For this Father’s Day – my recommendation has
an extra layer of bikey, grassroots, humanity, community, sustainability,
travel and creative inspiration folded into it.
My hot tip is to get the documentary film One Man’s Tour.
This is a charity documentary about New Zealand’s inaugural Tour Aotearoa. This brevete event was first run in 2016. A brevet is not a race. It is a ride following a set course, via 30 photo checkpoints, which you must complete between 10 and 30 days – no more and no less. It traverses across incredible scenery and landscapes – and you can well imagine the trials, tribulations and magic moments that occur.
The film follows the 260 brave riders who took on this first epic self-supported 3000km mountain bike ride across New Zealand, which goes from goes from Cape Reinga to Bluff.
The movie is inspiring and shows a range of
challenges the riders face. It also shows the inevitable ups and downs that
come with taking on endurance non-assisted bike rides – and this event is no
different. The scenery is breathtaking and makes you want to grab your bike and
book a flight.
Aside from being a great film to watch, you decide on how much to pay for this movie!
All funds raised by One Man’s Tour go to World Bicycle Relief (WBR). WBR gives bicycles to communities in
Sub-Saharan Africa to help locals better access school, healthcare and
stimulate employment opportunities.
In return for the documentary, you decide how
much money to give. When you pay on the link below, you will automatically
receive an email with a link to stream/download the movie.
The film has already raised $1,279 – with the aim to reach $3,000.
This is a great gift to give – for your dad, a
friend, or for yourself.
What’s not to like about supporting family, people, bikes, community and positive living?!
I don’t often directly repost stories on this blog. As a luddite, I am also very wary of social media. But amongst the doom and gloom of news reports, husband found this gem of humanity. It is the story of a former refugee, Mevan Babakar, who was given a bike by a refugee camp aid worker. 20 years on, she still remembers the kindness of the man and the joy of riding the bike. Mevan recently used Twitterverse to track the man down. Although this account is more about the power of Twitter and doesn’t have many details about the bike or what happened after she located him, I still love the idea that the simple gift of a biycle to a child can have such a profound and long-last impact.
It is also a reminder to make the effort to say thank you and/or recognise those who help and support us. Some valuable lessons for us all. This story is written by Maani Truu and was published in Australia by SBS online today. Enjoy! NG.
Thousands of people
have come together from across the globe to unite a former refugee and the aid
worker who bought her a bike.
A blurry film photo, a location and a
touching Twitter post launched an international hunt to find a man who gifted a
young refugee child a bike “out of the kindness of his own heart”
more than twenty years ago.
Now, after more than 3,000 retweets and
thousands of messages, London woman Mevan Babakar is set to meet the man who
made her “five-year-old heart explode with joy” in person.
On Monday, the 29-year-old former refugee posted her quest to Twitter hoping someone would recognise the man who worked at a refugee camp in the Netherlands when she was a child living there in the 90s.
“Hi internet, this is a long-shot BUT I
was a refugee for 5 yrs in the 90s and this man, who worked at a refugee camp
near Zwolle in the Netherlands, out of the kindness of his own heart bought me
a bike,” she wrote.
“My five-year-old heart exploded with
joy. I just want to know his name. Help?”
In under 24 hours, the post garnered
thousands of responses from around the world and on Tuesday evening,
Ms Babakar shared the exciting news.
“Guys, I knew the internet was great but this is something
else,” she said.
“We found him!”
Ms Babakar, who was born in Baghdad,
Iraq, to Kurdish parents, also said she was not the only refugee to be helped
by the unidentified man, known only as “Ab”.
“I’ve also had other refugees reach out
to me and tell me that he and his wife helped them too! Their kindness has
touched so many lives,” she wrote.
“One woman said ‘they weren’t friends
to me, they were family’.”
According to BBC News, Ms Babakar and her
parents fled Iraq during the first Gulf war, passing through refugee camps in
Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Russia before spending a year at the one near
Zwolle between 1994 and 1995.
