There was so much going on at the Sustainable Living Festival’s Treadlie Bike Market last weekend, but the highlight for me was the roller racing. I think my snapshots speak for themselves… 
Roller racing is a surprisingly fun spectator sport! Made even more amusing by the lyrical stylings of local bike man and blogger MC Brendan Bailey.
And no – I didn’t get up on the rollers. Chicken? Absolutely! Maybe next year I’ll give it a go…
Not everything at the market was as sporty as the roller racing. (As Bikefest say, they are taking the sport out of transport!) It was great to chat with Joyce about bike style and she was looking every inch the cycle chic lady that she is…
Happy Riding,
I’ve seen the Projector Bike around at a few festivals and events but have never been able to make it to a ride, so when I saw their entry in the Bikefest program I cleared my diary to make sure this time I wouldn’t miss out. And I’m so glad I did!
A big crowd of riders on all kinds of bikes assembled at the Bikefest Treadlie Market at Sustainable Living Festival on Friday evening, waiting for the sun to go down so the ride could commence. While waiting I got to meet Joe, the man behind the Projector Bike, and also to examine the bike itself. It’s an amazing setup – an upright bike with a projector within, boom box for musical accompaniment while riding, speakers, plus an iPad operating system! Pretty schmick.
It was a beautiful summer night, and fantastic to ride en masse through the city and Carlton, rolling in to public spaces and stopping to watch a variety of short films. What better way to use public spaces than by filling them with bikes and arts activity?
I took a few snapshots on the night, as you can see. But these (Instagrammed!) images don’t really convey the magic of the evening. Riding in a sea of blinking bike lights, the crisp night air, the camaraderie of riders, and the sound of bike bells ringing along the way made the Projector Bike ride really something special. I’ll definitely be looking out for the next one!
(Psst, if you are using Instagram or Twitter, don’t forget to tag your posts with #melbbikefest to connect with fellow festival-goers and riders!)
Happy riding,
I love a good festival launch. The programs are newly minted, the festival organisers are excited, and there is an air of curious anticipation in the crowd that creates a fabulous party atmos. Last night Melbourne’s dark weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the Bikefest launch party – in fact, the Moritz guys even brought big umbrellas for the punters to hide underneath when the skies opened up.
Adding to the festive atmosphere was the roll up valet parking (yes, thank you!) and lots of Bikefest balloons. But most importantly, last night was all about the bike. It was great to see familiar faces from right across Melbourne’s cycling community. From track riders to commuters, industry types to bike mechanics, we all came together to celebrate bike riding in all its forms.
Happy riding,
Hello! I’m Lisa, a writer, director of the Emerging Writers’ Festival and – most importantly – cyclist and lover of all things bike. Thanks to the Squeaky Wheel, in a few day’s time my passions will come together as I take to the streets of Melbourne as the official Bikefest blogger.
Over the coming month of Bikefest, I’ll be getting along to as many events as possible. I’m looking forward to rides, picnics, parties, films, markets and performances. But mostly, I’m excited about getting out on my bike, exploring new parts of Melbourne, meeting fellow riders, and being a part of this fantastic celebration of all things bike.
The fun kicks off in two days, and I can’t wait. Watch this space for all the news and views from the fest, or follow the #melbbikefest hashtag on Twitter. And if you see me at an event, or out on the road, be sure to say stop and say hi!
Happy riding,
Lisa
Treadlie Magazine is the first locally produced publication we have come across that makes us feel at home inside its pages. Eschewing the typical Australian bike magazine model of matching stories on safety with advertisements for protein shakes, Treadlie offers up a totally fresh cultural perspective on the world of bike riding. We’ve had a great time working with Treadlie to deliver the inaugural Bikefest Treadlie Market, happening THIS WEEKEND from 17 – 19 February at Birrarung Marr, so we thought it was about time we introduced you to the team behind our favourite bike magazine…
Treadlie has been around for 12 months now, tell us about some of the highlights so far.
