Kids and bikes: one of the most natural combinations in the world, and also one of the most eagerly searched topics at Bike Auckland. Our lists of great places to ride with children have always been popular, especially every time the holidays roll around! Now we’ve taken a step up, with a new searchable database of great rides that you can filter by location, ability level, and other features. We’re delighted to launch this fabulous resource, brought to you by hours of behind-the-scenes work by a dedicated volunteer, Tracey-Lee Pettifer, and our wonderful pro-bono technical and design team at Sandfield. Check out Bike Auckland’s brand new Rides page – featuring, for starters, ten …
Bike Auckland
On Saturday, over 250 people joined the Bike to the Future ride through Grey Lynn to support the neighbourhood routes under way. Our mates at Generation Zero dreamed up the event, which we were delighted to help organise and marshal. These routes will pave the way for the expanding network through Auckland’s burbs over coming years, so they’re really important. You’ll be glad to hear that a community liaison group process – with representation from Bike Auckland – is already under way. The design will be refined over coming months, so that the construction can continue. It was delightful to watch people gathering for the ride – a varied and colourful …
Bike to the Future on Saturday 17th February at 10am is a community ride around Grey Lynn organized by our friends at Generation Zero. The idea is to showcase the huge local potential once the safe bike routes are completed – by giving people a chance to experience the routes as they currently are, winding past the schools and shops, and to imagine them as they might be. It’s the perfect chance to show that there are lots of very real people and families, in this neighbourhood and neighborhoods like it, who just want greener ways to travel, safer streets, and better connected biking for all of our communities. And it’s …
Linda Wong and family stumbled across London’s iconic FreeCycle bike festival while on holiday earlier this year. With the Auckland summer approaching, it’s time to wonder once again why Auckland hasn’t caught the worldwide citywide open-streets circuit-ride bug yet? Sure, there are logistical and budget issues with closing streets for through-traffic for a few hours for a Ciclovia or Summer Streets event – but the joy it creates is priceless. Will 2018 be the year Auckland really gets it? What do you reckon, Mayor Phil? On a drizzly, overcast day in July, we set off on some hired bikes with 70,000 other cyclists to enjoy a car-free cycling circuit around central London. …
A couple of years ago during the school holidays, we threw together a list of great places to ride with little kids – beyond the driveway, the neighbourhood park, and the local school courtyard. And every school holidays, like clockwork, that blog post leaps to life again! We’ve just posted an updated list of great places to ride with little kids…and started a dedicated Facebook group for chatting about where to ride with kids in Auckland. But would you believe that original list is our most popular blog post Of. All. Time? That’s right. ‘Where to ride with children’ is bigger than ‘what’s up with Skypath’, more popular than ‘how to fix Tamaki Drive’, and more sought after than …
Charmaine, who blogs as ‘Buzzy in the Burbs‘, is keen to inspire others to get out and explore far and wide, be it on foot or bike. She shares with us how her family has fallen in love with the new cycleway in their back yard… Who would have thought 2km of concrete would change the way my family and I exercise? Well, the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive Cycle Path (Te Ara ki Uta ki Tai) has done just that, with the arrival of the first 1.7km-long stage of what will soon be a great pathway from the eastern suburbs to the city. I have always enjoyed exercising, and BC (Before Children) …
Have you been looking for an excuse to come and experience the new stretch of path in the east – the completed first stage of Te Ara ki Uta ki Tai, the first part of what will soon be a grand bicycle (and pedestrian) highway running from Glen Innes all the way into the CBD? Good news! Bike Eastern Suburbs is hosting a family day this Sunday 12 February. Gather at Columbus Cafe in Glen Innes at 10am. After a coffee, the fun begins with a ride and walk along the first stage of the path. At the top of the path at around 11.00, there’s a get-together (with prizes, to be drawn by Councillor Desley Simpson!) at the …
