Christchurch - day 2

Day two was dry and a bit warmer ... (unlike day one)

This was my bike, which was so very kindly lent to me by David of Velo-ideale. She was an absolute beauty, and coincidentally almost the same bike as the one that I am doing up - it was very nice to road-test one with wheels!

This was the Husbands - styley!

We had such fun riding around some very special places in Christchurch ... there were moments when I could have sworn we were back in France!

The hotel had a very handy bike stand right outside, and they even let us store the bicycles inside over night!

We rode along the river and checked out the punting ... as you do ...

And we even found some conkers to take home for our youngest daughter to play with ... that really took me back - bruised knuckles, frozen fingers!!

Bicycles were everywhere - they were an icon for the city

We selected our restaurants and cafes based on bike-friendliness!

Of course we checked out every bicycle shop that we came across ...

but apart from the examples shown in the above 2 pictures (and of course David's place), all of the bicycle shops were very much - walk in ... boring, same old same old ... walk out!

But then ...

David had suggested that we visit Around Again Cycles on Ferry Road, and oh what a find - it was a bicycle Aladdin's cave!

Rumour has it that they are opening a shop next door to their present business to sell all of these beauties - reconditioned for a street near you!!

So, obviously, the decision was made that we just had to move to Christchurch. On the way back to the hotel I picked the place I wanted to live - the top floor of this building; on the corner with the balconies ... and the turret!

More everyday cyclists please

Why do we only have a Bikewise challenge in February? This is an interesting video about what is being done in the UK to get more people on bikes - every day.

As one lady says: "the perceived barriers are always much bigger than the real ones" ... "once you get back into the habit of doing it, it's quite easy really"

Ok, so the blond guy is pretty irritating, but the general ideas are good ...

"so who's with me?" as Rhys Darby says in the 2degrees advert ... it can't be that hard to get a few more people on their bikes ...

It's official - politicians love cycling!

This is just plain common sense really and obviously politicians in the Netherlands have figured out that cycling is a thing of goodness ...

Bike and Trains Study Tour, Netherlands from carltonreid on Vimeo.

There is a glimmer of hope in New Zealand - some of our politicians are starting to get the message ...

Gossip

A little bird (well, Tim actually) told me that T. White's Bikes has two more of these in stock ....

Nice price, nice design and plenty of gears for Auckland!

He also has some tasty bicycle baskets ... and as someone who keeps their finger firmly on the bicycle style pulse of Auckland, I can tell you that baskets are IN!!

Christchurch - day 1

It was a very nasty, horrid shock to the system when we landed in Christchurch ... we had left Auckland with balmy summer weather and were deposited in a very wet and cold (8 degrees and raining!) Christchurch. There was I thinking that I was being pessimistic packing a jacket - but on arrival I put on pretty much everything I had taken and then went in search of a woolly hat!

But ... cyclists in Christchurch are not to be deterred and cycle racks, although not full, were healthily occupied. And oh what cycle racks ... there are 4 in this picture alone!!

Cycle chic was fairly thin on the ground but I did spot this guy ... in a t-shirt and with bare feet! (perhaps, I'm just a wimpy Aucklander!)

We went on a bicycle pilgrimage and of course had to go and visit this

And the rain continued to come down

But we had a date ... a date with a very special man ...

David (Velo-Ideal) had very kindly offered to lend us some bicycles for our visit and his place turned out to be bicycle heaven! Check out his website, it's a beautiful thing!

This is David (lovely man) with a gorgeous red Pashley Tube Rider

This is a lovely classic Princess, if I'm not very much mistaken, and the nice young guy that works with David ... I'll leave you to figure out which is which!

I'm not too sure about this one - could be a Civia Loring?

And of course the unmistakable Pashley Guv'nor - the husband has a bit of a soft spot for these.

This is a bit of a challenge ... might have to wait for those more knowledgeable than myself to correctly identify this.

I wonder if there is a technical term for the bicycle version of a twitcher ...

"The term "twitcher" is reserved for those who travel long distances to see a rare bird that would then be "ticked", or checked off, on a list. The term originated in the 1950s, when it was used to describe the nervous behaviour of Howard Medhurst, a British birdwatcher."

Ideas?

And a yummy Pashley Delibike

A little bit of product testing was of course required ... still raining and still cold ... but it's amazing how a bit of cycling warms the cockles of your heart and brightens up your day!

I can now officially confirm that Pashleys are awesome!

Independence

How independent do you feel today?

Historical proof that I'm not barmy and that you can ride a bicycle in ordinary clothes (and even corsets and petty coats, if you so desire) - no lycra in sight ... or helmets ... or fluoro

Need some like these please

These look like just the sort of thing we need to get some proper utility/transport cycling happening in Auckland ...

Some bright spark in Wellington has cottoned on to these but nothing yet in Auckland.

We've had Japanese imports for years in the car market, and with petrol prices forecast to go up, it may pay someone to diversify and amend their business plan.

Check out Alan Preston's website to see the types of utility bicycles available in NZ.

Surprise!

Surprise! If you reduce the speed of cars, less people get hurt ...

"The safety effects of the 20 mph zones have been enormous for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers alike. In London, serious traffic injuries and fatalities have fallen by 46 percent within the zones, according to the prestigious British Medical Journal. Deaths and serious injuries sustained by children have dropped 50 percent. There's even a small spillover effect, with areas immediately adjacent to 20 mph zones seeing an eight percent reduction in total injuries and deaths. The science is so clear that in 2004 the World Health Organization endorsed 20 mph speeds as an essential strategy to save lives."

Thanks to London Cyclist for the link.

In New Zealand, we just don't 'get this'. You only have to look at the Herald to see story after story of traffic accidents caused by excessive speed - often mixed with alcohol and having children (you can drive at 15yrs in NZ) behind the wheel.

