of the oxy flame, conjurer of gorgeous brazed fillets – to the rescue. It wasn’t expensive. It didn’t take long. I got a pair of forks back that looked like this:
With some patience, sand paper, and rattle cans, I ended up with a pair of forks in gorgeous barbie pink.
With racks mounted, it ended up looking like this:
Perfect.
The next stage is new bars, and I settled on some Surly Moloko bars as being the right ones for me. Good sweep, and plenty of space. I did my first bar-tape job, and I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out.
The next step is a frame bag, and some sort of seat-post bag. Then I’m ready to go touring!
Leave me a comment if you have opinions on what else I should add to make this even better!
The benefits of bike riding are enormous. I rely on it pretty heavily for the health and fitness benefits, along with the mental health benefits. BetterHealth, a branch of the Victorian Government, lists the following benefits to regular cycling:
For many years, I didn’t really think that there was any benefit to cycling-specific clothing, but I am absolutely a convert. But this is where the problems start.
People who ride bikes are all skinny whippety mountain goats, right? It would certainly seem that way if you look at the clothes available for bike riders. Me, a verified “big-fella” who normally wears XL clothing, has to go and hunt through the slim pickings in the XXXL section at the bike shop to find bib-shorts that fit – and I feel lucky if I find something that fits. And there are many people bigger than me out there.
The problems for bigger bike riders don’t stop there, though. Bike frames and bike wheels are designed to a weight limit. A weight limit I’ve been close to hitting, at times – which is particularly scary when it’s a carbon frame. And again, there are many people out there who are bigger than me.
The solution here is having a positive, noisy, inspiring person to advocate for us fat cyclists. Someone who can convince the bike industry that they need to start being inclusive. Bigger clothes. Stronger frames. Stronger wheels. All bodies on bikes.
This positive, noisy, and inspiring person is Ebbe Silva, and his brand XL biking.
Ebbe has been selling jerseys on his website for quite some time, but wants to expand the range to include more sizes (S-10XL). He is also going to design larger cycling bibs, a gravel collection, and a road cycling collection. But all this design takes time, and costs money. Which is why Ebbe has launched a Kickstarter campaign. Read all about it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/xlbiking/xl-biking, and if you’re able to, throw some money his way.
We need Ebbe’s advocacy for an inclusive cycling industry!
One of my many amazing neighbours dropped a unicycle off to us yesterday. I’ve never tried to ride a unicycle before, but it’s one of those things I’ve always wanted to learn. So – no time like the present!
I’d like to think I’ll be able to ride this thing within a month or two if I practise daily. I’m over 40 now, so I assume skill acquisition isn’t at its peak. We’ll see!