Ms Babakar is now a tech expert, who currently lives in the UK and she has travelled back to Zwolle to research her family’s past.
Increasingly, more people are turning to alternative ways of eating, living and consuming that are more sustainable and enriching.
Cycling has always been part of the green revolution, but one pair of farmers are taking this approach to the next level.
Cycle Farm is an organic farm run by Patricia Jenkins and Jeremy Smith located in Spearfish South Dakota, USA.
As their name suggests – as well as being a functional organic farm, Cycle Farm is particularly interested in using bicycles to facilitate workload and productivity.
They are a working farm, selling their produce to a variety of outlets and farmers markets, as well as being a kind of open/farm visitation/awareness-raising platform for more sustainable farming/consumption practices.
Bicycles are central to Cycle Farm’s philosophy and daily operations.
Most impressive is how Patricia and Jeremy have custom-altered a range of bicycles and integrated their use into all areas of farm operations, like the bike-powered roller-crimper – very inspiring!
Cycle Farm has a blog and website showcasing some great photos and info on what they are up to and seasonal activities.
Here at Cycle Farm, we are very enthusiastic about bicycles as efficient
farm tools. We’re using bicycles to help minimize our off-farm inputs.
Employing bicycle- and human-power and minimizing our off-farm inputs is
important to us for the following reasons.
Conventional agriculture has a huge environmental impact, from the use of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, distributing produce to distant markets, use of heavy machinery, water use and pollution, etc. For us, reducing our inputs forces us to look at our overall ecological impact. For example, we are a human-powered, bicycle-driven operation. We take our vegetables to market each week by bicycle and encourage CSA members to ride their bike to the farm for pick-up.
We are producing local food. Our goal is not to grow food for a large wholesale market, but to serve the community in which we live, Spearfish Valley. Additionally, we are not using a tractor, but instead all farm work is done by hand. This means we don’t have to use gasoline, which saves us money as well as reduces our carbon emissions.
A second reason is
economic; the more we can reduce the amount of things we have to purchase
to run this farm, the more likely we can make a living wage off these three
acres. A tractor, even a small one, is a considerable expense. If we can
do the same work with our hands and with a bicycle, we can save ourselves and
our market that additional cost.
Beyond reducing gas use and our carbon emissions, we are working
toward building soil carbon in our fields with small scale, no-till vegetable
farming. Organic no-till methods are
becoming more and more widespread in larger operations for a variety of reasons
(soil conservation, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, etc.). However,
this has not yet translated into small scale vegetable production, that we’ve
found. We are experimenting with and developing methods applicable for a
smaller scale (0-15 acre) organic, no-till operation (i.e.
bike-powered roller-crimper).
And of
course, bicycles make everything more fun. By moving at a more
human pace, we are getting to know our community better. We can stop and talk
with friends and neighbors in passing. Hopping on a bike allows us to stay
loose and flexible after long days in the field. And there is something
so satisfying about hitting a pocket of cool air on a ride past Spearfish Creek
on a warm summer evening.
However, doing this alone ultimately may not accomplish much
towards addressing pressing global crises. We are enthusiastic about helping to
motivate our community and participating in an exchange of ideas on a broader scale.
Interested in human-powered, sustainable agriculture – then you can come visit
the farm and talk to us.
Lastly, when the farm slows down in the winter, we plan on gearing up a bicycle workshop in the garage. Building custom cargo and utilitarian bicycles and trailers, as well as doing frame repair.
