chainlinks

That CAN Do attitude chainlinks 2008 issue 4, deceMBer 4, issue 2008 chainlinks 2008 ISSUE 4, DECEMBER newsletter of the advocates network (nZ) is Health, Transport, Education, all Summer cycling: Editorial with implications for cycling. It will be interesting to see what policy National the pleasure and The government has changed, and does in fact have — we’ve heard very the parties with carefully thought out little on the campaign, and there is lit- policies on cycling and sustainable tle on their web site. possibilities of transport are now in opposition. In- stead of encouraging a governing party The world financial crisis will impact on our advocacy work too. It may cycling in NZ to implement its policy, advocates now Next issue; submit by 21 Jan. need to encourage parties to think result in more people looking for cheaper forms of transport. It may through, create and adopt some policy. Photos: Set your camera to 1024 x 768 mean less money available for changes We need to work, if we are to keep the pixels or more, and keep them at good/ to foster more people cycling safely, on gains we have made under the previ- better quality. ous government. Government MPs both local and national levels. How- who support cycling will need to be ever it could be that cycling is part of This will be the issue to pass on to your supported and encouraged. the infrastructure that the government non-cycling friends to inspire them to get plans to borrow and invest in, to tide on a bike. The good news is there are 18 cyclists us over the recession. We need to be in the government (another 16 on the in there, keeping the issues clear and Due out 16 February, in the middle of cross benches), and that Nick Smith, explicit while the thinking and deci- Bike Month. National’s strong voice for the envi- sions are being made. ronment, has that portfolio to manage. Mind you, he also has to manage the Cheer yourself up with the Cycle Climate Change portfolio, potential Friendly Awards; the full descriptions changes to the Resource Management of these inspiring projects are on the CAN: Cycling Advocates Network Act and to ACC — all likely to be time CAN website. Take this opportunity to PO Box 6491, Wellesley St, consuming; and ACT seems to have sign up on our web site (all welcome). , New Zealand. Tel 04 972 2552 exacted from National the chance to And have a read of the CAN Do ar- [email protected] review the science of the IPCC within ticles in this issue. There are lots of www.can.org.nz NZ’s select committee process. Infra- good things happening for cycling in structure, a new policy area that has New Zealand! Chainlinks implications for transport, has gone n ISSN 1175-9364 to Bill English. And of course there Miriam Richardson [email protected] Editor: Miriam Richardson cyclist. The cyclist was thrown sev- Contributions manager: Letters to the editor eral metres — landing on the road- Stephen Wood way, apparently fracturing a femur, Dear Editor; and still unconscious 20 minutes later. Next Quarterly Issue: February It is hugely mistaken to claim that Contributions by 21January In my experience of falling heavily compulsory helmets have ‘caused’ a Email content to: on the road many times I have never decline in cycling in NZ. I am sceptical [email protected] experienced whiplash neck injury from about statistical ‘evidence’, preferring Pictures: 1024 x 768 pixels preferred the weight of the helmet. personal experience. Advertising: [email protected] The period of compulsory helmet use Helmet use should not be a personal coincides with vastly cheaper cars; choice for children, or anyone using Webpage can.org.nz/chainlinks more congested roads and higher ur- publicly funded emergency services ban vehicle speeds, plus a lower drink- and medical care - at least for head The views expressed in ing age and increased drink driving. injuries. Chainlinks are not necessarily The argument that …most cycle im- Helmet advocates are no more of a those of CAN. pact accidents are with the flat road- self-selected group than helmet op- CAN receives financial support from way and helmets don’t add much ponents. protection… ignores kerbs and vehicle impacts. I was concussed but avoided Outside of CAN, the commonest serious injury when my front wheel reasons given why people seldom locked at low speed throwing me over cycle are traffic density and speed, not the handlebars, hitting and cracking wearing helmets. my helmet on the kerb. Simon Miller Cover photo: Photo from the On an earlier occasion, I was first (cycle commuter 40+ years) CANterbury ride on scene after a low speed collision CAW member ©2008 Gaz Sanvicens between a turning car and helmetless This correspondence is now closed. ISSN 1175-9364 2 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 3 CANDo bike loan and airport pickup service Highlights this issue Steven Muir Catching up from last issue we have Airport pickup by cycle, bike loans for commuting and n Election results and their implications for cycling p4. field trips, and for the 2-day Little River Rail Trail after the n Winners of the Gemini Cycle CAN Do. Steven Muir demon- Friendly Awards p12 strates how you CAN DO in Reports back from CAN Do in . Christchurch In October 2008, 56 cycling enthusi- n Bike pickup from the airport asts gathered for the Cycling Advo- p3 cates Network CANDo conference in Three bikes being collected by bike n The organisers’ view p9 Christchurch, which included some trailer using a bent threaded rod n The Aucklanders’ report p8 field trips by bike. Steven Muir coor- bracket to secure the front forks. dinated the bike loan to enable those n Getting people loan bikes for without bikes to participate in field The airport pickup the rides p3 trips, commute around the city and go The next piece of action happened on n Technology helps with the on the Little River Rail trail two-day the way to the digital strategy hackfest numb bum on the Little River excursion that followed the confer- on Friday morning with the meeting after CAN Do ride p9 ence. Steven also offered an airport starting at 9am. There were three peo- Getting inspired: pickup service using his tandem and ple arriving on the 9.25am flight from bike trailers that he produces himself. , two of whom (Thomas n The Digital Strategy p15 n There were eighteen people expressing and Pete) were concerned that they Sustrans: getting people out interest in a bike loan and so the first were running late and so turned down of cars in the UK p5 task was to locate suitable bikes, which the offer of a bike pickup and opted for a taxi. Nathaniel, on the other hand, Find out what’s been happening wasn’t too hard. Two local Spokes in New Zealand (p7), in local members were away for the weekend accepted the ride into town on the two were tandem, with luggage in one groups (p16), in the government and were happy to loan their fami- (p4), overseas (p6), and on the lies’ three bikes. Steven and his of Steven’s trailers. All pas- concerned sengers emerged from the web: virtual bikes for sale (p19). neighbour Nigel made up the n rest of the numbers from their that they were airport terminal about the extensive collections of bikes. running late so same time, and Steven and Nathaniel waved to the Contents turned down the others as they set off into 2 Editorial Getting the bikes bike pickup a slight head wind along 3 CAN Do bike loan and airport the relatively uncongested, The first problem was how to shuttle 60 km/hr Memorial Ave route into the transport the bikes to Steven’s house, 4 Government news Central City, expecting to be overtak- to be later handed out to delegates, 5 Sustrans en by the taxi at any moment. preferably without using a car. Steven 6 International snippets managed to do this by mounting the Twenty-four minutes (approx. 11 km) 7 New Zealand roundup three bikes on his large size trailer, later the tandem pulled in to the 8 Aucklanders at CAN Do bolting the front forks to three sets Twisted Hop café/bar where the dig- 9 Yes we CAN! of bent, threaded rod. Being the first ital strategy meeting was being held, 9 To Little River and back and time that Steven had carried more and were pleasantly surprised to see no numb bum than one bike on a trailer, it took about they had made it there first, beat- twenty minutes of fiddling around, continues p 8e 11 Marketplace removing front wheels, getting them Nathaniel and Steve about to leave the 12 Cycle Friendly Awards mounted securely, as well as locating airport on the ‘Clean Green Limousine’ 12 CAN news and profile as many lights and locks to accompany featuring one of Steven’s own trailers. 13 New staff for CAN them as possible. The setup worked 13 Farewell to retiring CAN Chair extremely well and Steven took them 14 CAN updates 7 km or so back to his house without 15 The Digital Strategy too much effort, though the pace was a bit on the slow side to avoid any po- 16 Regional groups tential accidents with the valuable and 17 Join CAN somewhat top-heavy cargo. 19 2009 Dates 19 On the web 2 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 3 ards joined us to give NZTA’s response identify some people who can help to Government news on our request for greater considera- stimulate and moderate discussions in tion of cyclists in driver instruction, various areas. The USA has an excel- driver licensing and in the Road Code. lent professional network, which can be found at http://www.apbp.org Briefing notes issued by MoT/NZTA are on the CAN website at http://tiny- url.com/5pjq3t . 7. Economic case for & cycling 2. Share the Road NZTA are embarking on a research Notes on NZTA’s response to our call project to build the economic case for a national Share the Road cam- for more walking and cycling in NZ. paign are also on the CAN website They are about to issue a Request for Pro-cycling seats in parliament (references as above). Quotation. This summary shows the number of 3. Legal issues 8. Modelling software pro-cycling seats by party (dark bars) and the total number of seats. Cyclist priority over side roads & bur- NZTA are in the process of develop- den of proof. ing an online photographic collage and This is provisional pending the official multimedia resource package to en- results. 4. NZTA walking & cycling team able people to model or demonstrate Seats 9 Nov 2008 transport solutions or options through Ian Appleton has moved out of the videos, photos or maps. This could be Pro-cycling s e a t s 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 walking and cycling team at NZTA, an extremely useful tool for CANners. Act leaving Jason Morgan and Gerry Green Dance as the only two staff in this 9. Economic Evaluation Manual Labour area. Staff will know where they’re Maori placed in the new organisation in the We briefly discussed the concept of National next few weeks, and it’s hoped that a National Cycle Network and how Progressive someone will pick up the walking and one might develop the case for it. United Future NZTA have an economic modelling Total cycling seats cycling stuff that Ian was doing. (28%) tool available that can help with this. 5. NZTA regional education The link to the Economic Evaluation http://tinyurl.com/ The summary shows pro-cycling MPs Manual software is advisors LTNZ-EEM total 34. These include National (12), Green (8), Labour (7), Maori (5), Pro- After Natalie Hazelwood’s presenta- NZTA may be able to provide training gressive (1) and United (1). These 34 tion to the CAN Do in October a cou- for a small group of CAN members. seats total 28% of all seats in Parlia- ple of CAN groups have tried to en- ment. gage with regional education advisors The National Cycle Network idea at their regional NZTA offices, only could be a useful one to catch the at- In combination National, Maori, Act to be told that their ‘assist and advise’ tention of the new government. It may and United total 18; Labour, Green role only relates to Approved Organi- need to be presented in a way that and Progressive total 16 seats. sations. I raised this with Gerry and shows the overall vision but also iden- Jason who tell me that this is not the tifies some key sections that could be case, and that the education advisors tackled first up. NZTA meeting report will be reminded that they are also to Patrick Morgan and Robert Ibell had liaise with community organisations, 10. Footpath & shared foot/ CAN’s regular monthly catch-up with including user groups. cyclepath survey report NZTA staff in November. There are quite a few things of interest to report: 6. Professional walking & cycling NZTA have just published a report giving results from a survey about http://tiny- network Notes on points 1, 2 and 3: pedestrian footpaths, and shared foot- url.com/NZTA-nov08 We asked whether any professional paths/cycleways which was conducted networks had already been set up for with some territorial local authorities 1. Driver training/licensing & the people working in the area of sustain- between 30 April and 30 May 2008. Road Code able transport. Apparently there is It’s available at http://tinyurl.com/NZTA- an e-mail group set up by Local Govt survey08 (Word doc). n As a result of our meeting with An- NZ (http://tinyurl.com/localgovt-maillist) nette King and Harry Duynhoven in which may be open to people in the September on our Nine Point Plan for private sector and organisations like Cycle Safety, Jim Furneaux, NZTA’s CAN. This group is currently pretty Manager of Driver Licensing Stand- inactive, and we offered to help NZTA 4 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 5 Sustrans From being, in one employee’s words: ‘eight people working out of a shed with good ideas’ back in ‘95, they now have 2,500 volunteers, 270 paid staff, and £26 million (70m NZD) annual income.

