After such a miserable
few days of pissing rain and constant wetness, I decided that as the
sun had come out and it was supposedly going to be a clear day I
might as well make the most of it by taking my bike out for a ride. I
should really explain that I have a bike and how this bike came
about.
When I was living in
England, I used to ride my bike to and from work every day which was
about a 10 mile round trip. I got so into cycling that I bought a top
spec vintage Italian frame from the 70's. I built it from the ground
up using all high end parts of the era. It was a dream, my little
baby. An incredibly fast and responsive steel framed bicycle. I was
in love. Only about a week into having wheels built to my
specifications, and riding it and running in the recently refurbished
(by myself) groupset. It got stolen. My beloved bike, taken from me.
I turned my back for near on 30 seconds and it was gone. An
opportunist thief none the less. In fact just as I'd come to terms
with it being gone I saw someone riding it. I jumped out the car and
immediately gave chase. With dodgy old knees and not being used to
running at all, I was buggered to say the least. To make matters
worse, an unsuspecting bystander must have witnessed the events and
notified the police. I got back into my mates car and as we were
driving around, a police car pulled us over. I was asked to step out
of the vehicle as somebody matching my description was just reported
to be chasing and threatening a young chap on a bike. Too bloody
right I was chasing and threatening the little shit, for all I knew
he was the one who stole my bike in the first place. I wanted to
break his legs, both of them. Instead of getting the kid on the bike,
the police were more interested in pursuing me and winding me up,
even when my story checked out they seemed disinterested in it. A
bunch of lazy bastards is all I can say.
Any way, when I moved
out to Australia about a month after that horrific life event, I was
desperate for a ride. I bought myself a bike on Australian eBay after
searching all over and finding the best deal. A great little bike
popped up. A well regarded Melbourne frame builder, using lightweight
steel tubing and having a high spec groupset, it was perfect. Coming
in at about $200, and being around the corner from where Nina's
parents lived, it was even better. When I collected the bike, all I
really needed to do to get it riding was buy some pedals, so I did. I
should also mention that I had to buy a helmet, it is the law in New
South Wales if not the whole of Australia. The first day I went out
on a ride on the bike I was pulled over by police who weren't having
any of my ignorance. They walked me to the nearest bike shop which
was only about a hundred metres away, then waited until I had
purchased a helmet. I suppose that was better than getting a fine or
risking serious head injury.
So the first day of sun
after so much crap and Paconi, my bike, was destined to be ridden.
She was crying out to be ridden. So loudly that I could just about
hear her soft wails as I was getting dressed on the 6th
floor. I opened the door to the flats lock up and got out the gear, a
helmet, a lock and her, Paconi. Flouro pink, orange and yellow with
soft pink handlebar tape and bright white tyres. A beauty to behold
and even nicer to ride. A smaller frame than the ones I have
currently in the UK, but at the time that was what I was used to. A
short wheelbase, with tight geometry allowing you to really cut into
corners and glide around sharp bends at hare like speeds.
It was so good riding
around the city again. Zooming down steep and long hills, then having
to ride back up them or the other side. Powering across the Sydney
Harbour Bridge and into and around North Sydney. This day I didn't do
that, I felt like a slight change so went and did a couple of loops
of Macquaries Point near the botanical gardens. Then stopped in to
check out the Art Gallery of NSW. I'm so glad I did that, it was
amazing. Some really good pieces of art in there, I'd say all in all
it is a better gallery than the MCA. So many floors, so many rooms,
it's free (mostly) and the art work is really varied, not just
renaissance pieces or those of the Dutch Masters even though there
were loads of the latter. The only downside to doing that was that
the sun was blazing outside and I was busy indoors walking around
looking at paintings and sculptures, and the sun through tinted
windows. I was in there for about two hours and decided to call it a
day, I had to make the most of the lovely weather just in case it
pissed it down like it had the last few days.
