Bright Ideas 2018 Award Winner – English Australia (QLD)

Great news!

In March, I presented two workshops at the English Australia (QLD) PD Fest. This event is the state precursor to the national conference held later this year.

The Bicycles Create Change Internship workshop was one of 5 sessions nominated for the EA (QLD) Bright Ideas Award.

This blog formed the basis for work undertaken for this internship, and bicycles and community participation were main features for this project.

All nominees had a mystery EA selection committee representative attend their session and participant feedback is also considered.

The winner is sponsored by EA (QLD) to present at the national English Australia conference in September in Sydney with all expenses paid: full EA Conference and gala dinner registration, accommodation for 2 nights in Sydney and return flights.

I just got the news our session won the Award!

Here’s what I got:

We are delighted to announce the recipient of this year’s award:

Nina Ginsberg

from Griffith English Language Institute (GELI), Griffith University

The committee was unanimous in its decision. Nina’s paper and presentation, entitled From EAS to Collaborative Internship: Lessons and insights where bicycles create change, was highly praised by both the committee and in delegate feedback.

Hooray! What an honour! I immediately contacted my four ’emerging professionals’ (collaborators) to let them know – they were tickled pink!

(Note: I had asked that the students be listed on the program and in the title as co-presenters. But, it is a ‘teachers conference’, three of the students were not physically there on the day (they are overseas, so they presented via video) and seeing as though I was ‘the main presenter ‘- the organizers used my name only on the program. However, the students are listed in the event publication. Such a bummer we can’t all go to present as a team in Sydney. So I am going to Sydney as the team representative, but this was by no means a solo project and the award and recognition goes to everyone on our amazing team. NG)

Bicycles really do create change!

I am very proud of our team.

We have all come so far since our humble beginnings in Jan 2016. Now 1.5 years on, Gabriel is completing his Social Work course at Griffith Uni, Sachie is back home in Japan completing her final semester, Mauricio has graduated and is now working in Brisbane in IT, and Juliet is a Special Ed teacher in NZ.

The students worked so hard during this internship (and still continue to do so!). As the program designer and facilitator, I learnt just as much as they did!

Now our project is going to the national conference! Hooray!

Here’s the PD Fest Learnings Publication 2018 with all session details:

Thanks all!

Thank you to all the teachers who attended the session and saw the value in what we were doing. It was great to see such enthusiastic interest in our project.

A big thanks to English Australia (QLD), the selection committee and Pearson for this wonderful opportunity.

Workshop Session Abstract – From EAS to Collaborative Internship: Lessons and insights where Bicycles Create Change

Many international students undertake English and Academic Skills (EAS) and DEP bridging classes to get into university with the ultimate aim of getting a job in their field of study. There is a perception that English classrooms are for learning English, University tutorials are for discipline-specific content, and the workplace is for vocational skills. Internships one way where students can become more work-ready. However, a number of studies confirm that current tertiary students are lacking in generic employability skills (ACNielsen Research Services 2000; ACCI/BCA 2002), an issue that is even more challenging for international students. I was curious to explore what a career development program that specifically catered for the academic, vocational and personal needs of the international students in my DEP classes might look like. This presentation was a brief overview of the origins, activities and outcomes of this exploration: The Bicycles Create Change.com 2016 Summer Internship Program.

Program background

This Internship was a volunteer, eight-week, collaborative internship that ran from January 4th to February 27th, 2016. It required participants to fulfil 80-110 working hours. The blog Bicycles Create Change.com (which has over 118,700 hits locally and internationally) served as the professional platform for work activities as it is a low-cost, high-exposure, authentic, skills-integrated outlet to showcase work.

The program was semi-structured with space to modify and self-initiative content. Hours were achieved individually, in pairs and as a team. The team met for one full day each week to review tasks, run workshops, refine skills and discuss progress.

This program integrated key theories including, scaffolding new skills (Vygotsky 1987), the need for authentic vocational guidance, participation and engagement (Billet, 2002), promoting creative thinking and expression (Judkins, 2015) and building on foundational DEP EAS skills and competencies (GELI, n.d.).

Origins and participants

The four volunteer participants varied in ages, backgrounds and degree levels and disciplines. The 4 volunteers for this program were; Sachie (female, 23, Japanese, Philosophy undergrad), Mauricio (male, 33, Columbian, IT PG), Juliet (female, 37, Indian, Special Education PG) and Gabriel (male, 42, Cameroonian, Social Work PG). All participants had just graduated from the Griffith English Language Institute (GELI) 10-week DEP program in December. Semester 1 2016 did not commence until Feb 28^th, leaving a gap of 9 weeks before university started, which is when the internship was undertaken.

Key considerations

There were are a number of key considerations built into this program:

Strengthening self-confidence and independent learning
Experience with unique, transferable and challenging skills
Fostering creativity and valuing artistic expression
Emphasis on developing reflection, collaboration and planning skills
Integrating EAS, vocation and personal skills to a range of contexts
Promoting initiative and the ability to generate own opportunities
Increasing employability, CV and work-ready skills
Authentic interactions and connection with locals/community
Create a comprehensive evidence portfolio of work, skills and achievements
To have fun applying skills in a challenging and productive way

Program design

The focus was to build on current competencies, develop new skills, build a professional portfolio of experience (and evidence), and for participants to become more confident in initiating their own opportunities and outputs.

