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Sprocket Rockets Barossa

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25.01.2022 How to go from Loser to Hoover It's that time of year where we honour and recognise the uniqueness and greatness of individual performance. Footy has its Brownlow, its Norm Smith medal, and the SA has its Magarey medal. The military has its DSO - distinguished service medal for acts of valour in the field. Although I doubt the award of the DSO fourth class has quite the kudos that was intended. If you could have your moment of fame what would you choose? Some would be happy t...o court notoriety ie: those punk rock stars that trashed high class hotel rooms. Or perhaps you would desire recognition from your peers? Basketball has its MVP (most valuable player). Or if you are a Sprocketeer, you could have your MVP as the most valuable pelotoneer. Then there's the rather jaunty BOP - best on peloton. Or how about this - the BLIPP award - best looking individual person in peloton (sorry I had to drop the 'I' out of BLIP...P). Most of us have to settle for a brush with fame and content ourselves with statements like." Oh yes, I know him, he went to the same school as me" or - "oh yes, my grandmother knew his sisters" - 0r - "oh yes, I used to look after his chihuahuas when he went on his world tours". Most of us have had a brush with fame. True story. I've shaken hands with Bing Crosby. I met Cliff Richard. And in 1977, my wife was one of two hundred other Girl Guides who had sneak peek on King William Street at Her Royal Majesty The Queen, arrayed in all her splendour. Now. These are all useful near misses with fame, but if true fame is your aim, then you need to aspire to become a verb. For this is what happens with the truly great. In the 1970s, which some of us can still remember, a xerox went from a photocopier to an action. "Can you xerox that please" became the catch cry of many offices. Hoover went from a brand to a description of an activity. "I need to Hoover the living room, the pastor's coming around". And of course we all know what happened to Google. My recommendation is that we honour those that ride the peloton in all weathers, defying age, defying distance and defying common sense. Why don't we just call this new award a Thurlow ... not as useful as a Hoover I grant you, but nevertheless a well earnt recognition of this writer, luminary, man of the people, the SprocketMeister! Catch you next week ... Sid (Oh dear! Sidney has gone a massive step too far here! Without you all here I’d list your 60 names but for a knowledge that FB attention span is notoriously short as the pillars of enthusiasm and support. You are just such a happy group, always ready to welcome new Sprocketeers. Without you I am SprocketNothing! Thank you, not only for coming along for the ride, but for taking Sprockets forward with vibrant and genuine friendliness and love. Ps You’ll need to read the article below to find out about next week’s ride and coffee/cake destination.)

25.01.2022 Ross and the Phantom As a young lad I loved comics, and in particular ‘The Phantom’. Real name, Christopher Walker, the Phantom swore an oath on the skull of his father's murderer to fight evil. This began a legacy which would pass from father to son. "The Ghost Who Walks" was unlike many other superheroes because he had no superpowers, but totally relied on his strength, intelligence, a clever dog and horse and the myth of his immortality to fight the forces of evil. I thin...Continue reading

23.01.2022 Peloton is a French word. Have a go at saying it like the French, with loads of Gallic expression, and your tongue hitting the back of your teeth on the ‘ton’. It’s originally meaning is 'platoon'. And that's what the Sprocket Rockets looked like this morning with a record 25 riders leaving Langmeil, and 9 more to meet us at the Hoffrichter’s home. There Judith, Janet and Chris had prepared great coffee and cakes and the views from Hoffrichter Hill rival those from the Men...gler’s Hill lookout. Photos include Lindsay Murnane, who once rode with the likes of Stuart O’Grady - and our latest newby, Michelle Wilksch, who is a journalist and will keep our writer boys honest. Anyone is welcome to email me blogs/photos at any time, and we hope that, Michelle, you feel free to write for our Facebook page (but we can’t afford to pay you!) This might well be your chance, Ross and Dennis, to even up the score with Sid! You must be excited about your house, Felicity. It looks great, and you’ve got so much room to garden. Pastor Julian is also featured in our photos. Last evening he performed with Naomi Graetz and another Sprocketeer, Neil Lambert at the Stellar One Studio’s Open Mic The Band With No Name. Google this and enjoy their musical brilliance. Next week (Thursday October 29th, 9.30am, Langmeil church carpark, Tanunda) we cycle the pretty bike paths to the Novotel Barossa Valley Resort (42 Pioneer Ave, Rowland Flat). We coffee in their Cellar Kitchen Restaurant from 10:30 am. They will have a coffee and cake offer available for us for $7.00 per person. It is just a beautiful venue and they spoil us! Terrific time today and please take the opportunity to tell Sid (when his blog appears) what a great job he is doing and now under the watchful eye of a professional journalist! No pressure! Just kidding Sid! Could be your big break! See ya! Andy

