velo

velo cycles came to my rescue again today. this morning i realized part way to work i had a flat tire again (this is the second one in 2 weeks plus a third time where i pulled the valve off the tube while pulling off my bike pump-- i'd only had 1 other flat on this bike before this month). i decided just to lock it up and walk the rest of the way. i picked it up on the walk home for lunch and after eating i decided to try to fix it (i still had 15 minutes before i would have to start walking back if i didn't finish fixing it). the hole was really easy to find so i patched it, checked for sharp pieces in the tire and quickly re-assembled it. i was only gonna be a couple minutes late getting back from lunch but as i was riding in my bike was bumping up and down. i had a quick look but couldn't figure out what i'd done wrong so i called work and said i was gonna be a bit late cuz i was going to go a block out of my way and take my bike to velo. i went in and the guy noticed right away i hadn't put the tire on the rim right. he deflated the tube, fixed it and re-inflated it on the spot (and added a bit of air to the front tire as well) . velo is really good like that (i've seen other people walk in with quick issues they've fixed right there and they've replaced a snapped gear cable for me on my way in to work). so glad our closest bike shop is a really good one (they also sell microcosm bike related t-shirts, patches and stickers which is really cool and they used to have pamphlets about with reasons to go vegetarian on the counter)

yea for velo

i took my bike in for a long overdue service today. i booked it in at velo bike hub-- one of the newest bike shops in the area and the closest to home (less than 10 min walk). that was my first time there (other than a quick gear cable replacement one afternoon) but zac has had a service with them before and was impressed. i brought my bike in probably about 9:45am and they spent a few minutes looking over it with me to see exactly what needed to be done on top of a service so they wouldn't have to call me to ask permission to replace the brake pads or anything. they also have a deal on that they set you up with a free water bottle and rack (which i needed) with every service so that was good. they also provide you with a free courtesy bike or metcard while your bike is being services. i took the courtesy bike-- it was fun to ride around (and came complete with pannier rack so i could attach my pannier bag for a trip to c.e.r.e.s. market). i got a text less than 2 hours after i left my bike saying it was ready for pick up. that was quick service! they're quite busy in there too (i did have my bike booked though so i'd assume that gives me a bit of priority over walk-ins). now i have a smoothly running bike with good rear brakes again and properly inflated tires-- so much nicer to ride!

why?

this morning i locked my bike up on the corner of sydney rd and glenlyon for an hour while i got my hair cut. i came back to find my front brakes (including the cable) and my lights gone. why would someone do that??? i can understand the lights (i'm actually surprised this is the first time i've had my lights stolen, especially the rear one which was just taped to my panier rack with electrical tape) but the front brake? they would have needed an alan key to get that off. they left my cycle computer and helmet and seat which all would have been almost as easy to take (especially the seat). there was a pretty dodgy looking guy sitting near my bike but it could have been anyone (there's always dodgy looking people sitting around that area). i ended up just taking my bike to the closest bike shop (which isn't really my favourite) and it's costing me $65 to replace the brakes (and i'm bikeless the rest of the afternoon). when they told me to pick it up at 5 i should have just left and taken my bike to a new shop that just opened along the park st. bike path on nicholson. at least there it would be a much closer walk to go back and get it later on (and i've been intending on trying that place out for service). so annoying. plus, i NEED lights for my bike tomorrow cuz i work the late shift and it'll be dark when i come home and would never ride up rae st in peak hour traffic without lights (even with bright lights i've still had people come close to hitting me). i went to the $2 shop and bought some lights to do for now (i kinda think the front light came from there, and maybe the rear too, although they didn't have anything similar to my rear lite style this time). sometime you can get good lights from the $2 shop but it's kinda hit and miss.

