Bike Rave Melburn – Pink Flamingo 2018

While I was down in Melburn (Melbourne) for a week performing the Bio Bike at the Sustainable Living Festival (SLF), Bike Rave Melbourne Pink Flamingo 2018 was held. I couldn’t believe my luck! Sarah came with me (her on a flower bike, me on the Bio Bike) and we had far too much fun. To the Melburn bike riding community: you are amazing, I miss you and thank you!

What is a Bike Rave?

For many people, bike raves are the most fun you can have on two wheels! Bike Raves usually follow a route through city streets while pumping out tunes from ‘sound’ bikes. There is usually a theme for each Bike Rave. Any and all riders are welcome (that’s the point!). They stop at predestined locations for a while to socialise, recharge, catch up and have a boogie – GOLD! Bike Raves are highly anticipated, well attended and wicked fun.

Bike Rave Melburn – Pink Flamingo

On Saturday, Feb 10th I rode in the Melburn Pink Flamingo Bike Rave. It was awesome. I would say there were at least 200-250 riders and I was blown away by the variety in the ages and styles of the riders (and bikes) that attended. There were young and old, families/individuals/groups of mates, tall bikes, cargos, art bikes, commuters, fixis, burlesque performers, couriers, bike polo teams.. the list could go on and on – there was everything (and everyone) imaginable!

It was wicked cruising Melbourne city in a massive gang of cool katz with cool music.

Riding along Southbank just after 7 pm meant that the Bike Rave were passing all the cafes, restaurants and bars at dinner time – on a Saturday night. They were packed. It was hilarious to see the reaction of diners and this massive line of pink, fluoro-wearing bike ravers passed them by!

Pedestrians and tourists stopped to gawk as well. People in cars were honking. At the lights halfway through, I got chatting to a father and son who were out riding along the Yarra River and convinced them to join us for an hour, which they did -and they had a ripper time and said they would be back.

I rode and chatted with heaps of people along the way. I love riding near the massive speaker bikes. Because I was riding the Bio Bike, people were offering me drinks all night (bless!) of which I only accepted once we had stopped. Navigating bollards (wings up!) and some of the tighter walking bridges was a little tricky, but other riders were happy to wait, helped out if they could and looked out for me on the road and footpaths. Bloody awesome!

It was super safe and super fun. And I danced my arse off!

I got extra kudos when bike ravers heard that I had come all the way from Brisbane for the event (well.. and the SLF). The Bio Bike was a smash hit – and I got extra points for flat-packing it down into a bike bag and travelling with it from Brisbane. Talk about bringing it to the party!!

I caught up with some familiar faces and also met some wicked new people. Everyone was super welcoming, happy and up for a chat. As the night wore on, lights were turned on. I saw packed dinners and food being shared along with drinks, compliments and laughs.

Around 8.30pm, some of the families started to filter back home, leaving the ragers to push on. The later it got, the more people were looking after each other, until we reached our final destination at Flagstaff Gardens where everyone parked it and hung out until they decided it was time to go home.

(*Sigh*)

Bike rave with an added purpose

Bike Raves are usually free events – but for this particular rave, organisers invited punters to bring along a cash donation for charity Bicycles for Humanity, which they collected throughout the evening. Given my PhD research and predilections of supporting community and international development projects – I was super impressed. Go Melburn!

Here is the official Melburn Bike Rave FB link.

How does the Sound/Music work?

Bike Raves are DIY events. You grab your MP3 player/phone and download the mix (for Pink Flamingo it was a curated a 4-hour mix). The mix is usually full of pumping party tunes to keep the crew bopping and dancing all night long and specifically made for the bike rave. KUDOS!

Just before you leave the meeting place there is a countdown so everyone can sync their music to begin at the same time. This means that where ever you are in the rave you are all listening to the pretty much the same thing (plus or minus 10-15 sec). It also means that if you arrive late, join in or miss the countdown, you can ask another rider what timestamp the track is up to and sync it that way.

For the Pink Flamingo Bike Rave, people had a range of sound setups. Some of the organisers, couriers and Christiana bike owners had especially large speakers setups. They were wicked! There were a few of these rigs dotted around and they really pumped out the tunes. They were awesome fun to ride with if you didn’t have your own music on board.

Other people had basket, booms or computer speakers zip tied to their bikes (or themselves!). There were some pretty impressive creations and some speakers were integrating into costumes, helmets and bikes.

Having a consistent power source and charging batteries was a key consideration for most speaker setups (as was size/weight).

The music for the ride was great! I’m still listening to the track now!

Here’s the Soundcloud link to download the 4hr Bike Rave track.

