Vivid Bike Light Spectacular

Guess what bikeling friends...?  Its time for the Vivid Festival again in Sydney which means we are organising our Vivid Bike Light Spectacular!  For those of you new to our Vivid ride - check out pics from our last Vivid event here: http://featherbrigade.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/vivid-night-of-lights.html

This year we are doing things a little differently.  For starters it will be a longer bike ride, starting from Sydney Uni.  We will wind along the waterfront of Glebe and Prymont before bedazzling Darling Harbour and then whizzing around Walsh Bay before heading up to the Rocks and then finding a suitable stopping point near the MCA.  There we will have a vote for "Best Decorated Bike" and "Best Decorated Person" with prizes (oooh).  After that the fun you have is up to you - check out the lights of Vivid on the festival walk (and don't forget your camera).  We will have a follow up competition on our blog for the "Most Creative Photo" from the night, so happy snapping!

Ideas for lights - think battery-powered fairy lights, glow sticks, light sticks, twirlywhirls, wheel lights, light up toys, solar powered lights.  Let your imagination take over!  Our favourite was the glow sticks taped to wheel spokes - very effective.  We found our lights at Kmart, $2 dollar shops and Ebay.

Ideas for high vis - wear your high vis in different ways, snap bands, arm bands, Tron stripes... the possiblities are endless!!   We ask that you come ready to ride on the night so we can all admire each other and then GET BIKELING!

Feel free to contact us via facebook or through the blog if you have any questions.  We look forward to seeing you there, no matter what 'type' of bikelist you are and  - SPREAD THE WORD!

Come Ride with Us!

Come with us for a ride in our hood.  This is the Glebe Foreshore Bike Path, with new and improved paths and lighting thanks to the City Of Sydney using taxpayer's dollars wisely.  Enjoy!

Bikeling in Berlin!

We hadn't really put much thought into bike riding in Berlin before arriving in Berlin. We had met a few Germans in Amsterdam who told us that they wouldn't ride around on bikes in Berlin so our belief was that it was going to be overwhelming.  But we while we driving in the taxi from the airport it was clear from looking at the bike riders that this looked relatively easy.  We walked around the first afternoon and while taking in the sights also just observed the cycling rules and etiquettes we could see.  The road rules were much clearer to pick up on than Amsterdam.  There are bike traffic lights at every intersection with traffic lights and clearly marked bike lanes all over the city.  Turning left through an intersection seemed the trickiest but we watched and most Berliners cross at the pedestrian crossings instead, then get back on the cycle path.  So thats what we did.  And it turned out to be the best way to explore Berlin.  We did not use public transport once, we did everything you see here by bike.  The best part is being able to pull over and take pictures of the amazing street art of Berlin. 

This is a bike-hire system. Although we rented bikes from the apartments we stayed at.  

It was very easy to find somewhere to lock up in all areas we visited.

We went on a boat tour of the river Spree and saw the same bike-life as back home along our Glebe foreshore.  

Seriously this could be J-bot with short hair..

Bike love.

Girl gang.

Boy gang.

Bike twins.

More bike hire.  Some gears are necessary for Berlin but it is still very flat in most areas.

Awesome little vintage shops.

Our first bike stop was the East Side Gallery (Berlin Wall).  Someone came up while we taking pics of the wall asking us what this place was, aaah the hapless tourist. We got a little snap happy here...

At the end of the East side gallery is this fantastic old Germanic bridge... And a cycling hub too.

Bike shop stop...

Then I got to see my first ever Squirrel!!  Soo excited.

Then to the Brandenburg gate, with S-boy giving his best pose.

We rode out of the city a little to a park called Treptower park.  

Here we rode around the lovely greenery and came across an abandoned fairground called Spree Park. 

 It has a interesting history, and was spooky to photograph as it was all so quiet.

And this picture below is the first picture I took in Berlin.  Party bike going past just as I got out of the taxi...