Showing posts with label d.i.y. bike culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label d.i.y. bike culture. Show all posts

Tuesday, 28 November 2023

The Maiden Voyage of Ramalama and Shakalaka

There two young bicycles, Ramala and Shakalaka, identical twins they are.

In order to tell them apart one needs a Ding Dong, the other a Boom boom. 

Itching and twitching to seek out adventure and wild roguery, to discover their true identities they gathered their necessities for the road and left propelled by their peanut powered riders (that's us that is).

For days through soggy wet sand they cycled. The wind and the rain in their faces, the sand in their bearings and rainbows to greet them at the end of each day.

They arrived in Rennes at La Petite Rennes where Ramalama found a Ding Dong and Shakalaka picked up a rear view mirror.

Oh the joy! We are begining to tell them apart! 

 

It rained and it rained and it rained. The wind blew and it blew and it blew in their faces. All the way from Rennes to Belin Beliet and all the other places.

Soggy wet picnics and flasks of hot tea kept us going! 


Gilbert, the hero who escaped from the clutches of the thieves!

He is happy to be dry and on the road again, flitter fluttering in the wind, enjoying the views.

Aaah the open road! It leads... Where does it lead? He doesn't know yet.

 

Wherever they stopped, Rama and Lama, Shaka and Laka attracted the attention of cute little kitty cats!

Things are looking up! 

Two cats! Two punctures!? Is there a link? We can't find one. But it is certain that our twins will need a tyre upgrade before too long. 

The wind it was outrageous! The storm raged and the trees fell, scattered across our paths. Over and over again we took detours and carried Ramalama and Shakalaka over the debris and the trunks. 

 As always, here the random bicycle art. Some abandoned night club graffiti and an impressively stylish retro cyclo accessoires logo. 

 Hop hop, back on the road!

We are always looking out for signs of the elk society. Beuglons en coeur! Bellow with all your hearts!

Giants will walk the earth once again! 

The signs lead us on for 3 weeks and 3 days. A total of 1214km in 21 days of cycling, mostly in the rain, 3 days of sheltering from the storm and a couple of days rest to give our little bottoms some relief from breaking in saddles.

We have visited old friends, made many new friends and discovered new places to do our show come spring.

But for now we have arrived at our winter quarters. 


When they don't have chores to do like fetching water and going shopping, Ramalama and Shalkalaka are safely tucked away at the bottom of the stairs. 

Our legs have been stretched back into walking position, we have gathered our senses and Sylvia is in the directors chair ready for the remaking of Jonny Jeegante & The Bici Benshi. 

 

And where is Kevin you might ask!?

He is  in the dressing room, dreaming of the all singing and dancing Carmen Munchita Cabaret.

But more about that another time.




Thursday, 3 November 2016

Au revoir l’ocean



Nous allons par la!

Which way south?

Happy to be dancing in the long awaited rain, together with our friends Quimper en Roue Libre in the market square.... That way south!


Return to Pays Bigouden to visit Atelier C.R.A.D.E. still going strong...


Wahahey! Look it's them again, Rocinante and El Rucio saying: That way south! Pronto! Pronto!

The little man riding the frog is coming with us and the fox is howling - Soooouwth!

Hahaha! We're at the 'nearly opening' of the new bicycle repair workshop at Lorient.... Syklett...

Canapes and cider for the moment, soon to be filled with bicycles....

Also in Lorient we found the place of our dreams... it's just like being at home.... it's our kind of place
it's like a french scrapstore! With red plastic bottles destined for Berlin in a scrap swap shop ting.
 


Yey! Critters in the daytime, spontaneous pedal power cinema in the moon light....

http://www.ideesdetournees.org/actu.html

A little ferry crossing over to Port Louis where Charles a.k.a Rust in Peace has a lovely little bicycle repair workshop going in the market every Saturday.


Ooooh and then another boat to save ourselves some 100 or so km around the Golf of Morbihan.
Luckily we's the only passengers. Anyone else would have to climb over our bikes to get on board...


Aaah, a pair of wheels. One rusting and one wooden... Which one's which?
 

Whilst cycling across Brittany, conversations with old friends have been bringing up the topic of printing and cycling again and again....cycling, the letter press, mechanical processes, d.i.y
So we end this blog with a little homage to the bicycle by Dennis Gould...

Dennis Gould is an anarcho-cyclist-herbal poet and letterpress printer in Stroud.
Print available here at Boneshaker Magazine

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Brexit

 La Vaquelot wackels a lot! Into port as we exit port and head for Brexit the morning after.
 But who cares!? As long as we have bicycles to ride and flowers to pick all is fine.

  that way , no that way..! 

The Brexit monster is looming large as we work our way through the horrendous, toxic slurry of traffic on the little island, slowly sinking.... 


Campsites without the licence to camp in tents.... Campsites where you have to bring your own toilet...  Campsites not insured for tents....Campsites are no longer campsites! 


 The christmas pie trail... with a name like that, what else would one expect really!
Aaah, the wonderful world of Sustrans! This way? That way? Round the houses, through the industrial estate.... Where are we now?
Phew there is a light on the horizon that shines like a hub with golden spokes.... D.I.Y. bicycle workshops!
    

 It's more like chasing Pokemons, virtual reality made real! Cyclist GO!

 what-would-british-roads-look-like-if-we-treated-them-the-same-way-we-do-our-cycle-lanes

To calm us down, a little art in the trees and on the roads...
       
We finally got away from London round about Hungerford.... cider and the west country at last.
Ten minutes in the tunnel and we're there!
     
 Darf Wader on holidays in the south west, enjoying the tunnels  and of course the cider...
   

 We had a great run of shows in the West Country.... Long live the Bristol Bike Project!

   

Aaaah the green and the trees of Devon and Cornwall!




It's time! Southward ho! The birds have left already... 


 Now it is us that fly across the rolling hills, the creeks and meadows
 one last look at the gert lush
 as we flee Brexit