The founder has been given a CBE. Their aim is to get people out of cars and into more sustain- Early morning journey to able forms of transport. They are school & commuters on traffic- well known and popular, and the free greenway, Bristol & Bath Railway Path . cycle network they have created © J Bewley/Sustrans passes within 3 km of 75% of peo- ple in the UK. They are Sustrans. the trunk: Sustrans has a portfolio of ite ‘Millennium Project’ after they many separate yet interrelated projects delivered twice the length of cycle Living in the UK, and intrigued by this (see text box). routes they first proposed. Connect2, buoyant charity, I decided to visit Sus- one of their latest projects to improve trans’s head office in Bristol. It wasn’t One of the most exciting of these is cycleways in urban areas, compre- so hard to find. By day, employees’ Bike It, in which a Sustrans officer hensively won a public vote (televised bikes are chained to every inch of the works full-time promoting cycling in Pop Idol style) against four other cast iron fence outside. in four schools. It’s proved to be a major charities for the allocation of successful intervention: the percent- The first aspect of their work I learned £50 million. They attracted some me- age of children cycling to school rises about was the National Cycle Net- dia attention (and the wrath of beaten generally from under 1% to a work (NCN) which consists of both finalist David Bellamy) for sustained level of 12–14%. ‘the work that custom-built infrastructure and dis- the fact that Sustrans encour- used railway corridors and links many Andy believes the kids are we do makes aged its supporters to vote in of the cities of the UK to each other. key. “What we are reaping people from the the three ways available, not On a Sustrans route, a multitude of at the moment is the lost just one. There is evidence, blue signs guides you along bike paths generation of people who health sector talk however that all the finalists and quiet or traffic calmed roads in didn’t cycle when they to people from the used such a strategy. In any an unbroken link through country- were children. Pe ople who transport sector case, there’s no doubt that side and city alike. If someone knows are now the car drivers in Sustrans has an impressive just one thing about Sustrans, it will the UK didn’t cycle in the or the education level of public support. probably be the Network. But Andy 80’s and nineties. And all sector.’ So what lessons can Kiwi cy- Wishart, the director of the NCN, the evidence shows if children cle advocates take from the suc- is keen to stress that his project is a learn the habits, they will carry that cess of Sustrans? Of course we can’t major branch of the Sustrans tree, not on.” simply import templates. The UK, A selection of Sustrans projects Sustrans’s family-friendly approach among other things, lacks real moun- n National Cycle Network: the flag- does not escape criticism. Some say tains, NZ lacks a certain population ship network of routes across the that the NCN routes are too focused density, lottery money distributed in country on segregating motorised and cycle huge chunks, and a bunch of rail corri- n Connect2: the extension of the traffic, and cyclists are ushered off dors made redundant in the 60’s. So is NCN, focusing on bridging barriers roads onto less direct routes, when there anything of Sustrans’s approach to walking and cycling in the urban they should be asserting their right to we can emulate in New Zealand? the road. Spokesperson Matt Davies environment One of the strengths of Sustrans seems sees this view as utopian. “People gain n Travel Smart: Sustrans officers to be their ability to ‘cut across verti- confidence on the NCN and then may provide door-to-door personalised cal silos’. Andy: ‘what we’ve found is move on to ‘reclaim the open road’.” information to the public about their that the work that we do makes people sustainable transport options. Sustrans has a history of public ac- from the health sector talk to peo- n Bike it: active, intensive promotion claim — back in the 90’s, the NCN ple from the transport sector or the of cycling in schools. won an award for the public’s favour- education sector.’ continues back page 4 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 5 com/londonmayor2), and them. (respectively about NZ $170 International snippets has agreed to allow mo- and NZ $85). The helmets and hats torcycles to share the bus are of Danish design and produced by Bike-Thru window banking lanes (http://tinyurl.com/londonmayor3), a Danish firm, but she thought they The drive through windows at fast a privilege previously extended only to may not be “Made in Denmark” due food restaurants and banks are be- cyclists. to high labour cost. Compared to the cost in Denmark of a normal helmet ing augmented with ride throughs in His comments on cycle helmets also about NZ$ 115 this does not seem to the USA. See it in action at a bank draw mixed responses: “As for cycle be over priced. (with complimentary water; a nice helmets, we should be allowed, in our http://tinyurl.com/bike-thru touch) muddled way, to make up our own It would be good to see our very in- (video 1:00) minds. Sometimes we will go for hat- novative kiwis create our own fashion- less, sun-blessed, windswept liberty; able version. Cycles in Africa sometimes for helmeted security. The important thing is that Cycling at 106 in Vienna we assess the risk, we make the decision, and be it on Being hit by an inattentive car driver our own heads — or, in the at an intersection brought a 106 year case of my helmet, some- old woman into the news in Vienna. times not.” (http://tinyurl. She suffered only bruises, and her com/londonmayor4) identity has been kept secret, so that’s all we know! A couple of weeks ago, a frustrated London com- muter filmed a stretch of his Peace pedallers since 2002 ride to work and stuck it on YouTube. (http://tinyurl.com/ Rent or borrow one of their bikes and londonmayor5) join Jamie Bianchini and Garryck Hampton riding their tandem-single www.flickr.com/groups/africanbicycles/ It is not the most gruelling mountain bikes (“Tangles”) from Bra- journey, but this is the very zil to Alaska in 2009. For 2 weeks or 2 One of many ways Big Bodas are currently being stretch of road where father- months, part time Peace Pedaling with used in East Africa http://tinyurl.com/5ggugo of-two Nick Wright ended this travel-savvy pair is an experience ©2008 Ed Lucero photographer up killed by a lorry just days you will never forget, they tell us. [But before the footage was shot. And with not, I think, on the bike pictured be- Earning money by cyclingr so little space for cyclists, it’s easy to low. Ed.] peacepedalers.org n see how that kind of accident could Project Peak Hour for Cyclists : Any- have happened. one cycling to work from Zaandam or Amsterdam Noord, in the Nether- lands, in the last week of September, More on Haute Couture helmets could earn €5.00 a day. This was a spe- Last month’s item on fashionable cycle cial campaign week to draw attention helmets sent Liz Mikkelsen investigat- to cycling as an alternative to com- ing. muting by car as well as to stimulate people to actually use their . From the internet I sourced where http://tinyurl.com/6cvhlu the helmets could be purchased and came up with this list: Den- mark, UK, Ireland, Germany, London Switzerland, Spain and Italy. On the website you can see how they London’s new mayor is a cyclist, but are fitted www.yakkay.com)( . Since his first moves in office have not en- I have a sister in one of the towns deared him to the cycling or Green where the helmets can be bought, contingents. The mayor has over- I charged her with sending me more turned the fundamental philosophy information re these very smart hel- that the needs of buses, bicycles and mets. So here it is: pedestrians must be placed above all A 24-carat gold-plated fixed gear bike else (http://tinyurl.com/londonmayor1). The helmets are comfortable and very studded with more than 600 Swarowski He has ended proposals for introduc- smart looking. The cost in Denmark is: crystals by Scandinavian design firm ing an anti pollution/congestion CO2 d.kr. 599 for the helmet and d.kr. 299 Aurumania (£65,000). Add £4,000 for the charge on motor vehicles (http://tinyurl. for the different types of hat to go with gold-plated wall mount.

