The Greening of Gavin

Green Quick Tips – Bikes and Vegetables for Newbie Gardeners

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Green Quick Tips podcastThis weeks Green Quick Tips podcast episodes are simple and easy to achieve.  Less than 5 minutes long, and easy on the ears!

Firstly we have tips about moving around under your own steam, and then two episodes for the newbie food gardener.

GQT 18 – Green Quick Tip for Getting on Your Bike.  Taking your bike for a spin has many benefits.  Not only do you reduce fuel costs, you maintain fitness, reduce the chance of heart disease, and you get to see things you otherwise wouldn’t see in a car.

Now here are some tips for some of the easiest and most abundant vegetables that a newbie gardener can grow.  I have had such great success with these vegetables, that I plant them all as staples every season.

GQT 19 – Green Quick Tips for Garlic, Silverbeet, and radishes.  Tips for the newbie food gardener to help your get growing delicious fare in no time.

GQT 20 – Green Quick Tips for Pumpkins, Zucchini, and Beans.  Tips for the newbie food gardener to help your get growing delicious fare in no time.

So there you have it.  Another exciting week of Green Quick Tips.  If you enjoyed the episode, please feel free to leave a comment, or leave a question that you think others would benefit from and I will include the topic in a future episode.  I love answering your questions, so don’t be shy.  Oh, and there is no such thing as a dumb question.  We all have various skill levels, so who better to ask than someone with experience and who gives freely.

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Let me know if you are enjoying this podcast series.  I enjoy producing them, so if you like them, I will keep going with more green quick tips each week.
Until next time, stay keen and go green!

Changing Gears Book Launch

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On Thursday night, I was invited to attend the book launch event for Changing Gears, by Greg Foyster, where there were over 80 guests.

I had never been to a book launch before, let alone one with a bicycle theme, but was willing to support my friends Greg and Sophie.  Besides, there was free solar brewed beer and food. 😉

It was held in the Affirm Press HQ located in South Melbourne, in what looked like their loading bay.  Nice open space, and along the lines of the simplicity mantra of making do with what you have.  There were wooden pallets leaned up against one wall to be used as bike racks. Very nice.

Anyway, on to the photos and my perspective of the event!

Future Spark supplied two bikes that have generators attached, and the electricity generated from them was to power the PA system during the speeches.  Here is Greg showing everyone how it works.

Good Cycles kindly offered to provide a free bike assessment and tune-up for cyclists, so everyone was encouraged to ride their bike to the event.  The mechanic must have repaired/tuned about 15 bikes on the night.

Then there was the food.  It was supplied by TacoBike, owned by Cara Munro.  The vegetarian tacos were delicious.  All served off a trailer attached to a bike, naturally.

And of course, a book launch wouldn’t be complete without beverages on a bike!

These were supplied by The Good Brew Co, owned by the cheeky Dean O’Callaghan, who’s beer, cider, and soft drinks (magic tea) were too good to refuse.  His Pilsner was outstanding!  I can only say that I did partake in lots of beer cart chat and the odd beverage!  Thankfully, shanks pony and public transportation were my designated driver for the evening.

Then it was on with the speeches.  With the Future Spark bikes whirring away, Greg was introduced by Michael Green, a journalist who once upon a time interviewed me for The Age newspaper (he is freelance).  Nice to meet him in person, a great guy and you can check out his blog, http://www.michaelbgreen.com.au/.  Nice introduction as well.

Then there was Greg’s speech.  Anyone who knows Greg would understand when I said he over prepared for it.  At the start of the evening he showed me his three pages of prose, but in the end, after he had just finished peddling for Michaels introduction, he was out of breath and just winged it.  He kept it short and sweet (10 minutes), but meaningful.  I think he really captured the essence of the book.

Then it was Sophie’s turn on the milk crate podium.  She ended up reading out all of the daggy things that Greg got up to on their trip up to Cairns.  It was hilarious!  Both Greg and Sophie spent the rest of the evening book signing, which is what the author does at a book launch.

I spent time working the floor, meeting new people including Greg’s Mum and Dad who mentioned that they loved my podcast interview with Greg and Sophie.  Apparently, according to Greg’s Mum, I sound just like Shane Jacobson (aka Kenny), and very down to earth.  Well there you go, who would have known!

Then, after many beers with my new friends Samuel Alexander and his partner Helen aka FunkBunny (pictured above in her riding gear), it was time to walk to the tram stop, take a little trip to Southern Cross Station and catch my v-Line train home.

I had a great evening, albeit a late one, arriving home at around 11pm.  If all book launches are like this one, I want to be invited every week.

You can catch Greg and Sophie on their cycling book tour.  They are currently riding from Melbourne to Sydney and stopping frequently along the way.  You can see their itinerary at this link (scroll to the middle of the page); http://simplelives.com.au/book/.  I highly recommend their book and please take the time to say gidday if they are in your neck of the woods.

It was great to be surrounded by so many like minded people, don’t you think?  Have you ever been to an event where you just fitted in perfectly?

Holey Tank Swap Batman!

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Over the last couple of days I have made a trade.  I believe it was the best trade ever!

Remember this rainwater tank with a hole in it?

Well I was going to cut it up into three parts which were going to become garden beds.  This is of course until a friend came a long and said he could fix it.  Well, because it had already replaced, and I had already tried to fix it myself, so I had nothing to loose. I asked him what he had to trade for it.

He said he would trade this bike:

Yes folks, it is bike, but not your ordinary bike.  It has an electric motor!

It has a 200 watt, 24 volt motor connected to the back wheel, that helps you get up hills and the like.  It can only turn on when you are peddling so and is used for assistance rather than propelling the bike independently.  Apparently those are the rules for electric bikes in Australia.

This is the battery pack.  Inside are two 12 volt sealed lead acid batteries, which are charged from the mains via a power pack that slot into the socket at the top.

The battery slots into the frame and locks in place so it doesn’t jiggle out while you are riding along.

It has a throttle and a battery charge indicator.

As you can see, I am excited to be going for a ride!

After this photo was taken, it was three times around the block for a test ride.  The seat needs to be adjusted, but other than that small issue, it rides like a dream.  It is fairly quiet, but you can definitely hear the whir of the engine when you engage it.

Best of all, the electricity used to charge the bike is 100% renewable energy!  No carbon emissions from this baby at all, and even better, it is second hand and got the chance of a second life with me.  Kim is a little worried about me riding around the town, given the rather large percentage of hoon drivers.  I have assured her that I will stick to the bike paths were I can, and avoid the crazy people.  I am now on the look out for a second battery pack, and a cargo trailer both on the cheap.

What do you think?  A good trade or what?