Beer, Bucking Broncos & Bikes

Last weekend we went out to Oakey. For the uninitiated Oakey is about 2 and a bit hours West of Brisbane yet a whole world away! Oakey has 3 pubs, one post office, an IGA supermarket and a Chinese restaurant called Henry's Chinese (quite possibly not his birth name!) Speaking of name origins, Oakey was named, rather unimaginatively, after the river oaks on the nearby creek.


The reason for our journey you may ask? The Oakey Two Day Criterium Bike Race. This was to be Alex's debut bike race- a little bit of a departure for a triathlete but one he was keen to trial.



Basically, a Criterium is a 40 lap bike race where all the action happens in the last 2 laps. From what I can gather from a spectators point of view, the first 40 laps are merely for optimum positioning for those final 2 laps. Just to keep things interesting for the spectators and cyclists alike, there are also several "Primes" which are random one lap races with prize money throughout the initial 40 laps. Alex thought he'd give one of these a go (well why not!) and came 2nd which is not a bad effort for a cycling newbie! (Alas no prize money for 2nd place!) With the overall race, Alex finished in the middle of the pack- very respectable!



Now Oakey also had another attraction last weekend- The Oakey Rodeo. Having never been to one we thought we would have a look. Wearing our distinct city clothes (me in dress and pretty gold sandals, Alex in longish shorts and leather slides on his feet) we couldn't have broadcast that we "weren't from around here" if we took out a flashing billboard sign above our heads! Everyone was wearing the obligatory cowboy hat, blue jeans, RM Williams boots and driving their Ute. The beer flowed (in the fenced off licensed area) and stalls sold the must have items such as Confederate Flags, Rum Pig license plates and beer coolers with various alcohol brands on the side.



The whole experience was surreal- bulls, beer, cowboys hats and country folk a plenty. The winner of the day was this guy and his Ute. I think I made his day when I asked if I could take a photo of it!

The Beer Pen:

And last but not least, the actual Rodeo:

All in all, the weekend was a blast!