As the administrator of this blog, I work hard to bring a range of bicycle-inspired news, initiatives, personalities, research and projects where bicycles create more positive social and environmental change. This means I get to read all manner of interesting (and unusual) material from all corners of the world. I love hearing about the various initiatives locally and globally that are working to get more people on bikes. Today, I saw the below article by Anna-Karina Reibold reporting on a recent French mobility law which enshrines cycling as a legal right. AWESOME!! This law signifies a major socio-cultural shift. Among other changes, it will legally require French companies with at least 50 employees to negotiate new measures to improve employee mobility, in particular by subsidising the use of cycling and other ‘green modes of transport’ for commuting. I love the direction the French are going with this! Let’s hope other counties will follow this progressive lead. Read for more details. Enjoy! NG.
Image: ECF
Advocacy Success in France: Cycling Established as a Mode of Transport
Cycling and walking becomes a legal right in France!
After months of fierce debate, the French National Assembly approved the Mobility Orientation Law on June 18th, 2019.
The French Cycling Union (Fédération française des usagers de la bicyclette – FUB) was actively involved in the negotiation of the draft mobility bill and successfully advocated for the rights of cyclists. The FUB dedicated eight months to monitoring parliamentary sessions and working on possible amendments.
Agnès Laszczyk, Vice-President of the FUB in charge of lobbying, highlights: “The draft law on mobility is the very first time French MPs and senators have given cycling mobility the importance it deserves. More than 110 amendments tabled¹ in each house, i.e. 10% of all amendments tabled on the draft law, concerned cycling, with nearly all of FUB’s proposals (31 amendments in the Senate and 16 in the National Assembly) taken into account. Even more significant were the hours of heated debate during the sessions in favour of cycling.”
Creating Cultural Change – Making Cycling Safe and Accessible
Whilst this is essentially a symbolic progress, cycling will be enshrined in the Law, which will provide an excellent judicial pillar. Several changes that build on FUB recommendations can already be identified:
– The National Assembly adopted an official Learn to Ride (Savoir Rouler) educational program to “ensure that every child is able to ride a bike autonomously and safely in public spaces by the time he/she enters secondary school”. The FUB hopes that this will lead to a cultural change in daily mobility choices.However, this change will only be effective if measures are applied universally and made compulsory!
– A new sustainable mobility package has replaced the kilometre allowance (IKV) that could not be combined with other modes of transport. Employers are now able to introduce a fixed and combinable annual package. Figures of up to €400 (previously €200) will be tax-free.
– The maintenance and creation of new cycle routes will become compulsory with the renovation of roads. Over the course of seven years, €350 million, along with endowment funds of €100 million per year, will be allocated to cycling infrastructure projects. Additionally, discontinued cycling routes will become illegal!
– Another FUB advocacy accomplishment marks the introduction of mandatory bike marking, “Bicycode“. The resulting national database will come into force for new as well as second-hand bicycles in 2021. The FUB hopes to take this initiative a step further and inspire more European countries to adopt similar policies by introducing a continent-wide database.
Image: ECF
Let’s Talk about the Bicycle
The FUB has been eager to capture the attention of the public eye and engage with citizens, MPs and the French government in debate.
The successes of the FUB in the development of the mobility law were advanced with the help of the “Parlons Vélo” campaign.
The campaign took force after the presidential and legislative elections in 2017, with the aim of engaging citizens and political leaders on cycling issues.
113,000 citizens were mobilised to participate in the French Bicycle Barometer.
French cities were ranked according to cycling-friendliness after inviting cyclists to share their feelings on bicycle use.
Encouraged by this momentum, the FUB is set to launch a second edition of the French Bicycle Barometer this September.
Image: ECF
These results are expected to play a central role in the debates leading to the French municipal elections in March 2020.
The campaign has also inspired citizens to address the French government and MPs by sending them a postcard in support of pro-cycling amendments. This initiative counted over 100, 000 participants. Finally, an online tool, introduced by the FUB, allowed citizens to make their voices heard by giving feedback directly to their local MP, asking them to support or reject certain amendments.
