Chicks in the Sticks 2018

Last weekend was the 2018 Chicks in the Sticks 3 hr Enduro event.

Chicks in the Sticks (CITS) is Queensland’s premier all-women’s MTB event. It has been running now for 4 years and registrations have been gaining steadily. This year there were 233 entrants.

I won’t rehash here the finer details of the event as you can check out at this post on the CITS 2016 which I rode as a team event or this one from the 2017 event.

CITS is all-inclusive race experience catering for both elite riders and those new to MTB and there is a strong emphasis on fun, community and giving riding a go.

The original date set in late August at the Karingal site was cancelled due to thunderstorms.

As luck would have it, the rain cleared on Sunday and a beautiful steamy and sunny day burst forth for our race day at Scribbly Gums Conservation Park.

How was the event?

I got there early and set up a little area for my gear and bags. The junior race started soon after and it was inspiring to see the under-10 girls giving it their all.

I got my race plate, chatted to a few people I knew and visited a few of the stalls. After getting a sense of where the senior race track was, I moved my gear to a position that was quick and easy to have a pit shop to replenish supplies during the race.

Unlike previous years, this time I was riding the full 3-hour solo. As the morning got more humid and hot, I could see that this change in weather was going to be a factor during the race and I was glad I gave some good thought to my water and race supplies.

My approach was to ride steady and see how I felt. It’s been 2 years since I’ve officially raced – and I was at CITS to support the event, not to ride hard and total myself. There were some elite racers out to smash it and many were there to give it a go and a surprising number of seniors were doing their first ever race.

I was not in costume, just comfortable MTB gear – a decision I was very grateful for later when the sun was blaring down and I saw many people in costumes suffering more so. I could see the heat taking a toll on the less experienced riders. By lap 3 (2 hours in) the field had spread out considerably, with quite a few calling it quits early due to the heat.

I rode with a few people who were struggling on the uphill fire trail – just chatting and encouraging. One lady had not eaten, so I gave her some of my food and keep her company up the hill. It reminded me how hard it was when I first started riding and how much I valued the insights and advice of my more experienced MTB mates. Their input saved me a lot of needless suffering – for which I am eternally thankful.

What else happened?

Interestingly, I was the only singlespeed riding- and the trails were perfect for it. Really, there was bugger all elevation, but lots of windy single track. The consistently tight turns and gravel spread the field right out. Confident cornering technique played a massive role in conserving energy and holding speed. Perfect conditions!

I chugged along at my own speed and chatted to a few other riders. My goal was to keep my head positive and enjoy the day – everything else was a bonus. So without any race expectations, it meant I could relax and enjoy the ride.

I found my groove after lap two and was feeling surprisingly comfortable. I ended up doing 5 laps 9kms laps in total without destroying myself in the heat and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

It was good to be part of this event. It was lovely to see how hard people were working and how different people deal with their individual race day challenges.

I had a great time riding and was glad I pushed myself to ride further than I have previously without destroying myself. It was a great day for a ride and the event was super fun. I will definitely be back next year! See you there!

Congrats to the organisers!

Kudos to the organisers and all the wonderful people that helped make this such a fabulous event like the participants, the RATS Cycling Club, volunteers and heaps of partners/family/friends.

The Chicks in the Sticks committee did a great job. A big congratulations to Barbra Neal, Lisa Toia, Amanda Harrison, Seb Mitaros and Christine McKay for all their hard work behind the scenes.

Congrats to all the riders – especially those who were riding for the first time.

Race Day results are available here.

More info about this event can be found on the CITS Facebook page and event pics at Element Photo and Video Productions.

20/09/201826/09/2018

English Australia Conference 2018

This week, I am in Sydney attending the annual, national English Australia Conference (EAC) 2018.

Earlier this year at the EA (QLD) PD Fest, our Bicycles Create Change session won the QLD Bright Ideas Award.

So, thanks to Pearson and the EA Queensland Branch, I’m in Sydney representing our BCC internship team session at the conference.

I am very honoured and very excited!

