Category: Community

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World Naked Bike Ride Day

There have been many culture shocks for me moving from Melbourne to Brisbane, but none more so than daily being confronted by the restrictive, narrow-minded, risk-adverse and controlling authority that Queensland has over its residents. In every other major city around the world, today is the World Naked Bike Ride Day 2016. This is a peaceful political demonstration to protest against the burning of fossil fuels and climate change, as well as promoting naturism, biketivism and environmentalism (all the best -isms!).

Only In Brisbane

I laughed myself into a stitch, when I inquired about the event last week about the WNBR Brisbane chapter. I read that in Queensland, ONLY women can ride completely nude. For reasons of ‘indecency’, men had to wear a G-string – WTF!!!

No other city I know of has this rule – and I mean nowhere around the WORLD that I can find!

(Having said that, if I was a man who wanted to participate in the Brisbane ride – personally, I would wear the G-string on my head, around my wrist or my ankle).

Talk about ridiculous laws!!

World Naked Bike Ride Day
World Naked Bike Ride Day 2016

Authority control = no Brisbane WNBR

Not only that, but the route that the WNBR Brisbane was to take, was deemed to have too much ‘exposure’ (teehee) to the general public as it tool in taking in parts of the M1. So the police knocked back the proposal. This sparked a series of run arounds for the organisers by police, local officials and council  – so much so, that the process and permit got bound up so tightly (and effectively) that the event in Brisbane had to be cancelled.

What a crock!

That meant that the closest WNBR event for Brisbanites was in Byron Bay – 2 hours away!

Brisbane is notorious for previously having a pitiful turnout for this event because the participants get such a hard time when it does go ahead.

This year it was a definitive and flat out red-ribbon stitch-up for good. Problem sorted.

Queensland is old-fashioned, risk-adverse and draconian – and quietly but effectively, authorities are pairing back on civil liberties one small step at a time. Not enough that people get concerned, but just enough to ever so convincingly restrict locals’ choices in lifestyle, activities and access.

Whether you agree or not with the World Naked Bike Ride, in Australia we supposedly have ‘the right’ to hold and/or participate in this event.

I think if people want to cycle nude to highlight what they feel is an important social issue, all the more power to them!

But the way Queensland authorities handled this event – flat out sucks!

What a good job of cutting Brisbane out of one of the most fun, colourful and popular international peaceful bike protests.

Well, kudos to every other cosmopolitan, contemporary, inclusive,  progressive and intelligent city in the world who enjoyed a gorgeous day of free speech, community participation and environmental awareness. I hope you had a massive blast, got your message out there and bless you brave souls and awesome supporters who attended!!

I hope all those beautiful riders had a massive blast, got thier message out there.less you brave souls and awesome supporters who attended!!

Bless those brave souls and awesome supporters who attended!!

It is days like this that I sorely miss living in Melbourne.

I was genuinely sorry to have missed out on supporting one of my favourite lively, refreshing and community-driven annual biking events.

If Cape Town in South Africa (see video below) can still manage do it in the midst of all their economic, political and social issues – then shame on you Brisbane. You are miles behind the times!!!

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Monitoring Child Labour on Bikes

The Art Bike that I have been working on for Sunday’s presentation is about Child Labour. I’ve been looking into the global statistics and issues involved with child labour and it is not surprising that poverty and circumstance play a massive role.

Child labour is a very difficult phenomena to quantify and collect accurate data on – and often results from different sources can be quite different.

The basis for my Art Bike is that 780 million children worldwide are engaged in some form of illicit labour work. Child labor, as defined by the International Labor Organization, is “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.”

The current situation

How is this linked to our experience? Matt Berg of the Borgen Project outlines that:

  •  Australia annually imports $16 million worth of tobacco produced by child labor, including tobacco produced in the U.S. Tobacco cultivation is extremely labor intensive and children are often subjected to serious health risks including nicotine poisoning.
  • Most cigarette smokers in Australia are unaware of the origins of the tobacco they consume.
  • According to the ILO, 168 million children worldwide are engaged in child labor as of 2013.Of these 168 million children, 85 million are engaged in what the ILO deems “hazardous work.”
  •  According to a study conducted by the ILO in 2004, the benefits of eradicating child labor would “outweigh costs by nearly six to one.”The sub-Saharan African region has the second highest number of child laborers in the world; about 59 million in 2012.
  • According to the Pew Research Center, children aged five to 17, or 21.4 percent, are involved in child labor while 10.4 percent are engaged in hazardous work.
  •  Agriculture accounts for 60 percent of child labor according to the ILO.Only one out of five children involved in child labor is paid for his or her work.The majority of children in child labor perform unpaid family work.
  •  About 60 percent of children in Ethiopia are engaged in some form of child labor. Many of these children work in the mining industry; an industry that poses some of the biggest dangers for child labourers.

