personal political

user pays

On the way to work this morning (by bike), I had a verbal run-in with a motor vehicle driver.

a word about hipsters

And the word is "crack". As in, "revealed". Riding a bicycle in hipsters is no fun. A gap between top garment and lower garment inevitably occurs, revealing, at best, the white skin of my lower back and at worst, the top of my buttocks, a la "tradesman's crack".

But hipsters are proving a very longlasting fashion trend - I've been dealing with this problem for at least the past three years and it seems, if anything, to be getting worse (judging by the latest pair of Esprit trousers I bought.)

cycling

This is another draft I had sitting around. In an odd coincidence, I recently had to write a 'personal essay' for a non-fiction writing course I'm doing and did it on cycling. But that's 2500 words, too long for this blog (and I'm toying with the idea of getting it published somewhere else.)

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When I was in my early 20s, I had a close friend who loved cycling as much as I did. We went on bicycle holidays together. "I can't think of anything worse" she said more than once, "than becoming so old or disabled that I couldn't ride." I was in full agreement.

riding to work

There's been a big increase in the number of people riding to work in Sydney - but it's still a tiny percentage of the people commuting to work. I took part in the national Ride to Work Day last week and it was very cheering to see large groups of riders obviously making a special effort for the day (one group was accompanied by a policeman on bicycle), epsecially as it was a horrible day, weather-wise - chilly and gusty winds. (Wind is a cyclist's worst nightmare - well, it's mine.)

breath

A friend of a friend who has breathing difficulties is off on a bicycle-ride-as-art-work in southeast England.

my life on wheels

Riding past the law courts yesterday morning, I saw the father of a child in O's class who is a QC striding down the street in his wig, talking animatedly to the man beside him (they always talk animatedly while walking fast, QCs.)

near-miss

I had a near-collision with a car on my way home from work this evening (on my bike). It was entirely the car's fault.

injuries

I suffered a strange injury on my bike today. Well, the injury itself is an ordinary scratch, but the way in which it happened was strange. I was riding down a steep hill when I saw what looked like a broken-off bunch of twigs. I assumed it had fallen from a tree and didn't take action to avoid it (truth be told, my thoughts were preoccupied with something else - I should have made sure not to go near it, even if it were twigs.) It turned out to be made of metal, almost like a cluster of metal spikes. It got thrown up by my wheel and made a long scratch just above my ankle (photos below the fold). I was so surprised I kept on riding (I wish I'd stopped to examine it.)

I didn't get to wash the scratch until 20 minutes later and didn't apply antiseptic (Betadine) until 45 minutes later. Do you think there's any risk of tetanus? The thought wouldn't even occur to me except that a friend of mine had a nail wound a couple of months ago and angsted about whether or not get a tetanus booster - I think she did end up getting one. But according to this site, the risk of tetanus is mainly from deep and dirty wounds and this one is very superficial and clean (and it bled, which apparently almost cuts out the risk.) Still, it was metal...

the glorious bicycle

For me, just the short, 15-minute ride to work is a twice-daily spirit-lifting treat that helps me stay fit and healthy and, more importantly, keeps me sane.

A man after my own heart. Matt Seaton on the world's greatest invention.

And on IWD, a woman after my own heart is...

still riding

As I came up a steep hill this morning, I saw another woman cyclist approaching from a side street on my left. She had an empty child-seat on the back of her bike.She turned into my street, came up beside me and said cheerily, "It's great to see you still riding - it's the only way to get around, isn't it?" before turning in to a driveway.

Still riding? Anyone would think I was 70. Maybe she thought I was 70? (Surely not.)