21.01.2022 Do you know what a mora is? No - it’s not a typo or used like this ‘I want mora that cake!’ It is a unit of syllable weight and the original Japanese haiku poem was divided into 17 mora and arranged in a single vertical line. Other languages enjoyed haikus and adapted them most frequently into three lines of verse, usually unrhymed, composed of five, seven, and five syllables, adding up to seventeen syllables total. Haikus are simple, meaningful and beautiful. Here is a h...aiku from Sid: The cycle tracks construe A limerick that is true But ends in love haiku And Marley: Warm wind in my face Wheels whirr smooth and silently Leading on the path Time to turn for home Following the cyclists back Coffee in my tum Lovely, aren’t they? Sprocket Rockets are cycling to ‘Octeine at Seppeltsfield’ next Thursday. Join us. We aren’t just people who enjoy cycling, coffee-ing, cake-ing and chatting. We are poets. Are you easily challenged? Write a haiku about the 4 Cs above and email to [email protected] or add it below. Just 17 syllables and then plan to enjoy the very lovely and scenic Barossa Valley soon. Love from us xx

21.01.2022 Bob Dylan. Poet, seer and cultural prophet, asked the question - perhaps THE question; "How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?" A searching, if gender-skewed question. Because it's on the road, we surrender to the unexpected, the uncertain and the uncontrolled aspect of life. It is the road that call us to break free from the familiar and life with it's everyday demands. It is the cyclist that hears the siren call of the road and knows that's where...Continue reading

20.01.2022 ‘When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.’ The first lines in the novel, ‘Hunger Games’. Does this line grab your attention? Have I got yours? And what has this got to do with Sprocket Rockets? It’s all to do with a table conversation at a charity dinner last evening with friends. They are not Sprocketeers, well not yet anyway. But they read the posts on this page. Well they begin to. The opening sentence is important, but a critical decision comes when they clic...k on two Facebook words ‘See more.’ Despite the absolute sheer genius of our Sprocketwriters, they can be overwhelmed with the size of the article now before them. Now, our friends could be excused if they were of a generation who thrive on short-messaging, instagramming, texting, twittering, 20 second commercials and video. But they are not. They are nearly our age. It would seem that we have generally become time poor. Stimulation needs to be instant, or we move on to something else. So my good friends from last evening, thank you for your advice. We at Sprocket Rockets continue to learn, but if I don’t see a ‘Like’ from both of you below, I will publicly humiliate you by dressing in lycra! And thank you to all of you who do read our posts. Over the last 28 days we reached less new people, but to those who did check us out (you) we had 653 engagements (up 13%) and ‘Likes’ went up by 67%! Please keep reading our posts, but also consider joining us. We are a very friendly and happy group, enjoying a great form of exercise, and good coffee. Today we rode around the eastern side of the Barossa for the best part of an hour before settling in for coffee and cake in the beautiful gardens of Sonia and Erich ‘Hoss’ Holzknecht’s home. After much chatter, some went off to admire Dave Preuss’s Plymouth, which he is restoring. Next week’s ride on Thursday November 12th is to Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop, 50 Pheasant Farm Rd, Nuriootpa leaving Tanunda’s Langmeil Church carpark at 9.30am and arriving at Maggie’s at 10.30. Come along and join us. And Sid will be back with his wonderfully entertaining posts or Hoss with a poem! And we’ll work hard on keeping it all edgy and to-the-point! Happy Sprocketing! Andy

18.01.2022 Leading Edge? Let's talk about Lance! For years the boy from Pino, Texas dominated the cycling world, a colossus on wheels, ripping up the record books and consigning his competitors to a second rate league of their own. ...Continue reading