update:
so i picked up my bike, rode most of the way home (3 blocks away) and the gear cable snapped!!! arrrrghhhh! i don't know if it was the bike shops fault or if the guy (or girl) tried to take my gear cable too (or got mixed up and started undoing that instead of the brake cable). i didn't want to ride back to the bike shop again. i tried to fix it myself but i definitely need a new cable so i called velo. i really don't want to leave my bike there (i think they do offer courtesy bikes or metcards) so the guy said if that's all i need then he'll do it on the spot for me in the morning (yea).
i also had issues with the cheap lights i bought. i went to exchange the front one (which only lit up 3 of the 5 leds). the guy at the shop tested it with his batteries and it worked fine (note to self: don't use the old batteries out of the remotes to test bike lights)
zac came home with a longie of coopers stout. that makes me happy.

biking

i decided to bike into the city today. i have only done that once in the last several months (and it was only the the top corner of the city near the market) because it can be kind of scary. i had an appointment in carlton and thought about just parking my bike at the museum and walking from there but then when i looked on the map to see where else i could leave my bike i remembered swanston st has copenhagen bike lanes now (they've been there for ages but i've only used them twice before). as i started riding down swanston street i remembered that my first experience with the copenhagen style lane wasn't very good. i think i had at least 3 cars pull out in front of me (after looking and seeing me and other riders coming and knowing that traffic was backed up and they were going to have to sit and block the lane until traffic moved). today was good going in. the only issue i had was a group of international uni students j-walking (and that was after the copenhagen lane ended). half the group looked and saw me and another cyclist coming and ran across. the rest of the group just slowly made their way without looking. i yelled out "excuse me" (i was very polite) which made them jump and pick up their speed (except the last one in the group who just stopped in the middle of the road until i passed).
on the way home a vic roads guy asked me if i had a minute to do a quick survey while the light was red. i was happy to stop for a minute so i answered his questions about how i liked the bike lane and how safe i felt on it. i said my only issue was cars pulling across the green painted lane in and out of driveways and sidestreets and cutting cyclists off. i was gonna point out that it looked like there was a van doing that half a block a head of me. i didn't. it was still there when i went thru the lights. it wasn't just going in or out of a driveway. the van was completely illegally parked across the green bike lane! i managed to get up on the footpath, squeeze past some pedestrians and then hop the kerb (yes, i spelled kerb right. in oz it's that way, not c-u-r-b) and get back in the lane. less than 2 blocks later a guy was parallel parked on top of the bike lane (cars should never even be in the bike lane other than to cross over it-- cars park on the other side of a raised kerb, next to moving traffic with copenhagen style lanes). just as i approached and got up on the footpath again the guy walked up to the back of his van. for a second i thought about asking him if he knew it was illegal to park there and that it was making things dangerous for cyclists but i really didn't feel like getting yelled at if he decided that he had some right to be there because he was servicing something (he had a bunch of wires and stuff in his van so i figured he was probably servicing some electrical or phone box on the street). he still should be parked in an actual legal parking spot and not in a traffic lane (even if it is a bike traffic lane).
i'm glad i don't really go into the city much any more (and i usually endure public transport when i do). at least for the most part our local suburbs have some good bike lanes and nice side streets for cycling on (although it was in a nice bike lane on a side street that i got doored).

another idiot

i almost got hit by a car on my way to work this morning. if it hadn't been for the car in front of him almost cutting me off and causing me to slow down (i was only going about 20km/h to start with) he would have got me. both cars (the one that kind of cut me off by stopping half way thru the intersection and then continuing on and the one that would have hit me) were both from some landscaping company and had trailers attached. the first car stopped at the stop sign (my street had no stop sign, they were crossing thru from a side street) and then started thru. he stopped half way thru the intersection (maybe to keep his trailer from falling off while it went over the bluestone at the start of the intersection) and that's when i slowed realizing he was gonna still be in the way when i got there. as he finished crossing the intersection i started going again then realized that the car behind it wasn't stopping for the stop sign at all but following the first car. he wasn't even looking my direction AT ALL. i stopped in the intersection just before i was in front of his car's path. he continued and as he got beside me (now on the far side of the intersection he was crossing) he looked and saw me. then he yelled at me! he yelled (quite loudly thru closed car windows) for me to get off the road!!! i was a little shaken up after having him only a couple dozen cms from hitting me and then yelling at me like i was in the wrong. a block later a car stopped and motioned for me to go thru an intersection where the car had the right of way but he stopped for me anyway. that reminded me that not all drivers are idiots (just like not all cyclists are idiots like some drivers think) but the drivers who aren't paying attention are quite scary when cycling.