The ECLT Foundation

The problem is often culturally systemic and driven by lack of access and opportunities to alternatives. However, there are a number of organisations that are working hard to address these issues – and most interestingly for me, is an outfit in Tanzania called the ECLT Foundation (Eliminating Child Labour in the Tobacco Industry Foundation.

Tanzania is interesting, because, although it is not in the current top 10 countries for child labour, its data on child labour is staggering. Agriculture is one of its primary and major industries, so one in every three Tanzanian children work to contribute to their family’s household income – and this is even more alarming as most child labourers live in rural or remote areas where most are engaged in hazardous conditions.

Child labour in the Tanzanian tobacco industry.

According to ECLT:

  • 84% of the parents of children working on the tobacco farms come from poor and very poor socio-economic backgrounds.
  • According to the 2006 Tanzania Labour Force Survey, 20.7% of children are engaged in child labour in Tanzania.
  • Tanzania’s main tobacco-producing areas tend to have low primary school enrolment.            
  • Most child labourers in Tanzania are unpaid family workers and work in addition to attending school.

To address such critical issues and to protect vulnerable children, the ECLT partnered with Winrock International and the International Labor Organisation to sponsor a conference convened by the Tanzania government—resulting in a commitment to action to end child labour in agriculture.

Using bikes to monitor and report on child labour.

Most interestingly (as I have highlighted in the quote), the ECLT ‘formed and supported Village Child Labour Committees on issues of child labour, identification, and monitoring. Because it is common for families to live six hours by foot from the nearest village, we also provided bicycles to committee members so that they could reach as many children as possible’ (ECLT.org). Yet again another incredibly worthwhile and productive use of bicycles to crest significant positive change for not just individual children, but families and communities alike. Bravo!!

 

Source: ECLT.org

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This bike has Multiple Sclerosis

This remarkable health education initiative really personifies how bicycles can innovate positive social change – in this case, raising awareness about Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

MS Community Education

This initiative brilliantly mixes science, bicycle design, expert collaboration and cyclists to produce a community education campaign where a normal bicycle was augmented in a variety of ways to represent the MS symptoms.

To achieve this, each of the major executive functions on the bike such as the fork, handlebars, seat, frame and gears were altered so that the impact of the disease could be experienced first hand when you try to ride the bike – thus demonstrating the daily challenges that suffers have trying to operate their bodies as this autoimmune disease destroys their nervous system.

Ad Week promoted this ad campaign by giving it international recognition for its ingenuity and creative approach – and very effectively linked this issue to the lived experience of Penelope Conway who is an MS Suffer and informatively and humorously writes about what Multiple Sclerosis really feels like.

The Ad

This bike has Multiple Sclerosis video (2 mins) explains the rationale and research that has gone into the strategic design of this bike.

 

This community awareness campaign is not only effective in reaching a wide audience and communicating its message, but it is clear and has immediate impact. One of the best aspects is that it is specifically designed to be experiential and engaging for the public.

This campaign is a great example of how a creative approach to presenting a public health issue can generate excitement, consideration and interest about an issue such as MS. In doing so, it is highly successful in prompting public education and discussion about what MS is – and the metaphor of a ‘rider’ trying to ‘control a bike’ as being similar to what an MS suffer experiences to control their body, is a stroke of genius. Most people who have no contact or exposure to MS, will be able to easily relate to how difficult it can be to ride a bike if there are mechanical problems.

If only there were more interactive, dynamic and enterprising projects such as this one that can equally correlate the public’s normative experience (of riding a bike) with a emerging/public issue (MS Awareness).

Want to try riding it?

Those in Melbourne next month (March 2016), will have the opportunity to try to ride this bike for yourself at the MS Melbourne Cycle on March 6, 2016 by registering at bike@thisbikehasMS.com.

The team
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Worst (Valentine’s) Day of the Year Ride 2016

No, this post is not a crash story.

It is the annual Portland Worst Day of the Year Ride.

