Spokes Canterbury March 2010 Newsletter

“Government must help to eliminate cars so that bicycles can help to eliminate government.”  Slogan from Holland

 Sunday Leisure Ride 7 March

Meet at C1 Espresso Café, 150 High Street, 10:50 AM

A 20km ride suitable for less confident city cyclists. Meander along the Heathcote and Canals to Ferrymead and back. See Spokes website for more details.  

Next Sunday Leisure Ride 28 March

Watch the Spokes website for details to come.

Cycle Maintenance and Safety Workshop 

CPIT are running bike maintenance courses in March as follows:

This course will be run four times:
Monday 8 March, 7:00 - 9:00pm
Tuesday 16 March, 12:00 - 1:30pm (2:00pm if you can stay till then)
Tuesday 16 March, 4:30 - 6:30pm
Friday 19 March, 4:30 - 6:30pm

Check the Spokes website or email VerityR [at] cpit [dot] ac [dot] nz for more information  

Selwyn Mayoral Challenge/Lincoln Fire Brigade Open Day/Children's Day 

Saturday 7 March 10:30 AM   Prebbleton Reserve on Tosswill Road

Cycle the Railtrail from Prebbleton to Lincoln behind Selwyn Mayor Kelvin Coe as we have a go at winning the title of the Cycle Mad District of New Zealand.

Then join in with the fun events and activities at the Lincoln Fire Brigade's Open Day and Children's Day.

Win a new adult's Avanti bike or a prize for the best decorated child's bike. For more information go to
http://www.selwyn.govt.nz/services/roading/road-safety/bikewise-month  

Cycle Touring in Hokkaido, Japan 

St Albans Community Centre, 1047 Colombo St. Tuesday 23rd March at 7:30- 9:00

Join Kimika and Nigel Rushton as they escape the dripping humid heat of a Honshu summer to embark on an epic 2,000km, 5 week cycle touring adventure. 

Come and see what they let themselves in for as they pedal the highways, byways and rail trails of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido during August of 2009. Hosted by NZ Japan Society of CanterburyAll welcome, free admission. 

Teens Overcoming Driving Addiction  

It seems that the Digital Generation is finding its social outlet on line and the demand for a driver's license is down. U.S. data has 30.7 percent of 16-year-olds getting licenses in 2008, compared with 44.7 percent in 1988.   

Christchurch Grows Up? 

You might have heard in the news that CCC have now released the report that Danish urban design guru Jan Gehl prepared for them; see http://www.ccc.govt.nz/jangehl

Lots of good things from a cycling perspective, including cutting back motor traffic in town and using the river corridor more.

Be certain to let your councillor know that you welcome such forward thinking and would like to live long enough to enjoy it.

New York experimented with similar ideas and closed parts of Broadway. Started as an experiment it has been so successful that it is now permanent. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said that a reduction in injuries to pedestrians and motorists, along with a warm response from merchants and tourists, had persuaded him to retain the eight-month-old pedestrian plazas in Times Square and Herald Square.  

SPOKES on Wikipedia?  

There's been a rather brief article on Wikipedia about Spokes for a wee while now: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokes_Canterbury  

Some Wikipedia administrator has recently tagged this page as not demonstrating notability. This might result in the page being deleted. You can help with this. Go to the talk page of the article, as there are some ideas and instructions about what to do: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Spokes_Canterbury And then start adding to that article.   

NZTA Encourages Cycling       in        Auckland 

The New Zealand Transport Agency is encouraging Auckland commuters to cycle to work. Even with all the money pouring down the roading rat hole the stark reality of unmanageable roading congestion means that the government is forced to encourage more of us onto our bicycles. Perhaps Auckland could be seen as an example of why single occupancy vehicles do not work?

Check the link and pass it on to friends in Auckland. They could even win a bike.http://www.aucklandtrains.co.nz/2009/12/17/nzta-to-encourage-auckland-motorists-to-bike-to-work-instead/  

Bikes are not Just for Riding 

http://www.instructables.com has some interesting things you can do with bikes.

A sample here..... http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Blender/ http://www.instructables.com/id/Solar-Powered-Trike/  

Google Maps Bike There

Google maps is advocating Google to become proactive in its community to encourage cycling. It seems that the Google campus in Mt. View CA is not a fun place to cycle to. Check out the link: http://googlemapsbikethere.org/   

Frocking God Mother?  

The Chief Financial Officer of Giant Bicycles, Bonnie Tu, has a vision of women designing bicycles for women. At Giant, they already do.

Many a woman has complained that kitchens designed by men don’t work. The same can be said for bicycles. With women designing bicycles one can envision flocks of humanized cycles ridden by tastefully attired women. It could do wonders to defuse road rage, and children would have role models to encourage them to cycle to school and cycle civily.

 If Bonnie Tu prevails future cycle ads will feature style, comfort and functionality. The corporate culture at Giant includes cycling, even to the point of executives expected to ride to annual meetings in remote locations. (A splendid suggestion for all corporate meetings?) 

Read the article at: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article6946506.ece

Cycling Lessens Mortgagee Sales

A new report from the U.S. based Natural Resources Defence Council shows a direct link between the transportation costs associated with a given neighbourhood and its default rate.

It seems that people saddled with high transportation costs are less able to service their mortgage.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/yh5dee5
Download the 2.2mb pdf report here: http://tinyurl.com/y9kjhal

Free Bike Trailer Hire 

Try out a bike trailer for a month for free. See how fun and easy it is to carry loads without a car. Carry groceries, ladders, fruit, kayaks, windsurfers, kite surfers, library books, bikes, musical instruments, pets, tools, billboards, garage sale treasures, pinecones, white bait nets, firewood, etc. Contact Steven Muir email steve [at] cycletrailers [dot] co [dot] nz  Phone 03 3658238  (Editors Note: I am always amazed at how cars suddenly give me a wide berth when I am towing my trailer.)  

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