This program minimised the ‘daily’ supervision and ‘student’ mentality of traditional internships to instead put supported autonomy firmly into the hands of each participant, who ultimately self-managed their own workload. The program provided tailored experiences (below) that provided exposure to a collection of advanced competencies that are cumulatively not commonly experienced in other internships or classes.

The program integrated three main competency streams: EAS, Professional Skills and Individual Development. The program was scaffolded so that tasks became progressively more challenging and required greater participant self-direction to complete, as seen below:

Unique features

Participants undertook a series of challenging tasks, including:

Develop and present a professional development workshop (individually and in pairs)
Undertake an individual project that resulted in an output (ie. Crowdfunding project, publication)
Self-identify an industry leader to cold call for a 20-min introductory meeting
Complete a Coursea MOOC on an area of their choosing
Research a social issue to creatively present an individual ‘art bike’ as part of a team Public Art Bike Social Issue Presentation and Forum
Research and produce five original blog posts on how bicycles are being used to create more positive community change in their home country
Weekly meeting with an assigned independent industry expert mentor
Join an industry association and attend events
Series of community activities: vox pops; invite locals to contribute to a community storybook; solicit locals to donate bicycles; deliver their work at a local community garden to the general public as part of the Art Bike Public Forum; conduct an individual public presentation
Complete an Internship Portfolio (documentation of work and reflection journal that documents, audits and reviews tasks, opportunities and skills)
The BCC Internship Team: Public Art Bike Social Issue Presentation and Forum. Sunday 13^th March, 2016.

Takeaways

There were many lessons learnt from this project and given time constraints, only a few were touched on in the presentation. Some key takeaways were:

Provide transferable and unique opportunities to develop ‘generic employability’, critical reflection and creative problem-solving skills
Provide integrated, genuine and practical ways to apply skills
Celebrate strategies, ‘sticky points’, ‘misfires’ ‘pregnant opportunities’ and successes
Make tasks more challenging and higher profile
Participants loved having more contact with the local community
Adaptations are needed for aspects to be taken up by educational institutions
Work from the end result backwards (CV and skill development)
Have visible, productive and meaningful evidence (or body) of work
Foster ability to independently create own opportunities and networks
Honour unexpected outcomes
Change the mindset to change to experience

For more details, or to contact the participants, go to Bicycles Create Change.com (search: internship). This project was a voluntary, independent and informal project, so for ideas on how to modify or embed aspects of this program into an existing course or for any other information, please contact Nina Ginsberg.

References

ACCI/BCA (2002) Employability skills for the future, DEST, Canberra.

ACNielsen Research Services (2000) Employer satisfaction with graduate skills: research report, Evaluations and Investigations Programme Higher Education Division, Department of Education Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA).

Billett, S. (2002). Workplace pedagogic practices: Participation and learning. Australian Vocational Education Review, 9(1), 28-38.

Griffith English Language Institute (GELI): Direct Entry Program. (n.d.) Retrieved from: https://www.griffith.edu.au/international/griffith-english-language-institute.

Judkins, R. (2015). The art of creative thinking. Hachette UK.

Lyons, M. (2006). National Prosperity, Local Choice and Civic Engagement: A New Partnership between Central and Local Government for the 21st Century. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.

McLennan, B., & Keating, S. (2008, June). Work-integrated learning (WIL) in Australian universities: The challenges of mainstreaming WIL. In ALTC NAGCAS National Symposium (pp. 2-14).

Vygotsky, L. (1987). Zone of proximal development. Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes, 5291, 157.

05/05/201814/06/2018

Brisbane Bike Week 2018

What is Bike Week?

Bike Week runs from 28th April – 6th May and is Brisbane’s annual cycling festival. This bike festival is aimed at getting more people of different ages and stages riding bikes.

I’ve been really looking forward to Bike Week this year. I had high expectations this year after having such a great time last year and considering the amazing range and popularity of the events for last year Bike Week 2017.

I especially had a great time at the Style Over Speed event and was delighted to be interviewed a part of a radio segment about the event! But alas it was not on for 2018.

However, one of the special events for this Bike Week was the Bayview Staging Area Official Opening @ Bike Week. This was a celebratory half day for family, friends and riders to share and enjoy the public opening of the Bayview shared trails. (Stay tuned for more on this! NG).

Bike Week 2018. Bicycles Create Change.com. 5th May 2018 — Image: Bike Week QLD

Brisbane Bike Week 2018

There have been lots of events this week, like:

Bike Home from Work Party
Wheely Fun (for young riders transitioning from training wheels)
10-Speed Dating @ Bike Week
Safe Cycling with Kids
Cycling – Ferny Grove suburban explorer
Get There By Bike @ Bike Week

I love going to the rides and activities put on by council and bike clubs, but I admit to having a special place in my heart for the smaller, more unconventional events.