This is the 15th year that the Worst Day of the Year Ride has been running. It is touted as Oregon’s only costumed ride and attracts around 2,500 people on the day, all of whom are out to have fun, get dressed-up and ride their bikes.  It is called the Worst Day of the Year Ride because it is held on the ‘worst weather of the year day’ as a show that the local cyclists will not be deterred from enjoying their cycling, no matter what the challenges – including severe inclement weather! I also find this intriguing as it is the peak of Summer in Australia – and in Brisbane today, it was a draining 32C (89.6F) with 88% humidity and bugger all wind – so the idea that our US cycling brothers and sisters are braving Winter’s worst weather is amusing to us Aussies – especially today.

 

The primary reason I wanted to post this event is that not only is it a super fun cycling event, it brings the community together for a great cause. I particularly love the fact that the title of this event coincides this year with the event being held on Valentine’s Day. I have always found it difficult to stomach that the day for/of supposed ‘lovers’ is now overrun by advertising and consumerism. I for one will be bugged if anyone else tells me on what day I should tell those precious to me that I love them. I love them equally everyday regardless….and I tell them so everyday!! So the cold chill the Oregon riders will have to contend with matches the same feeling I get when looking at florists and newsagents shops on the 14th Feb.  I was ticked pink by title and the sentiment!

 

I also like the idea that if we were in Portland, my Beloved and I would show the depth of our love by getting on our bikes and taking to the (frigid *teehee*) street with a couple of thousand other strangers, most in fancy dress,  to go for a spin around town. Now that’s what I call a ‘lovely’ day!!

 

The 1 minute video below gives a general snapshot of the event from 2015:

Events like this one and the Australian Ride the Night (which was last week) are such a great way to bring a large group of cyclists together to do something unique, meaningful and memorable. There should be more fun, inventive and adventurous cycling events like these.

Will be good to check out the Worst Day of the Year Ride Facebook page to see what the costumes were like this year. Have fun Portland!

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Hubert’s Tricycle

This morning I had the pleasure of meeting Hubert and his tricycle. I spotted Hubert cycling along Whites Road near Lota, Brisbane at 8.20am. Seeing him out reminded me of the post I did about Cycling without Age programs– I just had to tell him how awesome I thought it was that he was out cycling.

Why chat to Hubert?   

As I approached, he caught my eye firstly because the only cyclists usually out at that time on a Saturday are packs of roadies. So it was cool that he was happily cruising around on his tricycle – and then I saw his ‘P-Plate’ (in Australia drivers who are about to get their license go from L = Learner to then P = Probationary, then full license. Drivers are on their P plates for three years). I thought the P-plate was a magic touch on the back of his bike. It was hilarious because it was on a bike, not a car. It was obvious from his age that he was certainly not a new road user and it also showed he had a good sense of humour.

I am always impressed when older people are riding; they are such an inspiration. So I stopped to have a chat to him and talk about the bicycle in his life.

Hubert’s story & his Tricycle.

Hubert is still riding at 75 years old. He loves his tricycle and the freedom it affords him and thinks that more people should have tricycles. He bought it awhile back and then fitted a small electric motor to it for assistance up hills. He said was not hard to do and more people could consider doing.

He is local to the area and rides everywhere – including to Bunnings to get hardware supplies, which he straps onto the back of his basket. He explained that the basket is very handy for shopping and carrying things and is an ideal option for older people.

We chatted about the stability that the three wheels afforded and how the assisted motor helped him when needed – and what a great tool this was for older people to maintain their independence; wellbeing; connection with community; mobility and self-confidence.

He had a wicked horn that was loud and fun – it made us both giggle. We chatted for a while, swapping a few stories about life on two/three wheels and bonded as only random lovers of bikes can on the side of the road. He was an absolute delight to chat to and when I asked him if I could put his picture and story on this blog, he took on a serious tone, looked me in the eye and said with conviction:

“You do that, you tell people about tricycles and let them know how good they are. There needs to be more tricycles – you promote it!”

I salute you, Hubert!  

So here is to you Hubert – a quiet, unassuming man who loves riding his tricycle and whose good conversation, stories and wonderful energy serves as a marvelous example to us all that cycling knows no age.

It reminds that riding a bike still continues to bring positive changes to many people, regardless of age, in so many different ways. It made my day meeting Hubert and I am so glad I live in a community where people like Hubert are out riding bikes and being active in their communities.

 

 

More elderly cyclists.

