I still love Melbourne, but!

[merv]

The amount and types of bikes they use in Melbourne is just fascinating and even with tram tracks everywhere it seems such a bike friendly city. The weather was absolute shit two weeks ago on Wed and Thurs but heated right up after that and out come the bikes again and as usual they park all over the footpath taking their rightful place in the scheme of things - out of the way of parking bingles by the errant motorist.

The Ducati 500 twin was pride of place in David Jones, in the ladies cosmetics area of course.

See the pic at Brighton Beach - that was Friday a week ago and it was nice by then.

[hXc]

In the 4th pic, I see a Spada. Yay for Spada's!

[merv]

Being a railway guy I rode plenty of trains and trams.

Then here's the first but! I didn't have the camera at the ready at the right moment to catch one of our bruddahs flying through the air but I saw it from the front of the tram as he clipped a turning Camry. By the time I got the pic he was up thankfully and retrieving his broken bike. I got off the tram to find he was OK just a bit shaken and stirred. It seemed to me that both parties must have suffered a bit of brain fade to collide as the car had hardly started moving and the bike seemed to make no attempt to deviate and was going rather quick.

The trains are a bit flasher than those that go into Britomart eh! Except its State election time and the Unions were kicking up a fuss and had a whole set of trains taken out of service for safety issues to do with their brakes - a big downer to Siemens the supplier.

[merv]

Its a tight fit on Elizabeth Street eh! Pic 1.

Docklands is looking nice pic 2.

The rest of the pics are at St Kilda Acland Street and near Luna Park.

[merv]

Now the last "but" is how the hell do Cosway Motorcycles stay in business?

LB asked me to see if I could buy a tank bag for her Ducati Monster. So soon as I get there Tuesday 2 weeks ago I walk Elizabeth Street stopping in at bike shops as I go. Peter Stevens was humming in all departments, had a look at a few Hondas (noticed the XR250L was slightly different spec to mine - different lighting mainly) and Harleys, then walk down the road and cross over to go to Cosway's.

They are the Kawasaki dealer and we know nobody would buy that brand eh, so sure the shop was empty of customers until I turned up. Some foreign looking dude (if it was America I'd say Latino, I suppose in Melbourne he was a Greek) approaches me, I tell him what I'm after - he's totally disinterested and says "nah haven't got any in stock" yet they advertise as the agents for Joe Rocket gear. There is a woman Virginia (the one LB had tried to deal with before having even sent her an e-mail) yapping on the phone, so the dude says I suppose you can talk to her.

So I wait until this real Aussie sheila (i.e. old and wrinkled looking) gets off the phone (think she would sooner have gone outside for a smoke than talk to me) and I explain what I'm after, mention LB, she denies receipt of any e-mail and proceeds to say (looking totally disinterested) she will write it all in her book and will get back to LB saying it will take at least 30 days to order in. LB has had no e-mail confirmation or anything since as you can imagine.

So the attitude and approach to customer service at Cosway's is zip. Great huh! Would I go back? Nah, but to Peter Stevens yes.

So I failed LB in my quest to have her tank bagged out for this weekend. She was sure with me staying a week I could have laid my hands on one, but no. In this country we at least have overnight couriers for most things and sure Aus is a big country but you'd still think stuff was only 2 or 3 days from the importers.

[merv]

Now what about this young guy in the red shirt on the St Kilda tram, doesn't he have that "bugger I've lost my bike licence" look on his face?

[apteryx_haasti]

Onya Merv! That was some interesting reading and good piccies, too. I was in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago and I also wondered about those darn tram tracks - those things are everywhere! And having had an unpleasant slidy experience on the train tracks on Aoeta Quay in the wet (as a real newbie, no less), I just looked at those tram tracks and went...ewww.

Now Brisbane, on the other hand. That looks like a stellar city to be a biker in! My friends took me up to Brisbane State Forest. Cool windy road (not so good as a car passenger) - yep - lots of bikes! I think my friends got sick of me going "Oooo! Look at THAT one!"

[merv]

Welcome back too AH. Ya gotta understand I was working so didn't have as much free time out and about as I'd like. Yeah Brisbane was great but they don't park on the footpaths the same so you don't see the bikes so much but one habit is having a cover on the bikes while parked I presume to lessen the effects of the harmful rays of the sun and I guess no one steals the covers.

[Big Dave]

C'ARN THE BLUEYS!

When the sun sets over Carlton
And the moonlight floods the streets
All those pizza places and spaced out places
They all get on the beat

When the sun sets over Carlton
And the stars begin to shine
All those grey-haired writers and drunken fighters
They all step out in line

When the sun sets over Carlton
And the day begins to fade
All those night time junkies and long haired monkeys
They all pull up the shade

When the sun sets over Carlton
And the lights begin to glow
All those Divine Lighters and window wipers
They all put on a show

When the sun sets over Carlton
And you're out to make a deal
Check out who you're talkin' to
And make sure they are real

When the sun sets over Carlton
And you're out to make a deal
Check out who you're talkin' to
And make sure they are real

Well Lygon Street's really got me beat
I can't seem to stand on my own two feet
Well Lygon Street's really got me down
'Cos I'm a poor boy on the wrong side of town

Do the Lygon Street Limbo
How low can you go-go

skyhooks.

[jimevo]

I was there this week as well.........the CBD is awesome but their suburbs and the beaches are no where near as pretty as ours!!!

Phillip Island GP track is simply unbeatable!!!...........It was an awesome experience riding on the track, I am already planning to go back to get more track time early in the new year!!!

[merv]

OK the bit I forgot to tell you until now was I ended up there when the G20 Summit was on. Did you hear about the riots in NZ? Read a biased view here http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/200...9/18331043.php

The group I was meeting with was meeting at the top end (East end) of Collins Street and because of the spring carnival, and then the G20 Summit, accommodation was hard to come by at the right price in town so I ended up staying at Medina Grand in Queen Street which when the weather was shit made me think wish I was at Stamford or somewhere further to the East as I had about 5 or 6 blocks to get to my meetings, but by Thursday the G20 boys hit town along with the groupie protestors and all hell let loose with the police barricading Collins Street and the trams stopped coming down Bourke Street at various times making city travel basically a walking experience. By then I was glad I was a few blocks away in Queen Street and could stay away from the trouble.

The local Police Commisioner (a she) was pissed off that the Feds had invited the G20 boys to town and then left her to defend the place with city police.

jimevo you're leaving NZ soon - where you going?

[jimevo]

Off to the USA for a career advancement........

[merv]

OK have fun. What sort of career you advancing - armed forces?

[Paulus]

A bunch of us went over in Sept for the MotoGP and we were amazed at how many sports bikes were parked on the footpath downtown. It's rare to see modern sports bikes used as commuters in Chch. Many were late model litre bikes too.

[merv]

Yes whether sports bikes or not they commute on them all making for the fascinating mix you see around. LB was over for the MotoGP too and she'd tried to get the tank bag then but was only staying overnight and failed so hoped in a week I might get it. No such luck with Cosways though - geez.