I’m also always keen to see more ‘fringe’ events.. like last year’s Style over Speed, or some of the unusual performances or events that are a little more quirky, idiosyncratic, unique and not so ..well… er… conventional.

If I had a say in Bike Week

…I’d suggest for a little more on the ‘festival’ side………

I’d like to see some less polished, less ‘the usual suspects’ and more grass-roots events as well…like….maybe a local high school (or QCA?) hosting a student art show, or UQ hosting a community bike discussion forum, or a Brisbane bike photo competition, or a family bikes games day in the Botanic Gardens, or holding a bike slam poetry afternoon in a retirement villages (bring the festival to those who can’t make it?) ….that kind of thing.

Or ….how about a bike festival ‘official opening extravaganza’ in the city where THEcyclOZ troupe are whipping the crowd into a frenzy …. and the Pedal Pusher Brisbane crew and The Brisbane Penny Farthing chapter (and others!) are alongside local BMX, Fixi and bike polo groups doing demonstrations over the course of the day, so more people can drop in and see the wonderful range and spirit of the Brisbane cycling community.

Now that’s a bike festival!!

Well…maybe next year….

Until then, there is still much to do for Bike Week 2018!

This weekend

Some of the events on this weekend are:

Saturday

Sunday

Brisbane City Council’s website has a good range of Bike Week events – or go to the official Bike Week QLD website (see below).

An impressive amount of hard work and effort has gone into these events.

I’m excited about heading out, getting involved, meeting some new riders, riding my bike at some new locations and supporting the festival.

The weather in Brisbane is amazing at the moment and it is a perfect time to grab the family and have some fun on two wheels.

So Brisbanites – grab a mate, get out there and get riding!

See you out there!

23/04/201826/04/2018

Bike rides on Astronomy Day 2018

At the start of this year, I posted on the interesting range of 2018 ‘International Day of the ..’ events. So, I was excited when I found out that the latest International Astronomy Day was on the weekend. Especially when I saw how a few cycling groups took advantage of this unique celestial event to organise some community night rides. What a wicked thing to do! Check details to suit as per where you live (i.e. Northern or Southern Hemipshere).

Image: The Astronomical League

I am a BIG fan of night rides.

On this blog, night riding is celebrated in many ways, such as:

And this weekend provided another exciting night time ride opportunity!

International Astronomy Day 2018!

Chart by Guy Ottewell

What is Astronomy Day?

Astronomy Day is a global event observed every spring and ‘fall’ (autumn).

This an annual event is intended to provide a means of interaction between the general public and various astronomy enthusiasts, groups and professionals.

The event was started in 1973 by Doug Berger (then Astronomical Association of Northern California president). His intent was to set up various telescopes in busy urban locations so that anyone could enjoy looking at the heavens.

Since then the event has since grown and is now celebrated in many ways around the world by people in science and the general public.

Originally, Astronomy Day occurred on a Saturday between mid-April and mid-May, and was scheduled so as to occur at or close to the first quarter Moon. For this year, that meant that this latest official International Astronomy Day fell on April 21, 2018.

In 2007, an autumn equivalent of Astronomy Day was added. The next Autumn Astronomy Day will be on October 13, 2018. So, put it in the calendar and organise a night ride!

What does this mean for cyclists? See what these guys did!

It means you get out on your bike with a few others and go for a killer night ride to learn and enjoy our incredible cosmos!

My favorite Astronomy Day bike event for this year was held by Bicycle Tree. They are a nonprofit community bike centre/shop in Santa Ana (Orange Country, CA).

See more of their work and good times on Instagram: @Bicycle Tree.

To celebrate Astronomy Day , the Bicycle Tree held a: Sabor de Santa Ana Community Bike Ride.

Image: The Bicycle Tree

The Bicycles Tree: Sabor de Santa Ana Community Bike Ride.

The Bicycle Tree instruction for this event were: This Saturday is Astronomy Day, so we’re going to gaze upon the universe during our ride Saturday night! Telescopes and guidance will be provided by Jeff Schroeder, a former JPL engineer and Mount San Antonio College planetarium lecturer, and current Outreach Director for the Pomona Valley Amateur Astronomers! Jeff will be bringing meteor samples as well.

We will, of course, also be getting food along the way. We’re going to TCW – Tacos Churros and Wings for stellar food!

The ride meets at the shop at 6:00 pm and we roll out at 6:30. We’ll be back at around 9:30. We do this monthly ride to get together and enjoy some of the great food that Santa Ana has to offer while cruising through this city’s streets and neighborhoods! .

We’ll be riding about 12 miles at a mild pace. We’ll end up back at the shop at around 9:30.

Bike rides on Astronomy Day 2018 @Bicycles Create Change.com 23rd April 2018 Image: The Anime Gallery

Talk about making the most out of a biking community event!!