6 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 7 The economic justification of NZ Roundup cycle tourism Otago Central Rail Trail Economic The Great Harbour Way Impact & Trends Survey 2008

Find out how the Rail Trail impacts on the businesses and communities it goes through. http://tr.im/13zo pdf 748kb http://www.centralotagorailtrail.co.nz. n GETACROSS A group of walkers prospecting the The Getacross Campaign has over seaside route between Petone 10,000 supporters online, but getting and Wellington the project included in the Regional Land Transport Programme (RLTP) for assessing against There has been a groundswell of support Cycling participation Would you like from local authorities in the Wellington other walking and cy- Region for the Great Harbour Way, a cycling survey in Dunedin to walk & cycle cling projects is seem- and walking route around Wellington ingly impossible. It is Carla Jellum has a summer over the Auckland harbour (greatharbourway.org.nz). Fifty very disappointing at this studentship to exam- people attended a public meeting in October Harbour Bridge? 11th hour that such a ine cycling participation that called for the route to be adopted as part basic issue as the right to in a sample of Dunedin of the regional cycling and walking network, submit a project to the RLTP is being households — she will be looking at and for urgent action to be undertaken to fix debated and tossed around between what equipment people are using; the gap between Petone and Wellington, the three key bodies — the Auckland expenditure on cycling equipment and preferably with a new cycle/walking path on Regional Council (ARC), Auckland activities (e.g.travel); concerns regard- the seaward side of the rail line. The existing Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) ing access and cycling safety inadequate track is squeezed between the rail and NZ Transport Authority within Dunedin and wider line and the highway. Vote “yes” on (NZTA). Otago region; cycle club Following this meeting, and submis- membership motivations and getacross.org.nz Cycle Action Auckland is vi- sions to general demographic data for a healthy tally concerned to ensure the and the Greater Wellington Regional - the household survey will public interest is served by Council, WCC has included the Great seek data from all household transport putting the bridge project into Harbour Way in its submission on the members of any cycling age. choice the RLTP, to ensure the public Regional Cycling Plan, and the Re- transparency and accountability gional Walking Plan includes investi- this project deserves, plus a means gation of the Petone-Wellington link Sustainable transport to progress a funding decision if the in its actions. in Southland project is adopted in the RLTP. The Great Harbour Way is being pro- But –amazing progress has been Sustainable Transport Southland is moted by a coalition that includes Cy- made! Mike Lee, Chairman of the beginning work towards a sustainable cle Aware Wellington, Living Streets Auckland Regional Council has chal- transport choices programme to en- Wellington, and Hutt City Rotary Club lenged the NZTA to open one lane of courage alternatives to private vehicle who are keen to develop the route, the Auckland Harbour Bridge to walk- travel. building on their experience in imple- ers and cyclists on the weekends and menting the Hutt River Trail. The project includes gathering infor- public holidays. If a judgement not to mation of existing public transport add the walkway and cycleway is being While it will still be some time before services, developing a sustainable based on the cost relative to projected the gap is fixed for cyclists and walkers transport choices programme, and demand by walkers and cyclists, then the prospects are more hopeful than delivering workshops on cycling and this 3 month trial proposed for the they have been since the original cycle walking to work. summer offers a wonderful opportu- path was allowed to deteriorate in the Contact Ken Wuschke, (03) 217 2571 nity for Aucklanders and visitors to 1970s. [email protected] prove that ‘if you put it there, people will use it’. n 6 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 7 Sunday was the last day of CANDo bike service continues from p3 the conference and, while ing the taxi by a clear five minutes. Steven was rounding up Thomas and Pete had apparently made all the loan bikes to be a small detour to look at previous returned home on the car places of employment, and then were trailer, Rory used his tan- dropped 50 m or so from the actual dem and BOB trailer, with venue, which slowed them a minute or Steven’s old Dahon folding three, but it still seems a good example bike, to accompany three The CAN Do Saturday of how unexpectedly efficient the bicy- delegates (one with his own bike ride about to leave cle really is in terms of commuting. bike) back to the airport. Steven dropped another two delegates Aucklanders at CAN Do to the airport later on Sunday, and had Barb Insull & Barb Cuthbert another trip to the airport on Monday to retrieve a loan bike from an early CAN Do: Four enthusiastic Cycle Ac- morning self-drop-off. tion Auckland committee members attended the CAN Do in Christchurch Arriving late: they turned down the bikes There were a foolproof system a few more and loved every minute. By the end for tracking who has the whole national scene/big picture After another trip to the airport and bike retrievals had fallen into place. back, Steven turned his thoughts to on Monday what bike would be after it became the eleven bikes required after the very helpful Immaculate preparation character- digital strategy meeting around 4 pm. clear who had ised the CAN Do! Bikes were lent if There wasn’t time to do four runs us- taken a bike on the Rail Trail and who we needed them, the meetings were ing the trailer, back and forth had left theirs in the conference bike held in some of Christchurch’s most to the Twisted Hop, with associated shelter. It was quite hard to keep track beautiful heritage buildings, delicious loading and unloading times, so the of who had which bike, as the initial healthy food was provided almost car-free principle was sacrificed, and allocations were all changed when continuously and the Cycle Friendly the bikes were put on a car trailer for preferences for size, suspension and Awards were an event of true drama! mass delivery. This proved to be the bike racks all emerged, despite a table After the weekend conference twelve most frustrating part of the weekend of bikes and delegates being kept. One of us rode off along the Little River as the Twisted Hop is on a very narrow puncture was suffered and resulted in Rail Trail into a bike-stalling head- street, and the Poplar Street entrance a bike swap also. Eventually all bikes wind to our Okuti Garden Eco Stay. was blocked by a campervan. Steven were returned to their original owner, After a divine home-cooked meal we had to circle the block (avoiding sev- but a foolproof system for tracking fell into cosy beds at our a gorgeous eral one way streets) and find another who has which bike would be very organic retreat — some in caravans, side road to get in, and some in a yurt or a house truck. The unloaded in a great hurry, fit ones biked home over the Port Hills before a traffic parking while the rest of us returned in more attendant started glar- leisurely fashion along the rail trail. ing at the car and trailer We never heard whether Robbie from blocking the road. In the Hamilton made it back, in the dark, end Steven departed with cross country, the same day! Guess the car and returned on we’d have heard if he hadn’t! a more practical bike to sort out the lights and There was a great sense of camarade- locks for everyone. 3 travellers for the airport: Rory securing rie at CAN DO and we all left feeling the baggage for three people to the BOB trailer. we had friends in all the other local On Saturday the CAN groups and CAN exec. There have helpful for anyone considering such a Do conference started and required been quite a few emails back and forth scheme for another conference. All in a further five bikes to be delivered. continuing topics brought up in con- all, it was a fair bit of work, but much which was achieved by biking on one versation at the conference. We are appreciated by those who received a bike, holding the other bike at the side, keen to organise some ‘sub-regional bike and so well worth the effort. n then jogging the short distance back meetings’ for the upper North Island. home to collect the next set of bikes. This took about the same time as To get one of Steven’s bike trailers contact him by email We will all be returning setting up a bike trailer to carry [email protected] or phone 03 365 8238. to CAN Do next year three bikes. Conference delegates Kitset: $180 small, $200 large. Fully made trailer +$140 for wheels. — and bringing a few then enjoyed a pleasant outing Trailers in your region more along with us. An- through Hagley Park and Riccar- Steven is looking for people with an engineering bent and access to a other digital workshop ton Bush on their lunch break. tube bender to produce and sell these trailers in their own region. and 2 day ride please! n

8 Chainlinks 4 2008 Yes we CAN! To Little River and back CAN Do 2008 with no numb bum! Christina Burns Gaz Sanvicens The 2008 CAN Do was a success. With Last autumn my enjoyment of attendance at a record level, feedback the Rail Trail was marred by a was very positive and the weekend numb bum. This year, with a went like clockwork. new saddle, it was a different The CAN Do is the annual meeting story. of members of the Cycling Advocates Network (CAN). This year’s CAN Do The Little River rail trail is a linear was hosted by Christchurch at the narrow off-road cycle/walking track Our City venue on October 3–5, 2008. in Canterbury which used to be a nar- 56 members attended, with 18 local row gauge single track railway line. and it only put more weight on my groups represented. There are fabulous vistas and many knees (with potential for damage) and wildfowl — White Herons, Spoonbills, numbness in the palms of my hands, The CAN Do opened with the Hack- Canada Geese, Black Swans, Pied Stilts even though I wear Specialized Body fest. The all-day workshop showcased to name a few of the ones spotted. Geometry gel padded gloves. how groups can use the Digital Strat- egy and the new CAN website to their Last autumn some members of the In addition there were health related advantage. This included setting up CAN executive and staff rode the trail articles on the numb bum issue with their group’s web space. to the CAN ‘Exec away’ week-end concerns over trapped nerves and held in Te Oka on Banks Peninsula. reduced blood supply (due to crushing The Gemini Cycle Friendly Awards However, my enjoyment of the ride the soft tissue of the groin). This could celebrated national and local cycle- was marred by a progressive numb- results in exacerbating pre-existing, or friendly initiatives. The Hon. Lianne ness creeping over my bum and groin causing the onset of, prostate prob- Dalziel hosted the awards. The ViaS- area. The numbness was relieved with lems in men as well as sexual dysfunc- trada website has made the awards temporary halts and shifting around in tion for both men and women! presentation available (pdf 3.8mb). the saddle. With CAN chair Robert Ibell step- The Moon Saddle and variants with ping down, CAN’s AGM voted for a Fortunately a member of CAN’s staff ‘no nose’ were of concern since there new executive. Glen Koorey and Axel shared a magazine article extolling was nothing to tuck one’s thigh into on Wilke were elected as co-chairs. This the virtues of the Moon Saddle as a a downhill to prevent sliding off side- marked the end of Robert’s 3-year solution for numb bum. The article ways. Also the makers recommended term as chair. had some web links which I followed a sloping saddle set up, which would up on my return home. In addition, I only put more pressure on the knees The CAN Do is a space to share ideas explored the web by doing a Google and palms of the hands. and knowledge. Session topics in- search on ‘cycling numb bum’. cluded relationship building, success- The saddle I found that really im- ful campaigns, funding for cycling Different saddle designs have been pressed me was the Italian Selle SMP projects, submissions, and member- proposed from the radical ‘no nose’ saddle, designed by urologists, who ship. There was also discussion on how crescent moon shaped Moon Saddle had done excellent medical physiology CAN and local groups can best work to exceptional cut outs. I already used research on the interaction between together. 18 local groups presented a cut out saddle made by Topeak, but the saddle, different rider positions their successes and challenges of the the softness of the gel was still uncom- and the pelvic bone and soft tissue last year. Notes are available on the fortable even though I wore Ground areas of the groin. This saddle, as can CAN Do 2008 webpage (can.org.nz/2008- Effect Juggernaut Softail liners. be seen from the photos, has a huge can-do). Cycling field trips throughout cut out and firm narrow rails on either the weekend allowed attendees to see Others had tried to solve the problem side to provide support only to the the cycle infrastructure in Christch- by setting up their bikes with slop- pelvic bones. ing saddles. However, I tried that first urch. Bike loans and an airport pickup I emailed the manufacturers service were generously provided by in Italy who replied instantly Steven Muir. The CAN Do came to a informing me of their agent close with a two-day ride on the Little in Howick, Auckland. I was River Rail Trail. This was the perfect amazed when the agent advised opportunity to see the countryside and saddles were in stock at my local explore Banks Peninsula. Thank you bike shop, Hot Cycles on Long to all who attended and had a hand in Drive, St. Heliers! (I note these making this event such a success. n 8 Chainlinks 4 2008 can now be bought on-line via their updated web site). Hot Cycles did a saddle fit and bike set up. The saddle was fitted by sit- ting on a piece of memory foam that left an imprint of where the pelvic bones are from the pressure indents in the foam. By measuring the distance between the centres of these pelvic bone impressions in the foam, they were able to gauge the exact saddle size for me.