the difference

a cyclist was killed by a bus yesterday morning right in the middle of the city on a major cycling route that is quite dangerous. this street has a lot of coach and tour buses that park along it. there are also tram tracks down the middle (and a VERY narrow gap when a tram goes down along a row of coaches). add in a bunch of unaware pedestrians (why would you step off a curb on a major city road without looking first?), some taxis and some horse drawn carriages and you have accidents waiting to happen. bicycle victoria has been working with the council to find an alternative place for the coaches (they are planned to be moved some time in 2009 i think). unfortunately this had to happen.
looking at the readers' comments in the age article there was a lot of support to try to remove the coaches sooner from a very dangerous high cycling volume area and other things that could be done to help make cycling thru the cbd safer and encourage more people to ride. next i went to the herald sun site. the difference between the readers of each of the papers (which i knew already) is shocking. the first half dozen or so comments (and more throughout) just state ban the bikes! do they not think what would happen if those 2000 people each hopped into their cars and decided to drive along with the already ridiculous traffic (or even using already overcrowded public transport)? yes there are idiot riders who do dangerous and illegal things but most cyclists are not like that (and the ones who are doing illegal things should be fined more often). some of the comments were completely ignorant drivers who actually have no idea what the cycling rules are (saying its illegal to ride 2 abreast and hold up traffic-- its actually completely legal when there is more than 1 lane of traffic and is often safer to take up a lane than to be pinned next to parked cars while cars try to unsafely pass the bike rider in a narrow lane).
what happened yesterday was pretty horrible but hopefully it'll make drivers and cyclists think more and be more aware of other road users and hopefully out of this tragedy swanston street (along with other major bike routes) will be made safer in the near future.

exhaustion

it was a REALLY LONG week at work. people were away for various reasons and we were short staffed most days and had a couple casuals working. friday morning both me and my morning co-worker were feeling it. i'm not sure how i made it thru the day. i was pretty short with some of the kids, i was really struggling not to fall asleep during rest time (dark room, soft music....). i think the main thing that kept me awake was that i wanted to get several of the overtired kids asleep so i could make it thru the rest of the afternoon without them driving us all crazy. after work i wanted to go up to sydney road to get some things from a couple shops. i got there and i was feeling exhausted. i decided to skip a few things i wanted to do and just go to the one shop. i was sooo tired that after i walked out and realized the cashier hadn't given me 20% off a sale item i couldn't be bothered to go back in and get my $4 back. on the way home the light changed just as i was about to enter an intersection. i could have made it but i decided to stop. i'd stopped just on the edge of a left turn lane since i was riding down the middle of the left turn lane so cars would know i was going straight and not try to pass me and cut me off. before i had time to even move completely out of the lane and in front of the straight lane a horn started aggressively beeping. the left turn lane had a green arrow (which had been green for less than a second when the aggressive beeping started) and i was slightly blocking the guy from turning. i moved my bike over to the right a foot and he sped around the corner. i knew i was in the wrong (but only for a second and it wasn't planned that i would stop there, i was planning on going thru the light and then it changed and thought i'd play it extra safe and wait even though a car or 2 behind me went thru) but that fact he was sooo aggressively beeping before i even had a chance to move (i saw the green arrow come on for him but my body hadn't had a chance to move) threw me off. i was soooo over tired and fought back tears the rest of the ride home. i came in the door and burst into tears (over a car beeping at me--- i was soooo tired!). i sat on the couch and wombat came right up to me and crawled across my lap and started licking my hands and face. she was shaking and nervous cuz she had no idea what was happening but she knew her person needed her and she made me feel better (and then i had to spend the next few minutes re-assuring her that everything is ok and she's safe). i layed on the couch half asleep the rest of the nite though and then had a good nite's sleep last nite and i'm much better now. only 3 days of work to go before queensland!!