This event is brilliant because it really does create more positive community change, in that it provides an opportunity for partipants to:

be part of a key international event/date
brings a range of community members together
riders get to learning about the universe – something new
gain some experience using specialist astronomy equipment
have fun riding bikes around your local area
get out and be active in the evening

What a great idea this kind of community ride is!

I’d love to see more of these kind of events happening.

These events provide great examples and inspiration to plan for other upcoming ‘international’ dates.

I can’t wait to see what kind of innovative bike ride you put on!

Best of luck and happy star gazing on your next ride all!

Here’s what is coming up for those in the Northern Hemisphere – have fun! Image: The Astronomical League

For more Astronomy Day info: click here for a Fact Sheet, history and more about ‘when’ and ‘where‘ about this event from The Astronomical League (what a great name!).

09/04/201816/04/2018

DR Congo: Chukudu bikes

Chukudus are very unique Congolese wooden bikes.

They resemble an elongated kick bike.

In Goma city (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo), Chukudus cost around $100 to make. These bikes are made out of scavenged motorbike and other recycled parts, with the bulk being hand-crafted out of wood.

Increasingly, young men in Goma are using chukudus as a way to earn money.

DR Congo: Chukudu bikes

Although these bikes provide income generation opportunities, they are also incredibly dangerous. Roads in DR Congo have hazardous conditions and are precarious as driving is unregulated and there is a lack of driver etiquette for other road users, which means increased road traffic accidents and deaths.

This is a major issue because in the past, the DR Congo rated as having one of the highest road fatality rates in the world.

For people living in poverty, especially youths, transportation is critical. It is the key to access basic services such as health, education, and is a means to improve current and future livelihood opportunities.

Why is this film important?

Horaci Garcia Marti’s film (above) How DR Congo’s wooden bikes drive profit in Goma is a valuable and important work for a number of reasons.

The film centers on a local young man Tumaini Obedi. With a duration of only 2 mins 37sec, it packs a lot of food for thought by providing Tumaini’s personal experiences riding his Chukudu – and of poverty, urban living, road safety, family and hopes of the future – issues that many people can relate to.

There is a real elegance to the coasting scenes in this film, where the riders are flying along seemingly effortlessly.

Watching this film, I can’t help but think of the exorbitant amounts of money charged by Western bikes companies. But bikes don’t need to be top of the range to make this contrast challenging.

Once you have seen a Chukudu, you’ll view pretty much any bike thereafter differently.

That’s why I like this film. It is short, relatable, and tells an impactful story.

Not only is it important for this story to be told in and of itself, but further, it will give riders specifically pause to think – and be grateful.

All Images from: How DR Congo’s wooden bikes drive profit in Goma

31/03/201831/03/2018

MAMILS (Middle Aged Men In Lycra)

This blog prides itself on staying true to the essence of community and grassroots cycling and presenting the more local and personal side of riding bikes. This means on this blog you will not find any advertisements, product reviews and very little road riding – all of which are already overrepresented by cycling mainstream and online media. The road riding fraternity is often criticised for being elitist, alienating other codes of biking and being the sole domain of ‘rich white guys’.

As a counter to this, I think it is important not to tar all road riders with the same brush. So it is my pleasure to host this guest blog post from Denise Raward, as a wonderful example of how a group of road riders used cycling to create more positive personal and community change. Enjoy!

New Film: MAMILS documentary

Let’s be clear, this is not a story about bicycles versus cars.

It’s probably not even so much a story about bicycles, except perhaps as a metaphor for something that keeps you pedalling because if you don’t, you’ll fall over.

This was to be a story about MAMILS, those much derided Middle-Aged Men in Lycra, slowing perfectly clear roadways in their matching knicks, talking loudly about their next carbon frames, polluting coffee shops with their post-ride perspiration.

But it turns out to be a story about a couple of blokes who ride bikes to get them through what middle age can throw at men.

Here is the trailer for the MAMILS film:

Curiously, Australian filmmakers Nickolas Bird and Eleanor Sharpe struck the same phenomenon in their recent documentary MAMILS, a study of men’s cycling groups across three continents. They set out to take a wry look at the male mid-life obsession with expensive bikes but instead uncovered touching stories of camaraderie, community and hope.

Perhaps its most poignant case study was an Adelaide man who credits his cycling group with literally saving his life, staying his planned suicide with each ride. Steve Holmes understands how cycling can keep you hanging in there. In October 2016, he was diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, the same one that had claimed his brother’s life only two years before. It was a blow he never saw coming. He felt like he’d played all his survival cards when he recovered from a broken neck he sustained in a crash of the lead pack during the Gold Coast 100 cycling event five years earlier.

It was during his eight-month lay-up, wondering how much of his paralysed body would return, that he conceived of the idea of an online resource featuring everything you ever needed to know about cycling events in Australia and New Zealand.

He followed it up with another site encompassing Southeast Queensland clubs, recreational groups, regular rides, events and retailers. An internet novice, he started building the sites with his one functioning left hand. “It was a passion,” Steve says. “Cycling is huge. I didn’t know how big it was. I was just the person who was trying to pull it all together. I could see where it could go.”