The Revolution is on the move
Overall, the work of the FUB has had far-reaching impacts and sparked political interest, as it has illustrated the strong will of citizens to create favourable conditions for cycling. As Olivier Schneider, President of the FUB, notes:
“With, on the one hand, the quality of our 95-page white book of proposals on ‘”how to enhance the law to get France cycling’” and on the other hand the reach of our social media campaign (over 15 000 emails sent to MPs!), MPs that we came across were quick to tell us that they had “received FUB’s proposals and were looking at them closely”. Given the anonymity with which cycling as transport has been considered throughout the years, this feels like an exciting and promising development!”
For example, Elisabeth Borne, who has recently taken the position of Minister for Ecological and Solidary Transition, is now very much aware of the potential that cycling holds. “Mentalities have changed” says Agnès Laszczyk.
“Many efforts remain necessary to reach the levels of European cycling leaders, but the revolution is on the move”.
NAIDOC
Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history,
culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
NAIDOC
is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all
walks of life.
The
week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to
support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Image: SBS Learn NAIDOC
NAIDOC
originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance
Committee’. This committee was once responsible for organising national
activities during NAIDOC Week and its acronym has since become the name of the
week itself.
During NAIDOC Week, there is a National NAIDOC Week awards ceremony. The awards are presented to inspirational Indigenous people in ten different categories including: Person of the year, Elder of the year, Artist of the year, Apprentice of the year, Scholar of the year, Youth of the year, Sportsperson of the year and the Caring for Country award.
For decades, NAIDOC has had significant themes to represent,
celebrate and raise awareness to significant Indigenous affairs. This year the
focus is on significant and lasting change to better the lives of Aboriginal
and Torres Straight Islander peoples: Voice. Treaty. Truth.
Voice. Treaty. Truth.
This
theme aim at getting everyone together for a shared future.
The Indigenous voice of this country
is over 65,000 plus years old.
They are the first words spoken on
this continent. Languages that passed down lore, culture and knowledge for over
millennia. They are precious to our nation.
It’s that Indigenous voice that include know-how, practices, skills and innovations – found in a wide variety of contexts, such as agricultural, scientific, technical, ecological and medicinal fields, as well as biodiversity-related knowledge.
They are words connecting us to country, an understanding of country and of a people who are the oldest continuing culture on the planet.
For generations, we have sought
recognition of our unique place in Australian history and society today. We
need to be the architects of our lives and futures.
For generations, Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples have looked for significant and lasting change.
Voice. Treaty. Truth. were three key
elements to the reforms set out in the Uluru
Statement from the Heart. These reforms represent the unified position of
First Nations Australians.
Image: SBS Learn NAIDOC
The Uluru Statement of the Heart
The Statement is a document Aboriginal people from all over Australia agreed on. In it they express that they are a sovereign people, and what they want the government to do to recognise and support this sovereignty. It also comments on the social difficulties faced by Aboriginal people.
It is not the first time Aboriginal people crafted such a
document, but probably the first time Aboriginal people form a united position
and a single key recommendation, or, as The Guardian put it,
“the largest ever consensus of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people on a proposal for substantive recognition”.
While previous documents of Aboriginal aspirations
were usually addressed to the Parliament, the Uluru Statement From the Heart is
directed to the Australian public.
In this post, we look at a recent publication by Mike Lloyd, entitled The non-looks of the mobile world: a video-based study of interactional adaptation in cycle-lanes.
Mike Lloyd is
an Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies with Victoria University (Wellington,
NZ). His research interests include ethnomethodology, sociology of everyday
life, cycling and interaction and more recently video methodologies.
I initially contacted Mike after reading his article about
NZ MTB trail rage – which was an absolute delight.
Since then, this blog has previously hosted two of Mike’s
articles:
Mike is coming to Brisbane in November for the International Cycling Safety Conference. So we are hoping to go for a ride together! Woohoo!
Image: Mike Lloyd (2019)
Article: The non-looks of the mobile world
In this particular article, Mike examines how cyclists and pedestrians in cycle-lane
space adapt their interactions with each other, paying particular attention to
the role of looking and non- looking as it unfolds moment-by-moment.