Image: @neaderstaal

Image above: Soundcloud

Where we went

Meet-up: Bike Rave Melbourne – Pink Flamingo 2018
Start: Saturday, February 10, 2018, 6:00 pm
Finish: Sunday, February 11, 2018, 12:00 am
Meet at: Riverside Skate Park, Alexander Gardens (parkland opposite side of the river from Birrarung Marr), Melbourne, Australia.

After meeting at Riverside Skate Park, we headed off at 7:00 pm.

Here’s the route we took.

Here’s the same route, but in Google Maps.

Other interesting titbits

There are a few videos on Youtube of the event – here’s an example:

Here is some of the info the organisers released before the event. I really dug their straight shooting and fun style of communication and promotion!

THE WEATHER
If it’s nice out, we ride. If it’s cloudy, we ride. If it’s raining a little, we might ride. If it’s pouring, we don’t ride. Our speakers will get messed up. If you aren’t sure, show up anyways. Someone will be there from 5:30 pm to let people know if the ride is cancelled.

DRESS UP
Pink Flamingo. Now that your bike is a shining beacon, time to fix yourself up. Dress in anything that’s pink. Flamingo, Pink, Flamingo, Pink, Pink, Flamingo. Pink. Flamingo. Sqwuak. One Legged Stand. Beaks Out. Pink Flamingo.

RAVE RULES
There are a few rules that we would like you to follow to ride the rave. This makes it safer for everyone and avoids problems on the night. We’ve never had an issue in the 6 years of running this event, so let’s work together to keep it that way.

1. Wear a helmet.
2. Get working bike lights.
3. Watch out for each other. If someone falls over, pick them up and see if they are ok.
4. Don’t be a dick to the public or Police. The public will most likely be confused. The Police have been quite understanding over the last few years, so don’t be rude. This could ruin the event and any future events.
5. Be safe and sensible when we are crossing at red lights.
6. Clean up after yourself – bring a plastic bag for your rubbish, we are not your parents – we ain’t picking up your shit.
7. Have fun

Check out more photos on Instagram using: #bikeravemelbourne #bikerave #bikerave2018

A massive thank you to the organisers, the riders and Melburn general public. A great time was had. Safe, super fun and a wonderful way to bring riders together and show city Melburn how fun riding bikes can be.

More Bike Raves, please!

This image from Soundcloud. All other images my own, a few pics are drawn from Freedom Cycling & Andrew Rance‘s Youtube videos of the event – thanks guys.

01/02/201807/02/2018

Project Bio Bike & the Eco Protection Corps

Bicycles Create Change’s Eco T(h)ank Concept for the 2018 Sustainable Living Festival.

Project Bio Bike & the Eco Protection Corps

Next week, I will be down in Melbourne for the Sustainable Living Festival (SLF) – Big Weekend.

With two other collaborators, Claire Tracey and Sarah Cole, we are putting on an Bio Bike roving performance for Sat 10th and Sun 11th Feb.

Here’s a little more background and detail about the project.

Initial Concept

The original inspiration came from the old armed forces morale-boosting concerts – and the recognition medals for services, commendable action and extraordinary achievement. Our spin is to boost morale AND award our own Bio Medals (all of which I have personally made out of recycled bike parts, inner tubes, discarded jewellery and other found objects) but these are for services to community members for environmental and sustainability services and action.

Inspiration adaptation

We are the Eco Protection Corps (EPS).

There are three performers – a brunette (me), a blonde (Claire) and a redhead (Sarah) – so the first idea was that there was one person for each ‘armed’ corps – Army, Navy and Air Force.

Each performer would research and give out enviro and sustainability awards and recognition medals that correlated with their ‘Eco Force’. For example:

‘Army’ for land, soil and rubbish management, flora and fauna, housing, urban and contested spaces, biochar, erosion, gardens, composting, recycling, etc.
‘Air Force’ for air quality, air emissions, atmosphere pollution, acid rain, storms and extreme weather events, climate change/ozone issues, birdlife, etc.
‘Navy’ for water quality, water use and conservation, desalination, plastic ocean pollution, fish and sealife issues, Great Barrier Reef, coral bleaching, oil spills and waste water control, etc.

Project Summary

The Eco Protection Corps (EPC) is a bike-powered, environmentally themed performance taking place at the Sustainable Living Festival in Federation Square. Roving members of the Eco Corps will ride an Eco T(h)ank bike around the festival, handing out medals awarding excellence in environmentalism and sustainability.

The Eco T(h)ank bike and the medals of excellence are made
from predominantly up-cycled and recycled materials.

The aim of the project is to generate positive reinforcement around individual environmental action and to remind the public that ‘an army’ of sustainable frontliners is made up of many individuals creating positive change towards global sustainability.

This project aims to promote, encourage and recognise the thoughtful environmental action taken by local community members.