close

i was just about hit in a round-a-bout on my way home from work today. i think this the 3rd time i've come close to getting hit in this round-a-bout. i'm very cautious going thru it so when i see that the car that's supposed to yield to me isn't slowing, i hit my brakes in the middle of the round-a-bout. the woman who just about hit me tonite had her window down a few inches and after i slammed my break and put my feet down about 2 feet from the side of her car i yelled a not very nice word at her window as she passed. NO RESPONSE!! didn't flinch or anything. i have no idea if she even saw me (or heard me) after the fact. not sure how you can miss someone if you're actually paying attention while driving because its a pretty well lit round-a-bout and i had a very bright flashing white light on the front of my bike. one of my co-workers had a bike accident a few weeks ago (and isn't back at work yet). not sure if a car hit her or if she just fell but it was pretty bad (she's apparently missing some teeth now). i know i don't want to be part of another bike accident so i do as much as i can to avoid them but drivers need to be aware of cyclists (and there are a lot of them around melbourne) and be watchful for them as well as cars.

replaced

i finally got the insurance money thru and replaced my bike!!! the shop where i originally got my bike was willing to get the same model in from the manufacturer for me and i figured i'd go with that since i couldn't find anything else i liked in the price range i had. for some reason i never checked the bike shop on syndey road. zac and i happened to walk in there on the weekend and zac pointed out a bike he thought might be a good one for him in the future. i looked over and saw the GT transeo. it looked good and exactly what i needed (i didn't do much mountain bike riding on my avalanche and this was a very similar looking bike but more of a hybrid frame and wheels). it was also on sale for only $439 (i knew i would only be getting a maximum of $500 from the insurance money since my bike was taken from open air in the front of our house). i went back to ivanhoe cycles today to see if they had any transeo 4.0's in stock just since i've been dealing with ivanhoe cycles for a couple years and they have good service. unfortunately they didn't have any in (just the more expensive 3.0) and they weren't able to get any. i called the shop on sydney rd (ray's) and they had several in stock and in the right frame size! i went and tested it out and liked the feel so i got it (and a new lock and pannier rack). now i'm back to my own bike again (i just gotta get used to the different feel so it really feels like my own again).

road rage

this morning a driver deliberately took out a group of 50 cyclists in sydney. what kind of person would think its ok to purposely cut off a group of (or even a single) cyclist? its more horrible that other motorists (that's plural) actually jeered at the injured cyclists lying on the road after the accident!!

(photo from the age website-- taken by nick moir)

gone

we woke up this morning to discover my bike was gone. i had locked it to zac's bike (which was locked to a pole of our carport roof) but the bike was gone and my lock (which was cut thru) was dangling from zac's bike frame.

we actually heard it being taken. we didn't realize that's what was happening though (the thought did go thru my head for a split second but i was more concerned that someone was trying to break into our house). i woke up to a noise about 12:30 or 1am. wombat heard it to and got up and barked and growled like she'd never done before (occasionally she'll hear a noise-- or nothing-- during the nite and get up and let out a couple howls and then just go back to bed). because she was being so vocal zac got up and flicked the outside lite on and off a few times to let anyone out there know there was someone home and awake. he praised wombat and sent her back to bed and we all went to sleep again.

i think my bike was probably gone before zac even got up though. i'm sure the noise that woke me and wombat up was the sound of my bike being pulled off zac's bike (and banging the pole) and the person was probably gone within a few seconds after wombat started barking. maybe she saved zac's bike though.

