News

‘I don’t know the actual law, but I’m sure it is against some law’. Steven Muir writes about being made to feel like a criminal without being given much supporting evidence:

My crime? I wanted to carry three lengths of stainless steel home on my bike for my latest trailer project.

It was around 10 kg of material in 3 m lengths that I planned to strap to the top tube of my bike, a method I’ve safely used before. I paid for the steel; then the conversation with the salesman at Steel & Tube Bromley went something like this:

Salesman: Sir, do you think you could...

Three interesting research reports about cycling have just been publicly released by the NZ Transport Agency and already they’re causing a bit of a stir around cycling circles (and elsewhere…). Cycling in Christchurch previously alluded to these pieces of work being underway, and their findings have some interesting implications for cycling policy in New Zealand.

Should footpath cycling be legal? (c/ Abley Trptn & Mackie Research)

Probably the one attracting the most immediate attention is the one regarding cycling on footpaths, partly because...

ReBicycle gets rolling in Wellington

Wellington is the latest town to get its very own bike library and community bicycle upcycling scheme. ReBicycle Charitable Trust was founded recently to help collect used bikes and fix them up for refugees and other low income families. ‘So far the response has been fantastic with more donations than we have room for’, said project manager, Hilleke Townsend. ‘There’s been great help from the community as well, with Red Cross keen to help their refugee families get mobile and other organisations also showing interest’.

ReBicycle has...

CAN's spokesperson Patrick Morgan was asked to contribute to this TV3 discussion on Auckland's ongoing transport woes and plans.

The discussion included Patrick Reynolds of Auckland Transport Blog and Barney Irvine of the AA.  As Reynolds said, 'We've had 65 years of only investing in roads in Auckland' (Patrick's contribution is about 18 minutes in).  Click here for a link to the video clip posted to Facebook.

Recent media stories highlight the appalling inactivity of today's Kiwi kids.

Cycling Action Network is calling for urgent action to curb childhood obesity.

A New Zealand study last year found that obese children are showing signs from a young age that they are at risk of developing serious weight-related problems, such as Type 2 diabetes, heart, and liver disease. Nationally, an estimated 85,000 children aged 2-14 years are obese, according to the 2016 New Zealand Health Survey.

Now, research by the same authors show that fewer than one in five of our kids (19...

The new Board will have Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, three Regional Members and one or two Independent Members.

The Executive will have three members doing the day-to-day work of running CAN, plus, for the 2017-18 year, a fourth member managing the re-structure.

The various jobs and duties are set out in CAN's new Rules (PDF) which will come into effect at the AGM on March 26th 2017.  The open roles are as follows; links are to pages with more information on each position-

From Adelaide via Bologna and Invercargill to Upper Hutt and beyond, Share the Road has hit the road hard (but safely!) this year, spreading our message of empathy between the biggest and smallest of road users.

We’ve put drivers on bikes and riders in trucks in Auckland, Hawkes Bay, Taupo, Hamilton, Nelson, Hokitika and Dunedin. In 2016 alone, the campaign has personally reached over 1,000 people in the transport industry, but the statistic we’re most proud of is that 93% of workshop participants reported a positive change in their...

The main route between Picton and Christchurch on State Highway 1 is closed due to substantial slips and road damage following the 14 November earthquake.

NZTA advice: The alternate state highway route between Picton and Christchurch is via state highways 7, 65, 6 and 63 via Murchison and Lewis Pass. However, we recommend that cyclists avoid this route and follow the advice below.

Due to the combination of increased traffic volumes (in particular large trucks) and a lack of shoulder space on the alternate state highway route...

Review of:
Williamson, Laura (2016) The Bike and Beyond: life on two wheels in Aotearoa New Zealand. BWB texts. $15 softback, $5 eBook.

Wanaka based, but of Canadian origins, Laura Williamson has been writing about biking in NZ for a couple of decades, including contributing to the MTB magazine Spoke. She's concerned that despite the growth in recreational cycling, we're still wedded to our cars for commuting and utility trips. "Biketivism", or social action that challenges the primacy of the car, has been around...