Aussie on a Brompton

Santa has a lot to answer for! My recent pressie of a GoPro was mentioned in an earlier blog post & I really did think that a video posting would soon follow? In reality things weren’t so simple & I’ve been surprised at everything that needed arranging. Yes, another of those “How hard can it be?…” moments!

Newly opening the GoPro box gives a hint of what happens next; searching for suitable adapters to mount the GoPro on the flat bars of my Brompton! Once the mounting was resolved (including being able to fold the Brompton with GoPro in place) it was time to get some footage! Oh dear, now I’ve learned about mount stability & slippage issues when encountering “less-than-ideal” road conditions, driveways, etc. Lots of test rides resolved the probable resolution for the camera & indicated that my thoughts of videoing “anywhere & everywhere” to be impractical – it’s probably best to avoid motion-sickness for any viewers from rough conditions & slow steep climbs?!

Reviewing the videos captured then started to highlight the production issues in producing reasonable output. As with my blogging, I’m wanting to keep the processing simple & mobile; my iPad & iPhone are the weapons of choice. With the GoPro creating videos in mp4 format & being able to transfer them readily, I’m hoping to leave my Mac computers out of the process completely. (Prior experience in transferring video from older cameras & using powerful video editing software has me keen to keep things simple & mobile & work around any limitations that the iPad & iPhone will present.)

So, time for a serious look at iMovie on the iPad & see what it can do? Well, it’s taken a while but I can report that I’m reasonably comfortable so far & pretty confident that I can produce something suitable! Next step was to resolve how to present any videos within the blog. So many choices/requirements but I decided to use YouTube for housing the video & linking any blog post to it. Whoops, another chunk of time taken up getting the correct setup & making sense of what I need!

Finally it’s time for a blog post & YouTube link! I should point out that it’s very underwhelming but just a first step for future ideas. I hope you understand. Here’s my little test video

Funny how things change. It’s always hard to keep up but recently I was checking out the Brompton Australia Distributor’s website (http://www.kobie.com.au/brompton-bikes.html) & was rather shocked to see how prices have changed. I’m not talking about all the Brompton parts on the website (those parts & accessories that would previously have required an online purchase from overseas – or very slow supply via a dealer order?) but indeed the prices for the stock Bromptons available on the website!

It’s been quite some time since I first noticed Bromptons included on Kobie’s site & what was immediately disappointing was that prices seemed so much higher than what the Brompton Bike Builder system suggested should be the A$ MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price). When the local pricing is hard to define for Bromptons that need to be ordered as B-Spoke supplies & with inordinate/vague lead-times, perhaps the Kobie site prices were true local prices? Still, no need to involve myself as Ralph & Robinson were sitting happily at home & our Brompton family seemed settled? Of course, another o/s trip is always an appealing way of picking up a new Brompton (at a competitive price?) isn’t it?

However, my recent Kobie website shock was in fact, a very pleasant surprise. First, the number & range of Bromptons listed had grown. Next, the later entries were shown with prices the same as Brompton’s A$ MSRP figures! Finally, I was amazed to see “Special prices” listed for these new entries, with discounts that seemed about 10% Surely I was dreaming? A bit of research needed here, I decided.

Back at the Brompton website, there were more surprises in store! (How does one keep up with change?) Aside from seeing that Australia was now listed as having a 2014 Brompton National Championship event (albeit still to be confirmed), the Australian dealer listing was nothing like I remember & for example, showed 5 dealers in Sydney. Gotta look into this I thought & headed out for some visits. At the end of the day (as some are fond of saying?) I was still confused. While those dealers I visited were mostly still pale imitations of what I expected a good Brompton dealer to look like (decent stock of bikes & accessories, professional display of product, knowledgeable staff?), at least things are happening? As for the new prices I’d seen at Kobie’s website, I got the impression no-one knew much about it? (Belatedly a CheekyTransport dealer website update appeared about the “supplier receiving a huge shipment” – but with nothing up-front about pricing?)

With the tantalising new prices & some stock bikes that were very appealing, it wasn’t long before an order was placed for the S6E Brompton in Cobalt Blue for Mrs Aussie. Woohoo!

Christmas: rather a busy time & the blog bears the brunt? A family gathering here on Christmas Day has the top priority & there’s lots of work around the house & yard to be done (still…). Not helping is Mr Brush Turkey, who has the hide to keep showing himself around the remains of his nest (it’s slowly being demolished although he seems drawn back? – until the garden hose is pointed in his direction).

So, just to prove AussieOnABrompton hasn’t forgotten you, I should share something from the eCard I received from Brompton Bicycle

7:30 am this morning I spotted two Brush Turkey chicks around the nest established in the backyard during our UK absence. Finally, the daily visits from Poppa, or Mr Brush Turkey, may be at an end? No more tending the nest, checking the temperature, redistributing leaf litter, twigs, branches, rocks & whatever his claws would flick up, no more attacks on the remaining garden to refresh the material over this last 2 months?

Hoping to capture some pics I headed out with the camera, just in time to see them break cover one by one & scamper towards the local bush.

Next minute, there was Poppa strutting up to inspect the nest! Over the next hour or so, he dug into the nest at particular points, & dug & dug! At times, so far in that only his tail showed. (Our assumption was that he was checking for any remaining eggs?) Eventually he was done & gone; would he return?

Having sighted more than one hen visiting the nest, we had wondered over what period of time chicks may be hatching? Now it seems that all the activity is over & we’ve inherited a demolished nest & considerably more compost material than we started with! Looks like we can reclaim the compost heap & rebuild the garden & lawns? Well, some day soon?

Following on from my earlier post “Back to the nest”, our visiting anti-gardener, Mr Brush Turkey, continues to pop in to checkout his nest & can be seen every day testing the nest temperature & topping up or adjusting the mound to suit. At times there are also female visitors to assist the work but we’re unaware of how many females have laid eggs & when that’s taken place. It seems the chicks will dig themselves out eventually & make their own way in the world; we’re just hoping there’s a clear sign as to when we can reclaim our compost heap & start work on building a new garden?

Things looked fairly good when arriving home from our UK trip. However, a look into the backyard showed that a Brush Turkey had taken over & scratched leaves, twigs, garden mulch & plantings (& weeds) into a large nest mound alongside our compost heap & bins. Judging by daily activity to maintain the nest, eggs have now been laid & buried within the nest & we await their incubation & arrival of chicks.

Ralph & Robinson survived the trip & after a few days rest, allowed us to gently stretch our legs around Olympic Park & Parramatta River. A cafe Brunch (sweet potato cakes, asparagus, greens & poached eggs) was a contrast to a certain “full English breakfast” partaken recently along the road to Edinburgh? A match to the weather?