It’s funny how lying trussed to the table in a Cardiac Intervention Lab and hearing “CODE BLUE CATH LAB” blare out the overhead speakers gets one’s attention!
Fark, that’s me!
A couple of nights in Expensive Scare is sobering and there’s a lot of time to think. From that vantage point, I could make out the oft-touted, three score years and ten mark, just off in the middle distance. The arrival of a new grandchild a month later changed my perspective again.
I was once told – “On yer death bed, you’ll not wish you’d spent more time in the office”. Life is seriously finite!
So… It’s time to retire and pursue the other things that need chasing while there’s still some run in these legs.
Spending over a quarter century building Andy Strapz has been a fabulous ride. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved, the quality gear we’ve made and the position we’ve cut out and sewn into the Aussie bike industry over the past 27 years.
All things must change, turn, turn, turn. It’s time to hand the keys over to someone who is ready to drop the clutch, pop the front wheel up and steer the brand toward bigger and better things.
I plan to be about until or about the end of this financial year... so don't panic yet.
Let the search for Andy V2.0 begin!
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| Expressions of interest here - CLICK |
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Is the goal of the padded nanny state to reduce all non freeway speed limits to 80kph? |
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| On my rides into rural roads these days Ifind more and more 'NEW LIMIT' signs; the news is never good! It's never – Drive to the Conditions - Enjoy! Are we becoming victims of the 'lowest common denominator'? Road rules are being warped toward protecting us (and them from themselves) from the biggest mugs out there. Charlie D would suggest we let them remove themselves from the gene pool, but it's far more complicated than that... which, after this morning's commute to the office, is unfortunate. |
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Riding a motorbicycle is difficult to achieve, it requires involved training. During that process, the subtleties of avoiding getting creamed out there are instilled into the pupils. Most of us spend a lifetime working on getting better at it, by further training, front bar coaching and coffee shop sharing.
Sure, car drivers no longer wander into the local Cop Shop, drive up to the shop and back for a pint of milk and rock off with a newly minted license to kill. But, hey this is the Namby Pamby World where no one is allowed to fail. Failers are now abysmal not just hopeless!
If we keep this up, we'll all end up on the bus!
Let's remind them that f**king with speed limits will cost votes. Fix the roads! Fix drivers! |
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There are some great tradies around and then there's the lazy arses who throw up factories.
Last week the dunny roll holder at HQ (that was only screwed into plasterboard) fell from the wall leaving a gaping hole.
I could have remounted the original to a bit of wood to cover the hole, but a couple of beers and a little shed time got this... Result! |
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| Come on, get those smart-arse quips in. Laying cable, double clutching, brake one-off. Get that sense of humour working. Here's one to get things started - A sign above it. - Speeding Tickets - Wipe for Official Logo BTW, the bracket holding the lever on is one we use on our DR650 pannier frames. |
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| Where the bleeding obvious meets the absurd! |
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Good Routes
This month we teleport to an open secret within spitting distance of Melbourne.
Getting out of most cities is one of bikings big drags. We are all jerried up for an exciting trip but have to negotiate traffic and all the shite that entails. High on my "errrgh, not that road" list is the freeway to escape west of Melbourne.
If you're not in a hurry it might be worth a sneak through the Brisbane Ranges National Park.
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| Tomaselli and I recently planned to cut through this way en route to the area north of the Great Ocean Road, not really expecting more than a pleasant skim through a couple of dirt roads. Surprise, surprise it's a concentrated adventure playground. While there are well-made dirt roads that cut through it, there are loads of connecting tracks worth further exploration. There are some solid elevation changes and a few of those dreaded, tight badly corrugated switch-backs that always seem to get my heart into the back of my throat. |
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| As luck would have it, halfway in we came across a fabulous-looking camp area, shrugged at each other and said 'bugger it, this'll do!" As we ended up with a late start and being mid-winter there wasn't gonna be much daylight to play with and cold beer could be heard calling from our luggage. |
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| While we were only a few stones throws from Mudbum, it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere and were ideally placed to strike out for the Otway Forest area the next morning. |
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Most of the Andy Strapz design impetus has come from the Mother of Invention. Not seeing a seat bag that suited me I set about making one for my own use. I wanted 'the perfect' overnight seat/rack pack.
It had to attach itself to the bike, have no bits to lose, be as close to waterproof as possible, provide space for easy access to wet weather gear and be simple and rapid to access on the road from stop to stop. |
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| I slaved away at my clunky sewing machine, swore and rehashed parts until the perfect bag was born. Not having any further inspiration, the name ended up A Bag. Initially the first few were made of Aussie Oilskin because that was what I had. While it looked nice, oilskin isn't a bag fabric, it's for coats and the like. |
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| About the same time we changed the fabric to DuPont Cordura I got tangled up with the irrepressible Eddie Garner. He demanded we cut the body in half and make him a half-length bag. Again being short on imagination, we thought that like batteries, the smaller version should be a AA Bag. |
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| Funny how things work out, I was initially dubious of the value of the smaller bag. Nowadays, it's my favourite of all the gear we make. |
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Trev sent in this errr... novel approach to bike camping cookery.
While I favour a Wok for long distance touring duties, I still need space for my jocks and socks.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/408656625223324/
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'Cause we can, we've made a small padded, tough bag to cart around spare Air Canisters. At an eye watering $215 each the things need a little better treatment than been chucked in a bag to rattle around and potentially damage thread and/or electronic connections on the base.
We offer a free bag with each replacement Tech Air Offroad canister or buy just the bag for one you already have. Simple eh! |
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Delving into the wiring on the bike is daunting for some, it was for me until I was furnished with a simple bit of advice many moons ago.
"Maaate, 12 volt stuff is just like piping water". He suggested I view a bulb as a water wheel. "Squirt power in one side, make the 'wheel turn' and out the other side onto the ground". |
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Knock me down with a feather, it works. I've gotten better at tracing faults, which are usually the water not hitting the ground... Yep, a bad earth.
Getting the whole plot neat is where the hard part is. Knowing what to thread onto the wire before soldering and sheathing, how much waste to leave, and how to route wires best all took time. But I'm no longer scared of letting the blue flame and white smoke escape from the colorful tubes that snake about my bikes.
Sure, modern electro-weird things like CANBUS do complicate matters but hey, principles is principles.
Next month I'll run you through the finer points of burning holes in your clothes with a soldering iron. |
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You may remember we did an offer to make a Bucket Bag in one off colours of your own design last month.
Here are some of the results. |
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| Cudos to Guido for going bold with his design! |
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Hat Chat is having a rest this month, soz.
There's not a lot more to bang on about so...
Copyalater.
Andy |
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