Are you ready to Moomba?

Wednesday afternoon we took a four-modes-of-transportation odyssey out to a suburb where there was rumoured to be a good second-hand bike shop. Okay, it wasn't so much rumour, it was more your man in the first-hand bike shop suggested it, after realising that despite his eager efforts we just weren't in the market for$500 bikes. So out we went to Bicylce Recycle, which in my opinion should be pronounced (BI-cycle RE-cycle to make the assonance work). We found a smallish warehouse full of bikes and a very friendly salesman who started with the all-important question: "what's your budget?" Instead of shaking his head and muttering that we'd never be able to find something suitable for so low, as the previous bike salesman had done, he set about helping us find something suitable for so low. Leslie is now the proud owner of a second-hand Shogun Trail Breaker bike and I have a brand-spanking-new Malvern Star. Both are mountain bikes in very good condition, and they both ride well. We came away with a whole packet of goodies - the two bikes, two helmets, two bike locks, two water bottles and holders, one bike pump, one bike repair kit. He was very reasonable on the whole kit and caboodle (I was convinced it was kitten caboodle when I was a kid), and knocked off easily $80 or $100 from the total for us.

Melbourne is a good city to cycle in, as there are bike lanes on most roads. And unlike in Dublin, you don't have to share the bike lane with buses, which seems to me to defeat the purpose of the bike lane. "Oh, here, cyclists, you get your very own space where no cars will bother you. Except of course for those multi-ton giants with poor visibility from way up there, but that's no bother, right?" But here in Melbourne, you get the bike lane to yourself, and cars seem to respect the bike lanes and not encroach.

We've discovered that there is a beautiful bike path all along the coast. We can get onto it from St Kilda Beach, at the foot of our street, and it goes for miles. It's truly beautiful. It's a dedicated bike path, with no cars or pedestrians. There are usually trees blocking sight of the road in most spots, so all you see for miles is beach, palm trees and open ocean. It goes past a marina, where loads of yachts and other boats are tied up. We cycled about 5 miles out and 5 back on it yesterday, and about half that distance the day before. The path is perfect for cycling - mostly flat and well-paved. We went as far as Brighton Beach yesterday, which does not appear to be full of old Russian people, unlike its Brooklyn counterpart. Today the headwind was incredibly strong and we were stung with sand, so we didn't manage to get as far. Tomorrow we may explore the path going in the opposite direction to see what sights await.


This weekend was the Moomba Water Festival. It's apparently 52 years old and involves one of the largest water skiing competitions in the world. Over a four day weekend (Monday is Labour Day here) a variety of different water based activities take place along the Yarra river and in the docklands. A carnival with rides is set up, and there is a stage with live music all weekend. Yesterday we sat on the banks of the Yarra and watched the water skiers for a few hours. They were really spectacular, especially the jumping competition. They soared up a ramp in the middle of the river and flew off at great speed. The farthest anyone got was 60.3 meters. The judges seemed disappointed with that distance, but we were well impressed.

Today was the Birdman flying competition. Competitors leapt off a high platform into the river in their self-built flying machines.. They got points based on entertainment value, aerodynamic design and distance travelled. Most just jumped off the platform and plummeted straight into the river, but a few hung in the air for a few seconds before crashing into the water. Quite a few went for the cape-and-a-silly-costume motif, and some of these had no apparatus at all but just jumped off the platform in tights and a cape. The one that got the crowd's approval the most had a very impressive-looking machine made of aluminium and plastic. It had a large wingspan and looked like it might glide and go a ways. As soon as he jumped off the platform, however, the wind caught the glider and flipped it upside down, with his legs flailing in the air. He hit the water on his head with the glider on top of him. It was a hell of a fall, though it wouldn't really be called flying. The longest anyone managed to stay in the air was a few seconds, so it was really a question of how fast they fell, not how far they flew. It was extremely entertaining - all these lunatics launching themselves off a 25-foot platform in ridiculous outfits and contraptions. In Dublin they have a similar event sponsored by Red Bull.

Yesterday we also went to see a strange play, which was unconnected to the Moomba events. Called "Small Metal Objects," it was set in Federation Square, which is the main Square in Melbourne. Four actors wearing microphones interacted in the public space, and the audience watched them with headphones. But if you didn't know which people in the crowd were actors, it looked like the audience was watching nothing, since the actors blended well into the crowd of people who are always milling in Fed Square. Indeed it took a while to figure out who the actors were. Kind of like playing a live version of "Where's Waldo?" (Wally for the Europeans) except that Waldo has had plastic surgery and a change of wardrobe. Passers-by were very confused by the group of people raptly watching nothing, and many a "what are they doing? What are they watching?" was asked. The play itself was about people with mental disabilities and how they interact in the world. It wasn't a phenomenal play, but the setting and concept were intriguing enough to make up for it and hold the attention.

Finally, for those of you who care (and we actually did get a couple of requests for this), here's a floor plan of our apartment. Leslie is not an architect and takes no responsibility if this isn't 100% accurate. It's pretty close regardless.