For a magazine only just over a year old there’s been quite a few! One of the highlights for 2011 was Made to Measure: the Treadlie Handmade Bicycle Show at the State of Design Festival. Discovering so many beautiful handmade bikes and the stories behind them was amazing and we also enjoyed the feedback from visitors to the exhibition. It really seemed to inspire people and remind them that there really is a bicycle out there for everyone! We took the show up to the Sydney Design Festival and especially enjoyed getting to meet Sydney riders and we even discovered a couple of new bikes and were able to incorporate them into the show at the last minute. Another highlight was winning the Publisher’s Australia Excellence Award for Launch of the Year. It’s great for a small independent publisher to get that recognition. But you know, the greatest highlight so far is still seeing the very first issue of Treadlie hot off the presses!
What inspired you to start up Treadlie Magazine?
Our Managing Editor, Tamsin O’Neill, was inspired to come up with Treadlie after noticing that the only bicycle magazines on the market catered to competitive and commuter cycling. She felt a magazine that celebrated the culture, characters and plethora of designs in an appealing format would resonate amongst the growing urban and regional bike riding community.
The idea for Treadlie was quite a long time brewing as Tamsin and Tom Bodycomb, our publisher, weren’t really sure if the market was ready. But after they visited Europe in 2010 for green magazine (their architectural publication) they felt the time was right.
Says Tamsin, ‘‘As we were laying out the first issue people started subscribing. We had a few hundred subscribers before they’d even seen the magazine, ’’she says. ‘‘Obviously people had been waiting for something like this.’’
How do you come up with ideas for content?
We often start off with a bit of a theme, something that particularly interests us, like fashion and design, music or food, for example, and will use that to come up with people to profile and stories to explore. We also really enjoy finding the magic or the poetry in bikes and showing readers the craft and artisans behind different aspects of the bicycle, frame building, wheelbuilding and pinstriping for example. Content often finds us, we don’t really have to go looking for it. There are so many fascinating people out there riding their bikes, doing inspiring projects with bikes and getting passionate about them and sooner or later, they, or someone who has come across them, will get in contact with us. At any one time we usually have the contents of the next two issues pretty much mapped out. There’ll always be last minute changes but there are thousands of bike stories out there!
Tell us your top places or times to ride a bike
Our Editor Faith Hunter lived in Amsterdam for several years and one of her favourite memories is of her seven month old son sitting in the front-mounted baby seat madly ringing the bell and waving his arms at tourists. He’s now eight and has just started riding to school by himself in Melbourne which has left Faith with the belated realisation that one of her favourite trips was the daily school run on the bike and the chats they had each trip. Moonlit rides on the Merri Creek Trail have to be a close second.
Tom and Tamsin love to gather a gang of kids and parents together on the Capital City Trail including stops for a hearty breakfast at The Collingwood Children’s Farm cafe.
What is the most rewarding thing about publishing Treadlie?
Treadlie really is one big rewards-fest for us. We get to hear fabulous stories and meet really crazy, passionate, inspiring people doing wonderful things with bikes, we publish these stories and then everyone thanks us for it! It’s like having your cake and eating it too!
Feedback from readers really is the most rewarding part, seeing the sense of enjoyment and fun Treadlie seems to ignite in people. We’ve even heard from people who bought their bike and started riding because of Treadlie, one lady was seventy-four!
What can we expect from Treadlie in the future?
We’re now being sold all over the world and with the launch of the Treadlie App via the Apple Newsstand it’s even easier for overseas readers to access Treadlie current and back issues so we are hoping to grow a large international following.
In the immediate future there is of course the Bikefest Treadlie Market to be held at Birrarung Marr this coming weekend swiftly followed by Treadlie #6 in the first week of March. After that we’re going to have a bit of a nap before getting stuck into the winter design edition with lots more fabulous stories and photography. Treadlie is looking forward to hosting more great events and we have several issues of amazing stories lined up so the future is looking rosy!
Find our more about Treadlie at their website.
Or visit the Bikefest Treadlie Market
Birrarung Marr, within the Sustainable Living Festival
Friday 17 Feb 12-8pm
Saturday 18 Feb 10am-6pm
Sunday 19 Feb 10am – 5pm