 I have always admired older people who are still out cycling, despite whatever physical, health or social issues they may face – I remember Betty (92) telling me that she was worried about going outside because the wind might blow her over (she was physically very fragile). I can’t help but think that the stability of a tricycle would be an ideal solution to problems of fatigue, balance and reassurance that a number of older people have.

I suppose seeing those who are over 70 out on bikes makes me happy because I hope that I will be like them when I am their age. I have always felt it is important to acknowledge and interact with older riders, as they are defiant in being active – and active members of the community by cycling – which I think is such a great statement about challenging traditional views about age, fitness, health and mobility.

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A bike in my life – Re-cycle Dreams Community Storybook

On the weekend, I went out into the community to get more personal stories about ‘a Bike in my Life’ to add to the Re-cycle Dreams Community Storybook project I have been undertaking for a while.

The idea is simple – to invite community members to contribute a story about a bike in their life. It could be an experience, a dream, a wish or a memory: whatever they want. It has been a great pleasure meeting people at different locations and times, chatting about bikes and life and all their associated spills, skills and thrills.

Some people write poems, others draw, most people write a story about a memorable time on a bike. The narratives are all highly personal, perspicacious and heartfelt and they always make me smile. Some retell crashes, awesome rides, theft, new starts, misadventures, romance, youthful happy times and everything in between.

All reflect the impact that riding has had in the heart of the contributor.

All are handed to me with a smile and a wistful look in the eye.

New location – Wynnym Foreshore (Brisbane, QLD).

On the weekend, I went out for my first time in Queensland to collect some stories. Sachie from the Summer Program joined me and we had a lovely couple of hours down on the Wynnum foreshore chatting to local families, collecting people’s short stories. We watched the afternoon change from bright sunny family picnics and games to a blowy, overcast afternoon where dog walkers and fitclub participants were weaving in and out of each other, vying for path access and stability against the increasing offshore winds.

I have been collecting these stories for a number of ‘Community Engagement’ days and will be using them to produce an ebook, which I would like to offer on for free on this blog (will keep you posted). It is a very rewarding activity to undertake and I thoroughly enjoy interacting with people and enlisting their contributions. For me it a highly enjoyable way to take action and bring bicycle riding to the forefront of people’s discussions while promoting more random acts of bike stories exchange and extending the love of cycling!

Here is a quick sample selection – click on the first story and click the X to enlarge – you can then scroll through each one to read. Enjoy!!

 
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Ride the Night – Brisbane 2016

Last night I went to lend a hand for the inaugural Brisbane Ride the Night event.  It was a collaboration between Bicycle Network and Youth Services to create a 70km night ride around the city to raise money for homelessness and disadvantaged youth and for bicycle advocacy. This event has been successfully running for a number of years in Melbourne, but this year was the first time that Brisbane and Hobart also, held the event with Melbourne simultaneously – making last night the largest Australian night ride event to date. The organisers on the night did a great job, and I was especially impressed that the mechanics tent provided had an all female mechanics team- which was very refreshing.

 

The weather was threatening to rain (which apparently it did in Melbourne), but the Brisbane evening remained balmy and clear – a perfect night for riding!! Overall about 3,000 people attended the three events, with 900 being from Brisbane. Many bikes were decorated with night riding carrying neon lights, glow sticks and an array of colourful torches. Lots of people came with friends; some had  music playing from their bikes.While there were a few tutus and team colours, I actually thought there would be more dressing up and costuming – but it was only the first time – so I considered it a warm-up!!

 

The Ride Highlights

It was great to see lots of cyclists out in force with the crowd gathering from 10pm onwards. A relaxed crowd milled around, chatting, catching up, drinking coffee and sharing stories. The surrounding cafes stayed open to accommodate the happy throng. I had time to chat and take a few photos (see below). There was a ride Briefing and then participants were ushered into the start zone. The official start was at midnight when six groups were released in waves -with two minutes apart to give some space and visibility for the participants as well as other road users. The riders then took off into the night to ride a set Route laughing, dinging bells, singing and chatting – settling in for a friendly excursion around their city. There were a number of Stops along the route: cocktails served for riders at the Kangaroo Point station; musicians playing and a giant Chess game at the State Hockey Centre; there were some Jenga and other activities.  The finish line saw riders regrouping and swapping nighttime adventures over an Event coffee and breakfast. The word was that the pulled pork and mayo roll was the best choice.