From the wide selection http://tinyurl.com/jimlangley of different saddle mod- http://tinyurl.com/sellesmp els, I chose a Selle SMP Pro saddle with firm padding over the side rails and rear which is much more suited to recreational riders. The bike set up was done by observation of my riding position and adjustment of the handle bar height (so that the riding position was slightly more upright from the previous more downward position). The result was a firm saddle, which took some getting used to, but with no pressure on the groin, knees or palms of the hands and greater pedalling power! Having ridden around Auckland and the waterfront on Tamaki Drive for a couple of months on mainly short 10 –20 km rides, I have experienced no problems with numbness in my bum or hands. Wow that was great! However, I realised the “acid test” would be re-riding the Little River rail trail, wearing the same Ground Ef- fect Softail liners. That opportunity came following the CAN Do in Christchurch with the CANterbury Ride to Little River. The result — I am a really happy bunny! No numb bum or hands! The ride this time was so enjoyable despite the strong NE wind gusting sideways, and head-on at times, and a grunt back on the Summit Road over the Port Hills. As with many things in life we “get what we pay for”! The Selle SMP Pro saddle may be considered expensive (at around $300) but so worth it in order to enjoy long distance rides and cycle touring again. KPO — Keep Peddling On! Happy cycling! n

10 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 11 Market place

$45 / $55 Sizes: S M L

Reflective pack cover $25 / $35

Spacemaker $15 / $25 Hinged to fold when parked

Prices Member / Non member Three ways to order 1 :: Deposit money in Kiwibank 38-9005-0922435-01 :: Email order, contact and delivery details to [email protected]. 2 :: Send cheque to CAN, PO Box 6491, Auckland :: Include order, contact and delivery details. 3 :: Credit card: can.org.nz/shop