fortunately we insured our bikes almost 2 months ago after a couple friends had their bikes stolen but it's going to be a pain going around getting replacement quotes for the insurance company (especially with no bike to get me there) and i think with the accessories that were on my bike it'll probably be more to replace than the insurance covers (they only cover up to $500 for bikes in open air on your property).

cyclovia

the only time sydney road is this bare on a sunday afternoon is during cyclovia (a.k.a. tour de moreland). i think this was the second one they've done. its great being able to ride a few kms up sydney rd without fear of being doored, cut off or pedestrians stepping out infront of you. i know last time they were thinking that if cyclovia was successful it may happen more often. this one seemed pretty quiet (and we were there earlier this time then we were last time). it was still hard to find somewhere to get a coffee though cuz there were bikes piled up in front of every cafe (we did manage to find a quieter cafe 1/2 a block of sydney rd when we went to lock our bikes up there). i only took the one photo but a few other people have uploaded some good photos to flickr. i'd like to find the photo i saw several people taking of a guy sitting in a lounge chair in the middle of the street.

copenhagen style

i went into the city after work today to get some wedding stuff done. i rode in and was excited to discover the copenhagen style lane (see photo, curtesy of bicycle victoria) on swantson street has been put in!! i guess its been a while since i've ridden down swanston. it was a good ride other than a couple minor incidents (i think one may have been at the car park exit in the photo-- traffic was backed up on the street and a guy pulled out right across the green bike lane from the car park exit and then just sat there waiting for traffic to move so he could go in. he could clearly see me coming at him. i ended up just going around the front of him which was a bit tight but managable).

spring water and vegan banquets

we went up to hepburn springs this weekend just to relax (and zac loves the vegan banquet saturday nite at the place we stay at). we stayed at the continetal house- a "vegan life sanctuary" as it says on their website. unfortunately i don't have pictures of anything (other than a few duck and duckling shots at daylesford lake) because of a very unfortunate incident with our slr camera. saturday afternoon we were heading off on a bush walk. zac insisted on putting his water bottle in my bag after he filled it with spring water. i was hesitant cuz i'd hurt my shoulder and my backpack was already bothering it without the extra weight. i put it in and 50m later i felt my back getting really wet, really quickly. i threw the bag down and started pulling everything out, including zac's now empty 1L water bottle. the not so tight lid had opened and spilled thru my bag. my camera was in it's case but with the zip open so could get it out easily to take pictures. i pulled the camera out and water POURED out of it. i was not impressed. it doesn't work at all. we toke it into the city on the way home today. its costing us (well, zac cuz he's not allowed to buy cds for MONTHS now) $88 just to get a quote on repairing it (that money will go towards the repairs if its worth going ahead with it). so in a couple weeks we'll know if its repairable otherwise zac is gonna be saving up a lot of money (no more new instruments or cds for him for ages) to get me a new camera.
other than that incident bringing down the mood for the rest of the weekend (happened early saturday afternoon), the weekend was good.
we brought our bikes to attempt some trails there. we failed. there's some really good intermediate mountain bike trails but i'm not an intermediate mountain biker. i also don't handle steep uphill well (slight slopes up i can do no problem and small steep hills i can do but i forgot how hilly daylesford/hepburn springs is. we did try though. twice.
we also had a good swim in the lake. i miss lakes. there aren't any right around melbourne that you can really swim in and this one is great. warm (once you get in), fairly clean (although zac thought it was disgusting but he doesn't like lakes at all for swimming) and good grassy spots to relax on the sides.
the vegan banquet is at the conti on saturday nites. we always to the full banquet deal for $25 (soup, main and dessert) and its always AMAZING food. i like that it's not just a chef and people hired as kitchen staff that do it all but the staff (and sometimes the WOOFers who are staying there) cook up the meal.
daylesford/hepburn springs area is a great place just to get away from the city for a couple days though and there's lots to do and lots of places to do nothing at too.