18.01.2022 Hoss (aka Erich Holzknecht) walked from his car and up our steps yesterday, pretty clever after having a knee replacement a month ago. He’s lost some weight and I (rather insensitively) said that maybe I could lose some weight by having a joint replaced. Sonia (his wife) said in a flash, How many joints do you have? Here’s Hoss's poem: Unable to saddle up, Unable to sprocket; Unable to fight the wind,... Or fly like a rocket, I push through the barrier Of exercise pain Flat on my back thinking, "Will I ride again?" The answer is easy As in a dream The words come floating up As on a video screen. You may be a bit squeamish Or think me a nong As I stretch out my legs a bit To the Pushbike Song: Round round wheels going Round round round; Down up pedals going Down up down; But I got to get across To the other side of town Before the sun goes down. It's not nearly as pretty As a slim girl in shorts Or how with flashing smile She herself comports; But I'll bet you one thing Before you complain: It's the easiest thing in the world To cycle virtually again.

17.01.2022 Christmas - a time for ghosts and giving Now in regard to the existence of ghosts, I remain sceptical and at best agnostic, but much of gothic literature suggests that we do not make it our business to search for ghosts. In fact the tendency is that they come looking for you rather like a spiritual debt collector. And this of course is the case with Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It's here that Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the three apparitions of his past, his present...Continue reading

15.01.2022 Mount Etna and High Altitude Coffee Some of you may remember the dim and distant past, and that there was a time when at the click of the mouse we could book exotic holidays on the Trans Siberian Express, Europe, Hawaii (and Hawhynot?) or for the more motivated a gentle stroll up to Everest Base Camp. As I trawl through my catalogue of travel memories, one emerges distinctly and raises the question, why? It was in sunny Sicily, as our coach turned another hairpin bend, on the...Continue reading

10.01.2022 Thanks for taking an interest in Sprocket Rocket posts. Mention the word ‘wall’, and images come into mind. Maybe it’s the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall and/or the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Maybe it’s the Wall of Remembrance at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and where we are now. I’m a Pink Floyd (rock group from the 60’s to the 80’s) fan, so I get songs playing mentally from their classic album - called ‘The Wall’, with songs like ‘Comfortably Numb’, ‘Anothe...r brick in the wall’, ‘Is there anybody out there?’ For our daughter Loz, Marley and I, right now there is only one wall. THE WALL. Our wall which we have just built together. We find any excuse to look at it. We feel very satisfied. Chuffed with our efforts. I’ve included some photos of the old wall. We realise that very soon THE WALL will just be a wall. But right now it’s the centre of our attention. We hope you enjoy it too. (But we do understand if you have more important things going on in your lives!) See more

10.01.2022 At this time last year Sprocket Rockets were heading to Auburn to ride the Riesling Trail and lunch in Clare. Kieran Modra was very keen to ride with the Sprocket Rockets as often as possible. On that day he disembarked at Gawler railway station and was tragically killed cycling to our place. Please keep his wife, Kerry - children Holly, Makala and Janae, the Modra and Golding families close as they continue to miss him. We all do!... Last Monday Kieran was honoured. He is to be inducted into the Sport SA Hall of Fame. Those who knew him could write books about his enthusiasm, courage and caring nature. But I think it is well summed up in the following article: https://indaily.com.au//sport-sa-hall-of-fame-for-a-true-/?