Any bike rider will be able
to read and totally appreciate the happenings in this article.
It is very interesting exploring how differences between pedestrians ‘doing and being oblivious’ impact cyclists in bike lanes.
I also like the analytical focus of dissecting action and the absence of looking – or non-looks. Original, interesting and pertinent to all cyclists!
Other key concepts from
this article that stand out are: the gaze to shift another pedestrian, direction
of views, standing in bike lanes, people getting out of cars, pedestrians and
mobile phones, ‘observer’s maxim’ moving for public transport and my favourite:
glance, action, apology.
Creatively, Mike uses video still data from a bicycle Go-Pro to explain key theoretical concepts and outcomes.
His writing is well researched, interesting and entertaining.
This article is valuable contribution
to extend discussions of how bicycles and cycle-lane use feature within
mobility, space/infrastructure and situational interactions discourse.
This
empirical study uses video data to examine interactional adaptation between
cyclists and pedestrians in a relatively new cycle-lane. Existing research on
intersections shows order is achieved through the frequent use of a
look-recognition-acknowledgement sequence. Whereas this is found in the
cycle-lane interactions, there is also an important divergent technique which
on the surface seems less cooperative.
Others are
made to cede space based on ‘doing and being oblivious’, in short, forms of
non-looking force others to take evasive action and subtly alter their line of
travel. Here the dynamic nature of this obliviousness is shown through empirical
examples.
Even though it is not always easy to
distinguish between the two forms of non-looking, it is concluded that ‘doing
oblivious’, whilst possibly annoying for others, is most probably harmless, but
there are good reasons to be more concerned about ‘being oblivious’, for it may
lead to collisions between pedestrians and cyclists.
Aspects of
non-looking provide an important addition to knowledge of the mobile world,
suggesting we renew attention to specific sites where people concert their
movements in minutely detailed ways.
Nâm Arya is a first generation
Tibetan-America. In 2016, she spent a year undertaking an epic bike-packing and
speaking tour of the U.S called Bike
for Tibet.
Her goal was to spread the word about the impacts of climate change in Tibet and to seek climate justice for Tibetans.
I got excited to find out more about the trip online. I went to Nâm’s online journal, but there was not much content there. Bummer because the trip itself sounds awesome! Even so, this initiative is so worthwhile. I suppose you have to go to one of the talks in order to get all the details! Fair play!
What is Bike for Tibet?
It was a year-long bicycle tour of the U.S. for the purpose
of bringing Tibet and Tibetans into the global conversation on climate justice.
Along the way Nâm offered 60+ min presentations
to discuss and dissect climate change issues in Tibet.
During these discussions, she highlighted key concerns
including the displacement of nomads, the effects of dams along Tibetan rivers,
and mining.
Nâm also outlined root causes,
false solutions, issues of colonization, and how democracy features within the
context of exploited communities.
A central theme in all the presentations is inter-dependence. She also linked wider issues from other communities seeking environmental justice in the US and abroad.
Who is Bike for Tibet?
Nâm is an exiled Tibetan woman
who was
born in Mungod Resettlement Camp in southern India. As a youth, she attended Tibetan boarding school in the
northern India until she immigrated to the US in 1996 where she now lives.
She and her bike-riding-mad partner Jonni undertook the 12-month Bike for Tibet journey together.
Jonni is adventure bicyclist and Instagram celebrity under the moniker UltraRomance. If you have not seen Jonni’s IG before, check it out – he is hilarious!
What a brilliant idea for a bike project! Get out on the road with your favourite person, ride around living a simple life and promote a very important environmental and social issue at the same time– wicked!
How did Bike for Tibet get started?
Nâm says she was inspired by Drukpa Rinpoche’s Eco Pad Yatra and the enduring work of Tibet climate change organizations working to vision to bring stabilise the Himalaya Plateau.