10 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 11 CAN in the media Gemini • Cycle to your polling booth on voting day! (1 Nov) Cycle-Friendly • Cycling advocates call for full re- view of cycle accident at the K2 Awards 2008 Cycle Challenge. (1 Nov) • Government by National threat- ens cycling. (25 Oct) • Cycle helmet safety regulations questioned. (22 Oct) • Cycling stirs up pre-election agendas. (18 Oct) • New executive team for CAN. (4 The Minister of Commerce, the Hon Oct) , presented the awards to • Gemini Cycle-Friendly Awards the winners and finalists. CAN Co-Chair Glen Koorey (right) winners announced. (1 Oct) n Avanti Award for Best Cycle Facil- recently visited sustainable transport • Cycling advocates call for cy- ity Project: District expert Todd Litman (VTPI) in his clists to vote ‘with their wheels.’ hometown of Victoria, Canada. Glen Council for Foreshore Coastal Pathway. n (28 Sept) will tell us more about his trip to Finalists: North Shore City Council for Lake Road, Devonport - Takapuna Cyclelane; the Pacific Northwest (and the 2008 NZTA, Nelson for Atawhai Off-road shared ProWalk-ProBike conference) in the cycleway/walkway. next issue of ChainLinks. n NZ Transport Agency Award for Best Cycling Promotion: Tauranga The new Glen Koorey City Council for Kids Can Ride — for life. CAN Co-Chair Finalists: Manawatu TriAthlon Club for Man- CAN exec Hi, I’m Glen Koorey, one of CAN’s awatu TriA Club’s Summer Series for Adults new Co-Chairs. Those of you & Kids; & partners At the AGM on 4 October 2008, who’ve been around CAN a while for Selwyn Mayoral Cycling Challenge. Glen Koorey and Axel Wilke were will know that I was previously on n elected as co-chairs to replace NZ Transport Agency Award for the CAN Exec until 2005. Since Cycle-Friendly Commitment by Robert Ibell, chair for the last three then, I’ve been doing my best to Business: Bike Central for Cyclist Serv- years. avoid a lot of cycling advocacy ices/Facilities at Britomart Transport “We are very thankful for Robert’s work, mainly because of the small Centre. Finalists: Cycle Tour Operators New fantastic leadership over the last matter of a PhD in highway safety Zealand for Group formation & “Sharing the three years, and are glad that he that I’m trying to finish. With the Road” protocols; Nextbike for Nextbike – has made himself available to con- prospect of thesis completion now Public bikes. tinue on the executive”, Wilke said. looming, I’ve been enticed to come n ViaStrada Award for Cycle- back and help out with CAN again. Adrian Croucher and Liz Friendly Commitment by a Public Axel is currently looking after Mikkelsen were confirmed as sec- Organisation: NZTA for Bike Wise things in CAN for the next half- retary and treasurer, respectively. Week. Finalists: Dunedin for Share the Road year or so, after which I will take Last year’s executive members in Central Otago and Queenstown; NIWA for over the reins (thanks, I think). Andrew Macbeth, Jane Dawson, cycle friendly culture and support Robert Ibell, Gaz Sanvicens and Away from CAN, I’m a lecturer n Boulter Consulting Award for Cy- Graeme Lindup will also contin- in transportation engineering at cling Champion of the Year: Robert ue. Christine Cheyne and Bevan Canterbury University - this comes Ibell — Chair of Cycling Advocates Net- Woodward were welcomed back in pretty handy for dealing with work. Finalists: Bevan Woodward - Chair of after a break, while Anne Fitzsimon cycling issues (and promoting the Cycle Action Auckland – Getacross Auckland is new to the executive. right stuff to our future budding Harbour Bridge; Graeme Lindup, Chairman engineers)! And when that isn’t Stephen McKernon and Illona of the North Taranaki Cycle Advocates .n enough work, I can count on my Keenan retired from the executive, Read about the projects: wife and four kids to keep me busy. though Illona has since been co- http://tinyurl.com/cycle-friendly-awards n opted back on following a change in circumstances. Magdalena Lorenzo has also been co-opted on, $$ available for local groups and Andre Cymbalista will be simi- See feature box on page 15. larly coopted soon. n 12 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 13 Claire has her own event management Contact CAN CAN staff profiles business, Infinite Ingenuity. She is also a whiz quiz mistress! She can be found :: Chair, Axel Wilke and Glen Koorey, [email protected] Christina entertaining the crowds at Welling- ton’s Courtenay Arms on Wednesdays :: Deputy Chair, Illona Keenan, [email protected] Burns and grilling the geeks at the Para- :: Secretary, Adrian Croucher, [email protected] CAN Intern mount Movie quiz nights on Thursday :: Treasurer, Liz Mikkelsen, [email protected] Christina came nights. Claire’s background is in public relations. staff all the way from Canada to work Previously she was President of the :: Networking Project Co-ordinator Patrick Morgan, [email protected] with CAN. Yes, Student Association at Massey Uni- Wellington: 04 385 4967 / 027 563 4733 she does love versity, Wellington, and the founder :: Networking Project Officer, South Island maple syrup! of the Massey student radio station, Fiona Whero, [email protected], Her 12-week internship is part of her MUNT FM. Claire grieved for her Christchurch: 03 366 2645 / 027 449 1845 university studies in environmental priceless, pink bike when it was stolen :: Networking Project Officer, Upper NI politics. recently. If you see “Starlight” on the Anne Gummer, [email protected] Some of you may recognize her from streets of Wellington, be sure to con- Auckland: 09 378 0953 / 027 449 1848 n Tues–Fri 9am–2.30pm the CAN Do. In addition to help at tact the Wellington CAN office. :: CAN Administrator that event, Christina is updating the Claire Metcalf, [email protected] Local Advocacy Group Handbook, Wellington: 04 385 4967 setting up a permanent internship Staffers wish Robert :: Digital Strategy Coordinator programme, assisting the start-up of [email protected] Andre Cymbalista, Hutt Cycle Action, and updating the well — what a great 021 773 839 website. person to work with some Executive roles Christina is a new commuter cyclist. :: Membership secretary, She says learning to cycle in traffic for Robert Ibell’s steward- [email protected] Adrian Croucher, the first time, on the other side of the ship as CAN Chair :: Email & DNS Server Administrator, Thomas road, in Wellington, has been heaps of has been fantastic [email protected] Schwarz, fun. She would like to thank Marilyn from the staff’s point :: Media & marketing co-ordinator, Northcotte for kindly lending her a of view. We are glad Stephen McKernon, [email protected] bike during her time here. Robert is staying on the CAN Executive Other CAN roles Her internship continues until Christ- and will be the liaison :: e.CAN editor, mas. Christina is already sorry to be person between Executive and Staff. Adrian Croucher, [email protected] leaving New Zealand, but hopes to Robert was integral to making the :: Chainlinks editor, return after finishing her degree in [email protected] Networking Project “work”— help- Miriam Richardson, Canada. ing to manage huge expectations, and :: Chainlinks contributions manager, Stephen Wood, [email protected] exercising democratic but authorita- :: Mailouts co-ordinator, tive decision making. His great people Ritsuko Ogawa, [email protected] skills make everyone feel valued. He’s ::: Merchandise co-ordinator a great listener and provides excellent Karen Hunn, [email protected] advice when ideas are bouncing. His :: Awards co-ordinator, “exotic” job of cello player for The NZ Gaz Sanvicens, [email protected] Symphony Orchestra (and being a Un- :: Cycling Conference Committe Chair ion delegate) makes him an even more Magdalena Lorenzo [email protected] interesting person to talk/work with! Working groups Claire Metcalf Robert’s award of Cycling Champion of the Year in the 08 Cycle Friendly :: Model Communities:vacant CAN Administrator Awards, despite Robert’s humble ac- :: Research: Andrew Macbeth Claire is a new addition to the Wel- ceptance speech, is heartily endorsed :: Media/Communications/Marketing: lington CAN office. She works part- by everyone that works with him. We Stephen McKernon time as administrator extraordinaire look forward to continuing working :: Information Centre: Thomas Schwarz and is always ready with a smile. with Robert to strengthen user groups’ :: Digital Strategy: Andre Cymbalista effective participation in transport A few things you should know about planning processes. We hope Robert More Claire are: gets more time for himself, Jane, and For the full list of CAN roles: She loves hot chilli sauce, tractors, his career (his paid work that is). can.org.nz/can-roles hates comic sans typeface. Anyone at Thanks heaps Robert from Andre, Contact CAN: can.org.nz/contact this year’s CAN Do will tell you she has great skills when it comes to or- Anne, Fiona, Claire, Christina, & n ganising events. Patrick. 