Wheels & Waves

from Your Local: March 2022

Outdoors

Noosa

Festival of Surfing

SINCE 2010, the Noosa Festival of Surfing has attracted record levels of competitors each year, as well as thousands of spectators from near and far who come to see the legends of the sport, as well as the now world-famous surfing dogs.

Under the guidance of World Surfaris, the Noosa Festival of Surfing has now evolved into a family-friendly, sustainable event that appeals to all kinds of surfers of all ages. A reunion for the veterans and a starting point for the juniors, it is the longest-running and best-loved surf event in the world.

The ever-popular beach bar, live music, art shows, shaping exhibitions, World Surf Reserve activations, and of course worldclass surfing are several reasons why this event is a highlight for many around the world every year! www.noosafestivalofsurfing.com @noosafestsurf

FRIDAY 4 SurfAid Charity Fundraiser - 4-8pm, Beach Bar.

SATURDAY 5 Active Escapes Beach Training - 6-7am, Main Beach (& Sunday). VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championships - 2.30-3.30pm. Lyndon Davis Welcome to Country - 4-4.30pm, Beach Bar. The Paddle Out - 4.30-5pm, Main Beach

SUNDAY 6 Melanoma March - 4-6pm, First Point. Clean Up Australia Day - 4-5pm, First Point.

MONDAY 7 GemLife Senior Competitor Drinks - 5-8pm, Beach Bar.

TUESDAY 8 Ripcurl Locals’ Day - 2-8pm, Beach Bar. Sirromet Wines International Womens Day - 2-8pm, Beach Bar.

WEDNESDAY 9 Tourism Noosa Networking Night - 5-8pm, Beach Bar. Creators & Innovators Night - 6-9pm, Noosa Surf Museum.

FRIDAY 11 Morning of the Earth Screening - 6-8pm, The J. Chiggy’s Junior Skate Rampage - 6-7.30pm, Noosa Woods. Mark Mathews Life Beyond Fear - 8-10pm, The J.

SATURDAY 12 Performance Breathing and Ice Baths - 7-9am, Beach Bar. Noosa SUP Challenge - 3-5pm, First Point or Lions Park. Party Shirt Saturday - 2-8pm, Beach Bar. Chiggy’s Skate Jam Pro - 6-7.30pm, Noosa Woods. The Finz and Friends - 8pm - late, Reef Hotel.

SUNDAY 13 Festival Finals Day - 7am-3pm, Main Beach. Presentation/Awards Ceremony - 4-5pm, Beach Bar.

THURSDAY 10 IN Noosa Fashion Parade - 4-5pm, Beach Bar. The Board Meeting Charity Dinner - 6-9pm, Sunshine Beach Surf Club. Surf Film Archive w/Phil Jarratt - 6-9pm, Noosa Surf Museum.

EVERY DAY Surf Competition - from 7am, First Point or Rivermouth.

MOUNTAIN BIKE SUNSHINE COAST with Andy Flanagan

MUD, SWEAT, GRIT, GREASE AND UNICYCLES

ANOTHER rainy day @#$%! Don’t get me wrong, I love the rain but I also love riding and in my world as a bicycle mechanic the two don’t go together.

Why? Well for a few reasons: #1 Mountain bike trails can be badly damaged by riding on them in the wet. #2 bikes need a lot more maintenance when used in the wet #3 I just don’t like it!

Lets expand on these a little. “Mountain bike trails can be badly damaged by riding on them in the wet.” A lot of community effort and money goes into building, maintaining and grooming mountain bike trails to make them as fun and sustainable as possible. Unsurprisingly when it rains a lot of that hard packed groomed dirt goes soft and turns to mud so riding this destroys all that hard work.

“Bikes need a lot more maintenance when used in the wet.” Modern mountain bikes have many moving parts that contain, literally, hundreds of ball bearings. These bearings have dust seals protecting them from said dust but this does not include protection from water and the fine grit that can wash in and wear and rust these little round balls.

Grease is also a major protector and lubricator in bikes but unfortunately even the very best grease is susceptible to being flushed out by water. With this in mind also be careful how you wash your bike. Low water pressure, minimal detergent and only wash it when it needs it, my bikes get washed maybe two or three times a year.

Now if you must ride in the wet, choose dirt roads and fire trails rather than mountain bike parks, ride around the puddles and have your bike serviced regularly by a professional bike mechanic - twice a year is recommended.

So its raining today and I want to get some exercise... I could go for a trail run or I could dust off my Muni (26” mountain Unicycle) and roll some fire trail. Won’t that be rough on your uni, you may say.

No it won’t, as a unicycle has very few moving parts, no chain and one set of wheel bearings, so two or four cartridge bearings compared to a modern mountain bike that may have 26 cartridge bearings!

See you on the trails. Ride safe, ride smart. Andy Flanagan - Unicyclist, Mountain Biker, Trail Runner, Senior Bicycle Mechanic at Spoke N Trail and owner of www.SunshineUnicycles.com.au