It’s snuck up on us again – the annual opportunity to bike across the Auckland Harbour Bridge for fun and fundraising. There are only 4000 places available – and luckily there are still a few left! Last year’s event sold out in the last few days, so if haven’t committed yet, now is the time. NB for last-minute entries, you’ll need to book by 8pm Friday evening, and pick up your race tickets Friday afternoon or Saturday at Smales Farm on the North Shore. All the details you need are here on the official website. Here’s the quick version When Sunday 13 November 2016 Where and what time That depends! There are four …
Emma Coote got an electric cargo bike big enough to carry both kids, and it’s changed her Auckland family-commuting life. She shares her experience with us here… This morning was the first day I have driven to work in around 2 months. I arrived with battle fatigue! Tomorrow I am most definitely back on our bicycle made for 3. Being able to pedal the kids and myself to school and work, almost exclusively on bike tracks and without doing myself an injury, is life changing. They love it, I love it, the roads have one less car and we all arrive happy and invigorated. We have a 4km commute to school …
Allons-y, which is French for ‘on your bike!’ A tiny, slow-paced Tour De France is coming to Waterview, on Saturday 15th October 2016 @ 10am. The ‘Tour de Waterview’ is the brainchild of the lovable Waterview Coffee Project, which operates out of a colourful container on Daventry St and is the caffeinated glue that holds the neighbourhood together. If you’re a local, you’ll be in like Flynn. If you’re not, come and visit this sweet little ‘hood keeping it real in the shadow of New Zealand’s biggest motorway project. Waterview is easily accessible via the NW cycleway – exit the cycleway at Great North Rd beside the overbridge onto the east/city …
All aboard a sweet honey of an adventure, buzzing around on bikes visiting bee-friendly spaces and doing what we can to make sure bees feel at home in our city. Fun activities for everyone, including music, face painting, tree planting and much more. Prizes for the best dressed bee and flower on the day! You can join in at any stage of the ride, and all ages and abilities welcome. Scroll down to see the map – note that off-road cycleways form a large part of the route. Here’s the programme for the day; you can ask questions and find more info over on the event page: 9.00am Victoria Park: Blessing + Welcome …
Got little kids just mastering the art of two wheels? Need a bit of back-up and encouragement these holidays? Check out the Bubs on Bikes Learn2Ride sessions at Onepoto Domain on the North Shore, from 10 – 12 noon on Thursdays 29 September and 6 October. At these free drop-in sessions, qualified (and very kind!) instructors from Auckland Transport work alongside parents to help kids get riding. Whether they’re just starting on a balance bike or making the transition to pedals, the team is there to help. If your child doesn’t yet have a bike but is keen to give it a go, there will be bikes available to borrow on a limited basis. …
Auckland Transport’s ‘Bubs on Bikes’ crew is teaming up with Workshops on the Wharf to bring you Wheelin’ Wednesdays, a special school holiday #Learn2Ride session, at Silo Park in Wynyard Quarter on Wednesdays 28 September & 5 October. Learning to ride a two-wheeler is one of those big childhood milestones, and being a part of that experience as a parent is a thrill. However, if you are wondering how to get started, or experiencing a few bumps along the way check out our #Learn2Ride sessions. Qualified instructors work alongside parents to get kids riding, whether they are starting on a balance bike or making the transition to pedals. If your child doesn’t yet have …
Good news for the holidays – weather permitting! Bubs on Bikes will bring their fabulous Learn2Ride programme to Avondale on both Tuesdays in the school holidays. They’ll be located at the kids’ bike park in the Avondale Central Reserve (tucked away behind the shops and the big spider, next to the racecourse). These are free drop-in sessions. Parents, stick around and BYO bikes – or if your child doesn’t yet have a bike but is keen to give it a go, there will be bikes available on a limited basis. Learning to ride a two-wheeler is one of those big childhood milestones, and being a part of that experience as a …
With voting very much in the news at the moment, an article caught our eye over the weekend… not about Brexit – about those who aren’t old enough to vote yet, but who have strong opinions and equally important rights. According to a new study by Erica Hinckson of AUT, reported in the Sunday Star-Times, kids much prefer getting to school under their own steam: 96% of the kids Erica spoke to in focus groups were adamant on this point. Biking, walking, scootering – they really really want to be out in the fresh air, doing their thing independently, traveling actively with friends or with family. Instead, 55% are delivered to school …
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