Happy!!

Coincidentally the last Critical Mass of 2010 fell on New Years' Eve, so yesterday we spent the last afternoon of 2010 decorating our bikes and making them look oh so fancy.

Then in the early evening we gathered with all the other decorated bikes and their riders and pets, behind the main street for our turn to ride in the New Year's Eve Parade.

There were the usual tractors, fire engines, motor bikes, brass bands and us. That's me and Pepper on the far left.

That's us again when we saw Bren and Jazzy in the crowd.

And there is Miss Indi on her yarn bombed bike.

Miss Jazzy refused to be in the parade for fear that she would miss out on the lollies lots of the floats throw out into the crowed as they pass by.

Miss Pepper did so well on her bike riding three circuits in all, but I have to say that her steering leaves a lot to be desired.

It was such great fun and quite emotional riding our bikes through the main street of our town being cheered on by thousands of people.

Later we partied on at Meg's and for the first time in forever, the five of us were together and awake counting down to the new year, hugging and kissing and waving sparklers around. We were at a party until after midnight!!!!!!

So lovely people, on this first day of our planet's 2011 circle around the sun (thanks Dad!), I wish you health and happiness and love and creativity and inspiration and passion and satisfaction and many, many completed projects.

What did you get up to? Hope you had fun.

Have a great one. XX

Eeeeeeeeeeeeekk, our caravan adventure is happening THIS YEAR!!!!!!

Critical Mass.

Today I am grateful for choice, opportunity and freedom of expression. Today I am sitting here thinking about how lucky we are to be living in this time, in this place with endless opportunities and only our own imaginations to limit us.

Late yesterday afternoon about 60 cyclists from the Daylesford area met outside the primary school and proceeded to ride their bikes up and down the main street of our town. Exactly the same thing was happening in over 300 cities all around the world.

These bike rides are called critical mass. While they do hold up and block the car traffic, they claim not to be protests against cars but celebrations of bikes. We aren't blocking the traffic. We are the traffic is a popular critical mass catch phrase and the name of a documentary about the phenomena.

This was the second Daylesford critical mass and the first one with an angry swear word yelled from an irate car driver with a hand gesture. It seemed so strange considering the happy, peaceful feeling amongst the riders claiming the streets of their own town for ten minutes once a month.

It is such fun and such a great feeling to reclaim the streets of your own town, to blow whistles, ring bells and to laugh and chat with your fellow cyclists. It is such fun for me to be the event photographer and to run up and down the street snapping away and watching my family riding/scootering.

Gif animators

If you are in the Daylesford area on the 26th of November (the last Friday of the month) at 5pm you should come along. If you would like to ride along but live somewhere else why don't you google critical mass and the town that you live in, grab your bike/scooter/pusher and cycle on.

Like I said, today I am feeling grateful for where and how I live and for my right to be involved in events like the critical mass without fear of any retribution.

Sometimes I do take my freedoms and rights for granted but today I am feeling grateful.

How about you? What are you feeling grateful for today?

Oh and if you are reading this as an email, why don't you click on the Foxs Lane link here or at the bottom to view the blog and the animation the way they should be seen..

See ya!