06.01.2022 A New Vocabulary I Give unto You Truckies have it. Tech heads have it. Legal eagles have it. And now, it's time the Sprocket Rockets had their own. Their own jargon, borne out of the hard yards spent in the saddle, and ground out in the wind and rain. But let's start with those legends of the long roads - the truckies. Here's a few terms that help them get through the day.... "Jumpy juice" means coffee. "Organ donor" means motorcyclist without a helmet. "Gater guts" means shredded tyre on the road. "Kojak with a Kodak " means a police officer with a radar gun. At 10.30 last night, as I was reviewing my superannuation fund (I like to do this on an hourly basis) I was overcome with a rush of juiced up jargon for the Sprockets. Here's a few of them. "Easy rider" means a rider on an ebike. "Slick 50" any rider over 50 years of age averaging 28kmph. "Punk" anyone with a puncture. "Femride" a peloton with more women than men. (We nearly achieved that prestigious status today) "The Munk" is a rider who loves lagging behind - a solitary figure. "Bespoke" is someone who checks the tension on their spokes after every ride. "www" is wild wet and windy conditions. "A Splat" is sort of self explanatory, but involves ambulance cover. "A Rumble" means being overtaken by a B double. "Holy Rollers" is a peloton with at least 4 Pastors. "Cover up!" wearing too little lycra on too large a body. Hope you can hang your helmet on some of these! Well done to the diehards who cycled today, or as Neil said, more die than hard in those conditions. As Brian said, it was a day that sorted out the pretenders. Somehow you just knew that on such a rough, tough day, Dennis would be in the thick of it, smiling his way to the finishing line! And then there was 42 volts (aka Ross from the Riverton Chapter) leading by example. And a special shout out to all the Fems, Wendy, Di, and especially Lorraine and Kate who did a very impressive pre Sprocket ride from Lyndoch. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the jumpy juice, copy that, 10:4 rubber ducky, see you next week ... Sid Our next ride on Thursday, October 15th is to Lambert Estate Wines, 55 Long Gully Rd, Angaston. This is another beautiful venue where they spoil us with cake and coffee for $6 and they open at 11am. So we leave the Langmeil church Tanunda carpark at the slightly later time of 10am. The photos include some very brave Sprocketeers who tackled the very wet, windy and wild morning weather, Annemarie and her new bike, Lindsay - who organised today's venue, and Sarah Schneider from Alice Springs, a fan of our posts and modelling our hi-vis vest. If you would like a Sprocket Rocket hi-vis vest ($15 and in sizes 2XL, XL, L, M and S for small) please email me at [email protected] (you don't need to ride with us ... Sarah just reads our posts and wants one!) I ordered 30 last time and our club has grown so quickly, I'll probably order another 30 asap. Come and join us. Love ... Andy

06.01.2022 "Spice Up Ya Life"... Spice Girls circa 1997. The latest Rolls Royce Ghost has two distinctive temperature settings. One for vintage, and the other for non-vintage champagne. It retails at around $635,000. Now if you've got that sort of spare cash, get in early. Come on, you can do it! A little hustling here, a quick remortgage of your house, and perhaps selling that priceless collection of fridge magnets. It's definitely one way of spicing up your life!... But for those of us on lower budgets, there is a cheaper way of spicing up your life. Here's my advice. LEARN SOME LATIN!! Now I know a couple of Sprocketeers who are already on to this. And marvellous Marlene can offer a master class in horticultural Latin! But there are other lovers of the Latin lingo amongst us. Pastor Jim is down with the spiritual stuff, the logos and all that. It may surprise you to know that Larry Krieg knows more than a few killer phrases in the Latin tongue ... more of that next week. It's fair to say that once you have tasted Latin, you've tasted the Penfolds of the linguistic world. It is a language of efficiency, compactness and razor sharp precision. You too will lie awake at night wondering to yourself, how come all that is left of the mighty Roman Empire are Roman numerals, when the Latin language is so potent? Think of the advantages learning Latin could provide for you. For example, you are at one of those high society do's, e.g. the opening of a gin distillery, a meeting of the Barons of the Barossa, or a first night preview of an art exhib. However, the conversation is a little challenging, a little erudite and overinflated, and then you break in to the social milieu by saying, "Cogito ergo sum" (I think therefore I am). Every head in the room turns to you. There might be an ex Oxford grad who gets it, but the rest of the room is awed into silence. But you haven't finished yet. You follow it up with, "E pluribus unum" (out of many ... one). Americans present will love it, and may even call you 'Honey'. But if you want to get the evening off on your terms, and gain the cultural inside track, try a few of these statements. 1. "I'm so in love with Latin grammar at the moment." 2. " What do you think of inflected nouns?" 3. "Who do you prefer? Virgil, Horace or Livey?" If this doesn't do it for you try this.... 4. " Have you read Cicero in the original Latin?" By this time, the evening will either be completely on your terms, or a rather tall man dressed in a roughly ironed tuxedo, with short sleeves, barely adequate to cover his "Mum Forever " tattoo, will be escorting you to the door. FINIS? Maybe, but you would have had a good night out, and spiced up your life for a lot less than$635,0000. Yes, it's a shame you'll be walking home (a Rolls Royce would be helpful here) but it doesn't matter that much! Footnote: Spice up ya life is a dance pop song with Latin influences ... of course it is! Caesar Sid

