Wheel Stylish fashion show Wheel Stylish is the pinnacle event of Wellington's Frocktober.It's an event like nothing else: a full fashion show where the runway is a cycle path.The worlds of fashion and bicycles came together on Thursday 17th November in Wheel Stylish, a fashion show celebrating the winning combination of stylish clothing, women and bicycles.They enjoyed delicious sustainable nibbles and drinks by Logan Brown, Momo, Grove Mill and Teza before the fashion show kicked off.Wheel Stylish featured great Wellington fashion houses Starfish, SWonderful, Kowtow, Missy's Room, Kilt, Ziggurat and Emma. Their designs were modelled by gorgeous Wellington women who took to the runway on beautiful bikes by Mamachari, Giant, Phillips, Raleigh, Specialized, and Pashley.Wheel Stylish moved to the Northern Soul music of The Souled Out Collective, and the crowd...
News: January 2012
Jan
Add your items belowReview Go By Bike DayUpdate on WCC's plan for Southern route, new cycling maps and Wairarapa line bike trialReview SASTRAG minutes from David, anything for next one?CAW subsidy for members attending Cycling & Walking conference (proposed that we pay the conference fee for up to four members)Potential Bike Futures conferenceBig Bike Fix Up - anyone got energy for it?CAW got a $3500 grant from WCC to make cycling videos, with a focus on safety (Patrick)Signage along Evans Bay being reveiwedRave and rant!
Jan
From Paul Hayes, NZ Blood Service: Two French cyclists have travelled more than 18,000 kilometres around the world to encourage more New Zealanders to "get on their bike" and donate blood. Global blood donation ambassadors Julien Leblay and Marion Dumas will begin their final leg of a 20-month cycle journey to promote blood donation in Dunedin on Thursday (5 January). They will then cycle the South and North Islands before concluding their 21,000 kilometre, half-world tour in Auckland in February. Blood donation is a cause close to Julien's heart, after his own life was saved by 20 units of blood following an accident in his teens. His fiancée and cycling partner, Marion is also a big supporter of blood donation, having given the gift of blood 30 times. New Zealand Blood Service's National Marketing and Communications Manager Paul Hayes says their personal experience and determination...
Jan
We all win when more people bike, more oftenOpinion piece for DomPost, (printed with minor edits, 24 January 2012, pB5) Riding a bike is fun. Most of us remember the sense of freedom when cruising round the neighbourhood as kids. It is a convenient way to get around. It eliminates parking worries. Our air and waterways are cleaner. Biking makes you feel good. So why do we waste time and money by bickering? It's a familiar pattern. Someone riding a bike gets knocked off, assaulted, or is seen running a red light. A new battle in the undeclared cyclist vs motorist feud ignites. Angry letters are exchanged and flame wars break out on the internet. Gradually the heat dies down and everyone retreats to their corners until the next skirmish, but little has been achieved. It's time we rose above pointless bickering. Let's start with some facts. First, riding a bike is...
Jan
It is not just the unfortunate cyclist who had a scrape with a truck on Rocks Rd at the weekend who should be thanking her lucky stars that the incident wasn't far worse. She reportedly escaped the collision with cuts and bruises, and a wrecked bicycle; witnesses are amazed that she was able to walk from the scene.Even as a minor incident the episode raises questions about how the waterfront highway is being managed in its current reduced state. If it had been more serious, it seems that the Transport Agency would have some awful consequences to answer for, given the reports that there were no signs in place to warn about the unsuitability of the road for cycling following the recent slip damage.But at risk of feeding yet another round in the cyclists-versus-motorists culture war, the weekend accident also needs to be heeded by the cycling community in Nelson. It should be the only...
Jan
A WOMEN-only cycling group that aims to build up the confidence of road-shy cyclists around Warwick district will launch with its first ride next weekend.Dawn Rahman of British Cycling will lead a leisurely-paced and traffic-free cycle along cycling paths and canals as part of a national campaign - Breeze - to get ladies back on the saddle.Dawn, who lives in Warwick Gates, is the organisation’s recreation manager for the West Midlands, but she is giving up her free time to act as a ‘Breeze champion’ in the hope that more women will feel safer and happier about travelling by bicycle.She said: “British Cycling research shows that three times more men than women cycle and it was keen to find out what the barriers are.“A survey found that a lot of women are frightened to cycle on roads and do not know where to cycle.“The idea of this campaign is to provide women with social rides, where...
Jan
The very best of news years to you, and welcome to cycle advocacy, 2012.Rob Davidson who, for many years, has burnt bright the candle on ourbehalf as a stalwart campaigner for cycling in and around Hamilton hasfinally done the sensible thing for himself and called it quits from doing everything.In Brief:There are several things we need to do: • Have an AGM that involves a social do • Organise when and how we will meet • Decide on a strategy for the upcoming yearWhat we traditionally do:The roles we need to fill on an ongoing business can be summarised into four areas:Committee (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership)Plans & Policy ReviewsFleet bikesPresentations and stakeholder meetingsMoving on, though:Whilst it is good for us to carry on the work we do with plans and policy it does not need to dominate our group - many of you have had great ideas through the year and this is an...
