These days, using your smart device for wayfinding seems almost second-nature to many, even when on a bike. But seven years ago, it was pretty cool when the traditionally car-centric Google Maps first provided directions for biking around Christchurch (albeit …
Category: Cycle-centric ideas
Bright ideas about cycling
Flashback Friday: Is Anyone Out There?
Cycling in Chch has been running for over 7 years now; it’s been a fun ride. Over that time we’ve delivered 838 posts to you, but blogs should be a two-way process with the reader. So it is gratifying that …
“No-one bikes into town, it’s not practical…”
With the news the other day that cycle numbers in Christchurch are continuing to climb, it was inevitable that the naysayers would jump onto social media and grumble about how cycling is not at all practical for a certain …
Flashback Friday: Public Bikes for Christchurch?
With all the car/bike/scooter sharing schemes available these days (partly thanks to clever apps on our smartphones), it’s hard to remind ourselves that only a few years ago these were all pie-in-the-sky ideas, certainly in NZ. As reported back in …
Biketober 2019 is Here!
It’s about that time when I usually preview what’s coming up biking-wise over the coming month. However, when that particular month is October then it’s no ordinary month – it’s Biketober! Yes, for the third year running, you’re in …
Flashback Friday: The banana box challenge
I never get surprised at what Steven Muir manages to carry on his bikes; over the years we have seen all manner of things attempted thanks to his collection of cargo-bikes and trailers. Cast your mind back to July 2012…
Bike Racks on Buses – a key for integrated transport
Bike racks on buses have been a feature of Christchurch for over a decade, with them being standard on all city buses for almost five years. It’s a great way to provide true integrated transport (especially as a viable …
Flashback Friday: Cyclopolitan
Did you know that the “Cycling in Christchurch” website was actually started by an Aucklander? The wonderful “Unity Finesmith” (aka Jenny Marshall) was the original creator, and right from the start had an emphasis on everyday style when …
More dodgy bike and car parking
Since our recent posts about dodgy bike stands and car parking, I’ve received quite a few other pictures and stories from other readers about similar things observed around town. Thanks to the many contributions received! I thought I would …
New Central City cycling projects aim to fix the little things
By now we were meant to be enjoying an enlarged public bike-share scheme around the city; instead we have none (but plenty of e-scooters…). The story behind that is for another day, but at least there is a silver …
Review/Preview: Big Bike Film Night 2019
Last night, Christchurch played host to the 2019 Big Bike Film Night. Another fairly full Charles Luney Auditorium audience watched a diverse collection of eleven short films about all manner of biking. More on them in a moment…
If …
Photo of the Day: Traffic lane closures
Perhaps this should be called “pet peeve of the day”: At the moment, work is underway for the city-end section of the Heathcote Express cycleway along Ferry Rd. This is necessitating some traffic lane closures, including turning lanes into Ferry …
Sensibel: More testers needed
What’s cycling like in Christchurch? Some of you may remember the introduction last year to Sensibel, a new way of capturing information about people’s cycling experiences (good or bad). Now, more help is still needed to collect more information.…
Guest Post: How cycling could reduce the impact of the Christchurch Northern Corridor
Guest writer Jim Pickles has a few thoughts regarding a looming problem:
About ten years ago I wrote in a submission to council on the Urban Development Strategy that the way the council handled cycling on Cranford St would be …
Cycle Planning & Design course coming to Chch (1st May)
For over 15 years, there has been industry and student training in NZ on “planning and design for cycling”, much of it via the company that I work for, ViaStrada. During that time, over 1200 people have attended the …
Guest Post: Telescope bikepacking
David Hawke gives us an interesting challenge for a bike (reminds me of Steve Muir’s fun with building supplies…):
My project over the last week or so has been to figure out how to get a telescope onto a …
New Directional Cycle Signal Surveys
If you’ve cycled around the central city, you may have seen the new directional cycle signals at the High / Madras / St Asaph and Antigua / St Asaph intersections. These allow different cycling movements to be controlled separately. Even …
Wanted: Your contributions!
You may have noticed that the blog posts have been a little sparse lately; if I can get one a week done I’m doing well at the moment. My apologies to those who like to receive a regular helping of …
Photo of the Day: East Frame Pump Track
There’s a lot going on in town these days; it’s great to see it all coming together. New buildings are popping up; we’re getting nice new spaces like the Oxford Promenade, and fun events like the Bread & Circus…
Cycling in Chch 2018: when bikes were counted and countered
I hope you are all enjoying a nice summer break (or if you’re one of the unlucky ones who has to work, then I hope you get a great break later!). As another year draws to a close, it’s …