The sites were just beginning to gain traction in cycling circles, catching the attention of cycling tourists and corporates, when – bang – Steve was back off his bike.”I was on a ride one day when I thought I had a stomach virus and the next thing, I’ve got this cancer where the survival rate is nil – nil! What do you even say to that?”

Here is Craig and Franko being interviewed on Ch7’s Daily Edition about their MAMILS documentary:

Steve Holmes’ Story

Steve’s cancer story is a long tale of operations; complications; unsung doctors who appeared from nowhere to save him within minutes of death and pure, sheer, brilliant luck. The tumours, which an 11-hour operation painstakingly removed, came back with a vengeance and took hold on the outside of his liver. He was in so much pain, he knew he couldn’t have long.

Then his oncologist unearthed a trail for Keytruda, an immunotherapy drug being tested on rare cancers, being run out of Hamburg, Germany. “I was that sick, he virtually had to move my hand on the page so I could sign the consent form,” Steve says. “It was a long shot that I even qualified for the trial.”

The next thing he was in Brisbane hooked up to a Keytruda infusion. Four days later, he was on the floor, sicker than he’d ever been, but with each dose, things improved. One day, he realised he couldn’t feel pain any more but thought he must be just getting used it. “I spent a lot of time lying on the couch,” he says. “And I would think about riding and my cycling sites and how I was going to make them better. I’ll tell you one thing, when you’re preparing to die, it really helps to have a passion.”

Steve still can’t speak about the miracle that happened next without a few tears. It’s still too new and perhaps he doesn’t quite believe it yet. Last month, he got word he was in complete remission, one of only two known people in the world to escape the clutches of cholangiocarcinoma.

“When you’re ready to die and it doesn’t happen, it sounds ridiculous but you go through a ‘well, what do I do now’ phase,” he says. “But I knew what it was, it was getting going with all the ideas that came to me while I was dying.” He’s currently revamping and relaunching his cycling websites and newsletters, creating a BuzzFeed-style app with his curated cycling information and an online magazine. He’s back on his bike too – just twice a week, finding his legs again, being back out on the road with his old cycling mates.

Dave McCrossin’s Story

Retired paediatrician Dave McCrossin has his own tale of riding for life. Dave was an early adopter of cycling for fitness and mateship, certainly well before anyone had heard of a MAMIL. He started out on a sturdy hybrid bike wearing shorts and a t-shirt more than 25 years ago but later switched to lycra and has ridden in many of the country’s major recreational cycling events.

The former Director of Paediatric Services at the Mater Hospital, Queenland’s specialist children’s hospital, took an early retirement when Parkinson’s disease made it difficult to keep up the demands of his work.

He and his wife sold up in Brisbane, bought an apartment on the Gold Coast and Dave joined an old mate’s local cycling group. He found a bunch of blokes who took him under their wing. Someone would hang back with him if he was having a slow day but mostly they didn’t change too much on his account, just as he liked it. But Dave doesn’t move like he used to. Parkinson’s symptoms include shaking, increasing rigidity and slowness of movement. Yet cycling, preferably faster than you’re physically able, is clinically proven to alleviate Parkinson’s symptoms. Researchers believe the action of cycling improves connections in vital areas of the brain.

It was something Dave was already onto. Over a year ago, he switched to an e-bike, fitted with a small, silent electric motor, to help his legs keep pumping when he needed a boost. His mates particularly love it when he powers past the A-listers on a Sunday morning.

Be warned, sales of e-bikes are booming as recreational cyclists age and want to keep riding into their 70s, even 80s. Old MAMILS, it seems, never die… that’s why they do it.

Thanks to Denise Raward for this great article, which was originally published in the Fraser Coast Chronicle, on 25th March 2018. Images from the film.

26/03/201826/03/2018

30 days of Biking – 1 week to go!

As many of you know, World Bicycle Relief is one of the NGOs that is aligned with many aspects of my PhD bicycle research. Next week is April. That means a full month of extra happy riding! Why? Well, it’s 30 Days of Biking time of course! So get motivated and get amongst it! Now is the time to register! Have fun! Ride bikes! Do good!

What is the aim of 30 Days of Biking?

The goal is simple: Ride your bike every day in April, share your adventures online, and help your community provide life-changing bicycles to students in rural Africa!

What is the 30 Days of Biking?

Click here for the link to the official 30 Days of Biking website.

From the WBR website, the most important info to know is, you…

Pledge to ride your bike every day in April
Join riders from all over the world and make it more meaningful by fundraising for WBR
Share your adventures on social media using #30DaysofBiking

30 Days of Biking began in 2010, in Minnesota, USA. Today, it boasts thousands of pledged riders in dozens of cities around the world. #30DaysofBiking also encourages you to join or lead your own rides during April. It’s free to everyone, everywhere.

Whether you ride for exercise, environmental advocacy, socializing or for fun, you can make an impact.

There is no distance too short and no donation too small – keep riding and don’t give up!

CREATING IMPACT

Last year, the 30 Days of Biking community collected over 7,000 pledges and raised over $15,000. The aim this year if to unite as a global community and reach 10,000 pledges and raise over USD$30,000 for life-changing Buffalo Bicycles in rural Africa!

