It’s been an interesting few weeks under COVID-19 lockdown, and generally everyone has been pretty good at following the rules and keeping themselves and others safe.
What has been really pleasing to see as well is the number of people out and about biking, walking, jogging and generally enjoying a chance to get some fresh air and exercise. As noted previously, the reduced traffic volumes have made the streets a much safer proposition for many “interested but concerned” folks who are normally a bit hesitant to get out on their bikes.
So this is where I’d love to hear from YOU! Tell us your lockdown cycling stories, about where you and your bubble have been riding. What have you discovered? What did you enjoy? Just a few words, some pictures are even better! Simply contact us and we will post them up (happy to be anonymous if you wish).
Have you been biking in new places during lockdown?
When lockdown was announced I went to my local bike shop and they very quickly made a peddle bike up for my 3 year old to try. It was the perfect size so we bought it and figured the transition from balance bike to pedal bike would take a few weeks of lockdown. Wrong. 2 days later and he was off like he’d always had it. So we started biking around Addington, and Hagley Park. Jack’s confidence grew quickly, and soon we were riding the cycle trail through Addington, practicing our stopping and giving way.
After Level 4, when we were able to travel further, I printed out a map of all the Cycleways in Christchurch to show him, and asked which ones he might want to ride. Absolutely loving the one through Addington he said “All of them!”.
So, we came up with a challenge, to ride every Cycleway in Christchurch before his 4th birthday in 2 weeks (21 May).
We are now 1 week in and he’s done 6 so far, and we’re hoping to complete 7 and 8 tomorrow. Then we have a few days to ride the extra bits we’ve missed like Curletts Rd to Lincoln Rd.
We have been loving the Cycleways so much, and enjoyed getting out almost every day to explore new parts of the city. The Cycleways make it possible to explore places we would never feel safe taking Jack (or me for that matter!) On the road.
Jack’s favourite is the Northern Line, because he loves trains, so the possibility of seeing a train on the way kept him very motivated. We had no idea there was a footbridge halfway up, and spent a long time standing up their looking out for a train.
We are so greatful to all the people who have advocated for safe, well designed Cycleways so that we had this opportunity to ride them. Jack is already well on his way to being a life long cyclist… In fact he thinks he’s doing Tour Aotearoa in 2 years time!