Category: Flashback

Identifies those posts that have already been featured in a Flashback Friday

National’s Transport Dystopia

Gerry Brownlee and National’s quake recovery plan for central city transportation would almost have been visionary in 1980. It relies on fossil fuel and caters to think big projects which will impoverish and fail ratepayers.

Christchurch City Council’s Share an …

Book Review: Easy Rider – A Kiwi’s Guide to Cycling

by Jon Bridges (203pp., Penguin Books, Auckland, RRP $40)

If you have Xmas book vouchers burning a hole in your pocket, here is one new book that you might like to get a hold of.

Jon Bridges has been …

Hidden Treasures: Westburn Reserve Bike Park

Merry Christmas! I hope Santa got you the bike-friendly gift you were after. If Junior has got a new bike they’re probably raring to try it out somewhere. There are various parks and tracks around Christchurch where they can have …

Book Review: Everyday Cycling in Aotearoa New Zealand

by Alastair Smith (185pp., Awa Press, Wellington, RRP $35)

Here’s something that might be handy as a Xmas stocking-filler!

Over the years I have collected a variety of books on cycling for transport and urban cycle commuting. Invariably they …

The 1000-Day Challenge

The draft Transport Plan for central Christchurch has attracted a lot of comment both positive and negative about its impact on cycling. Now the Council’s Chch Transport Strategic Plan has just been finalised too, setting a city-wide 30-year vision for …

Maintenance: Who Ya Gonna Call…?

No, it’s probably not the Ghostbusters (and that reference just went over the head of half my audience…). But if you do spot a problem while out riding, there are a number of options you have for making sure …

Will Christchurch be an Accessible City for Cycling?

CERA released its draft central city Transport Plan “An Accessible City” last Thursday (hmm, just before a holiday weekend – trying to bury things?). This follows on from the Central City Blueprint that we saw a little over 100 …

A near-brush with The Law [Warning: Censored – for Adult Viewing Only]

I’ve decided to experiment: I’m going to ride my bike sans helmet and see what it feels like and what happens.

I was prompted to do so after reading this information about cycling and helmets. Normally a law-abiding citizen, …

Are you “Interested but Concerned”?

When trying to encourage more people to cycle, it’s helpful to “know your audience”. There’s an interesting theory that was developed in Portland, Oregon, to help understand who might want to cycle for transportation. Its intuitive logic has been so …

A complete cycling network for 34 cents a year

Am I missing something?  The Christchurch Transport Plan says that there’s a golden opportunity right now to create a complete high quality cycling network in Christchurch.  The graphs in the plan show a steadily increasing spend on cycling and walking.  …

Is cycling really cared about in this city?

So the other day I had to ride to town for a meeting at the City Council. As I rode in from Somerfield, I noticed a number of things that got me wondering:

  •  Just north of Brougham St, Antigua St
…

Googling your Way around Town by Bike

An interesting development was added to everybody’s favourite mapping service Google Maps in the past month. NZ’ers can now experience getting directions for cycling, which will make use of any handy cycling shortcuts such as off-road paths. Viewers can also …

Electric Bikes. Even more reason for good cycling infrastructure

When it comes to publicity about electric power in the transport sector it seems that electric cars get all the kudos.  The era of electric cars is apparently just round the corner.  Electric bikes get so little coverage there must …