The Eco Corps Bio bike , or Eco T(h)ank, and performance is a reaffirming, fun and direct way to celebrate with the wider community and array of positive, creative and personal eco action.

It is our aim that this artwork will create interest, discussion and education around the need for sustainable action and will explore creative and innovative ways this can be achieved.

The Eco T(h)ank

The idea of the Eco T(h)ank is to use the well-known tank as a motif of the strength and force needed to address these environmental issues – and jell that with the community-based involvement for sustainability theme of the Festival.

The bike is instantly recognisable as a ‘Tank’- but most importantly, we are keen to promote the positivity and ‘green-ness’ of this project.

So we will have modifying the tank shell to be an Eco T(h)ank – so it is clearly distinguishable as a representation of the Environment (Eco) thanking (Thank) people who have progressed and ‘fought’ to protect the environment and progress sustainable practices.

Achievement Medals

The performance and distribution of ‘Environmental Excellence Medals’ represent the awarding of present achievements and services rendered, as well as involving the general public in the show and helping to build a sense of unity, pride and camaraderie for our precious community and environment.

Our performance is based on interacting with the general public and discussing sustainability issues with them (participation, education and promotion). During this, we will ask people what they have done to support sustainable living and use that as they basis to present an award to that person.

This way the awards are impromptu, individual and fun. Participants also get to keep a unique trinket from the Festival as a memento.

We hope that doing so will encourage even more positive sustainable practice – as well as discussion and recognition for small acts of environmental kindness that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Project considerations

There are a few project considerations, but some of the key ones are:

budget
collaborating with 3 interstate performers (QLD, NSW & VIC)
emphasising the Eco not the militaristic intent/aesthetic
being respectful of armed forces personnel and possible issues
being sure the bike shell (Tank) can flat-pack down and be transported in a bike bag easily for flights
overall size and usability – getting on and off the bike
manoeuvring the T(h)ank around a crowd and limited space
avoiding damage and wear-and-tear to the T(h)ank during performance
storage for the Sat night
deciding who/when rides the bike and how the bike stands with/out people

Initial Conceptual plans for the EcoT(h)ank

Here are the three first concepts for the tank. The first idea was to have side wheels (too much space and too much work).

This morphed into having a side brace (part of this idea made it into the final design as the tank side panels).

The third idea was to have a turret and barrel where flowers can burst out of (so Banksy!). One idea for this was to mount only the barrel on the handle-bars so the barrel would swivel to point where ever the bike is pointed. But for safety and stability, this idea ended up being simplified so that the whole section was one piece mounted on the handlebars – the effect was the same, but was much less fiddling around.

Once this general plan was decided, attention turned to how to construct it so it could be flat-packed for quick and easy re/dissembled and so that the whole thing could fit into a bike bag for interstate transportation.

After much deliberation and checking of materials and finance, here is an overall plan for the T(h)ank aesthetic, size and design.

The last week has all been about making this structure and see what works and can be do during the construction of this plan.

See how it all turned out in the next post!

28/01/201807/02/2018

Sustainable Living Festival – Bio Bike ACCEPTED

Image: SLF 2018

Hey, bike nuts! Welcome back!

The last week has been super crazy getting ready, because…

A while back, my regular creative collaborator and friend Claire Tracey and I put together a roving performance idea and application for the upcoming 2018 Sustainable and Living Festival (SLF)- and we got the news it was successful!

Sustainable Living Festival – Bio Bike ACCEPTED

The Festival’s Program Coordinator Big Weekend emailed:

Thank you for your Festival application. We are pleased to inform you that your event application has been accepted! The team at the Sustainable Living Festival are delighted to have your event as part of our program.

Woohoo!!

So, we are heading to Melbourne to perform the Bio Bike at the 2018 SLF!

Previous SLF adventures – Leki & the Ova

The phenomenal Claire Tracey and I have previously collaborated for the 2014 SLF, where we created the roving performance/art bike Leki & the Ova.

This project used Leki as the basis for a pedal-powered no-money/barter/trade/swap, mobile op shop. It was sooooo much fun!

Leki and the Ova will be very familiar to regular BCC readers, given it is immortalised as the central feature image for the Bicycles Create Change homepage.

We roved the Festival and went out twice a day. We had a brilliant time and were a roaring success – the punters loved being part of it … and so did we!

It was a wicked project to make and present – and Claire and I knew we worked well together and have since joined forces on a number of ventures.

So we threw our hat into the ring for this year with our concept of the Bio Bike … and hey presto! We’re in!

So, no time to waste – we have to get organised!

But first a bit of background.

What is the SLF Big Weekend?

In it’s own words, the Festival’s signature Big Weekend event will be staged between the 9th and 11th of February. Held in the cultural hub of Federation Square and Birrarung Marr, the Festival’s Big Weekend showcases the main attractions of the Festival’s calendar.