 

The ride was publicised as being 70 km- but Strava stats clocked 48kms – which was no biggie, except that my mates group finished earlier than they expected -the first pack of riders rolled into the finish at about 3.30am. The only problem was that they had caught public transport and were a little stranded as trains started about 2 hours later – at about 5.30am. But this was easily rectified  – a leisurely, quiet and fun ride 20kms home! This meant our riders got home earlier than expected; did the full length (then plus some with a total of 78km) and did not have to wait for the trains! Perfect! It was a crystal clear night – perfect for cruising around the deserted city streets with mates and having a laugh.

 

Events like these are a great idea because of the novelty of Night Rides and the exhilaration of riding when others are not. It adds a distinctive adventure quality to the experience. A massive amount of coordination was required to pull this event off. I tip my hat to the organisers for having such an enterprising and creative idea and the confidence and resources to make it happen for the rest of us.

 

Congratulations to all who helped make this a fun and purposeful event

….and to those who Rode the Night!!!

 
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African Bicycle Ambulances

The research I looked at today was how African bicycle ambulances are being used to provide a more effective maternal health services.

 

This is an area of health services that has a high priority within the UN Millennium Development Goals and in Africa, this is an area of significant concern and where much aid effort is concentrated. One older Transaid project from Zambia, which implemented a number of bicycle ambulance projects in various regions in Africa, stood out for me in particular, so I thought I would share the project highlights with you.

 

Background to African Bicycle Ambulances

Transaid is a charity organisation established by the Charted Institutes of Logistics and Transport in association with Save the Children Fund. Its primary objective is to address major transportation issues faced by poor rural African health services. This project focuses on maternal health, as these indicators provide a solid representation of the efficiency of the overall health care system in a given area. Rural Africa faces severe patient mobility issues, even for short distances, with access and cost being the most critical factors, especially in emergencies and fistula cases. Additionally, the further demand and requirement for Immediate Modes of Transport (IMT) ‘is significant among maternity cases’ and this is most significant given that ‘one of the biggest reasons for the large number of maternal mortalities in developing countries is the time and distance pregnant women have to travel to the nearest clinic to receive proper care’ (Forster, Simfukwe, & Barber, 2010, pg 13). One example of the seriousness  of this situation comes from an Ethiopian Fistula Hospital, which reports that it takes women in labour an average of 11 hours to reach a health facility that can provide for their needs – and this is in the urban capital city of Addis Ababa!

 

Project

To increase access to urgent health care services, 40 bicycle ambulances were provided to rural communities in Zambia in 2008, which provided a free bicycle ambulance service for community members. This project was better thought out than a number of others I have read, mainly as the bicycle ambulances were allocated to community-based home carers (personal) and not assigned to be stored and/or work out of a health clinic (location). This is much more appropriate, as location issues such as access to a bike (if they are in a room or shed on location which is locked), or only having one particular staff member who has a key, limited clinic opening hours or collecting oxen to be hitched to a cart from surrounding areas, – have all often hampered response times in similar projects. Additionally, ten local field mechanics were trained to construct and service the ambulances, which was found to be a major success factor.

Bicycle Ambulance Design considerations: Three different bicycle ambulance designs were trialled and assessed. A design with a stretcher, full canopy and a non-flexible hitch was the considered the most comfortable and popular by riders and patients. Other interesting feedback considerations were:
• The bicycle should be permanently attached to the ambulance to extend the life of hitch apparatus.
• Rear wheel post frame hitching made turning more difficult than seat post hitching.
• Provision for a pump, basic maintenance tools and a first aid kit is needed.
• Lights were required for night-time call-outs.
• Bicycles needed to be lighter or adequate gears used for uphill trips.
• Clothing should be provided such as a high visibility vest and a rain jacket.
• The size of local door frames was an issue as the original prototype ambulance was too wide to fit through a standard Namibian door frame – which impacted on patient transference.

 

 Results
• During the whole program, the bicycle ambulances took 251 life-saving journeys – the longest trip being 40 km.
• During the pilot program (first 4 months), the bicycle ambulances were used 82 times to transport patients to health care facilities.
• By having a personal bicycle ambulance, 96% of the recipient caregivers were able to be more effective in their work.
• Travel time was significantly reduced (from 2.5 hours by ox-cart down to 30 minutes) by using bicycle ambulance.
• Patient safety and comfort increased – they could lie down on the bicycle ambulance instead of sit (or ride) on a personal bike.
• The bicycle ambulance canopy provides shelter (rain, mud, sun, animals) and privacy for patients (especially important for women who are nearing birth – i.e. waters breaking etc).
• Having a stretcher attached meant that river crossings were much safer and easier and the bikes were able to take walking paths that oxcart transportation was unable to manage.

