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Merckx Mondays

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Merckx Mondays

Sun Graphics does a hell of a lot of resprays, oops, pardon me, I meant “restorations”… Shit. Let me start over. In Australia, if you need a place to get a classic Eddy Merckx restored to (or above and beyond) its original condition, the place to go is Sun Graphics.

Andy at FYXO works exclusively with Sun and Shifter to deliver pristine complete future Eddy Merckx classics. Above is one of my favorite Merckx liveries, team Stuttgart. This one’s heading off to Sun for a little TLC and below is a classic Eddy Merckx famed for polished Campagnolo.

I can’t wait to see how both of these turn out. Maybe they’ll be a future Merckx Mondays?

Melbourne Commutes

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Melbourne Commutes

Commuting, for most anyway, can be a fairly boring and mundane experience, even on a bike. But for those who grew old in the wood, taking the “long way” into work as important as a cup of coffee. My Melbourne mornings usually began slightly hungover, no coffee or breakfast (sorry, brekkie) and immediately hopping onto the bike to ride into the city with Dan from Shifter Bikes. We’d always end up in the same place, but we never took the same route. The Yarra Trails quickly became my new favorite locale in Melbourne.

Check out more narrated photos in the Gallery!

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4
Fuji Neopan 400

Take a Load Off

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Take a Load Off

It’s been a long weekend, readjusting to life in Austin after being on the road for over a month: household duties, errands and trying to get back in the swing of things. Hopefully you got to ride more than I did…

Rest up.

Seek Me

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Seek Me

Yesterday I was in bed, with food poisoning all day (funny how I didn’t get sick at all in China) and so I didn’t get to post any weekend stokedness. It’s not too late. Get out and seek this.

MelburnOut Randomness

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MelburnOut Randomness

When I’m in Melbourne, it’s always a pleasure to meet new people and see some incredible bikes. This go round, I walked almost everywhere with my Mamiya, shooting portraits and other bits of randomness. I finally got all my negatives scanned and they came out great. So let’s waste away the lazy Thursday afternoon with a full-loaded Gallery… Also, a lot of these are sitting in print form at Shifter Bikes, so if you’re in there, swing through a pick up your print.

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery!

Recent Roll: One of My Favorite Portraits

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Recent Roll: One of My Favorite Portraits

I don’t think I’ve shot a better photo of Dan from Shifter Bikes before. Out of all my Mamiya 7ii photos from Australia, this might just be my favorite. There’s a full set coming soon, once I finish scanning…

Regular scanning will commence today. I’m trying to wrap my head around jetlag and emails.

MelburnOut: Never Let a Mate Ride Your Bike

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MelburnOut: Never Let a Mate Ride Your Bike


Photo by Andy White

… and this is why. Well, ‘Straya, it’s been fun. After my flight got canceled yesterday, I’m leaving today, so the site will be dormant for a few hours. Andy from FYXO will be posting more photos of me ripping his brand new BT track bike (with a black Shamal!) soon…

MelburnOut: Shifter Dan’s 40th Birthday Bush Bash Day 02

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MelburnOut: Shifter Dan’s 40th Birthday Bush Bash Day 02

The wood is a magical place. It turns fat bloggers into slightly less fat raconteurs. It clears your head, makes your chest pound, legs throb and palms sweat. You bond with your mates and let the beauty of nature envelop you. The first day of Shifter Dan’s 40th Birthday Bush Bash set the stage for the second…

After a much-needed 12-hours of sleeping, I awoke in my Courthouse Hotel bunk bed to the call of the Magpie and the ruckus of Cockatoos around 7am. We showered, packed and went over our bikes. Which, after the rutted, bumpy and dusty descent into Jamieson, were in disrepair. A little bit of lube and a quick tightening of the bolts and we were ready to take on the second day of Dan’s 40th Birthday Bush Bash.

The course this year was the reverse of last year. We left climbing over the Great Dividing Range and ended up on the very track that caused so many flats on the previous ride, but this time we were climbing up, rather than flying down. Our spirits were bright, our legs were loose and all we could do was soak in the sights and sounds of the bush.

We finished the day at 76 miles and over 14,500′ of elevation gain. There was only one thing, wait, a few things that I wanted after the ride: a bottle of ginger beer, a coffee and a pair of mushroom and steak pies!

Enclosed is the ride report for the first leg of this 19.33 MP/C* ride.

Check out a bunch of narrated photos in the Gallery!

Paul’s MX-Leader Eddy Merckx Road

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Paul’s MX-Leader Eddy Merckx Road

When I posted a few photos of this bike, a bunch of people emailed me, asking about its history. To be honest, I’m not 100% sure what the history is, other than it’s a Sun Graphics respray in the less common Telekom livery. That and it’s got a great built kit. See that stem? Instant classic. I’ve seen a lot of Merckx bikes in Melbourne, but Paul’s is one of my favorites.

