Links

Audax Australia
This is the umbrella organisation running long distance cycling events in Australia Their website includes a calendar of events.

Bikejournal
A place where cyclist can keep track of their mileage and any number of other statistics, as well as an attached forum.

Bikeforums
A set of discussion forums covering almost every conceivable cycling related topic.

Cycling Adventurer
The Cycling Adventurer has tossed in the structured life of an urbanite to explore the world by bicycle. A well-written site detailing how he came to cycling, and what he learned along the way.

Crazy Guy on a Bike

Bicycle touring journals from all over the world, including a couple of my own.

Johns Cycles

This is my LBS on the Gold Coast. While they cater more to the racing market, their service, advice and workmanship is the best on the coast.

St Kilda Cycles

Importers of all manner of things hard to find in Australia, including the legendary Schmidt hub dynamo & E6 lights.

Blogs

Bicycle-eye
Wonderings and wanderings out and about in Portland, Oregon, US

The Journey
The journey begins in Perth, Western Australia.

Lance Notstrong
The "other" Lance!

Ms Mittens
The Wired Cat on-line

Iron Gambit
.

Aussie Writer and Cycletourist
A blog chronicling the writing and cycling of a seaside baby boomer.

Up in Alaska
Jill's subarctic journal about ice, bears and distant dreams of the midnight sun.

The Kin Chronicles
Taking mediocrity to a new level of ordinary.

Allez
Riding and running with a vengeance.

London Cycling Diary
Pedalling across the capital since August 2005.

CouchPilot-2-BikePilot (Zin's cycling blog)
Living an adventurous life with Type-2-Diabetes.

The adventures of Crazy Biker Chick
... Including cycling, adventuring, cooking, knitting and ranting.

Redneck Espanol
The two wheeled Spanish redneck.

Treadly and me
"Work is something I do between riding my bicycle".

Crowlie
Womanist philosophy and theology. Cycling, climbing, art, single-motherhood and fire-twirling.

Adrian Fitch's random rambling.
A bit about cycling, a bit about genealogy, a bit about radio but mostly a lot about nothing at all.

Geo's big adventure
The life and times of Geo.

It's about the bike
Musings on the cycling life.

Spinopsys
Various cycling tidbits.

Industry Outsider
A blog about bikes and stuff.

Tweed Coast Treadly
An old man's bicycle riding diary.

A cyclist's life in Tenerife
(Canary Islands).

Bike to work to live to bike
It's never too late to get back on the bike

Stupid Hurts
Just the random scribblings of a guy with a bicycle

I'm not drunk enough for this
Really, I'm not.

BikeHacks
What can I say? Just read it.

Mozam's cycling adventures
A random collection of the things I like to do most, and mostly that is to ride my bikes, bicycles that is... My musings from competitive riding, long distance endurance to puttering around the neighborhood..

More cycling blogs

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Monday, October 01, 2007

31

Today I'm officially "old". Well, perhaps not, but I'm a little closer to being there. I'd take a ride to celebrate, but I already ripped my legs off on a blisteringly hot ride in the Sunshine Coast hinterland yesterday (ride report to come later), so I'll just have to settle for a commute today and possibly a shopping trip this evening. It's interesting to look back on the 12 months since my "30" post and see exactly what has happened.

The one constant has been my continued cynicism about pretty much everything in the world today. While I didn't set out to become this way when I was younger, it just seems to have been my experience that as a general rule, they cynics were right all along on pretty much every subject I can think of. A lot of people see cynicism as a negative attitude, but I've never seen it that way. Cynicism is simply a defence mechanism that allows an individual to see the world and it's inhabitants for what they are. This is actually a positive attitude, as it allows one to simply get on with their lives, focusing on what is actually achievable and knowing exactly how to make it happen.

Of course, this was the year that my cynicism finally convinced me to take leave of the world of cycling "advocacy", or at least in it's current form. While I still hold largely the same opinions on many of the issues that I always did, I have realised that a lot of the politics involved is largely a waste of time, and that a lot of the people in the game ultimately have very different motives from what they claim. Personally, I can find far more rewarding pursuits than fighting those battles over and over again.

In a slightly more positive twist, but another made possible by cynicism, I managed a wonderful tour of Scotland a few months ago. Cynicism came in handy for dealing with the idiots in the Australian government who put as many hurdles in my way as possible, hoping I wouldn't bother them and keep them from flexing the afternoon off. This, pretty much sums up the lesson from the last 12 months and beyond, and the whole point of this post. While it seems "horrible" to think a certain way about certain ideals, individuals or institutions, it's often a necessary evil if you want to achieve anything.

Here endeth the lesson.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Have fun and please keep me updated!! Annette

8:05 am  

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