04.01.2022 It’s been one helluva year and I hope my Christmassy poem brings a smile: Now Santa’s seen one month a year and used to ice and isolation All year he’s been in quarantine but now he’s had his vaccination I’ll bring some cheer to everyone. It’s been a drag, we need a lift... I’ll go and get my reindeers out and fill my sled with loads of gifts You must be joking, Rudolph said, They don’t know where this Covid’s from Some profs say bats, or pangolins but no-one’s sure a real time-bomb Some countries north have stuffed up bad so rather starting - in Greenland We say, we move our base due south - Australia - or New Zealand Okay, said Santa, will you cope? It’s hot and humid, dry and hard Of course, said Rudolph, We are fit Alas the deers were caught off guard Their antlers locked. The sled got stuck. They tried but every time fell short We’re sorry Santa. We’re homesick. You’ll have to use the native sort Emus were fast and keen to run , but never sure in which direction And kangas hopped, but jerked the sled, so all the presents faced ejection Koalas tried, but fell asleep, and wombats headed down a hole Tasmanian devils argued, scowled, impossible to get control Echidnas rolled up in a ball and dingoes nearly got him there, Until the leader, lost the plot and chased wild cats and rabbits, hares And Santa laughed at every turn, took photos of this whole riff raff I can’t coordinate this lot and kookaburras - what a laugh! I’m very green. No fossil fuels. The children wait for my arrival I’ll pack my sack, adjust my seat, they’ll get their gifts. I like to cycle! Have a lovely Christmas xx

01.01.2022 It’s my fault! I started it! I wrote a limerick and then challenged other Sprocket Rockets to write their own. Here’s how it started: Why not be a new Sprocket Rocket? Good exercise! Free! Not-for-profit Great fun. Lots of laughs.... On beaut cycling paths And coffee (and cake) just to top it! Then Marley coined one about a Sprocket original and personality called Dennis, who, riding a mountain bike, has kept up with the road bikes through sheer muscularity. But things are about to change: There once was a cyclist named Dennis Who much preferred cycling to tennis His old bike was slow His new one’s all go The heels of the pack he’ll now menace Neil, Ross, Cath and Sid come from Riverton way to ride and coffee with us. Here is Neil: E bikes are popular I’m told Although some are not overly sold But what is so true For both me and you Is that the company here is pure gold. Cath wrote about Marley: There was a fine lass named Marley, Who could ride from Tanunda to Tarlee, Her e-bike so fast, She would never come last, And better - than even a Harley! By the way, Sprockets rides all kinds of bikes, but mostly the road bike variety. Ross, Sid and Andrea have also written limericks, which I’ll publish soon. But why don’t you write and email me ([email protected]) one (or more)? Maybe you could write about cycling, Lycra, coffee or cake or anything! Kate, Lorraine and Andrea ride up from Lyndoch every Thursday to join us. They all do a lot of cycling. My next limerick describes what effect this has: Three Ladies of Lyndoch are fit Wear lycra the full body kit They ride snazzy bikes On long distance hikes If there’s fat on their bones we can’t see it! Our next Sprocket Rockets ride and coffee on Thursday November 26th, with approval from health authorities and our Government, will be to ‘Octeine at Seppeltsfield’. In the meantime, stay safe. Love from us xx

01.01.2022 One of the nicer things that has happened to us this year has been the Sprocket Rocketsjust a lovely group of people. Below is the text of an article in this week’s Leadera Barossa Valley weekly. Can you spot our Bishop in the photo? The last photo is the view from my desk this morning. Sprocket rockets keep growing When a group of six cyclists decided to go for a ride to Angaston on April 26, 2019 with the aim of enjoying a coffee, never could they have imagined the little...Continue reading