Fyxomatosis: Woodn’t it Be Nice

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Fyxomatosis: Woodn’t it Be Nice

Photos by Andy White

Many years ago, Andy had his first love affair with the ‘Wood. You can read about it here (seriously, do it). I remember the first time I read that ride report. My mind was blown. “Those Aussies are insane”. This year was the first time a large group went on the ride and it won’t be the last time. Before you read about some brand claiming the roads are their own, go out and do it yourself. These roads are yours for the taking.

If you need any more motivation, head over to FYXO for the full checklist of how to get into the ‘Wood as well as more incredible photos.

Great photos Andy. Let’s do it again in October.

Northside Wheelers 3-Speed Suicide Porteur

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Northside Wheelers 3-Speed Suicide Porteur

Malachi’s Northside Wheelers porteur is one of the best examples of how you don’t need to spend a lot of money to have a classy ride, just a little creativity and insight. It doesn’t hurt to have Danny Hale of Shifter Bikes on your side though…

This bike is very similar to Dan’s own singlespeed porteur (which was stolen last year). It’s a Taiwanese frame, painted matte black but has some sneaky detailing. A coaster brake keeps the bike’s silhouette clean, while a Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub aids in scaling Melbourne’s hills.

How the bike shifts is one of the most clever details: a Campagnolo downtube shifter is mounted to the seat stay, allowing Mal to “suicide shift” this sleek beauty. Other details include a Northside Wheelers saddle, crafted by Mick Peel of Busyman, pinstriping on the hub / rims, pink nipples, Campagnolo Strada cranks and custom painted fenders. It’s a sleeper! See for yourself in the Gallery.

Andy’s Backyard

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Andy’s Backyard

Let’s rewind a week or so ago. I had just “escaped” from China and landed in Melbourne via a hellish flight, filled with turbulence, a pesky, smelly neighbor and suspect food. Andy picked me up and after noting an “off smell” (me), he asked what I felt like doing. What came out of my mouth never felt more right: “a ride”…

You know, like 30k or so. Just a pleasant spin around the ‘hood. With FYXO, there’s no such thing as short and sweet. We went here, then there and ended up on Bald Spur road, one of the many areas that was ravaged by the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009. Trees stripped of their leaves, half-charred houses, melted water towers littered the roadside.

It was around 60 miles and 6,000′ or so. I didn’t have my Garmin, so my legs, the elapsed time and post-ride appetite were the gauge. To think that this was all in Andy’s backyard…

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery.

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4 (the last photo is my Leica M7 with Zeiss 28mm)
Neopan 400

531 Cecil Walker Track with Zipp Wheels

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531 Cecil Walker Track with Zipp Wheels

The story with this bike in particular is a common tale. As a youngster, the owner used to race at the velodromes here in Melbourne. Like many kids growing up, he rode what he could afford to and when the time came, he sold off his bikes to buy new ones.

As adults, many people track down their distant memories and relive their youth. The owner of this gorgeous 531 Cecil Walker track just recently put it together to get back onto the boards and what a build. A brand new frame, complete with Dura Ace track parts, Zipp 1150 rear and a Zipp 3000 tri-spoke front would bring out the inner child in any track racer.

MelburnOut: Shifter Dan’s 40th Birthday Bush Bash – Day 01

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MelburnOut: Shifter Dan’s 40th Birthday Bush Bash – Day 01

“Aged many years in the wood”. How many years? Well, like everything in Straya, there’s a story for that. Daniel John Hale has seen his share of saddle time in the years he’s spent on Earth. An ex-pro mountain biker, owner of the Best Bike Shop in the World and one of the first solo riders to take on this particular area of Australian Bush, Dan’s no stranger to the wood.

Ten years ago, he did a similar ride to what we just completed this past weekend but instead of two days, it took him four. Rather than ride a mountain bike or a geared bike, he took his singlespeed Monster Cross. No GPS, no satellite phone and no idea where he was going, save for a map he bought on the side of the road. Later, he, Dave, Scooter and Andy began to tackle these rides annually. That’s 10 years in the wood of Upper Yarra, familiarizing themselves with the ‘bush, the many off-shooting tracks and trails.

Last year, a very similar ride changed me as a cyclist. It took the 215 pound me and slapped it around before spitting (i.e. shitting) it back out. I learned a lot in two long days, but left Melbourne wanting more. When I mentioned returning this year, Andy proposed me landing in for Dan’s 40th. As Andy put it, “we’ll do another ride”…

I’m now around 185 pounds and have been putting in serious saddle time, so the anxiety wasn’t as bad. Until he showed me the route. Day 01, 100 miles, 16,000′ of climbing. BUGGA!

A total of nine riders started, seven finished. Andy’s brother made it up the first climb before returning home and Scooter, one of the original badass couriers in Australia (and aforementioned Upper Yarra riders) only had time for Woods Point and back. That left Dan, Andy, Joe, Dave, Reuben, Mal and myself for the haul… Enclosed is the ride report for the first leg of this 26.6 MP/C* ride.

Check out a bunch of narrated photos in the Gallery!