12 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 13 14 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 15 Expression of Interest to obtain a grant that will allow us to take the next The Digital Strategy steps. Additional funding will be ad- After fifteen months of hard work the Digital Strategy has been vised in June 2009. implemented, and the development project ended. Meanwhile, you can count on the Dig- ital Strategy Expansion Team to take As the Digital Strategy moves personal ICT skills as a result of par- your group to the next level in manag- out of its establishment phase ticipation in the project . ing your advocacy tasks online. into the main stream this is n The training workshops were evalu- what CAN has got: ated as either “useful” or “extremely Digital Strategy Stories useful” by 78.9 % of respondents. • 200+ users registered on the web- Share your stories about the use of the n site, increasing 10 to 15 every week. The tutorials and how-to guides website or other internet tools to ad- were evaluated positively by 72.2 %. • 65+ people trained to add and edit vance cycling advocacy in your com- Technical support by telephone and content, either in group workshops munity. Every Chainlinks issue you email, and peer-to-peer was also or individually. will find something new. To start with evaluated positively. read what the guys from Cycle Action • 23 groups with a presence on the Open an Auckland are up to. n website, including ten local cy- We know that we have account cling groups, eight special interest something good go- today at the groups, and some internal subcom- ing on, and we want mittees. to share the goodness website, Cycle Action with more people and and join the How people evaluated the more groups. Auckland project conversation What’s Next Following on from the success of Users were given a survey asking them too! the Digital Strategy Workshop in to judge the value of the Digital Strat- Here are a few recommenda- Christchurch, at the CAN Do, CAA is egy and the website for their work as tions that emerged from the project keen to explore the capabilities of the advocates and for themselves. evaluation: new website. 33 users completed the survey. The • Expand the use of the website to We’ve established a team of people responses were very positive. The more groups . in our group to develop the website and now we are adding, editing and percentages indicate the number of • Improve the features of the website. respondents who valued the following reviewing content, including our sub- • Support continued learning and capabilities of this digital initiative. missions, meeting minutes and calen- capacity building. dar. We’ll document our learnings as n Improved internal (93.6%) and ex- • Improve the external communica- we go so those following in our newbie ternal (83.8%) communications. tions functions of the website with n footsteps have resources to guide Helps to organise collective action focus on public relations and build- them efficiently on their way. (87.5%). ing membership. What we’ve discovered so far is that n Fosters participation in local/re- We will continue to pursue those ob- the website is deceptively simple, in gional/national transport planning jectives with more resources from the easily being able to add content, yet processes (77.5%). Digital Strategy Community Partner- beneath the surface lies an incredible n A valuable resource for sharing ex- ship Fund. The next funding round amount of flexibility and power to tai- perience and ‘best practice’ with other is open now, and we have lodged an lor and customise, once the necessary groups (81.3%). The Digital Strategy Expansion Team skills are acquired. n Enables their group to It’s a group Join the Expansion Team! Over time it’s likely we’ll build publish to their website of volunteers Expand your local group, or help with docu- on our humble beginnings to using an easy to use, committed to mentation and resource development. develop our content into a fully ‘point-and-click’ tool support others We are looking for 6 more team members in branded CAA website. As a to use the web- (“successful” or “very the next 3 months. You don’t have to be a com- lobbying organisation, one of site. The group’s successful”, 88.5% ). puter guru to participate. our greatest requirements is objective is to n Enable coordination share knowledge Steve Southall (team leader): effective communication, both of calendars, discus- about how to [email protected] within our membership, and sions and files in a sin- use the website, André Cymbalista (expanding the team): an- disseminating consistent infor- gle, centralized location and develop a [email protected] mation to target organisations (80.8% ). series of resourc- and the public. The easy to use Richard Sewell (liaising with the community as n es to assist peo- framework arising from CAN’s Increased (63%) System Administrator): [email protected] and transferable (74%) ple to explore Digital Strategy initiative is well and utilise all its Stephen Molloy (Dunedin web) suited to this task. n capabilities. [email protected] . Steve Southall 14 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 15 Nelson: Bobbies Regional groups on bikes Cycle Action Auckland Nelson has anoth- er first; “Bobbies The Lake Road Cycleway on Bikes” — no, Project: a Cycle Friendly Awards it’s not a misprint, finalist excuse the pun, of “Boobs on Bikes”, CAA is popping corks and toasting which I heard a Devonport councillors whose staunch couple of people and patient work has delivered a great remark on at the Critical Mass rally in Timaru success — a decision by the North recent CAN Do in Shore City Council to approve work Christchurch! This into the cycle lanes. He had no idea to widen Lake Rd to continue the on- idea was first mooted by Bicycle Nel- that it’s actually illegal! While we were road cycle lane from Jutland Rd to Es- son Bays and we are pleased to see the waiting for a good photo op, I noticed monde Rd. The job is a major, and will project rolled out. We are currently some interesting driver behaviour. include flush median strips, and better talking to Police about the emphasis The main people encroaching on the road design for buses and pedestrians. on cyclist and pedestrian behaviour. cycle lanes were the older drivers. The The work will start early next year, and Apparently they plan to target wearing younger drivers, driving themselves take 12–18 months to complete. of cycle helmets and cyclist behav- to school and the like, (it was spit- Our local elected reps have had to en- ting that morning) had been through dure a talkfest of nonsense at Council. driver licensing more recently and ap- They have steadily worked their way peared to know what to do (or rather through the issues, aided by the traffic what not to do!). engineers at the Council, including Kit Again, the equal importance on the O’Halloran. Too often Council staff 3 E’s, engineering, education and en- get all the flak and no credit for their forcement must be applied. professional work, so we owe them our gratitude. Anne Fitzsimon

