I’m currently battling some rogue convolvulus, aka ‘morning glory’, in my garden. (Bear with me, there’s a bike connection to this story!). It’s twining round the trampoline, peeking through the fence, smothering a native tree. I rip it out as fast as I can but I’m barely keeping up. This is a bit ironic, because when I lived in the northeastern United States, I used to plant it on purpose every spring. There, the snowy winters would knock it back, so it never had a chance to get out of control. Whereas, in Auckland, all bets are off. The thing about Auckland is, anything grows, given half a chance. I’m thinking about gardening because I’ve …
Bike Auckland
The first days of spring are a great time to be on a bike – and it’s a pretty good time to be in the business of building cycle infrastructure too, with plenty of great projects on the go, and (hopefully!) more to come as the cycle boom attracts support locally and nationally. So we’ve been taken aback to read that engineering consultancies Beca and Aurecon, both involved in major cycleway builds in Christchurch, have been reported as forbidding staff from cycling during work hours – even when they’re visiting their own bike-related projects: Some staff working on Christchurch’s new cycleways are not allowed to cycle during work hours because …
The best way to celebrate new shared path connections is to go for a ride! And winter can be the nicest time to do it. On a beautiful crisp sunny Saturday in July, me and a couple of gal pals decided to make the most of it and head for a bit of an explore on some newly joined up off-road paths. We met up at the opening ceremony for the newly refurbished Pt Chevalier Square, which was absolutely delightful. The new park benches rotate and slide to create a delightful activation for the community. They also allow you to make the most of catching the summer sun (or shade) so I recommend you grab a …
Salmoning [verb]: To ride against the designated direction in a cycle facility, for reasons sensible or not. [Carlton Gore Road pictured. Photograph by Bike Auckland. If you have great images you’d like to propose for photo of the week, please contact us!]
Halo [noun]: The circle of happiness surrounding someone riding a bike. [Northwestern Cycleway, at Newton. Photograph by Bike Auckland. If you have great images you would like to propose for photo of the week, please contact us!]
Our two-wheeled lawyer Jonathan Wood is back, to consider legal answers to some highly tricky questions about the perennial subject of compulsory helmet wearing… Q. I know it’s mandatory to wear a helmet – but is it mandatory to wear it on your head? Can I wear it on my elbow? The NZ Government fact sheet for cycling (the dehydrated concentration of the NZ cycling road code) simply mentions that it is compulsory for you to wear a helmet and it should be securely fastened. The road code is not law; it is an interpretation of the law that attempts to put things in plain language. The line between advice and law in the code …
So many people are out there, hankering to hop on a bike! How many? Well, Auckland Transport’s own research reckons 60% of Aucklanders would ride if the roads were more welcoming. And who can forget what happened in 2013 when AA’s Directions magazine – the magazine for car drivers! – asked its readers if they’d give cycling a go? We are the 92%! So what are we waiting for? I found one answer over at Bikeyface, the witty bike blog of Bekka Wright (her motto: “I have a sense of humor and a bicycle. I exercise both as often as possible”). Bekka’s brilliant at boiling complicated things down to a single image, and her …
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