EAC 2018 Day 2 Program

Session Presentation:

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 are one-way students can become more work-ready. However, a number of studies confirm that current tertiary students lack 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 to the academic, vocational and personal needs of the international students in my DEP classes might look like.

This presentation is 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 110,000 readers locally and internationally) served as the professional platform for work activities as it was 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 to discuss progress.

Theoretical underpinnings

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.This left 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.

Tailored experiences (below) 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 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 as an individually ‘art bike’ as part of the 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 are mentioned 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

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.

26/06/201810/07/2018

The Art of Looping

I had a great time at Queensland College of the Arts (QCA) this week at an intensive workshop with some of Griffith’s most talented artists. Here’s an overview of what we did for our 2-day The Art of Looping Workshop – Enjoy!

@victoriawareham

Day 1

I arrived at the QCA Southbank Design Studio and met my usual partner in creative crime, Claire Tracey. I’ve not been to the studio before and was impressed with the setup. The room had workstations set up with screens and we were issued with extra equipment and tools like speakers, MP3 recorders and other technical materials we would need. We all had mobile phones and a few, like me, had their laptops as well.

There were 19 participants in total, three of whom I knew. So it was a good mixture of mostly new and some familiar faces.

After an intro from the organisers, our presenter Alex Murray-Leslie showed us some of her latest work which explores electronic footwear, lights, environs and video – very interesting!

Then we went around the group and introduced ourselves and our art practice.

We then moved to a different space and took notes as each person read aloud a section from one of the texts they had bought. The readings ranged from textbooks, academic journals, song lyrics, children’s books and people’s own musings. We did a free writing activity and then got into set up in our “looping’ groups” just before lunch.

My Looping team consisting of three other amazing artists: Xhaohui Yang, Paula Payne, Hannah Reardon-Smith and me. Paula is a terrific painter, Hannah is a flautist with the Conservatorium and Xhaohui brought a few of her amazing pieces with her and we ended up using them every day.

After lunch, we all visited fellow Looper Karen Stone’s exhibition and heard her speak about her work. My team ended up staying in the exhibition space to continue filming – and we got a number of impromptu vignettes there …like…

Then we had free time to start shooting short videos. Our team spent the rest of the afternoon trialling and erroring ideas, discussing, designing and investigating how things could work when looped.

We spent the rest of the afternoon working on little projects in pairs and as a group. It was good fun to work with other people and it was a deliberately open format, so we could self-direct and follow ideas as much or as little as we wanted.

I was pretty tired by the end of the first day. Once I got home, I did a 29 min Teacher’s Tech crash Youtube course on DaVinci Resolve 14. I have had this editing software on my computer for some time, but have not made the time yet to use it. As we were one of the groups that didn’t have a video expert, it was the ideal time to learn new skills. The crash course was just enough to hack together a few ideas – perfect!

Day 2

Most people brought ‘extras’ on the second day: costumes, makeup, props, jewellery, pieces of our own art – and I brought in Leki. We started out by going on an ‘excursion’. Those with outfits put them on, others lugged gear and props. We wandered around Southbank and heading over The Goodwill Bridge and into the Gardens on the other side shooting scenes and scenarios as we went. It was great fun.

We explored lawns, garden beds, went up trees, into drains, through car parks, down flights of stairs, sat on rocks and cause some happy mayhem along the way. All the while in colourful costumes, sprouting text and being directed by fellow Loopers – much to the curiosity of random passerbys.

On one particular sortie, Claire, Alex and I found ourselves on Level 6 of the QUT Law building, whereI rode Leki across an overpass while poor Law students undertook a Law exam next door – we were quietly respectful, but the contrast between the two groups was palpable- good luck students!

After our excursion, we all headed back to the Design Studio and spent some time collating, editing and exporting our Loops. They were raw, rough and fun.

As you would expect, each team produced totally different loops. They varied widely in concept, production and technical delivery. It was really interesting to see what others had been working on and what were we able to produce in such a short space of time.

As a final showcase, filled every screen in the Design Studio with team loops, so we could walk around and see what people had been working on. Quite a few academics also came down to see our final presentations – it looked awesome.

