Time for another month to tick over again, but this time not just any old month – no, it’s Biketober! Wait, what happened to October?
Biketober (not surprisingly, a fusion of ‘bike’ and ‘October’) is a month-long celebration of cycling …
Category: Flashback
Identifies those posts that have already been featured in a Flashback Friday
Hidden Treasures: Bottle Lake Forest Park
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Mountain-biking around Christchurch tends to divide into the hilly bits and the flat bits. The Port Hills give you plenty of the former (even with the Chch Adventure Park temporarily out of action), while the flatter stuff tends to be …
The GPS: Govt Pro-roads Statement on transport
If you’ve ever wondered why it is that cycling only seems to get a pittance of the funding that roading does, it’s largely down to an innocuously named document called the GPS. No, it’s not about determining your location …
Solutions to traffic queues
I was impressed with this image from a story on Auckland’s traffic congestion which suggested Aucklanders spend 4 weeks a year stuck in traffic.
It’s a great perspective with the queued traffic snarling to a standstill while the lone cyclist …
Mythbusting: “Hardly anyone cycles”
Getting cycleways over the line in Christchurch (and the rest of New Zealand) has always been a difficult task, with various concerns about cost, car-parking, traffic restrictions, potential conflicts, you name it. It’s interesting to note though how often we …
New cycling research causes a flurry
Three interesting research reports about cycling have just been publicly released by the NZ Transport Agency and already they’re causing a bit of a stir around cycling circles (and elsewhere…). We previously alluded to these pieces of work being underway, …
First look: Chch Adventure Park
After all the anticipation, it was great to see the Christchurch Adventure Park open in mid-December. Since then, heaps of people have flocked to the park to try out the mountain bike trails and other facilities. Apparently the …
Cycling in the Heat
Some might say it’s a nice problem to have, but when the mercury is pushing 30 degrees (or even a sunny 20), sometimes it’s just hard work to hop on your bike. I guess we should be thankful that it …
Book Review: The Bike and Beyond
The Bike and Beyond: Life on Two Wheels in Aotearoa New Zealand
by Laura Williamson (104pp., Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, RRP $14.99 e-book $4.99)
I recently waded my way through David Byrne’s intriguing but dense travelogue Bicycle Diaries – …
What price for a cycleway?
One of the more contentious issues recently regarding Christchurch’s Major Cycleways revolved around the proposal to purchase two properties in Somerfield to create a new link between Roker and Barrington Streets as part of the Quarryman’s Trail cycleway. This option …
Cycling in Christchurch 2016 – The cycling city continues to build
“Rebuild” – that term seems to have been in the local lexicon ever since the 2010-11 Canterbury earthquakes. And yet, more than ever, 2016 really felt like a year when the rebuild really was in full swing across Christchurch. I’ve …
Photo of the Day: The pub run – by bike
It’s the end of the working year for many; time to put your feet up and perhaps enjoy a favourite drink. It so happens that my work is located directly above a pub (handy for those “downstairs meeting room” appointments…)…
All aboard the Heathcote Expressway consultation
It’s been a busy couple of months in terms of Major Cycleway consultations. So far we’ve seen three planned routes rolled out for public feedback, and there’s one more to squeeze in before Christmas – the Heathcote Expressway. Originally, …
Guest Photo of the Day: Playcentre Bike Parking
A good sign that cycling is becoming normalised in Christchurch is when it’s not just the clichéd “lycra road warriors” to be seen riding to work or for exercise. So it was nice to receive this photo from …
Bike and bus to the airport
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In the past week I had to travel to Wellington twice, necessitating early starts to catch the 7.05am “red eye”. My wife needed the car (and that would have still cost $25/day for parking). I didn’t fancy paying $60 a …
Cycling in the Wet
Another dreary wet day and inevitably the number of people cycling takes a nosedive. Perhaps you are a “fairweather cyclist”. Perhaps you’d like to become more of an “all-weather” rider. So how to do that?
Disclaimer: I will mention some …
Cycling in the Wind
While it’s nice that Christchurch doesn’t have much in the way of hills to deal with, it makes up for that by having fairly persistent winds. One day it’s a strong nor’wester, then it’s a beast’ly easterly, then a …
Hidden Treasures: Chch Northern Railway Cycleway
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Long before the Major Cycleways were even a consideration, the Railway Cycleway was Christchurch’s original separated cycleway. Following the northern rail corridor, it provides an almost uninterrupted riding experience from Riccarton to Northcote.
The Christchurch Railway Cycleway was developed in …
Suburban Car Parking and the Bike
It seems to be the subject that you can’t get away from when talking about any development in town. The latest Metro Sports Facility plans pop up for example, and all I hear on social media is “where will we …
Guest Post: Hawkes Bay – Lovin’ the Network
Guest blogger Robert has been visiting Hawkes Bay…
Sometimes during the debate “are cycleways a good thing for Christchurch” it is easy to point to the great cycling cities of Europe, such as Copenhagen or Amsterdam. Then to argue …