Sign of the Kiwi

Cycled up to Sign of the Kiwi today. Took 35 minutes from the round-about at the bottom of Dyer's Pass, the end of Colombo St. Quite an improvement on my first shot at this hill. Passed quite a few cyclists on their way down, as well as one die-hard, older man who was making his way up the pass on his mountain-bike. I took a few photos on the way up...

At the top, I decided to get a photo of the bike. A couple came up behind me and the man offered to take my photo as well, which you see below. I handed him my phone and he said "how do you know that I won't run off with it?" I turned to him and said "you look like a pretty decent sort of bloke. You wouldn't do that." His wife gave a kind of sarcastic laugh... still, my trust was well-placed and he gave me my phone back after he'd taken the shot.

Now... next time, I need to drag John, Jono and Chris up with me!

Cycling Tradgedy a Wake-Up Call for Drivers

On 1 June 2008, 28 year-old American man Jesse Campos drove his car into a group of cyclists - just 15 minutes into their 34km race.

Jesse was driving drunk and had been taking cocaine before he got in his car. 37 year-old Mexican man Alejandro Alvarez was killed and his friends cycling with him were badly injured.

The first time I saw this photo, I was sure that it was computer-generated, someone's sad idea for a joke. Look at the carnage.

You don't have to be tanked on alcohol and drugged up on cocaine to kill a cyclist. Please be considerate - don't pull out in front of cyclists, look before you open your car-door, give them plenty of space as you pass them on the road.