Andy Thurlow must have a thing about bikes. Last year saw the publication of Kieran Modra – the way I see it, his biography of now-retired legendary Australian Paralympian cyclist, Kieran Modra. Andy and his wife Marlene also organise their own cycling group, the Sprocket Rockets, in and around Tanunda. Lately, they’ve been in the Netherlands visiting their son Daniel who works on the Zeebrugge offshore wind farms. For any visitor to Holland, bicycles soon become a quintessential image of the country and provoke a range of responses. Here is Andy’s:
Ode to jOe
Now that is a tandem! (Photo courtesy of Andy Thurlow)
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Amsterdam is all those bloody bicycles and their ‘don’t get in my way’ riders. They certainly put the wind up me! How and/or why does a country need 1.3 bikes per person? But what a beautiful country, its flatness ideal for this mode of transport – if only they could become more ‘easy riders’.
Thanks, Ian,for getting Joe off the streets of Amsterdam and into the media. Marley and I have really enjoyed this very beautiful country and been recipients of wonderfully friendly hospitality. The bike tracks here are awesome and all of this cycling has to be good for the general health of the Dutch. Thanks again and I hope that stories about the cycling Dutch and people like Kieran Modra inspire others to get on their bikes.
All hail to Jo and his cycling obsession. What else is there to do in Holland? The ski season would be very limited, white water rafting through Amsterdam canals could be a little on the slow side and there wouldn`t be too many options if you are a mountaineer! Do they still play clogball out there?
Jo is on a definite winner..keep on riding Jo.
Thanks Andy
What a hoot of a poem and family and Joe sounds a top guy.
We have just returned from Amsterdam. What a beautiful city and such friendly people. We loved the bicycle culture. Two things we noted in comparison to Australia (Melbourne). Bikes aren’t gendered in The Netherlands. There’s no male appropriate design/female appropriate design. They are a utility (as beautifully captured in the accompanying photograph to your poem) for a people that have a utilitarian way of seeing things. Second observation. No lycra.
Ride on.
Andy,
Your Ode to Jo is really great,
Our trip to Holland will have to wait.
I thought the bike I had was dead,
But no, I found it in the shed.
I decided to get it out of hiding,
To motivate myself to riding.
I won’t wear Lycra but I’ll don my Nikes,
And traverse the paths just made for Bikes.
Perhaps, when you return Down Under,
We can do the Tour De Tanunda?
To join your group would be a dream,
My riding is rusty… I’ll just slipstream.
Will catch up on your return. The Power needs more bums on seats.
Cheers
Marion
The pressure’s on to respond in Verse
To your lettre d’amour to Joe –
That one obsessed with wheels and bikes
Who off to Holland did go.
It’s obvious from your lengthy tome
That paradise he’s found:
The Dutch have served the perfect pi
With their cycles and level ground.
And while I’m glad Joe’s happy there,
My derriere doth protest.
It take just five minutes on the bike
For it to scream out for some rest.
I’ve tried the padded and fluffy seats
And those ridiculous biker shorts.
They didn’t help and so I think
I’ll stick to other sports.
“But it’s not just sport”, I hear you cry,
“But a lifestyle and a passion.
And furthermore, there’s no emissions.”
(Green Energy’s so in fashion!)
I understand your argument
And agree in every way.
So Joe I have a challenge for you –
I think it’ll make your day!
Apply that focussed mind of yours
To crafting out a seat
That cushions my delicate, sensitive bum
And gets me off my feet.
Then, and only then, will I
Squeeze into that crazy lycra,
Don the helmet and oil the cleats
And become a bloody cycler!
Fair Marion Dust off your steed
Our cycling club Will fix your need
Against the Cats We are supreme
Our coach says We’ll beat any team
But we are Bulldogged Back to earth
So my advice For what it’s worth
The best way To avoid this trial
Forget the score Live in denial
Enjoy the footy On this site
Distract yourself Write all ’bout bikes
PS Robyn …what a con-nun-drum
to find the words that rhyme with bum!