As a city, Ōtautahi Christchurch probably punches above its weight when it comes to cycling in New Zealand (heck, we’re even up there in world rankings…). But there is always room for improvement, and certainly the current Government …
Category: Cycle-centric ideas
Bright ideas about cycling
Flashback Friday – Biking to Events: Summer 2023 Progress Report
While some of us are still pottering around on work today, tens of thousands will be descending upon North Hagley for the two-day (Fri-Sat) Electric Avenue music festival. Judging by the information on their website, I fear that (once …
Flashback Friday: Canterbury Active Transport Forum 14th Feb
Happy Valentines Day! Or, if you’re like me and my partner biking out to dinner tonight, maybe that should be VELOtines Day? Twelve years ago today, I was busy doing other things bike-wise, as one of the presenters for Environment …
Flashback Friday – Theatre Review: MAMIL
Nearly ten years ago, Mark Hadlow entertained the crowds at the Court Theatre with his humorous depiction of a cycle-hater’s transformation into a lycra-loving rider. Starting next week, for a limited season at the Isaac Theatre Royal (10-21 Feb), Hadlow …
Flashback Friday Guest Post: The Great Cycle Safety Debate
It’s been not a great week safety-wise on the news front. Never mind the Govt’s insane proposals to reverse several SH speed limit reductions; we’ve also had some tragic news in terms of two recent cycling deaths in the …
Chch Urban Cyclist Social Club takes off
If you’re looking for another opportunity to connect with other people who bike in Ōtautahi Christchurch, then the Urban Cyclist Social Club might be for you!
Started just a month ago by Aussie/Slovakian duo Samantha Chapman-Bielik (aka UrbanCyche) and …
Flashback Friday: Bike Parking at Major Events
Tomorrow, I’m off again to enjoy a few brews and food at this year’s Great Kiwi Beer Festival in Hagley Park. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the bike parking offerings there lately, so let’s hope it’s the same again tomorrow …
Flashback Friday – Mythbusting: “Hardly anyone cycles”
Christchurch City Council have recently posted about how the various cycle counters around the city have seen further good growth in cycle trips over the past couple of years – great results from the investment in new cycleways. Perhaps not …
Flashback Friday: Vale, Keith Guthrie
Nearly a week ago, my partner’s father passed away; needless to say it has been a sad and emotional time – rest in peace, Poppa… As all of us get older, sadly we can expect to have more in our …
If not bikes on buses, how about prams again?
Seasons greetings everyone! I hope you will have a fun Christmas and summer break and also hopefully get out and about on your bike when you can too…
I’ll pop up an end-of-year review in a week, but certainly one …
Flashback Friday – #2walkandcycle: Interesting stuff around Nelson
Last weekend I was up in Nelson for a wedding; while there, we also took the opportunity to do a bit more socialising and checking out the Nelson-Richmond district. Not surprisingly, we saw plenty of people biking while there as …
Flashback Friday: Should Cycling be allowed in the Botanic Gardens?
The Christchurch City Council is currently consulting on an update to its Parks and Bylaw 2016; you’ve got until Sun Dec 15th to get some feedback in. One of the changes proposed is to expand the mentions of “bicycles” …
Photo of the Day: To the cricket by Bike
As many of you will know, last week saw the NZ cricket team play England at Hagley Oval in the first of three test matches. And, while the end result wasn’t what I was hoping, my partner and I had …
Health & Safety and Cycling – When perceived risk trumps reality
As you might imagine, I’m not a big fan of many of the current Transport Minister’s actions, particularly when he seems hell-bent on eradicating most funding for walking & cycling and lower speed limits. So it is a slight surprise …
Flashback Friday – Book Review: The Bike and Beyond
While we’re in the mood for book reviews today, let’s take you back to another interesting cycling book that I looked at back in Jan 2017…
The Bike and Beyond: Life on Two Wheels in Aotearoa New Zealand
by …
Book Review (and a Launch): The Cycling Pioneers
The Cycling Pioneers
by Michael Toohey
138pp.
Kennett Brothers: $25
(Book or PDF versions)
While cycling history may often seem like the realm of other parts of the world, New Zealand was a surprisingly early adopter in trying out the …
Flashback Friday: Way out West – Are new developments cycle-friendly?
Earlier this week, I took part in the latest Te Putahi seminar on making better neighbourhood streets (you can watch the video from the evening here). During the Panel discussion, I talked about some good examples of sustainable transport-friendly …
Flashback Friday: Cycling Safety and the Media
Last Wednesday, I had the fun of giving a presentation on “Cycleways and Safety” to a Nerd Nite Selwyn gathering out in Lincoln. It covered a lot of bases in a short time and elicited lots of good questions too. …
Photo of the Day – Shopping Mall Bike Parking
I had occasion a couple of weeks back to visit Westfield Mall in Riccarton to do a few errands. It was a nice sunny day and, knowing how fun trying to drive and park at shopping malls can be, I …
Flashback Friday: Where else should we count bike numbers?
There has been an interesting conversation going around Spokes Canterbury lately about the potential for extra cycle counters across Christchurch in new locations. There is of course a cost to installing (and maintaining) any new permanent cycle counters; fortunately there …