Barry

Let me introduce you to Barry, who has become an important part of my life here in Melbourne.
Barry is very sexy looking in his different blue shapes and he makes me smile every time I see him.

My number one bike friend is actually Olga and back home in Brighton, I was thinking of taking her to the other side of the world with me but decided against it as I wasn't sure how easy it'd be to travel around with her. It was the right decision in the end as otherwise I'd never have met Barry!

One evening when I had nothing on ;-) I had a look at Gumtree and there he was. A proper blue GIANT looking for a new owner. I texted the number provided and was told that he was still available. The guy invited me to come and see him before 12pm the next day as I sounded nicer than the other person interested :)!

It was meant to be. Saw him, fell in love and took him home with me (the bike).

Back in Brighton I cycled everywhere in any weather. Living in England made me invest in full rain gear, which turns me into a 99% waterproof cyclist (I’m still thinking about the helmet cover, but they just look so silly)! Rain protection for my shoes are part of my gear though :-)! 

Another 'Maberly' I like. This could be the off road version of Barry :-) ! See more if you like: facebook.com/GuyMaberlyArt

I expected it to be just as easy getting around Melbourne on a bike as it was in Brighton because I was told Melbourne was really good for cycling. Well, I’m not sure if whoever said that has been to England, or even Germany where there’s an actual system for bikes in place and where trucks go on different types of roads. We call them Autobahn or motorway. Here it’s all one!

My first try riding Barry to work was probably one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. I had to cross over three lanes to turn right. The moment I made it the lights turned red. I had to wait on an uphill road and Barry has only got one gear! 

I wasn’t that impressed when this massive truck pulled over behind me waiting for the same lights. I gave everything starting off quickly on that hill and the big truck overtook me while I was turning into the road. I closed my eyes for a second but I think they must have seen me as I’m still alive today!

I think I should add that I was staying out west in a suburb called ‘Sunshine’ at the time. All that’s there are big roads, a lot of cars and trucks as it’s quite industrial. When I visited my friend in St. Kilda I saw heaps of cyclists in fancy outfits following pretty cycling paths all over the place. Therefore my experience might only be what you get in Sunshine.

However, at first I didn’t realise how big Melbourne is with all its suburbs and different areas! It’s not like Brighton where you can just cycle from one end to the other in under an hour. This is a bit like getting around between London and Eastbourne if that makes sense :-).

Also, I still had no idea where I was going and how to get to places. I used my brand new ‘iFriend’ to get me around more cycle friendly areas (that still means big roads with several lanes and cars passing fast and very close to us). It wasn’t that easy though as I had to stop constantly to get the phone out to see where I am.
 
One day I wrote a little bit of a frustrated email to my friend Bryn and told him about my new love Barry but also how disappointed I was that cycling didn’t make things easier in a bit city like this. I usually talk to Bryn if there is anything bike related I’d like to share.

The reason is that I know Bryn likes bikes so much that he designs and sells cycling equipment. I didn’t even think of that when I wrote the email but he must have had the feeling that Barry and I needed some help :-). Get this, he sent a present from the UK all the way here!

Barry and I were very excited when it arrived! It was full of goodies that changed our lives :-)! We received a handle bar bag with room for my ‘iFriend’. I can see the screen through it to follow my route plus I’m able to wear my head phones for the American lady to tell me when to turn. That wasn’t everything though. We also got a really cool gel saddle cover as I’d mentioned the rough saddle too! I didn’t even know those existed!

Thanks so much Bryn :-)! Also my lovely readers, if you should happen to be into cycling and don’t already know what cool accessories are out there, why not look up what great work Bryn has done on that :-).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_so_1?rh=n%3A318949011%2Ck%3ABTR%2Cp_89%3ABTR&keywords=BTR&ie=UTF8&qid=1433943934

Now my new everyday life with Barry is like this: We cycle pretty much everywhere and I’m as comfortable as being on him as in an arm chair. Even to work. We use trains for further distances but are left with enough cycling opportunities after that. Flemington where I live now surprised us with nice cycling paths that connect different parts around North Melbourne with no highways involved. 
The link to dancing is that we make it to classes this way now, which also means I don’t need to worry as much anymore about missing the last tram :-). The only slight problem is that we can only go where Barry can come inside as I can’t afford a lock at the moment, but we’ll get that sorted soon too :-).