You can see a list of who pledges (as long as they are public) here. At the time of this post, the total number of pledges to date is:

HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

Pledge by visiting 30DaysofBiking
Start your #30DaysOfBiking fundraiser to share your joy of riding with students in rural Africa!
Share your 30 Days of Biking journey on social media using #PowerofBicycles and #30DaysofBiking
Follow this global movement via Joyful Riders Worldwide Facebook page.

Further questions and inquiries? Email: Mary Beth Johnson at mbjohnson@worldbicyclerelief.org.

Image: Instagram #30daysofbiking

What kind of events can you do for 30 days of Biking?

Anything you want!

Limited only by your imagination!

You can host a regular weekly bike ride, a movie night, a family ride, a tiny bicycle shop concert (my personal favourite!) – or any other manner of social events that involve riding.

What a great way to build community and do some good!

If you already ride a lot and are keen to give it a go – now is the time to register!

To whet your motivation, here are some fun ways other US cyclists are kicking off the challenge (click here to see more events). Good luck with yours!

All images: World Bicycle Relief 2018

18/03/201818/04/2018

Bicycle Short Film People’s Choice Winner

Hooray!

Great news!

Our short film ‘Leki’ took out the People’s Choice Award at the 2018 Brisbane Bike Short Film Festival on Friday night!

For this film, I collaborated with Isabel Turner, who is the spunky, young designer who really made this film happen.

Thanks to all!

Bella and I wanted to say a big thank you to all those who people who voted for us! We very much appreciate your great sense of humour and for supporting more inclusive, active and colourful (cycling) communities. We need more happy people out there like you! Thank you!!

Congratulations also to all the other entrants who made a great effort and contributed their stories and creativity! It was wonderful to see such multiplicity in their approaches, themes and celebration of bikes in Brisbane.

A big thank you also to the organisers, volunteers and sponsors who worked so hard to make this a memorable and fun night.

Without further ado – here is this our 2018 Brisbane Bike Bites People’s Choice film. Enjoy!!

Click here to find out more about the lead-up to the Festival here.

Click here to see the finalists films.

‘LEKI’ Brisbane Bicycle Short Film People’s Choice Winner!

The night started out with a Style over Speed ride for those who could make it (I had to teach). Then there was a boisterous welcome by the bike band on arrival at the Kangaroo Point Multicultural Centre.

It was great to see lots of bikes parked outside for the event. Inside, people milled about eating pizza, drinking and chatting. Then the bell sounded for us to take our seats.

First up was a screening of the six short film finalists. I loved the diversity of each entry – they were all completely different.

I really appreciated the effort and thought that had gone into each entry. I especially liked the moving simplicity of The Route and the down-to-earthiness and kool kustom bikes (and lit-up allure) of Anthony’s Ride your bike. Free your soul.

Before interval, the Spaces for Cycling Brisbane judges announced their top prizes for first, second and third.

A special award went to Tegan Methorst for being the youngest film-maker to enter with her film It moves you.

Then it was time for intermission. More drinks, socialising and pizza. This is where the audience got to cast their votes.

The second part of the night was a filming of the film Why we ride. This is a documentary from Copenhagen exploring the ideas and experiences of a range of cyclists in the Netherlands. It was super interesting and had lots of ideas that have stimulated and progressed very interesting conversations since! (See the trailer for this feature film trailer below.)

The People’s Choice Prize was awarded at the end to close.

What a night!

The making of Leki

At the end of January 2018, Bella moved to the UK for work.

So as a final farewell collaborative project, we decided to put together a bicycle short film entry about my flower bike Leki. Bella did all the hard work behind the screen (scene?) that made this film happen.

We had a great time doing the filming in and around our community.

The interactions and conversations we used were all total strangers that I accosted on the street then and there to interview. We wanted an authentic and true, unedited representation of what local people thought and said about Leki.

It was a little daunting going up to random strangers and asking them to go on film to talk about Leki, but our community was super supportive and up for it.

We filmed around Bayside Wynnym Manly area in Brisbane.

We had many ideas about what we were going to put into it. We discussed doing some of the stories about Leki in animation and adding in some more creative aspects to show off Bella’s skills.

However, in the end, we wanted it to be no-fuss, low-key and accessible, so opted for a straightforward vox pop and storytelling format.

We wanted Leki and the community to speak for itself without ‘jazzing it up’ with any frills – just take it as it is – and enjoy!

We wanted to include a few local sites around our community to up the ‘Brisbane-ness’ of the film (I talk about riding in Melbourne at one stage), so we wanted to be sure people knew we were specifically located and riding around in and around Brisbane.

Local Cycling Community Hero – Richard @ Crossley Cycles

We included an interview with Richard Crossley from Crossley Cycles (Manly, Brisbane) as well. This was important to us for a number of reasons; Richard is not only a wonderful friend and constant supporter of me personally (he loves to chat about my PhD bike research and see what I’m making next out of recycled bike parts and inner tubes, so I am often in his workshop on Saturdays tinkering and chatting with him as he works on his bikes), but he is also a local hero to the Manly cycling community.