She created Bike For Tibet to be a nexus for these projects, influences and practices – as well as something she loves best to do – biking!
The Bike for Tibet project builds on Nâm’s decade-long leadership and work within the environmental movement.
Nâm used crowd funding to get Bike for Tibet up and running. Although she is advocating for climate action, Bike for Tibet is independent and not affiliated with any one particular group.
Some parts of this post were taken from the Bike for Tibet website to ensure accuracy of facts. All images by Bike for Tibet or IG UltraRomance unless otherwise indicated.
It’s Australian Walking and Cycling Conference (AWCC) time again!
Hooray!
I really like this
conference.
The people are great, the program is always interesting – and it doesn’t cost and arm and a leg to get there. Perfecto!
In 2017, I presented an AWCC roundtable session entitled Bicycles Create Change: An
innovative guide to creating memorable and meaningful engagement in community
bike projects.
The session went very well
and it was great to share my work people outside of Griffith Uni and Queensland.
It was also a valuable opportunity to network and meet some incredible people. I came home from the last AWCC with a big smile and many new ideas and resources.
This year, AWCC is returning to Adelaide on October 24-25th 2019.
Image: @bykko_au
AWCC 2019 – Abstracts open!
The 2019 conference and related activities aim
to engage more directly with local issues of climate change mitigation and
adaption in relation to walking and cycling.
The 2019 AWCC theme is Active transport in a changing climate.
Abstracts for AWCC sessions are now open.
Session Formats
Learnshops: 20 min podium presentations with 10 mins Q & A.
Spin cycles: Short, fast-paced podium PPTs of 3.45 mins for 15 slides.
Roundtables: To a table of 10 – present for 10 with 15 mins group discussion
Key dates
Abstract submission opens: Monday 22 April
Abstract submission closes: Monday 22 July
Authors notified of outcome: Monday 19 August
Authors notified of program placement (date/time): Mon 26 Aug
Presenting author registration deadline: Monday 16 September
The simple acts of walking and cycling have
the potential to transform the places we live, our economies and how we engage
with our environment. The Australian Walking and Cycling conference explores
the potential for walking and cycling to not only provide for transport and
recreation but solutions to challenges of liveability, health, community
building, economic development and sustainability. As one of Australia’s
longest running, best regarded and most affordable active travel conferences,
we bring together practitioners and researchers from Australia and across the
world to share their work and engage with conference participants.
Conference theme: Active transport in a changing
climate
We aspire to promote work which creates a transport
mode shift away from cars towards walking and cycling, and using active means
to link with improved public transport in suburbs and rural towns. We want to
shift away from CO2 reliant mobility and keep people active as temperatures
rise, and extreme weather becomes more common.
What can a transport mode shift in our suburbs and
rural towns contribute to CO2 reduction nationally? What concomitant air
quality benefits are felt in suburban streets and towns as a result?
Acknowledging that climate change is occurring, what changes are to be made to
suburban and town environments so that walking and cycling are almost always
convenient, pleasurable, safe and life affirming even in the face of rising
temperatures? What does a small town or suburban neighbourhood retrofit look
like in the next ten or twenty years, so that people are out and about and
interacting? How do people of all ages and abilities avoid retreating to
air-conditioned ‘comfort’ – ‘comfort’ that is inactive, isolated and CO2
producing?
These questions indicate the directions we hope to explore in the 2019 conference.
I hope you had a great time today celebrating life on two wheels!
It’s incredible to think this is only the second year this commemorative day has been recognised internationally.
For last year’s first official World Bicycle Day, BCC looked at what this day means to the UN. We also checked out some of the awesome WBD events happening glocally (globally/locally) in Adelaide (AU), India and Denmark.
This year, in my hometown of Brisbane, World Bicycle Day coincided with another important event, the biennial Mabo Oration*.