Featuring interactive workshops, talks, technology demonstrations, art, film and live performance pieces (of which our roving Bio Bike performance will feature! NG).

One of the main attractions of the Big Weekend is the Exhibitors Market featuring over 100 exhibitors, including vendors showcasing the very best of organic food, beer and wine. Ethically-sourced clothing, sustainable building designs and gardening options will also be on show.

Treadlie and Green Magazine will be back to host the always popular Treadlie Bike Hub, with bikes, accessories and even a test track to help you make the switch from horsepower to human-power.

Click here for a sneak peek at the SLF guide highlights.

Our Bio Bike Project Aim and Overview

As an arts collective, we aim to educate, encourage and empower participants to seriously think about their ability to affect positive environmental change.

Our event is focused on raising awareness about the necessity of transitioning to a ‘below zero emissions’ society and examines creative solutions to creating this widespread societal change as soon as possible.

The Bio Bikes roving performance uses positive reinforcement and humour to create public awareness about climate change and encourages viewers to participate in the performance by interacting with the sculptural bikes when they are stationary.

Next steps…

So, it has been action stations to get the foundations organised and prepped for the Bio Bike. We already have a clear conceptual plan of what we want the performance to entail, but it is the props and bike itself that requires time, skills, materials and construction. With the Festival fast approaching, the making of the Bio Bike is a top priority.

So, I’ve been away for the last 5 days visiting a dear long-time friend, called Coolie, in northern NSW. (No internet there, hence the delay in uploading this post- sorry!). Coolie’s technical expertise, insight and fabrication workshop was invaluable in constructing a Bio Bike prototype which will be a major part of our roving performance.

The next couple of posts will be tracking our project development as we refine and work on the Bio Bike, props, costumes and production.

Stay tuned to see how it unfolds – and if you are in Melbourne, we’ll be seeing you at the Sustainable Living Festival in a couple of weeks!

Image: SLF 2018

12/01/201803/02/2018

Brisbane Bicycle Film Festival 2018

Image: Space for Cycling Brisbane.

I’m looking forward to March this year because that is when the Brisbane Bicycle Film Festival 2018 is on- Hazah!

I can’t wait!

In June, I posted about some other Australian and international Bike Film Festivals that were happening.

So the Brisbane Bike Film Festival is fast approaching, which means for those who are brave enough, NOW is the time to get cracking and put together an entry!

Click here for more info and background on the Brisbane Bike Film Festival.

This festival aims to bring together all the different codes and cycling communities, as well as other would-be riders, supporters, interested parties and other two-wheeled enthusiasts.

These films are a great way to experience other cycling perspectives, celebrate rides, riders and adventures, share the love and freedom of bikes … and contribute to promoting and participating in the thrills, spills and skills of all things cycling!

Image: Bicycle Film Festival 2012.

What do I need to know to submit an entry?

Each film is judged on the criteria of creativity, cinematography, entertainment and overall ‘bikeiness’.

Once all entries are submitted, the finalists are shown for one night only at the Brisbane Bicycle Film Festival, where the winners and People’s Choice Award are also announced.

Entries are open to any Brisbane bicycle riders. The idea is for local riders to grab a camera and film a bike-related video of something bike-related happening in or around Brisbane.

To submit a film – the official requirements are:

Films should be no more than 5 minutes long
Quicktime Format MP4 or.mov files
1920×1080 frame dimensions preferred. (Definitely not below 720×480) Larger is fine.
Upload your movie to Vimeo and password protect your film. Include the link to your film on your submission form along with the password.
The actual final formatted file might be required, in which case you will be notified.

So grab a camera and your bike and get busy – submission close 12th Feb.

Tickets are $19ish and are now available through Eventbrite.

You can get more info and updates via the Facebook Event page.

Last year, Guy Marron’s Global Gutz (see below) took out the top prize.

So best of luck for putting together your submissions – see you there!

11/12/201708/03/2021

Forbidden women riding bikes in Iran

Bicycles Create Change.com Dec 11th.Women riding bikes in Iran — Source: cyclists_boj

Forbidden women riding bikes in Iran

In September 2016, the supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei, issued a fatwa (which is a legal ruling issued by an Islamic religious leader) that prohibits women from riding a bike in a public place.

Mr Khamenei explained via the state media, that the fatwa was issued because “riding a bicycle often attracts the attention of men and exposes the society to corruption, and thus contravenes women’s chastity, and it must be abandoned.”

As recent as November 28th, 2017, national public radio reminded all of Iran of Khamenei’s fatwa that prohibits women from riding a bike in public as they are ‘exposed to unknown people’.

