Compiled by Nicoline Greer.
THE WHEEL THING
If you want to go further afield on your bike, consider a two-wheeled jaunt around New York. Three group cycles take place in the city every year. The next - the Twin Lights Ride through New Jersey - is on September 19th. Each July, cyclists slipstream through the rural upstate Harlem Valley. But perhaps the most appealing - and challenging - is the New York Five Borough Bike Ride every May. This year, I was one of 30,000 to take over the traffic-free streets, for a 42-mile ride starting in downtown Manhattan, winding through Central Park, Harlem, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn, before crossing onto Staten Island. Crawl through the underbelly of its highways, whizz along the FDR Drive (normally reserved for motorists), and you'll see the city from a different perspective. As the PA system announced at the finish line: "Congratulations, you've just seen more of New York than most New Yorkers." Book now for next May Day. For more, see www.bikenewyork.org. Niamh Hooper
OUTBACK IN CARLOW
Co Carlow isn't a place where you might expect to find a major exhibition of Aboriginal art. Jalanguwarnu consists of 30 pieces on show in Carlow Institute of Technology. They range from bark and canvas paintings to fibre and wood sculptures. Some are huge: Karrku is a group work that is 10 feet tall and 22 feet wide. Jalanguwarnu means "contemporary" - the art embraces stories and traditions that go back centuries, but most of the works were produced in the past decade. The exhibition has been selected from the Kluge-Ruhe Collection at the University of Virginia, and this is the largest collection of Aboriginal Art outside Australia. As part of the exhibition, one of Australia's leading contemporary Aboriginal artists, Fiona Foley, has made a new work, an installation in the derelict chapel in the Presentation convent, which will be covered in a sea of more than 2,000 poppies. Jalanguwarnu, from today until Sunday August 29th, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, Carlow Institute of Technology.
ON A ROLL
Here's a wheely good idea that should appeal to anyone who has problems catching the bus. An American invention, Heelys may look like trainers but they have a wheel in the sole which allows the wearer to roll around at speed. "Heeling" is supposed to look like you are "gliding across a slick floor in your socks" but be prepared, in the beginning at least, to be reminded of your first shaky days at the roller disco. Thankfully, if it all gets too much, you can take the wheels out and turn them into ordinary trainers. They're available now from Champion Sports, priced from €99. Róisín Ingle
WEAVING HIS SPELL
Terry Dunne is one of the best-known weavers in Ireland. Apart from commissions for public spaces, he has created tapestries for the homes of Michael Smurfit and fashion designer Pat Crowley, to name but two. Pieces such as the one he holds here - Seasonal Changeovers, in which pine needles are woven through a narrow strip of graduated shaded wool - work well as wall hangings and make a welcome gift. To see what else he does, make an appointment to visit his studio, complete with looms, in a pretty restored thatched cottage about a half-an-hour's drive from Wexford town. There are more traditional wall hangings, too, with beautifully subtle graduations in soft colours. He mostly works to commission, so something can be made to suit a particular room. Terry Dunne, Fern Cottage, Woodgraigue, Duncormick, Co Wexford. Prices start from €500. (051-563100) www.terrytheweaver.ie Eoin Lyons
LOSE YOURSELF
The Wheeler family has planted nature's version of a Rubik's Cube in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow. Part of the fun of their Celtic Maze is going to the viewing platform above and watching the bewilderment of the folks lost in the spirals of hedges below. They have also just made a new Solstice Maze for the grown-ups. The idea is that it is a relaxing, contemplative pathway for adults, within a large stone circle. "It wasn't planned. It just happened," says Jonathon Wheeler of the hobby that turned into a business. Father and son, Jonathon and Will Wheeler used to go scrabbling around ruins in the area, finding old bottles and bits and pieces used in farms going back to the days when horses and donkeys were used instead of machinery. They have turned the farm into a museum and an opportunity for visitors to see a working farm in action. Greenan Farm Museum and Maze is open daily until the end of August. Call 0404-46000 or see www.greenanmaze.com
WHO DUNNIT?
Dastardly deeds are afoot this week at Project, Temple Bar. Delicious Death (with dancer Jen Fleenor, below) is a dance performance that invites the audience to become detectives. This is no time for just clapping and going home - there has been a murder and an investigation is required. It is based around the style of Agatha Christie, but otherwise, in a truly mysterious style, the organisers are not revealing much. They say, though, that audience members will be able to come to rehearsals on the afternoon of each performance, where they can adapt at will things such as the lighting, the choreography, the music and the plot. Was it Miss Scarlett in the Drawing Room with the lead piping? Get out that magnifying glass for a closer look. Delicious Death by Fluxusdance, tickets, €14 and €8 at Project, Dublin, August 18th-21st. Also Leitrim Sculpture Centre, Manorhamilton, August 28th; Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co Kildare, August 31st and September 1st; Linenhall, Castlebar, Co Mayo, September 4th; Oxmantown Hall, Birr, Co Offaly, September 25th., September 25th.