Take-aways of time spent Looping

I was really inspired and impressed by the work and skills of my Looper team and the other participants.
It was great working on set with Claire again – we have such great creative synergy. It reminded me that public art and performance are so engaging and fun to create, but also that it is hard work.
I really enjoyed the variety of activities: I liked the warm-up intro, reading and writing that lead to the group work – it worked well to orientate us and get the creative juices flowing.
I liked that the open format pushed me to relax into whatever was happening, to relinquish the idea that ‘I need to know what I am doing’ or always have structure – the learning was organic.
I learnt a new skill (DaVinci Resolve Software) enough to put together an experimental short clip – which I would not have done in such a way if I had not done the workshop.
It was also great to have designated adult play-time – what a joy! So precious!
My team were easy going, innovative and everyone brought something to the table – and it was lovely being in a space where there was no right or wrong ideas or actions – just ‘seeing what might happen if we do this’ or ‘Let’s try X here’ – such a rare delight!
It was also great to get about and about in Brisbane to do some live shooting. I was very proud crossing The Goodwill Bridge with my fellow Loopers and being part of this beautiful, courageous, colourfully-dressed band of creatives exploring the city streets, buildings and gardens of Brisbane.

Looper Awards of Excellence

For a finale, Claire and I awarded each of our fellow loopers (and fearless leaders) a custom-made recycled Looper Award of Excellence medal, each of which we had made out of an array of recycled materials like bike inner tubes and parts, beer caps, repurposed bits-and-bobs, jewellery pieces and other found objects (see below). Just doing our bit to get more bikes in the creative arts!!

Thank you!

A massive thank you to Beck and Sue for organising this event.

To Alex for running the workshop – we had a great time!

To my team for being right there with me – you were awesome!

To all our other fellow loopers … for being equally amazing!

I can’t wait for the next workshop!

21/06/201823/06/2018

Looping with the Chicks on Speed

Hooray! Exams are over for students – Congrats to all! As a reward for a busy week marking exam essays, I registered for a wicked 2-day creative workshop called The Art of Looping run by Alex Murray-Leslie (from Chicks on Speed – OMG!). I am super excited and can’t wait! Here is what we’ll be doing.. (no…not wrestling bike monsters like the Gif below – although it is a loop..below, below!! NG.)

Source: @electriccyclery via GIPHY

Looping with the Chicks on Speed

This workshop is a unique opportunity for a small, select group of Griffith HDR creatives. I wanted to come not only for the creative experience and to gain new skills, ideas and motivation, but also as it was a great chance to meet and work with Alex -who is a seemingly inexhaustible artistic icon and source of craftspiration.

This session especially was super popular, so I was happily surprised I was able to register as it booked out very soon after! Lucky!

For this workshop, we will be working in the Design Studios at QCA South Bank Campus. We need to bring three diverse texts we find engaging for our current practice and a mobile phone with video editing capabilities (if we have it).

The Art of Looping: Ephemeral and tangible experiences expressed through costume, performance, spoken word, sound, choreography and action!

What we will be doing – The workshop seeks to create new understandings and opportunities to encounter and exchange using mobile phones as a tool to foster interaction between participants and collective works using audiovisual looping as an artistic method.

Organised in an experimental and engaging format (we decide together at the start of the workshop) the different student groups create a theatre of making; processes of learning and unlearning, performed, documented and edited on the spot with their mobile phones.

Our stages will be the neighbourhoods surrounding the university and the final composition will be informed by chance encounters over the 2-day workshop.

Our presenter – Alexandra Murray-Leslie conducted her PhD research at Creativity and Cognition Studios, The University of Technology, Sydney. She is co-founder of Chicks on Speed, an internationally renowned art ensemble. Alex’s current practice-based research is Fashion Acoustics: wearable musical instrument design for live-art performance focussing on the development of computer-enhanced footwear for aerial dance practice and musical composition with possible health applications.