dinging in the rain

no the title is not a typo, its just cheezy. last nite we did dinner and mountain goat brewery with some friends. we decided we'd ride the 8km to richmond in a convoy-- rining our bike bells as we went. we acually made it all the way there and back without some idiot honking at us repeatedly even though we're all being completely legal, riding in a bike lane, obeying traffic signals and all that (the last couple times we've had a couple incidents with stupid drivers honking at us). we ended up staying at the brewery bar until it closed and then pushed our bikes out the door (you get to park your bikes right inside the bar which is just part of the brewery that they set up as a pub on friday nites for the public) and discovered it was raining. only me and one of the other girls brought water resistant wind breakers- everyone else just had jumpers. the ride home was fun though. i love riding in the rain when i'm dressed properly or i'm on my way home so i can change out of my wet stuff. it wasn't cold at all so it didn't really matter that my hands hair and jeans were pretty wet and the 8km went pretty fast while we dinged (is that a word?) our bells and one guy just kept saying "convoy hoy!!" every couple minutes. it'd be good if we have a rainy day soon so i can go ride the muddy creek trails when i have some time and get muddy and wet 8) i haven't done that in a long time-- its really fun!

stupidity

yesterday marked 1 year since i got doored by a car riding home from work. i fell off my bike again yesterday but this time it was my own stupid fault. i was expecting a call and my mobile started ringing in my back pocket as i was riding. i tried to break, pull over to the curb and pull my phone out of my pocket all at the same time (not sure what i was thinking-- too much i think). so i ended up on the pavement (more embarrassing the painful at the time). i bent my rear derailleur though (so the gears don't change right and i keep having to bend it back out away from the wheels so i doesn't hit the spokes). i think i'll be making a trip to the bike shop in the next week. i've got a big purple bruise on my knee now and a cut on my hand and my neck is tight again (and i ended up missing the call). its my own fault though (that'll teach me). on the way back home i almost got hit by a car that was NOT my fault. the woman was at a stop light in the lane going straight. i was going to go straight too so i was coming up along the right side of the left turning lane (note to north americans: i'm on the other side of the road here). the woman decided just as i was passing her that she wanted to change into the left turning lane and proceeded to do so without making sure the lane was actually clear. i managed to swerve out of the way and glare back at her, a little shook up. i proceeded to the front of the straight lane and then bumped into a sideview mirror of a taxi (i was a little shaken from the incident). next year december 19th is gonna be a bike free day for me.

this video (which has nothing to do with the above story) is a training thing i decided to test out on wombat to try to get her a bit less agressive and curious about other dogs. i downloaded a dog barking sound and played it a few times. she growled the first time and i scolded her. i think this video is the 3rd time thru. now she just lays down and lifts her ears.

critical mass

last nite we did the first critical mass i've done in probably a year or so. i forgot how fun they are (especially in the summer when its warm and everybody comes out for the ride). it was the anniversary ride (10th?? i think). its a great party on wheels. i think there were at least half a dozen bikes with stereos hooked up to them, a couple of santa clauses, other random fancy dress outfits, some decorated bikes, families with kids and of course the food-not-bombs mobile (minus the lid that was lost during the g2o rally). fnb cooked up a ton of food (vegie burgers, rice paper wraps, pasties and a pot of fnb slop-- i think someone got a little over excited and forgot we weren't bringing plates or cutlery to eat the usual fnb slop with). we went around the city and the roads by the botanical gardens then up towards princes park for the afterparty (which me and zac had to leave not long after getting there so we could meet friends for a movie). the best part of the ride was cirling the "round about of death" on royal parade. i'm surprised i've never heard of a cyclist getting killed on it or a car hitting a tram or something. its a very big scary round about (with a tram line going thu the middle of it!!) on one of the main bike routes into the city. we did a couple laps of that on the way up to the park.
unfortunately we forgot to bring our camera and zac still hasn't figured out how to get the pics from his phone onto the computer. i'm gonna try to find a couple good photos on flickr (already there's lots up but i'm hoping to find one of us-- zac was riding the fnb mobile for a while and everyone was taking photos of that so i'm hoping some of those people put them on flickr) i'll update w/photos later. now i'm gonna find the cat and see if she needs to go out.