Digital Strategy: For the two IT freaks and the two IT novices, the Digital Strategy Workshop at CAN Do was Squeaky Wheel South Canterbury an extremely useful introduction to Squeaky Wheel has begun involve- a more interactive system that would ment in the Timaru District Council’s meet our needs to communicate with- ©2008 Nelson Mail LTCCP review process. We have had in the group and with our members. two meetings with Council transport We have a test site up within the CAN iour on shared paths. We’re hopeful staff to discuss the process, the Coun- site thanks to the long hours put in by the reality of cycling will soon ensure cil’s preparations for the RLTP dead- Steve Southall and our committee is their focus will also include observ- line of November 14th, and a wish- learning as we go. ing motorist behaviour around cyclists list of projects prepared on behalf of Barb Insull & Barb Cuthbert and cycle lanes. Although the uniform cyclists. We are getting the message will mean driver behaviour is modified that while staff are willing enough slightly. to put active transport projects onto the drawing board, we need to foster Thanks to our in-house $$ avilable for local groups councillors’ desire to invest the local media specialist, Bob, we share of the funding. One approach CAN has set aside a fund of $1500 to help managed a page 3 large to this is to raise the profile of cycling local groups fund activities. This might be photo and story on mo- and encourage more cyclists onto the torist behaviour around public meetings, displays or other events. city streets. advance stop boxes and This fund has not been fully used up this cycle lanes in the Nelson A recent cyclist fatality on a local year. With Bike Month activities coming up Mail. highway prompted Squeaky Wheel to in the new year, you may want to apply issue a statement regarding the need During the photo oppor- for safer roads and driver education now to help you run that special event to tunity, I had a great dis- in the local paper, the Timaru Herald. get more people cycling more often. cussion with the photog- The result was a front-page article and rapher who informed me photo of a cyclist on the highway in The fund is available in $100 or $200 lots. that his wife is ‘always tell- question. This has stimulated an ongo- Application forms: www.can.org.nz. ing him off’ about drifting ing discussion about cycling safety in 16 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 17 the letters columns, along with a series What’s happening in Hamilton of articles by a supportive Herald re- Join online porter. The Wairere Dr. Stage III four-laning is moving ahead at speed with the On October 31st Timaru saw its first adjacent off road shared use paths in- or clip this form Critical Mass. Stimulated by the dis- cluded. The underpass that separated cussions in the local media and an stage II from stage III has now been Join online at article the previous day, there was a completed after a long battle with www.can.org.nz/join very good turnout of at least 50 on an council. This underpass would have OR post this form to us with your ideal, warm and sunny evening (see been easier and cheaper to construct if cheque: photo). The riders’ progress along the it had been included in the original de- main street attracted a lot of atten- velopment of stage II. Along the same Name tion, including an intervention by a lines, an underpass crossing this main plain clothes policeman who spotted arterial at the roundabout at the other a rider with no helmet. He went away end may not be included because Address having learned about exemptions. The there is some doubt about the need. Critical Mass, including the helmet Suppressed demand is a very difficult issue, became a topic for discussion in thing to measure. Unfortunately, with- the letters to the editor. It has been a out an underpass, any cyclists using chance to clear up a few misconcep- the off-road path will find themselves Phone tions about cycling. confronted with a busy Roundabout Jon Harris Regional groups continues p18 Email

Contact the local group nearest you Please email the e.CAN Bike! Whangarei email news fortnightly. Cycle Aware Manawatu Paul Doherty 09 436 0033 Please send me information [email protected] Julie Dalziel 06 357 6962 can.org.nz/mana- about ‘cycle safe’ insurance. watu [email protected] Cycle Action Auckland caa.org.nz [email protected] Kapiti Cycling Bevan Woodward 021 1226 040 Janet McDonald [email protected] Occupation: www.caa.org.nz www.kapiticycling.org.nz How did you find out about CAN? Cycle Action Waiheke Cycle Aware Wellington Tom Ransom 09 372 3215 Alastair Smith 04 972 2552 [email protected] www.caw.org.nz [email protected]

Hamilton Cycle Action Waikato Nelson Tasman Bicycle Nelson Bays We respect your privacy and will Rob Davidson 07 856 5217 Richard Butler 03 539 0355 not give your details to anyone not [email protected] [email protected] affiliated with CAN.

