Contents:
- Getting on your bike, as easy as ABC
- Study confirms benefits of exercise
- US road safety worst in the "rich" world (and NZ not much better)
- Bike lanes "exceptionally good value", says study
- Cycling strategy being developed for EU
- Could the "Dutch Reach" save cyclists from getting doored?
- World's longest recreational trail nearly complete
- Weblinks
Getting on your bike, as easy as ABC
28 September 2016- Spring is here, and with the warmer weather and longer daylight hours it's the perfect time to dust off your bike and sign up to the Aotearoa Bike Challenge.
To encourage more people to discover how easy and enjoyable riding a bike can be, the NZ Transport Agency has partnered with Love to Ride to develop the Aotearoa Bike Challenge, a new, national bike initiative that will take place during February 2017.
Transport Agency National Cycling Manager Dougal List says that with the change of seasons and daylight saving it's the perfect time for New Zealanders to get on their bikes and the perfect opportunity to sign up and get ready for the Aotearoa Bike Challenge in February.
"More people cycling to work, to keep fit, or simply for fun has positive benefits for riders and for our transport networks. The Aotearoa Bike Challenge is a great way to encourage people to get out and give cycling a go, even if they haven't ridden a bike for a while."
MetService General Manager Corporate Affairs Jacqui Bridges says the Aotearoa Bike Challenge will be a wonderful way to encourage staff to get on their bikes and to generate some friendly competition between the teams.
"MetService is a big supporter of staff well-being and we take pride in being a bike-friendly workplace. We'll be promoting the Aotearoa Bike Challenge to all our staff, not only those who are keen cyclists but the rookie bikers too."
Organisations from across New Zealand are encouraged to take part in the challenge and get their staff and department teams to compete to see who can get the most people to ride a bike. Dougal List says that there are some exciting prizes and spot prizes on offer as an extra incentive to take part.
You can sign up now at http://www.aotearoa.bike.
Study confirms benefits of exercise
30 August 2016- A study of New Zealand's six biggest cities has good news for Gisborne in drawing a compelling link between high rates of cycling and walking and people's overall health.
The Otago University-led pilot study focused on rates of walking and cycling and key health indicators in New Zealand cities, and shows that the more often a city's population cycle and walk, the higher its overall level of physical activity is.
It also showed there was a further correlation with lower levels of harm to health from inactivity-related conditions, such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.
In cities with higher levels of people cycling and walking for transport, more people had "adequate" levels of physical activity for health, and fewer had diagnosed diabetes or hypertension or were obese or overweight.
Read more here:
http://gisborneherald.co.nz/localnews/2451901-135/study-confirms-benefits-of-exercise
US road safety worst in the "rich" world (and NZ not much better)
5 September 2016- By most counts America has the worst road-safety record in the rich world. Its rate of 10.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year is almost twice as high as Belgium's, the next-worst well-off country, and roughly level with that of Mexico.
One of the main reasons that the United States sits atop this grim ranking is because Americans drive far more often than the rich-world average. When miles travelled are taken into account, America was actually a bit safer than Japan, Slovenia and Belgium in 2013 (the most recent year with comparable data). In addition, the United States also has a relatively high share of rural roads, which often have poor lighting, road markings and safety barriers.
Read more here:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/09/daily-chart-0
Bike lanes "exceptionally good value", says study
9 September 2016- A new report published in the Journal of Injury Prevention evaluated the cost-effectiveness of bike lanes in New York City, concluding that "investments in bicycle lanes come with an exceptionally good value because they simultaneously address multiple public health problems.
"Investments in bike lanes are more cost-effective than the majority of preventive approaches used today."
Read more here:
http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/early/2016/09/09/injuryprev-2016-042057.abstract
Cycling strategy being developed for EU
15 September 2016- Doubling cycling in the EU in the next ten years calls for the development of a European cycling strategy. To obtain political support at the highest level, the European Cyclists' Federation together with the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Slovakia to the EU and the European CHIPS project kicked off the process with an expert meeting on infrastructure and more specifically cycle highways.
In combination with the growing number of e-bikes, cycle highway innovation can effectively get commuters out of their cars for commuter distances of 15km and more. "Encouraging more people to cycle more often across the EU has the potential to unlock socio-economic benefits worth billions of euros. We call for political commitment to develop an EU Cycling Strategy and we are delighted to see the high-level response in the first of many meeting to that direction focused on infrastructure", said Adam Bodor, ECF Director of Advocacy.
Read more here:
Could the "Dutch Reach" save cyclists from getting doored?
27 September 2016- Nearly every cyclist has had to, at times, quickly swerve out of the way to avoid drivers opening their car doors. Doing so is dangerous, and it recently claimed the life of a young woman from Somerville, Massachusetts.
There's even a term for it: dooring. Or getting doored.
But doctor Michael Charney wants to make the road safer for cyclists by following Amsterdam's lead. He advocates for drivers to use what he calls the "Dutch Reach."
"The Dutch Reach is a practice where instead of using your near hand to open your car door, you use your far hand," he says. "In doing that, you automatically swivel your body. And you position your head and shoulders so you are looking directly out. First, past the rearview mirror. And then, you are very easily able to look back and see if there are oncoming bicycles or cars or whatever."
Read more here:
http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-09-27/easy-maneuver-borrowed-dutch-could-be-life-saving-cyclists
World's longest recreational trail nearly complete
16 September 2016- Finishing what will be the longest recreational trail in the world is not a bad way to celebrate a birthday. The Trans Canada Trail - often called The Great Trail - will be a 14,864-mile network of car-free paths stretching across the whole of Canada's 13 provinces and territories. The project began in 1992 and 87 percent of it - 12,905 miles - is completely connected. The organization plans to have the network fully completed by 2017, to coincide with Canada's 150th anniversary.
Read more here:
http://www.citylab.com/commute/2016/09/where-to-find-the-worlds-longest-recreational-trail/500366/
Weblinks
Car drivers are 4 kg heavier than cyclists:
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_10-8-2016-16-56-48
Innovations for making biking easier and safer:
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/bicycling-innovations/
Tour de Science: catch this pedal-powered science storyteller on his speaking tour of NZ:
Transport Knowledge Conference- 10 November 2016, in Wellington:
http://www.transport.govt.nz/research/conferences/transport-knowledge-conference-2016/
Bike Futures conference- 10 February 2017 in Melbourne:
https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/bike-futures/melbourne/
Air-BnB-style bike rentals:
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/peer-to-peer-bike-sharing-comes-to-london
"Strava art"- how to doodle with your GPS:
http://www.foodandwine.com/news/artist-draws-massive-map-doodles-riding-his-bike
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