Jan
There are a lot of imaginative uses for abandoned railroad tracks out there, from awesome urban parks like New York's High Line to bike and pedestrian highways. Lloyd, however, points out the downside to permanently removing tracks:I have the same concern every time I look at the work of the Rails to Trails Conservancy. They have a great message, promoting investment in bicycling and walking, but every time a set of tracks is torn up, an opportunity for restructuring our transportation system is lost.But the "O," from Italian designer Davide Bonanni, finds a middle ground between repurposing railroads and the possibility of returning them to their original use. It is a pedal powered four wheel vehicle that is made to fit on old tracks, so they can be used as bike paths without tearing out the ties that would make riding a regular bike too bumpy for comfort.The "O" is a...
Jan
This morning at 5.30am I was on my bike. I'll be on it again tomorrow at the same time. I don't own any skin-tight cycling clobber. Nor do I own much of a bicycle, just one of those easy-rider roadster bikes with a comfy seat. In serious cycling circles, I'd be considered a bit of a joke. But that doesn't stop me getting on my bike every morning before work. The fact that I have a fabulous limestone cycling pathway along the coast from my home has made the morning bike ride an irresistible ritual. I only tackle a tiny part of Hawke's Bay's 187-kilometre cycle track network before heading home for a hot cuppa and a slice of toast, then it's off to work. But what a way to wake up and on a morning like we had today, with the sun rising over the Pacific Ocean in one of its gentler moods, well, you'd be hard to beat the experience anywhere in the world. So I tend to agree with...
Jan
For some, riding a bike is transportation, a healthy, environmentally friendly way to get from A to B. For others it's recreation, an activity to test their own physical capabilities, stay in shape. For some local cyclists, the bike has become a vehicle that can change lives, maybe even make the world a better place. Cycling helped Kelyn Akuna see the world. Now he's hoping it will help aboriginal youth see their way in the world. Akuna, 28, is a former member of the United States track cycling team. Since he started riding at age 16, he raced at events in France, Australia, New Zealand and Trinidad. He came to Burnaby to train on the indoor track at the Harry Jerome sports centre, fell in love with a woman who would become his wife and decided to stay. Originally from Hawaii, Akuna has a keen interest in aboriginal culture. As he settled into his new country, he began looking...
Jan
Congratulations to the 2012 Cycle-Friendly Awards Winners MWH award for Best Cycle Facility ProjectTe Ara a Waiau Walkway / Cycleway & Te Weheka Walkway / Cycleway (Fox and Franz Glaciers Access Project) - Dept. of Conservation, NZTANZTA award for Best Cycling Promotion Projecti-Way Share the Road Campaign - Hastings District CouncilDunedin City Council award for Cycle Friendly Commitment by a BusinessAuckland Harbour Bridge - Copeland/AireyAuckland Transport award for Cycle Friendly Commitment by a Public Organisationi-Way Model Communities project - Hastings District CounciliWay award for Cycling Champion of the YearSteven Muir - Cycle Trailers, IceCycles, Fossil Free EventJoint Walking and Cycling AwardLet's Go - Walk Ride Bus - New Plymouth District CouncilFull details in attached file. 2012 CAN Cycle-Friendly Awards FinalistsThe Awards are designed to acknowledge and...
Jan
A cyclist was killed yesterday (8 January) when he and a cycling partner were hit by a car on a busy road in Tauranga.The 50-year-old local man was travelling with a female cyclist on State Highway 36 at Pyes Pa.Emergency services were called just after midday to the critically injured man, who died soon after.The woman was rushed to Tauranga Hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries and discharged later in the afternoon.Senior Sergeant Robert Glencross said the serious crash team were still investigating the crash."An initial assessment indicates that speed and manner of driving are factors ... Weather and road conditions do not appear to have been played a part in the crash."Cycle Action Tauranga secretary Phil Browne said the highway was a busy road and many cyclists in the area tended to avoid it for that reason.However, a number of people used it regularly and it was also...
Jan
BikeNZ is coming to you to share our vision for New Zealand cycling Let's Talk!Our vision is to be a nation embracing cycling- providing more quality cycling opportunities for more Kiwis. To achieve this, we’re working alongside you, our cycling community, to develop a unified five year national plan - something New Zealand cycling has never had before. We have listened to the needs of our community and mapped out a plan that we believe will propel New Zealand cycling to even greater success. The national plan involves the whole cycling community, across all levels and all codes, whether you are a rider, parent, coach or commissaire. It will address the needs and challenges faced from the...
Jan
This article was written for CAN's Chainlinks magazine, but we are only printing an excerpt of it in Chanlinks, due to constraints on space. Authors: Alistair Woodward, Graeme Lindsay, Alex MacmillanSchool of Population Health in the University of AucklandThe risks of cycling are mostly obvious. Many riders have suffered injuries as a result of a crash, or know of people who have been injured. In a study of those who took part in the 2006 Taupo Cycle Challenge, one-third told us they had suffered a significant crash in the last 12 months, and 13% reported an injury in the same time period that was serious enough for them to go and see a doctor. There are other hazards on the road, perhaps not so apparent, but important all the same. Cycling in heavy traffic means breathing in the fumes from exhausts of cars, motorbikes, buses and trucks. The emissions...