Chiltern Photos

 Hi

A few weeks ago I was riding with OzHPV friends in Chiltern. I haven't reported on that in my blog yet, but meanwhile my report on that weekend has been published on the OzHPV site here. So rather than rehash, I thought I would publish most of the photos I took of Gordon's extraordinary motoring Museum. It is related to the Chiltern Garage in town and some sites such as this very informative one still list the garage as a museum. 

Chiltern is near the main Melbourne to Sydney Highway, the Hume, and up till 1962 the Highway ran through the town. So there was great potential for a gathering of motoring memorabilia, and the Stevens family have accomplished that. Here are my photos.

 

 

Coleraine Pedalcars: promotion trip day 5

 

 

 

OzHPV embassy in Coleraine: promoting the OzHPV Challenge

Trisled Skyhawk rotomoulded pedal prix velomobile

Ta Da! The results.

Ace photographer Marlene

Ben from Trisled is given the Popemobile treatment in a safety car sponsored by Vickery Brothers, a local fertiliser supplier. Bec from Trisled did some of the presentations.

This one wasn't raced and I'm not sure it had the 4 wheels needed to qualify. It looks a bit like a Morgan

Some mobs like Grampians Gangster were just in it for fun.

What a ripper!

Balmoral College had 2 pedal prix hpv's this one multicoloured from lots of scrapes and old paint jobs.

#83 interior

Elite Class winners - they did the most laps overall

Possibly the most aero of all the cars, a very nice looking Trisled. Raced by an under17's team it was only 2 laps behind the overall winners.

After writing up the previous day's blog of my trip to promote the OzHPV Challenge in Coleraine, I headed out to the site of the Coleraine Pedalcars event by bike, looked around a bit, then walked back to the hotel and came back with my car, folding table, bike parts, flyers and gazebo. It had been wet and windy, and was still windy, and the first half hour of setup was rescuing gazebos which had blown away in the wind. It was a good way to get to know my neighbours. Fortunately the Wecycle Gazebo is a solid old girl and I was able to peg it down, and put it up with a bit of help and no dramas.

Unfortunately about this time, I realised I'd lost my phone, so that distracted me somewhat for the rest of the day! It didn't turn up and I ended up replacing it the next day. We are very welded to our devices! That aside, the day went well. Gradually teams of riders and families started setting up tents and Pedalcars along McConachie Street, and soon the place was buzzing. I'd met Pedalcar organisers Chris and Clare, and Trisled's Ben and Bec arrived, followed by my cousin Michael and his wife Rosemary, so I knew a few people there. I'd met ace photographer Marlene the day before as well.

With a camera as well as a phone I could keep on taking photos which was great. There were plenty of lively teams with Pedalcars varying from (Trisled) factory made to high end local factory made to shed made, and cute vintage. I was glad to have taken a photo of the results board, with that I could look at the car numbers in the photos and start to make sense of it all.

Late in the day when I was packing up, Jesse from team 23, (Odd Ball) tried out my bike and was quite impressed. It was a good day out. Coleraine is a small town and I saw half the people in town I'd met at the pub that night, they were there for the post race Pedalcar committee dinner. 

Jesse, successful test ride.

Back at the pub, the fake cow in the community centre can be seen through the drive-through bottleshop driveway.

Another view from the pub. The truck was stopped giving me time to take a few photos. The sheep did not appear too distressed and as Rosemary said "they only have one bad day".

 As a final note, here are some tips for not losing your phone / wallet / keys when riding a bicycle.

1. Never ride a recumbent bicycle! If you ride recumbent, normal pants and jacket pockets don't work, they are like an eject button for your beloved articles. If you have to ride a recumbent (ok, that's me), then try to do all of the below:

2. Try to wear a shirt with deep pockets. Its best if these can be buttoned up with a button or velcro at the top. These can stop phones slipping out at the top when you bend over.

3. Don't use pants pockets unless they are on the leg.

4. Jacket pockets that aren't high up must be zipped. If zips are broken or starting to get stuck in the fabric that surrounds them, replace or repair the zips or replace the jacket. 

5. Prioritise safety of self and articles over fashion, and don't (for example) turn a jacket or waistcoat inside out because it looks better if it compromises the safety of zips or pockets.

I think I broke most of these rules when I lost my phone on Saturday. Its actually not that hard to keep things safe.