Richard has been serving local riders and BMXers at his shop in Manly for 47 years – and he is well loved and well respected by some very big names.

So having Richard in our short film was our way of recognising and honouring his contribution to the range, colour and life of the local Brisbane cycling network. Thanks Richard!

Thanks Bella!!

A massive big thanks to Bella Turner for all her hard work on Leki – and for all the other work we did together. Congratulations…. and best of luck in the UK!!

13/03/201818/04/2018

Holi Festival 2018

Video courtesy: Paviter Kumar Noori

Holi Festival 2018

Last weekend, I headed down to the Brisbane Holi Festival 2018 celebrations.

I was drawn to this event for a number of reasons: it is a wonderful cultural celebration, it was being held in an area of Brisbane I have not been to, and most importantly, there was an organised public bike ride to kick off the festivities!

I saw this community event on the Brisbane City Council website – and this is what is said:

Dress in white for the Holi Festival of Colours at Rocks Riverside Park and be prepared to get dirty when the colour throwing begins. Cycle to the event with the Two Wheels Bike Ride and try yoga, Bollywood dancing, delicious food and dance in the rain before the festival closes in an explosion of flying coloured powder.

What is Holi Festival?

The Holi Festival is known as the ‘Festival of Colour”.

It is an Indian cultural festival that celebrates community, fun and colour. It is the original event where people throw coloured powder over each other as a way of connecting people, having fun and celebrating life.

To find out more information about the significance, background and rituals of a more traditional Holi Festival, click here.

So what happened?

Here’s how I first saw the event advertised:

Which sounded right up my alley! I’m in!

So I called my creative collaborator, Claire. We packed the car up for the day with our colourful bikes, dressed in white and headed out to have some fun.

There was lots of Bollywood dancing, food stalls, demonstrations and lots of DJs that kept the dancing crowd happy – and continuous colour throwing!

After our ride along the river, we were a little hot and sweaty. So, we grabbed some delicious lunch and hung out in the shade. It was great to watch groups of kids getting crazy, families arriving and friends frolicking.

That was the best part of the day for me.

The DJs really started getting going around 1 pm. By then, the crowd had started built and was in full swing, so we headed into the main area for a boogie and to get amongst it.

We were instantly set upon by happy festival-goers (our clothes were VERY white and obviously needed some ‘help’) and while we were chatting and meeting new people, we danced around and got drenched by water cannons and splashed with colour.

The Indian community is so warm and friendly. It was so affirming to see so many ages, shapes, nationalities, ethnicities and mixes of people – it was a delight to be part of.

This kind of event represents the kind of community that I want to live in.

Awesome!

Leki was a real hit.

When it was time to leave, Claire and I grabbed our bikes to ride back…and we got accosted from all sides by punters wanting to have their photos taken with Leki (and the flower helmet beanie)!

How could we say no?

A minor hiccup

We had a minor hiccup on the day – we missed the organised ride.

Below is the ticket I received after booking. Claire and I (and Leki) happily took off on the day with our bikes to join the ride. The only problem was that we didn’t have enough info to find the location for the start of the ride in time.

The location was far too broad – We’d never been to this area before and the GPS stopped us in the middle of a busy street – eck!

We arrived and drove around and around – there were no signs on the main road indicating where the festival was. Finally, we worked out where it was, but by then, we were too late to join the official ride.

So, we went on our own little ride/mission along the riverside, which was great fun!

We had an equally great time exlporing the new bike trails ourselves and then we headed back to join the festivities. By then, it was starting to really get going in the main arena – perfect timing!

We had a great day! We danced, got coloured and we rode our bikes of colours.

By the time I got home, I was very tired – and very happy!

08/03/201813/03/2018

International Women’s Day 2018

It has been a very hectic last two weeks. Work has consumed much of my time and energy. As well as the new 2018 University semester starting, I’m preparing to present (twice!) at the English Australia PD Fest next week and also have a few other projects bubbling away! Argh! So amongst all this work, it was wonderful to celebrate International Women’s Day 2018.

Happy International Women’s Day!

As many regular readers of BCC know, my PhD research explores how bicycles can be better utilised to help rural African girls access secondary school.

This remains a critical issue in developing countries, where rural women and girls, in particular, are still severely disadvantaged when it comes to labour, land rights, water and food security, safety and access to essential services, such as education, health and income-generating opportunities.

So celebrating and sharing the history, stories and experiences at the heart of International Women’s Day (IWD) has an extra layer of importance for me – as it does for many others.

What is International Women’s Day 2018?

As the official IWD website states, International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. International Women’s Day (IWD) has occurred for well over a century, with the first March 8 IWD gathering supported by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organisation specific.

The 2018 IWD theme is #PressforProgress.

Bicycles Create Change always celebrates International Women’s Day. For the 2016 IWD, it was from a uniquely Filipino and Timorese perspective and paid homage to the strong men who support strong women. Last year for 2017, a number of great bike-inspired events were reviewed, like the Cycling Victoria IWD awards and a wide range of rides and events happening around the world.