Despite this, women in Iran are uploading videos of themselves riding their bikes in defiance of the fatwa that bans female cycling for “contravening women’s chastity”.

Since then, a number of women and groups of riders are refusing to adhere – and more so, are encouraging others to take a stand too.

This movement has been covered over the last year by a small number of online and social media as well as through news outlets such as:

Mashable: These Iranian women are defying a new law against riding bicycles
The Guardian: ‘They said girls don’t ride bikes’: Iranian women defy the cycling fatwa
BBC: Women in Iran defy fatwa by riding bikes in public

1 My Stealthy Freedom

My Stealthy Freedom is an online movement that was started in 2014 by the activist/journalist Masih Alinejad. It is an online movement that began by sharing images of women without their scarves, and has since evolved to draw international attention to a range of Iranian women’s rights and issues.

Such as not being allowed to ride a bike.

My Stealthy Freedom has been avidly promoting and sharing images of female bike riders on various social media outlets – many of which are shared using #Iranianwomenlovecycling.

2 #Iranianwomenlovecycling

This social media hashtag is used on Instagram and Twitter as a forum to publicly defy the fatwa, raise awareness and as an unregulated avenue for local female riders to show their love of riding.

Talk about locally-driven social and gender activism!

It is very inspiring to see this kind of movement – and being supported by so many cyclists (and others) overseas who understand and value the importance of bike riding for all.

It is also great to see that bicycles really are universally loved.

It also makes me very humble to be living and riding in Australia.

It begs the question: How is your bike riding contributing to making society a better place for all?

Happy riding!

Here’s a few pictures from #Iranianwomenlovecycling.

06/12/201710/12/2017

Counterview and Critique of Bicycle Network’s Helmet Survey Results

On Nov 21st, I posted the results of the Bicycle Network’s Helmet Law Survey. I was delighted this week to see some topical debate about the results taking place amongst the wider Australian cycling community. I was most impressed by the active, critical engagement and points raised by the Freestyle Cyclist Editor, who yesterday posted a very interesting commentary about the Bicycle Network itself and it’s handling of the Helmet Law Survey. If you haven’t see it yet, here it is. Always good to hear differing points of view and advocates pushing for more thoughtful approaches of key issues for further positive action! You can add your voice to the Helmet Law Reform here. Enjoy, NG.

Will Australia’s largest bike riding organisation be influenced by the majority of submitted participation/injury evidence and surveyed public opinion when it decides over the next few months whether to continue supporting Australia’s mandatory bicycle helmet laws?

The Bicycle Network has published the results of its open survey during August and September on public and membership opinion of the helmet laws.

The survey was completed by 19,327 respondents
Respondents were mostly Bicycle Network members and people who ride bikes with varying regularity.
2.6% of respondents were from overseas, and 1.9% of respondents said they never ride a bike.
58.3% of respondents said there should be a change to helmet laws, while the remaining 41.7% said helmets should be mandatory all the time
40.7% believe helmets should only be mandatory when the risk is high, for example, when racing, on road or for young people
30.4% would ride more if helmets weren’t mandatory
If laws changed, almost all people who currently wear a helmet when they ride would continue to do so and the number of people who never wear a helmet when riding would only increase by 3.7%
As expressed by the Bicycle Network’s media release: A survey of almost 20,000 people has found that nearly two-thirds don’t believe you should have to wear a helmet every time you ride a bike in Australia.

Which sounds similar to what Freestyle Cyclists has been saying for the past decade.

Bicycle Network CEO Craig Richard says the network will use the membership and public responses when evaluating its position on helmets, along with literature and expert opinions, with a decision expected in April 2018. “It’s great to get such a large amount of public opinion about bike helmets. It’s something people are clearly passionate about and it’s helpful to see how Australia’s helmet laws may impact people’s decision to ride,” said Mr Richards. “The opinion of our members and people who ride bikes is important and will help inform our policy on Australia’s mandatory helmet law. Along with academic research and information from experts, we will be able to make a fully informed decision.”

The Bicycle Network has about 50,000 members. Its influence could force media and political consideration of the helmet law issue if its policy review objectively considers the mountain of evidence proving Australia’s helmet law failure and if it does the right thing in April by recommending repeal.

A majority of Bicycle Network members are lycra cyclists who always wear helmets and it is interesting that 38.9% wanted some form of repeal in their survey responses. Among the network members, 70.4% would continue to wear a helmet every time they ride.

Bicycles Create Change.com Dec 6th, 2017- Counterview of Bicycle Network's Helmet Survey Results

Among all respondents to the Bicycle Network survey, 17.6% believed that bicycle helmets should never be mandatory, in line with the Freestyle Cyclists opinion that they should be voluntary among all ages. Only 1.9% of survey respondents said they never ride a bike and 30.4% of all respondents said they would cycle more if helmets weren’t mandatory.