I rode from the gallery
close to the waterside until I got to Wooloomooloo. It was there that
I'd been aiming for. A famous café right on the waters edge, next to
the Australian Naval base. Not the most breathtaking view or
picturesque but still better than looking at a busy main road or
pedestrianised shopping street. I got in the queue and chose what I
wanted.
My usual at Harry's
Café De Wheels is a 'Lean Beef Tiger' a peppered, lean beef pie with
mashed potato, mushy peas and gravy. All that for a snip at under $8.
I ordered, paid up and once I received it, I walked along the water
front until I found an unoccupied bench seat. Basking in the suns
rays, I sat and ate my pie. Forgetting to get a napkin I made a bit
of a mess but wiped my face with my hand and then wiped my hand on my
shorts. Nobody would have ever noticed that I got gravy and shit all
over my face. I wanted to ride off but was too full up from the pie
and bottle of water I'd drunk so sat it out for a bit. Reading in the
sun on a relatively peaceful afternoon. Learning from experience, I
never try to get lunch or a coffee any time between 12-2pm. That time
of the day is manic, people rushing all over trying to get food and
eat it quickly so they can get back to work as soon as possible.
After about an hour of chilling I was ready to go off.
I fancied a beer or
something, maybe somewhere quiet to go to catch up with some writing.
Due to the amount I'd been going out and drinking, I had so much to
write about and keeping on top of it was really quite hard. I try and
still I manage to constantly be chasing my tail. Where to go for a
drink was the problem. I know a couple of places in Wooloomooloo but
fancied something different, somewhere I wouldn't normally go. There
were a couple of places where I was but I remember one not being that
great and I couldn't remember the name or where the other one was. I
gave up and rode to the Old Fitz. I went there a couple of weeks ago
with my bro and dad and used to go a lot when I was living in Sydney.
They did free pool on a night of the week but which one I couldn't
remember. Not that made any difference to me as I wasn't there to
play pool.
The selection of beers
wasn't as good as the last time I was in there but they had a couple
I liked so I got one of the Red IPA's. I only got a midi as it was
still quite early, I had been riding my bike so was a little
dehydrated and I didn't want to get drunk, at that time anyway. I
couldn't find any power points so was limited to the time left on my
battery which was currently at about 90%.
I managed to get a
couple of bits done and was thinking that the current situation
wasn't of any merit so wasn't going to bother writing anything. That
was until a bunch of guys came in. A variety of ages, styles and the
like. I thought it may have been a stag/bucks do but at that time on
a Thursday afternoon seemed a bit odd. Then I thought it could have
been a pub crawl of sorts. Who knows.
It wasn't until I
started to eavesdrop a little whilst writing that I was able to
figure out what was going on. I overheard them mention Guinness a few
times. Then saying about a meeting and this and that. Then it got
really technical with one guy taking the minutes as the meeting got
under way. They were discussing strange things like, a
forfeit/penalty because one of the guys tried to sneak in a Heineken
in a round. The penalty they all agreed on was that the guilty
culprit had to drink a Piña
Colada. One guy even mentioned making a spreadsheet so that they can
accurately measure and record or rate the Guinness that they have.
They had a long list of what sounded like it must have been every pub
in Sydney that sold Guinness. Quite a lot do nowadays, I don't
remember getting a good one. As far as Stouts go, Guinness is in no
way my favourite and I'll only opt to have it if there isn't anything
more pleasing.
I sat and listened to
this meeting go on for a while. It was all a big formal discussion
about Guinness in Australia, Sydney in particular. It was such an odd
occurrence that I thought it necessary to include a little story of
it on my blog. What was a fulfilling bike ride in the sun, an
exciting trip to the gallery, a delicious pie on the water front and
a potentially uneventful beer ending with some covert eavesdropping
over some kind of Guinness Appreciation Societies monthly meeting.
It would seem that Guinness has some very dedicated followers Down Under.
A truly awesome gallery
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