Also, why is there a special 'motoring' section in newspapers? We don't have a special public transport pull-out or a section dedicated to walking and cycling. Is it just that the car industry pays a lot in advertising and you have to have somewhere to put it all? Do countries with strong 'alternative transport' options still have this section?

Iconography

Further to my comments and suspicions that the size of your bicycle icons is directly proportional to the health of your bicycle culture ... check out these babies!

This one is almost too big to fit in the bicycle lane!

And this one has actually fallen off the side of the train!

Of course, you guessed it, these are from Copenhagen via Barcelona Cycle Chic

Looking forward to winter?

Are you looking froward to winter? ... In a strange way, I am.

It's a good opportunity to go for another Tweed ride

Luckily we don't have snow and freezing conditions like in Europe, but winter is still a great excuse to accessorize and look fabulously chic on your bicycle - I have some rather nice new 'driving' gloves that I'm looking forward to test driving!

What I actually mean is 'cycling' gloves and 'test riding' but in NZ that conjures up images of fluoro gloves with no fingers and padding on the palm. Mine are leather, with fingers and a little press studs on the wrist - very elegant!

The way it should be

In preparation for my 'Christchurch' pictures (I'm still sorting them), here's a link to the new Public Space Public Life study that has been recently completed for Christchurch city by Jan Gehl, a famous Danish urban designer. And also an incredibly inspiring presentation by Gehl Architects ...




If this video doesn't work, the link is here (it's pretty long but well worth watching!)

I am now dreaming of a pedestrianised Queen Street - rather than the 4 lane highway that we have now!

Wimps

Here's an article from the Sydney Morning Herald on sit-up bicycles and helmet laws - and as usual of course we have the rabid uninformed comments section!

And then we also have a perspective from a city that has successfully made the move from car culture to bike culture.

So they don't have many hills in this particular city but they have lots of this white stuff, freezing temperatures and some killer head winds!

p.s. sit-up bikes are also made in light weight materials with lots of gears - on ya bike Australia ... stop whining and making excuses!

It's cool and cheap!

We've just come back from a weekend in Christchurch but I'm still working through all the photos I took ... so here are a few super cool peeps around the Uni campus ...

Nice architecture!

I've spotted quite a few Raleigh 20ish style bikes around at the moment - there's a big retro thing going on ATM!

Cut-offs and jandels - pure Kiwi style!

'O' week at uni ... simple message ... cars are smelly and expensive, bicycles are cool and cheap!

This message is also being heard loud and clear in New York ...

The Perfect Circle from Matthew on Vimeo.

Bicycle for a Day

My new (old) bicycle

I have recently purchased a new old bicycle off Trademe ... to do up and be the bicycle of my dreams.

Introducing ....

My new bike (she said proudly) ... this is her Trademe picture

I've done a bit of hunting around and found a wonderful site www.oldbike.eu ...

... and have identified her as a 1950s Triumph Popular Sports Tourist (I think!)

So, this is her taken apart and ready for a bit of TLC. You will have spotted by now that she has no wheels and she has undergone a bad repaint job - a very sad state of affairs but, as they say, "we have the technology"!

She has some very nice curl-around handlebars

And a rather gorgeous chain-thingy

Keep watching for the next instalment!

60 Minutes in OZ

Australian 60 Minutes piece about the 'cycling war' in Australia ....

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=1026252

A legal perspective

A very interesting and well thought out read ...

"Last year (2008) 2,538 people were killed in the United Kingdom due directly to the presence of motor vehicles on the roads. A further 229,000 a year were injured. Countless others suffer detrimental effects from the emissions, noise and even fear of road traffic. Motor vehicles are furthermore a major source of carbon emissions, whose contribution to global warming is now surely doubted only by those with a strong vested interest and the mildly deranged. A human activity which causes this level of carnage ought to be subjected to serious scrutiny and control. However the convenience of the personal automobile has led over the last century to the development of a car culture which largely exempts motoring from the strict regulation of other areas of life in which poor practice costs lives (construction sites, workplaces, product liability, aviation, infectious disease and even dangerous animals)."

Read the rest here

From Treehugger

Thanks to Su Yin for links

And in Auckland ...

"But the increasing use of motor vehicles and more of them is affecting Auckland’s air quality – and it needs reduction but there’s no help in sight..

The report states: 'With respect to air quality, emissions of PM 10 and PM2.5 particulates and NO 2 all need to be reduced substantially to meet national standards and protect human health. Motor vehicles and domestic heating are the major contributors of these pollutants.'

The report can’t see our air getting any cleaner, because of Auckland’s addiction to motor vehicles.

'Overall emissions from vehicles will continue to be about the same despite improvements in vehicle technology simply because there are likely to be more kilometres travelled (notwithstanding public transport investment).'

Try my Bike - the peeps

Well, the 'Try my Bike Cheese and Wine evening' was a huge success! ....

It started off in a very civilised way with with some socialising, some wine and nibbles ... all in the beautiful setting of the Lake House ... with some especially laid on late summer evening sunshine!

We had a few speeches ... and then they were off!

Talking ...

Testing ...

Trying ...

Laughing ...

Picking their favourites ...

And generally having a blast!

Sue from Urban Bicycle had bought along some juicy little bicycle numbers!

Tim from Rode had also fronted up with some very tasteful transportation

And the guys from Hedgehog Bikes positively drowned us in Frock-friendly bicycles!

We also had some very nice panniers on offer

An of course we had a bit of promotion for the team ...

• Debbie and her awesome team from North Shore City Council
• Frocks on Bikes (of course!)
• Cycle Action Auckland
• Rode
• Urban Bicycle
• Hedgehog Bikes
• Cyco
• Pier Bike Hire