 

Comment

There has not been any further monitoring and evaluation data from this particular project – but as it stands, this project seems to be a step in the right direction. It is encouraging to see bicycles being utilised to help address some of the most pressing and urgent health issues that disadvantaged poor African women face. It is incredibly important that such initiatives are investigated, promoted and disseminated. It is also a very humbling reminder for people living elsewhere, (like Australia) who can often forget how significant and urgent basic (community) health services can be.

 

Source: Transaid

Forster, G., Simfukwe, V., & Barber, C. (2010). Bicycle ambulances have impact. Appropriate Technology, 37(3), 13.

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The right to feel the wind in your hair – Cycling Without Age

Everyone has a right to ride a bike and feel the wind in their hair – so here is a community cycling initiative that is right up my alley!!

“Cycling Without Age” is a movement started in 2012 by Ole Kassow. Ole wanted to help the elderly get back on their bicycles, but he had to find a solution to their limited mobility. The answer was a rickshaw. He started offering free bike rides to the local nursing home residents. Cycling Without Age website. Now four years into operation, this project has made thousands of elderly people incredibly happy; has over 400 purpose built rickshaws, ridden by 3,000 volunteer ‘pilots’ and can be found all over Denmark, as well as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, UK, Germany, Austria, Italy, Singapore, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, Slovakia, Netherlands, France and Chile. I can’t wait for it to come to Australian cities.

 

 

I think this project is highly progressive for a number of reasons:

It’s an amazing way for the elderly (or others?) to be reintegrated into everyday life, despite various mobility or health issues.

It provides an amazing opportunity for those who would not necessarily get outside often (if at all), including the invigorating and curative physiological and psychological effects that fresh air, excitement and social contact have on degenerative conditions.

To remind an ever busy, self-centred and technological world of the finer things in life, like taking the time to ride in a park with friends – and for it to be so meaningful.

The organisation has even taken ‘international’ cycling trips – from Denmark over the sea to Norway, for one – what an amazing trip of a lifetime at any age.

It serves as a reminder that our Elders still have dreams, hopes and life to live – just as we all do.

Basically, this is a community service. Not only does it genuinely promote cycling for all ages, it also actively integrates elders into society. As well it creates opportunities for unusual and significant social networks and relationships to form between disparate community members – like the riders and the passengers, who otherwise would probably not have ever met.

In many eyes, this is a fantastic example of how bicycles can have a truly positive effect on people and communities. What an inspiration!

For more background and details, see Ole presenting his project at a TED Copenhagen in the video below.

 

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Wesley Hill Weekend Market (Chewton, Regional Victoria)

I’ve been away for four days in Regional Victoria visiting family who live just outside of Castlemaine. On Saturday, we went to the Wesley Hill markets to get some supplies. It was a lovely market – very inviting and really showcasing local products. You know you are onto a good thing when you see this out the front of a local market….

Firebean Organic Coffee
Image: Firebean Organic Coffee

We thoroughly enjoyed the local community market stalls and produce, stocking up on mangos, amazing mini loaves of semi-pumpernickel, rye and soaked seeds (I got 4!) and local Yandoit farmer John who was selling the latest fantastic cherries he harvested from his property. As we were wandering around, I was delighted to see these two young entrepreneurs  (picture below) who were running “The Bike Bar” making cold-to-order drinks. As well as this, the right-hand sign on the table also advertises their other add-on service which is bike building. We stopped to have a lovely chat with these industrious young lads and overall I was very impressed by how bike friendly this market was – it was great to see bikes being integral to the fabric of this market.

Wesley Hill Markets, Regional Victoria
Wesley Hill Markets, Regional Victoria

We also stopped for a coffee at the Firebean Organic Coffee Stall – which, if you order an iced coffee the ingredients are prepared and then ….

Firebean Organic Coffee
Image: Firebean Organic Coffee

…. the customer who made the order gets on the bicycle to blend their own iced-coffee. Not that this a necessarily new invention, but again, just great to be in an environment where bicycles are so productive, valued and indispensable. It was a delight to visit this market and be part of this progressive and bicycle-loving community!