It was a very interesting talk. Luke raised many important issues as well as sharing his thoughts on activism, racism, leaving a legacy, truth-telling, being a father, next steps and self-determinacy – and this discussion has continued in the media.
This public speech comes at a perfect time given the traction that A/P Chelsea Bond’s recent contribution to the La Trobe racism discussion created.
(If you are not sure what I am talking about – prepare to have your mind blown).
The traction I’m referring to started with a speech given by Associate Professor Chelsea Bond, who was one of four speakers for a LaTrobe University panel discussion on the topic of:
Has racism in contemporary Australia entered the political mainstream?
Image: IndigenousX
If you have not seen it, you
need to.
Why?
Because A/P Bond delivered the most powerful, intelligent, inspiring, uncompromising, kick-ass speech on racism in Australia heard in a very long time!
Make up your own mind.
Below is the full video. A/P Chelsea Bond is the last speaker, so go direct to: 1:01:05 and watch until 1:14:11.
Her speech hit so many high
points on so many levels.
I’ve been walking around for days inspired by Nat Cromb and Luke Pearson’s overview of her speech saying things like Bam! Kapow! Boom! Pow!
Most impactful for me was how
she powerfully called out those who fail to have truthful and confronting
conversations.
This is what has stayed
with me the most – and something that requires ongoing consideration – and action.
In her speech, A/P Bond said ‘In my being, I refuse to bear false witness to these lies.’ Such statements reminds us there is much work to do – and it is everyone’s responsibility to take action and call out racism.
Husband, Nina and Assoc. Prof. Chelsea Bond at the 2019 Mabo Oration, Brisbane.
So, imagine our delight when, on World Bicycle Day at the Mabo Oration, husband and I ran into A/P Chelsea Bond!
OMG!
Shameless academic fanning ensued.
The oration had just concluded and we were all leaving the auditorium when we passed her. Husband spotted her and I took the initative to introduce ourselves and have a chat.
A/P Bond was very accommodating. She was happy to have a good chat and take a photo. We told her how significant her speech had been for us and we talked about how different people have responded to it.
We can home – elated, thrilled, humbled and exhausted.
It had been a day full of culture, challenges, activism and insights.
Without a doubt, World Bicycle Day 2019 has been the most rewarding and motivating.
I hope you had an equally thought-provoking and stimulating day!
Luke Pearson taking questions after his 2019 Mabo Oration.Image: IndigenousX
*The Mabo Oration is a biennial event organised by the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland and QPAC. It is the Commission’s public commitment to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Queensland. It celebrates and pays tribute to Eddie Mabo and the landmark High Court decision which legally recognised that Indigenous people had a special relationship to the land that existed prior to colonisation. The first Mabo Oration was on 3 June 2005 and this year, the guest speaker was Noel Pearson.
The joy of being a cycling mum. Image: Trek Cycles
Today is Mother’s Day.
The idea of Mother’s Day is to honour mothers for all they have done.
Traditionally, family members give flowers, cards and gifts, or make mums breakfast in bed or take them out for lunch. Or something that is similarly supportive and nice.
I went online to see what was being peddled specifically for ‘cycling mums’.
I expected to see the normal product-pushing commercial crap (which was all there of course), but then I saw an article I found very disturbing.
It was on BikeRoar, a website touted as being an independent product resource website devoted to helping cyclists #BuyLocal – fair enough.
Published last year under the section heading TECH TIPS, it was written by Australian cyclist Jayne Rutter and titled 11 Mother’s Day gifts for cycling mums.
The list of 11 gift ideas looked innocent enough.
The first item was a water bottle.
The second was a free massage.
The third was a book.
The fourth ‘a 2-hour leave pass from the kids’ to ride to a local café
The fifth was a Run Angel Personal Safety Device
…………..and it was the last one that stopped me.
Image: BikeRoar’s #5 top gift for Mothers Day
I didn’t read on.
There is so much wrong with this list.
