The other evening, I caught up with Steven Muir over a drink to chat about a few things biking and our respective thoughts about the current state of the world (and NZ/Chch) when it comes to sustainable transport and climate change. Steven has been involved in the cycling scene for over 20 years here, especially his work with all manner of cargo bikes, bike trailers, bike fixup work, etc (which is a reminder that he will be running a DIY Bike Trailer workshop next Sat 17th…) – he even won a Cycling Champion award back in 2012. Some of that dedication to reducing our fossil-fuel dependence has led to some interesting endeavours around Christchurch and beyond. Way back in 2016, Steven led a group riding some loaded bikes from Christchurch to the West Coast and back. This blog post from Feb 2016 briefly recounts these exploits (which was not without its challenges) – if you want to learn even more details, click the links to the report and video…
The world’s first ever fossil-fuel-free Coast to Coast to Coast happened in January 2016. Eight people towed four kayaks behind three tandem and two single bicycles from Christchurch to Arthur’s Pass, then on to the West Coast and returned again to Christchurch over seven days. The purpose was to have some fun, raise awareness of climate change and to encourage the use of active transport for as many journeys as possible, particularly those journeys that involve carrying loads and are made regularly, like commuting, shopping or training for multi-sport events.
The participants were mostly involved with the ICECycles free bike maintenance group in Christchurch, who encourage more people to bike by fixing and giving away bikes to people on low incomes. Steve Muir made the kayak trolleys to tow the kayaks and he also makes low cost, custom designed cycle trailers for shopping and general load carrying.
The team faced almost constant head winds, dehydration, hypothermia, severe weather warnings, flooded rivers, a funeral of a close relative and a wife’s hip operation. The extreme circumstances did result in a little fossil fuel being used, so a plan is being hatched to repeat it next year under more favourable conditions. In spite of the difficulties faced, the team had an enjoyable time and dealt with the conditions admirably.
For the full report with lots of photos click here
For a YouTube video, click here
What do you think about this cycling endeavour of Steven’s?