dec 1: i finally found some good critical mass photos curtesy of melbournian1 on flickr:

the fnb mobile goin round the "round about of death"

gathering for a bike lift

the just keep comin and comin....

santa and ??? getting ready for the ride

ivanhoe cycles

i finally got to get my bike fixed yesterday!!! its had issues for 2 or 3 weeks now and it was due for one of its free tune ups back at ivanhoe cycles. getting it out there is a bit of a hassle though cuz the best way to get out there is by bike but if i'm dropping my bike off for a day that means i have to catch the train back and then walk 25 min (or if i'm lucky i might get one of the rare buses and only have to walk 5 min). the issues my bike was having turned into a major problem, making my bike pretty unridable (i still used it to get to work but that was it). the soonest i could take it in was yesterday afternoon after work. fortuantely i got out of work an hour early and then rode to the train station (my bike wasn't roadworthy enough to ride the 7km to ivanhoe). they asked when i wanted to pick it up and i just said anytime the next day but the sooner the better. he said they'd aim for lunchtime today and give me a call. just after 5pm (3 hrs after i dropped it off) i got a call saying my bike was all fixed up and i could come get it. i got out there as fast as i could cuz they close at 6pm (my shins are KILLING today from the speedwalking i did to get there in time). they even threw in a free bell (on top of the complementry tune-up/repairs) cuz i've broken 2 bells in the past 3 months (this one i can't break the same way the last 2 broke). i've heard other people raving about ivanhoe cycles but i've always had just average service dealing with them until yesterday. i was very happy to have my bike back so soon and be able to ride it all day today (my day off) without feeling like i'm gonna face injury or death cuz of my bikes unroadworthiness.

when winter is good

you've gotta love a winter day where you can garden in a singlet (tank top), drink coffee at an outdoor cafe with just a long sleeve tshirt on, and bike into the city and back without the wind from riding making you cold (and the reason we went into the city didn't happen--a free instore gig at a record shop--but it was such a good day for riding it didn't matter). melbourne is definately a good place to live.

disappointments and achievements

this is how i watched the game (yes, i'm wearing gloves in the house). it was 7C inside the house when i arrived (10C when i left). the excitment of the game mostly kept me warm though (along with multiple layers and 4 large cups of hot tea).
unfortunately the oilers lost 8( 3-1 but it was a really good game to watch. the looks on the players faces (well then ones that didn't have their head so low that you could just see the top of their helmets) was almost enought to even make a a hurricanes fan cry. they looked so disappointed. i guess for a lot (or all) of them it will probably be one of their biggest disappointments in life. they were so close, played some good games (and some not so good ones) and then lost in the final game. they're still 2nd overall but i guess when you've just lost the most prized cup in hockey after a season of very hard work it would be pretty disappointing.
i achieved something on my ride home though: i made it all the way from macleod back home along the darebin trail with out getting hopelessly lost and/or having a flat tire for the first time. it only took 3 goes at it and a lot of map study before, during and after the rides but i've done it now. the only time i even slightly got lost wasn't a big deal and it wasn't my fault. there was a perfect intersection of 2 paths and horrible (no) signage. i assumed my trail continued straight. a couple hundred metres later it just stopped, right in the middle of a small park (there was a side trail going up to the road but that's not what i wanted). i saw the real trail down below next to the river but instead of going back to the trail intersection i followed a narrow bike tire trail through some grass and down a steep slope back onto the trail with no problems. that's one thing that really needs improving on in victoria is trail signage (both bike and walking trails). a lot of times there's paths branching off and no signs where they go or if there is a sign its very poorly done and you can't tell which direction of the trail the sign is actually referring to. i think bicycle victoria is working on getting concils to improve bike trail signs 8).