First, the article is listed under ‘Tech Tips’. It has 11 items, but only one (#5 above) is actually a tech product. There is a Garmin mount (#6), but not the actual Garmin. Odd. I sincerely hope this is not because of some preconditioned, subtle, habitual, gender stereotype like women aren’t good at tech…. 1 out of 11?
But more than that, it was the actual product #5 itself I found unsettling.
I appreciate that this product comes from a place of concern.
But its very existence is a recognition that abuse of women is so widespread that no woman is safe – at any time.
Violence against women has become so commonplace that giving a personal safety alarm to our mothers is one of the top five gifts we can get her. Really? Top five. I find that so disturbing.
Have we become so accepting and desensitised that violence against women occurs so regularly that we are equipping our mothers with panic alarms – for when they ride their bikes in broad day light!
What the hell!!
Do you know any male cyclists who wear
panic alarms?
I find it disconcerting that most people would not see, or question how disempowering for women this seemingly harmless Mother’s Day list and the giving of a personal alarm is. And therein lies the issue.
Female bike riders are at risk
It can be hard to recognise and understand the
scale of abuse women experience.
Women face physical and sexual abuse all the time.
Women constantly get unwanted comments, looks, sniggers, honks and disparaging, offensive, sexualised remarks like ‘I’d hold a knife to that’ (said by two men walking past Laura Bates*). We live in a society where ‘I feel rapey’ t-shirts are now sold on Ebay.*
It can be challenging for the amazing men
in our lives to understand the extent and danger to physical safety that just being
a female is.
Just because you might not see it or experience
it yourself, does not mean it is not happening.
Women routinely feel unsafe. We live in a culture where women are culturally trained to fear men, being outside, being mobile, being in public and being alone.
Verbal attacks, sexual assault, rape and street harassment are commonplace. Just ask a female friend or family member about getting public transport after dark.
Aside from all these issues, the personal alarm is also problematic because it puts the responsibility of criminal behaviour on the (would-be) victims. Women. As Laura Kipnis points out “I can think of no better way to subjugate women than to convince us that assault is around every corner”.
We place the responsibility of persistent and immediate danger on women, who then restrict their movements, reduce activities and live in a perpetual state of anxiety. That’s control.
Yup, the epitome of a modern, free, independent
woman.
Another issue is that the personal alarm suggests that women are unsafe only when out of the house – like when riding a bike – and that attacks are only perpetrated on the street by strangers. Yes, this happens a lot, but it is not the full picture.
The idea that women are only unsafe in public is a fallacy.
A Personal Safety Survey conducted in 2012 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicated that most instances of violence against women were perpetrated by someone known to them: around 74% of women who had experienced violence in the last 12 months, and 87% of women who had experienced violence since the age of 15, reported that the perpetrator was someone they know.[8]
Image: Lyndsay Williams. The Toronto Star.
Abuse of female cyclists occurs every day
Women know this abuse happens, but sadly, most men are unaware of the extent and impact gender and sexual harassment have on females and female cyclists.
A few recent news pieces have tried to
highlight the issue:
I am angry that the happiness and warmth that should be the focus for Mother’s Day is undermined by seemingly ‘nice and thoughtful’ gifts which are actually unchecked, unspoken and unseen consequences of the misogynistic control and abuse of women.
Perhaps a more apt sentiment for today is Happy Fearful Mother’s Day Cycling Mums!
I have hope though.
There are many amazing women and men who call out any behaviour that would make a mother, any woman, or any person, feel uncomfortable.
I salute these people.
I hope our cycling community shows it’s strength, voice and action to make sure ALL riders, including women, are made to feel welcomed, safe and respected every time they ride.
Perhaps then, we’ll have no need of panic alarms for female cyclists.
Here’s to hoping.
Have a safe Mother’s Day all.
Resources:
*Bates, L. (2018). Misogynation: The True Scale of Sexism. London, UK: Simon and Schuster.