Rotorua Cycle Action Bicycle Lanes in Paradise Golden Bay Mark Dyer [email protected] Victoria Davis 03 525 9298 Membership fees per calender year [email protected] Bike Taupo Unwaged $15 Richard Balm 021 919 851 BikeWalk Marlborough [email protected] www.biketaupo.org.nz Paul Millen [email protected] Waged $30 Family $35 Cycle Action Tauranga Bike West Coast Supporting organisations $75 Phil Browne 07 544 3123 [email protected] Jack O’Conner 03 768 0775 027 438 6285 [email protected] Cycle Aware Hawke’s Bay Membership fee $ ...... Bernie Kelly 06 356 3588 Christchurch Spokes Canterbury [email protected] Matthew Cutler-Walsh 03 385 6306 Donation $ ...... [email protected] New Plymouth www.spokes.org.nz Total $ ...... North Taranaki Cycling Advocates Make cheque payable to CAN Graeme Lindup 06 757 2062 South Canterbury Squeaky Wheel [email protected] 3 614 8777 Jon Harris 0 CAN www.ntca.org.nz [email protected] Freepost 147092 Wanganui Bicycle user group Spokes Dunedin PO BOX 6491 Hadi Gurton 06 345 5048 Dick Martin 03 453 6667 Wellesley, Auckland [email protected] [email protected] 16 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 17 Regional groups continues from p17 North Taranaki Cycling Advocates Supporting on an 80 kph intersection. Not a very Apart from our regular monthly meet- useful way to encourage new cyclists! ings with the Organisations The shared use river-path from the Council’s Cycle Strategy Implementa- Adventure South Ltd north end of the city is currently out tion team, NTCA have been reviewing ARTA of commission due to slips caused by their draft Cycle Network Infrastruc- Auckland City Council a storm in August. We have been ad- ture Upgrade document. Auckland Cycle Touring Association vised by council staff re-opened until The document is comprehensive and Canterbury District Health Board sometime in the new year. Commut- reports on the study work undertaken Central Otago District Council ing cyclists from the northern suburbs to review the on-road network within Crank It Cycles either use road by-passes and compete New Plymouth. The improvement of Cuthbert Ashmore Consultants Ltd with cars, or are simply choosing to the urban on-road network is a key Cycle Tour Operators NZ drive. If this route was required by fos- Cycle Touring Company Ltd component of their strategy. With sil fuel based transport it would have four state highways within the urban been repaired in 24hrs. Engineering Outcomes area of New Plymouth plus the local Environment Canterbury Robbie Price, our IT guru, attended authority roads, the objective of the Francis & Cambridge the CAN Do as our representative and study was to review segments of the Greater Wellington Regional Council thoroughly enjoyed himself. He has network to see which were the most in Ground Effect established a web page on the CAN need of improvement. The review of Hamilton City Council website for us. He will train more of us each segment considered four criteria: Herriot & Melhuish Architecture Ltd in the black arts of managing the site safety, utility, recreation, and degree of Living Streets Aotearoa in the near future. difficulty. Mountainbiking Otago At a recent meeting with Hamilton One hundred and twenty five seg- MWH NZ Ltd City Council staff we had the pleasure ments of the on-road network were as- Natural High of meeting the new Cycle Projects En- sessed and 38 came out with a weight- Nature’s Highway gineer, Steve Taylor. He will be tasked ed score of over 70 out of 100. These Nelson City Council with continuing to oversee the cycle 38 segments were then priced for the North Shore City Council network developments incorporated suggested improvements and follow- Pacific Cycle Tours in the 10 year plan. He will be the ing a peer review, the draft report was Palmerston North City Council new point of contact for CA Waikato issued to NTCA for comments. Papakura District Council members. It is particularly pleasing Pedaltours To help look at the content of the to see that council staff are taking the Rotorua District Council draft report and its findings, Sunday opportunity within the road resealing Rotorua MTB Club morning rides were organised during plan to paint cycle lanes on roads that SafeKids September where NTCA members Sport Waikato have enough width — with no input met up at convenient locations prior Council from CA Waikato members either. to riding over some of the components Taupo District Council Great initiative. We have had some of the New Plymouth network. Ultimo Clothing problems with cars parking in marked cycle lanes. There was US National Center for an argument from council staff Bicycling and Walking that no parking (broken yellow) ViaStrada lines were unnecessary because Vorb there is a law that prevents cars Waimakariri District Council from parking in cycle lanes. There has since been a realisa- tion, with help from us, that motorists recognise no-parking restrictions in the form of broken yellow lines better than they do We were lucky with the weather hav- for cycle lanes. We now have painted ing four great mornings to ride. We no-parking lines where no parking has stopped often to review what the been allocated adjacent to cycle lanes. report suggested for that particular We have been advised that these will segment of road and occasionally © www.bicyclewa.com.au be reviewed when the road resealing is found items that were overlooked. A due on each part of the network. Public toilets are few and far comprehensive list of what we found between in the Outback but Western Merry Christmas and happy cycling over the four Sundays can be seen on Australian ingenuity has found a into the new year from CA Waikato! our website, ntca.org.nz. solution for the touring cyclist. Graeme Linford n 18 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 19 SUSTRANS continues from page 5 2009 dates For example, a Connect2 project in Bournemouth is being run in parallel On the web Bike Month with the health authority there which is implementing a project aimed at

Business Bike Battle increasing children’s active play. Second Life and the bicycle © Strawberry Holiday

Mayoral Challenge Another of Sustrans’ hallmarks is the Second Life® is a virtual world 1–28 February quality of its public relations. The created by its residents. Since website, for example, is consistently 2003 it has grown to be inhab- accessible and attractive. It’s no ac- ited by millions of residents Go By Bike Day cident, according to Wishart: “a lot of from around the globe. http://secondlife.com Wednesday, 18 Feb n the work our marketing team is doing now is very consciously making sure You can use real dollars to buy the images we use are of normal peo- virtual Linden dollars, and Myths of cycling, No. I: Real ple having a lovely time rather than purchase virtual land, houses, ‘serious’ cyclists having a bit of a slog or indeed anything else such as cyclists don’t walk up hills in the wet. music, entry to This myth revolves around the defini- I was impressed by the organisational virtual tions of ‘real cyclist’ and ‘hill’. In my opinion a real cyclist is one who uses culture of this charity. Visiting the events, their bike as a form of transport. headquarters, I had the sense of a decora- Lycra-clad mountain-bikers on forest group of people really co-operating tors, tracks, all padded up and muddy, to achieve change. All members of clothes probably don’t count as real cyclists. the staff, from the receptionist to the for your For most of them, cycling is a pas- top managers, gave the impression virtual time that happens to involve a bike. they believed in the organisation they self, A real cyclist’s bike worked for. and, has lights, mud- It’s true that also, bikes. guards and a pan- the charity nier rack, because has benefited The Virtual Africa bike those 3 things are greatly from necessary if one is Uthango (http://uthango.org) is a to use the bike as the efforts welfare group that has founded a form of trans- of founder, Virtual Africa in Second Life. port. This type of engineer and They have had a virtual bicycle cyclist probably cyclist John developed, called the Blue uses their bike, if Grimshaw, Lady, which they sell for virtu- not daily, at least but hierarchy al residents to ride. There has several times a Trumpington, Cambridge, UK ©Geoff Jones doesn’t seem already been the first virtual week. Their normal route will prob- to rule here. Recently, the incoming ably involve a hill. bike race. The image at the top CEO gave every staff member an op- is of Strawberry Holiday on a My definition of a hill is something portunity to help shape the strategy of virtual bike ride http://tinyurl. that makes me puff. Or get off and the charity. com/69qf6d. walk. When they first start cycling, They have sold the real cyclist gets off and walks up I walk out of the office, past the more than 250 their ‘regular’ hill. As their fitness shelves of awards given to this char- bikes: it takes improves, they get further and fur- ity, and get on my borrowed bike, and ther up the hill before they get off. 108 virtual look for the bike path. We aren’t in the But, in some cases, they will never bike sales to be able to ride all the way up. It is bike-friendly Netherlands or Germany, buy one real worth pointing out here that it does but after my encounter with Sustrans, world bike for not require any less energy to climb I feel a lot of hope for the future of their real world n a hill on foot than it does to cycle up sustainable transport worldwide. beneficiaries. it; Newton’s laws apply to cyclists in the same way as the rest of the real The bicycles are available from You can visit Sustrans’s website at world. What is different, when one Uthango’s office in Second Life sustrans.org.uk walks up a hill, is the rate at which and from affiliated businesses. that energy is supplied. Ewan Kingston is a writer and cycle Think Second Life sounds activist, presently travelling in Europe. So if you have a hill on your regular wacky? You will find Harvard [email protected] route, there is no shame in getting Law School and Stanford and off and walking. It is eminently Princeton Universities in Sec- sensible. n ond Life. n Andy McNally, Spokes East Kent can.org.nz/chainlinks/links 18 Chainlinks 4 2008 Chainlinks 4 2008 19