Of course, the survey wasn’t measuring the hundreds of thousands of people who would actually ride a bike in the first place if not threatened with police punishment for cycling without a helmet.

The public health and traffic safety benefits would be enormous with both more cyclists and a 30% increase in current cycling duration. All the newly participating riders would otherwise probably be driving a car and the hospital data suggests fewer cyclists will be crashing and injuring some part of their body.

The Bicycle Network is under pressure from many within its own membership, from Australia’s pro-law academia and from the media to make no change to its long-standing position of support for mandatory bike helmet laws. Most mainstream media such as in Western Australia continue to ignore any reference to the Bicycle Network’s helmet policy review, let alone the survey results.

The few media outlets that have published stories online or in press about the survey results have highlighted the medical community’s opposition and/or quoted one of the many helmeted cyclists who so frequently crash and are convinced it has saved their life.

It’s likely that well over 99% of Australians are unaware of the review or survey, adding weight to the 19,327 who did know and let their majority helmet law opposition be known in the Bicycle Network survey.

Freestyle Cyclists urges the Bicycle Network to objectively evaluate the real world evidence of Australia’s mandatory helmet law failure and accept that its own pro-repeal survey results support the mountain of submitted evidence that the laws discourage a huge number of people from riding a bike, and with highly questionable injury results.

Readers are urged to read the expert opinions linked at the bottom of the Bicycle Network’s policy review page.

All 32 opinions are worth reading but we recommend those submitted by Freestyle Cyclists, Professor Chris Rissel, and researcher Chris Gillham.

This post was originally posted on Freestyle Cyclist (5th Dec, 2017) and the full text has been reprinted here as per the original. Text emphasis is my own. Images my own sources.

07/11/201718/04/2018

Kurilpa Derby

Last weekend was the 10th anniversary of the Kurilpa Derby in Brisbane.

It is a fantastic annual community celebration of life on wheels.

The Kurilpa Derby is a major social and community event where the main street of the West End (Brisbane) is blocked off for the afternoon and taken over by all things colourful, fun, family and related to bikes…and other environmentally-friendly people-powered mobility, such as skateboards, scooters, roller-skates, trolleys, prams and everything in between!

The Derby is hosted by West End Community Association and is open to the general public and showcases the best that the West End has to offer in terms of business, community and lifestyle.

I have not previously been to the Derby before and this year it came highly recommended. Boy and I glad I went.

I had a brilliant time.

What happened at Kurilpa Derby?

The event is a much loved, anticipated and popular event.

It was a stunning, sunny day – and there was a great turn out.

Leki was at her floral best and I went as a jokey to pay homage to the ‘derby’ theme and also for the upcoming Melbourne Cup.

The day started with the Kurilpa Derby Street Parade.

Leki and I joined in the street parade along with all the other participants floats, families and locals.

The Parade was colourful and noisy and a lot of fun. We were surrounded by colour and energy and lots of locals, families and community groups participated.

The effort and thought that people had put into decorating whatever parade mode they had and their costuming was impressive.

There was so much to see in the parade, like the Brazilian dancing girls, a ‘public pool’ (float), beautifully decorated rickshaws, couches on wheels, unicycles, a tall bike, lots of environmentally-themed mobile displays and a number of killer drumming troupes who keep the parade bopping along.

An amazing oversized water rat ended up winning the float first prized prize.

My personal parade favourite was the beekeeping team-theme float. This was an understand, but well executed exhibit that had a spunky lady dressed as a bee inside a box decorated as the ‘hive’ as their float. This hive float was pulled by two fully equipped bee keepers (in full bee keeping suits including smoke cans). This crew handed out ices-poles anyone who wanted them the whole time – brilliant!

After the Parade, the road remained closed and there were a range of activities, demos, novelty races and entertainment, such as a Pet Parade, a cocktail race, skateboard demonstration and heaps of other novelty races.

It was brilliant to see so many visitors and families out and about. Kids were roaring up and down the street in between races enjoying the freedom, safety and fun of having an allocated street to roam free and go wild.

It was such a delight to see the community – all locals and visitors alike – come together in such a celebratory and inclusive way.

As the sun went down the festivities continued. The bars, shops, cafes and restaurants did a roaring business and were keep buys all day and night.

Many people stayed on after to attend the Kurilpa Beggars’ Banquet, which is a brilliant community potluck dinner extravaganza.

If you have never been to the Kurilpa Derby before, be sure to put it on the calendar for next year. It is well worth it!

Below are a few pics from the day. See more photos at local Greta Pavlova’s Album.

Images my own, from Kurilpa Derby FB, @imogenbunting & @brisvagueness. Montage from The West End Magazine.

