Cycling Activities for Sep 2016

Yay, spring is here! Well, at least officially; let’s hope that the weather plays ball. Warmer weather means more opportunities to get back out on your bike, and there are a few ride activities below for that (or why not combine good drink and cycling on a Radler Guided Tour of Chch?). If your bike needs a bit of dusting off and checking over after “hibernating”, there’s some events coming up to help you there too!

• We start this month with an interesting cycling event that can also help some overseas communities. Pedal for the People is bike-based fundraiser on Sat 3rd from 6-9pm, starting at the Chch Netball Centre (South Hagley Park). This is a fun night on 2 wheels aiming to help raise money for a trip by St Johns volunteers to the Middle East to help run children’s sports programmes. For a $15 donation, you get to visit various destinations around the city centre by bike, with photos and challenges to attend to at each destination. The fun finishes at St Johns Berwick St, St Albans where there will be food, hot drinks, music, games, and possibly a movie.



• Wheel Womyn Wednesday workshops continue this month on Wed 14th from 6-7pm at RAD Bikes (The Commons, Kilmore/Durham). This is a regular chance to pick the brains of the workshop locals and learn a bit more about your bike. With spring now here, this month’s focus is on a bit of “spring cleaning” maintenance to get your bike ready for the summer months. So bring your bike and your questions along!

(Meanwhile RAD Bikes continue to provide their regular bi-weekly free service helping to build and repair bikes. Come along to their shack at The Commons any Sun 12-4pm or Wed 5.30-8.30pm. Also look out for their Term 4 After Schools build-a-bike programme starting Oct 17th for Year 7-10s – register now)



• Mid-September sees Keep New Zealand Beautiful Clean-Up Week and, to celebrate this, Spokes Canterbury is holding a Litter Ride along the Southern Motorway Pathway. Over the past few years, the pathway has got a bit messy in places with rubbish, so this is the opportunity to give a little back and help spruce this wonderful cycle route. Meet up at the main carpark of the Horncastle Arena, Addington at 10am on Sat 17th; bring your favourite bike, e-bike, cargo bike, scooter or just your feet. If you’ve got panniers, baskets or cargo carriers, bring them along; otherwise you can be supplied with a rubbish bag for collection. The crew will ride the pathway out towards Hornby/Halswell, collecting litter along the way, before returning for a cuppa at a cafe in Wigram.



• ICEcycles also have another bike maintenance workshop on Sat 24th 1-4pm, at the Linwood Community Arts Centre (cnr Stanmore/Worcester). Bring along your bike for some mechanical TLC, or learn how to do it yourself. Old bikes and bike parts are also always welcomed.



• Connie’s back from her (no doubt inspiring) visit to Denmark, so Go Cycle Chch Short Rides for New Cyclists return on Sun 18th 2-3pm (from The Commons, cnr Kilmore/Durham) and Sat 24th 2-3pm (Linwood Community Arts Centre, cnr Stanmore/Worcester). The more observant of you will have noticed that these locations will be holding bike maintenance workshops by RAD Bikes and ICEcycles then, so why not get your trusty bike checked over first and then join an easy ride with helpful volunteers?



• Finally, there is some planning underway to hopefully start rolling out a new series of Lazy Sunday Cycle Chch Rides over summer. These are family-friendly rides on pathways and quiet streets designed for new riders. With luck, the first ride might be on the afternoon of Sun 25th – watch this space…

As always, these events might change, or new ones might pop up. So keep an eye on our Events & Activities Calendar (and let us know if you have any relevant activities coming up too!).

What activities will you be taking part in this month?