This year, I found some amazing Bicycle Suffragette photos. I wanted to pay my respects to the amazing ladies who defied all so that most women can now have the freedom to ride bicycles. In places around the world where women are not allowed to ride bikes, like in Iran, women are fighting for that right in a similar way to our previous 1890s sisters in the West.

The Suffragette’s fight to ride a bike

There is still much to do, especially in developing nations, to raise the standard of women and achieve gender parity. The impact and importance of the humble bicycle has always been instrumental and iconic in this struggle.

“Let me tell you what I think of bicycling…I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride on a wheel. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.”

— Susan B. Anthony, suffragette

A more comprehensive summary of the Bicycles Suffragettes can be found at Alasko Velo’s blog, but, I think this quote from Anne-Marije Rook (via the Seattle Bike Blog as the original link has been lost), gives some great insight into the connection between cycling and women at the time..

“In a way, bicycling freed women. It gave them unprecedented mobility as they could pedal away from home and see parts of town and the countryside previously only seen from a carriage.

With their own bodily strength, they controlled their path and could feel the freedom of the fresh wind against their faces even if it was for just a leisurely afternoon ride.

Women got organized and created bicycling groups and since bicycling was impossible with the restrictive garments women wore at that time, the bicycling movement made way for less layers, shorter skirts and even athletic bloomers.

The unladylike clothing, positioning on the bike, and physical exercise of course didn’t come without social condemnation at first but bicycling women persevered.”

The freedom and empowerment that bicycles provide as an independent transport mode, has been revered and celebrated for well over a century.

The defiance and strength of these amazing women paved the way for the future. As well as looking forward to progressing female accomplishments, I think it is also equally important to reflect and recognise the past people, actions and changes that have brought us here today.

Horray and thankyou Bicycle Suffragettes!

Happy International Women’s Day to all riders!

All Images: Freddie Grubb – thank you!

04/03/201807/03/2018

Happy 2018 Sydney Mardi Gras on bicycles!

In homage to the incredible 2018 gay and lesbian Mardi Gras festivities held this week in Australia, this post is about the ways in which bicycles have featured in the Sydney Mardi Gras over the years. Happy strutting and mirror balls all! NG.

Happy 2018 Sydney Mardi Gras on bicycles!

This week was the 40th anniversary of the Sydney gay and lesbian Mardi Gras. I lived in Sydney for 3.5 years and had a wonderful time there. The annual Mardi Gras festival is always a major social and cultural event in my calendar. The colour, sparkles, energy, cheekiness and sheer volume of ..well.. everything ..is truly something to behold.

And this year is extra special because of the historic Yes vote for gay marriages – so there was a gay marriage included in the parade for the first time ever.

Oh… and Cher (at 71) was there killing it as the headline act for the official party – and for the 500,000-strong crowd. Amazing!

If you missed it (or want to see it again!) SBS has the full ‘glitter-filled’ Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras broadcast available online here.

Aside from the well-known The Dykes on Bikes (who are on motorcycles, not pushies of course!), on the surface, there does not seem to be much bicycle action at Mardi Gras.

But… dig a little deeper and you will find that Mardi Gras has a heart of two-wheels! Here are just a few examples…..

Sydney Spokes

The Sydney Spokes is a social cycling group for gay and lesbian riders. This cycling club has an amazing history and connection with the Mardi Gras.

In 1987, Sydney Spokes had it’s first official and public recognition when it was listed in the Mardi Gras Festival Guide. The listing described their first bicycle-theme Mardi Gras entry for that year.

In 1991, the club won 1st Prize Mardi Gras Parade for Best Community Float, which entailed Brett Heil (organiser) and three cyclists ‘towing’ a ute with floating ropes of helium balloons. Upmarket bikes were raised high on the back of the ute and Sydney Spokes riders flanked both sides, whilst other members circled the main float on bikes.

According to the club, the Channel 9 Sunday Evening News (then the highest-rating program on Sydney television) led its Mardi Gras coverage with footage of the Spokes float.

In 1995, the club once again took out a Mardi Gras Parade Prize, this time for Most Outstanding Foreplay, which was awarded for their performance which honoured loved ones who had died of AIDS through the clubs ‘Spirits of the Night’ entry.

There are a few rainbow cycling clubs around like Sydney Sokes – for example, the Velociped Salon Team below….

A gift idea for those rides who have a sock/kit fetish …. (joke intended!)

All across Australia, people celebrate Mardi Gras and rock the rainbow on two-wheels in many different ways.. like this lovely free spirit below photographed in Perth.

And these two brave Sydney Spokers below were snapped in the 2013 Mardi Gras….

And, finally, perhaps this guy below SHOULD have been at Mardi Gras??

However you ended up celebrating Mardi Gras this year – I hope you had a wonderfully sparkly time!

Remember, you don’t have to wait for Mardi Gras to rock the rainbow, get happy and get out on ya bike! Happy Mardi Gras all!