25/10/201730/10/2017

Asia-Pacific Cycle Congress

This time last week, the Asia-Pacific Cycle Congress (APCC) was being held in Christchurch, NZ from Tuesday 17th Oct – Friday 20th Oct.

I wasn’t able to go as I had my PhD Confirmation paper and seminar due smack in the middle – doh! Otherwise, I would have been there for sure and I had a session to present. It will just have to wait until next year!

What was on at the Asia-Pacific Cycle Congress?

The program for this year looked jammed packed full of interesting sessions. Check out the program link below and see what session takes your fancy.

Get the APCC Program and daily schedule here.

The link above also gives the daily schedule and a number of the speakers provided their presentations for public distribution.

All sessions were divided into these key themes:

I like that there was also a bit of personality coming through – as evidence, I was delighted to see Jo Clendon’s poster abstract had a footnote for the term ‘bike user’ as being:

The APCC event is a great forum to share ideas and get inspired. I would have like to have seen more Asia-Pacific-ness in the mix (very Oceania focused). As far as I could see there were no sessions from East Asia, South Asia or Southeast Asia – and there are some amazing projects going on there!

I hope to see more recognition for countries that are not usually considered to be ‘cycling’ countries to be better represented, included and instrumental in biking discourse and practice. I’d like to see more initiatives from India, Indonesia, Philippines, Timor, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the like. I know it is far to travel to NZ from these countries, but I’d really dig seeing some more diversity and range of contexts and ‘life world’ experiences in this conference’s program (in fact in all ALL conference programs!).

Who was presenting?

As you would expect, there were HEAPS of NZ presenters covering a massive array of planning, economic, behavioural, community, research and other projects – impressive!

As I have said before, NZ is by far whooping AUS arse on so many fronts (least of all NBN, Politics, Supporting Outdoor Industries to name a few). However, NZ’s progressive, strategic and forward-thinking development and integration of cycling an biking nationwide are envious. I go to Rotorua every year to ride and have posted before on a number of fun and admirable aspects of how riding and bike feature prominently in NZ.

I’ve also said before how easy, convent, and enjoyable it is being a cycling tourist in NZ. I’ve posted on how easy it is to get around in Rotorua, and some of their great community projects like the Dad’s n Lads bike events, as well as the formidable urban strategic plans within the major cities ( like Rotorua) that make biking a normalised way of getting around town – as well as being part of the larger picture to connect the whole country from top to bottom by bike paths – awesome! So NZ is by far a cycling leader on many fronts – and AUS would do well to learn from their NZ counterparts.

I was happy to see Brisbane represented:

Mark Pattemore’s (Brisbane City Council) Better bikeways for Brisbane.
Sarah Wilkinson (QLD Government) Cost-Benefit analysis of recent major cycling investments across QLD.
Narelle Haworth (QLD), Kristin Heesch (QLD) & Ashim Kumar Debath (VIC) Individual & Environmental Correlates of motorists passing distance of bicycle riders

As well as other Aussie presenters:

Cameron Munro (CDM Research, Melb) Designing for Bike Riders on local road roundabouts
Peter Metcalf (Wagners, Aust) Cycling the Hawkes Bay NZ region in safety with the aid of a clip on cycleway

And some OS delegates:

Tom Ransom (Isle of Wight, UK) School travel behaviour change
Thomas Stokell (USA) Bike Data Analysis – a comparison between 21,000 NZ riders and 180,000 riders from around the world
Jurgen Gerlach (Germany) with Axel Wilke (NZ) & Alistair Woodward (NZ) Safe…. but only if it’s efficient
Tyler Golly (Canada) & Ryan Martinson (Canada) How to achieve rapid change for cycling outcomes

There were so many great NZ sessions that it would be too much to include here – suffice to say, it is well worth checking out the program link above in bold to see which session is most interesting for you.

October is the month for it!

The APCC is run in conjunction with Biketober, Christchurch’s month long celebration of all things bikes. Seems like October is the month for such events if Bike Palooza (Bendigo, VIC) and Biketober (Christchurch, NZ) is anything to go by!

Here is some of what is on for Christchurch’s Biketober.

16/10/201723/10/2017

Bike Palooza

If I didn’t have to heave my head in the books for my PhD Confirmation paper – I’d be in Bendigo, VIC celebrating Bike Palooza Bendigo! You lucky buggers! NG.

In July earlier this year, I met Jac from Bike Bendigo at the National Cycling and Walking Conference (Adelaide).

On meeting, we immediately hit it off. We had a shared passion for promoting more bikes in our communities. We were both keen to attend each others’ sessions, but we had to present at the same time! Eck!

We swapped contacts and have stayed in touch since. I was delighted to see that Jac, Bike Bendigo, their local partners and what looks like their whole community – have been super busy because October is Bike Bendigo’s Bike Palozza month-long festival!

What is Bike Palooza Bendigo?

Essentially, Bike Palooza Bendigo is a month long bike festival hosted by Bike Bendigo to celebrate and promote biking, cycling and riding in and around the community of Bendigo, VIC.

Bike Bendigo is a community based organisation committed to getting more people on bikes in Bendigo. They partner with local council to promote the local area as a principal bicycle destination for all types of riders – and they are doing a damn fine job of it too!

They are very activate on social media and have some great little videos uploaded onto Facebook.

Bike Palooza Bendigo has been in the media and it is great to see local businesses getting behind Bike Bendigo and the event and supporting it.

A well thought out event.

Kudos to the organisers as the event has been extremely well thought out, in relation to timing, types of events and locations.

Also, the consistency and originality of the event marketing theme (website, colours, animations etc) is original and distinctive – and there is a limited line of event pennants and T-shirsts and badges available.

This is a wonderful month-long event with over 120+ events to check out- it is very family friendly and definitely something for everyone!

There is the Ride2Work day, the inaugural Bendigo Cycle Classic, the Filmed by Bike International Bike Film Festival, Free Wheeling Fun open shed, Open Streets and heaps of community rides to name a few.

Filmed by Bike– Friday 20th Oct @ Bike Palooza 2017

My hot tip event not to be missed is the Filmed by Bike screening.

This free event will be a screening of two of shows from the world renowned international bike film festival from Portland, Oregon: Bike Love and Adventure Shorts. To see these films – head down to: Hargreaves Mall this Friday (20th Oct). 6.30pm for 7pm start of films. Click here for more details. There will be a pop-up bar, plenty of comfy seating provided on the night, so BYO picnic, dinner and ride on it to see the screening.

Mind you – I’m keen to go on any of the community rides as well!!

I have been immensely impressed with the amount of work that Jac and the Bike Bendigo crew have put into the Bike Palozoo extravaganza. Amazing!

Congrats on such a brilliant showcase of your region, your town and for creating such a positive dialogue about, and promotion for, bike-friendly communities…and for extending the invitation for more cyclists to come a enjoy your very welcoming and bike-friendly town!

I can’t wait to head down and come for a ride!

Have fun to all those heading to Bendigo to support this awesome event, I hope you have a bikey-blast!

For those who have not yet gone – get on ya bike and get down there!

All images: Bike Palooza Bendigo.

19/09/201722/11/2017

Helmet Survey – Last Chance!

Do you agree with compulsory helmet laws?

Helmet use for cyclists is an ongoing and contentious issue.

Lately, there have been some very heated, passionate and convincing arguments being thrown around.

So it is very timely that Bicycle Network (BN) is undertaking an open invitation to participate in a Helmet Survey to gauge current community feelings about compulsory helmet laws. Have you put your two cents in yet? Better hurry!

TAKE THE HELMET SURVEY HERE

The survey closes Friday 22nd September.

Anyone, anywhere can fill out the survey.

It will take about 5 minutes.

Bicycles Create Change.com Helmet Survey - Last Chance! — Source: Google

Bicycle Network is Australia’s largest bicycle advocacy group. It is the resultant amalgamation of Bicycle Victoria, Bicycle NSW and Bicycle Tasmania (QLD, SA and others opted not to join). This group has over 50,000 members and is proactive in responding to current issues and driving more positive change. Hence the survey!

I have been a member for a number of years. In Feburary this year, I went to Bicycle Network’s Bike Futures 2017 Conference. I was impressed by the range of sessions, quality of work undertaken and large number of attendees. The event was very well organised and it was exciting to be invovled with such a motivated community of cycling activists!

So it is no surprise that as of today, over 18 thousand people have already completed the Helmet Survey.

However, only 23% of respondents are female – which is a pitiful representative considering that women make up 1/3 of all cyclists.

Why the low representation of females in this survey? This is not good.

More females needed to complete the Helmet Survey, please!

Anyone can fill out this survey. You don’t even need to be a cyclist.

Bicycle Network would like to hear what the WHOLE community feels about this issue – including people who ride bikes – as well as those who don’t.

What to do?

Step 1: If you have not done so already, fill out the survey.
Step 2: Ask at least two female cycling mates to do the same!

In my discussions with people about this issue, I’ve heard the full gamut of positions, like:

Some people have strong opinions about helmets (both for and against)
Some people are still deciding
Some think this issue doesn’t affect them
Some haven’t thought much about it
Others couldn’t care less

Patrick Williams published a good little article for ABC Brisbane that touches on a few of the key issues and well worth a quick look if you are interested to hear a little more. (Very interesting reading some of the comments below this article as well!)

This is what Bicycle Network plans to do with the results of the survey…