Looping with the Chicks on Speed. Bicycles Create Change.com 20th May, 2018 — Source: Alex performing at the 2017 Wear It Festival (Berlin).

Attendance – This 2-day masterclass is offered by the Griffith Centre for Creative Arts Research for Queensland College of Art & Griffith Film School Higher Degree Researchers only. Limited registrations.

Organisers – this event has been organised by Professor Susan Best, Director GCCAR and Dr Beck Davis, HDR Convenor QCA & GFS. (A big thanks to them both! NG).

I’m keen to meet some new people, learn some new tech skills and have some designated time set aside for some serious creative explorations – wooohooo!

More about Alex and Chicks on Speed

Below is a great ABC Arts segment that shows just how awesome Alex and the Chicks on Speed are.

Alex Murray-Leslie is an artist/researcher and curator, working in the areas of computational foot-wearables, digital music instrument design, Pop Music & Live-Art.

Alex recently completed her PhD in the Faculty of Engineering and IT (Creativity and Cognition Studios, UTS) and is the research fellow at Art and Design Research Incubator (Dept. of Sports Science (Penn State Uni.) and The Music Tech. Group at University Pompeu Fabre (Barcelona).

Recent projects include: Curator of the worlds first wearable technology in Fashion Film competition, Diane Pernet presents ASVOFF 9, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2016.

Alex performs, curates, lectures & exhibits internationally, alongside writing for scientific journal and book publications.

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!

01/05/201808/05/2018

Electric vehicles come to town!

This guest blog post comes courtesy of RevBECCA from Rev-Bikes. I first met RevBECCA at the Melbourne at the Sustainable Living Festival, when I awarded her one of our Environmental Excellence Awards for her incredible passion and work getting more people on electric bikes. She agreed to do a guest blog post about the changes she is seeing in e-transport (she was on her e-bike as we chatted about this!)- and true to her word, here it is! Enjoy! NG.

Coming into e-bikes from the environmental angle, RevBECCA wanted to see people be able to do more than just run their house with the solar energy systems she was selling them. Seeing e-bikes as a great middle ground between bikes and electric cars, she set about 9 years ago to change the perception of e-bikes, through building super stylish custom bikes, to overcome the negative stereotypes and dispel the myths. Electric assistance is about making more possible by bike, by a wider audience than regular exercise-focused cyclists and it creates a fantastic mode of active transport. Rev-Bikes can turn ANY bike into an electric bike, and she especially loves the most custom and creative vehicles (such as hand cycles, recumbents, tandems, and cruisers).

Electric vehicles come to town!

Guest blog post by RevBECCA LEE.

There’s nothing quite like the raw acceleration power of an electric motor, with immediate 100% torque straight off the line.

If you haven’t felt it before, then now is the best time ever to have your chance.

On Sunday, February 18^th, Australia’s largest event focused on Electric Vehicles (EV’s) took place in Port Melbourne, Victoria (AUS).

This is the 5^th time the annual event has been run, with previous EV Expo’s attracting over 3000 people. This one was predicted to be much larger, with much more on offer for guests to learn about and experience.

The new venue was chosen to allow a strong focus on ‘Feeling the EV Grin‘, meaning people could test drive cars, bikes, scooters, and other vehicles, in the safety of closed circuit tracks.

Alongside the track, there were various retailers of the different vehicles available to be ridden and driven and who showed people how they worked, and answer questions.

A variety of electric cars were exhibited, including many of the factory models previously and currently available in Australia.

Electric bikes and more

A large range of electric bikes of all shapes and sizes, some with over-powered motors and long-range batteries (including some from Warrandyte’s own REV-Bikes), were all available to try.

In addition, there was a diverse range of one-off custom vehicles on display, in Australia’s only ALL-ELECTRIC Show’N’Shine competition.

This showcased creative and innovative vehicles such as a pure solar car, a home-made Batpod replica, a converted Capri, and the authentic vintage 1917 Detroit electric car we’ve seen attend in previous years.

A description of the vehicles was provided by the owners for the public to read, including the power and range specifications, and the vehicles were judged while competing for prestigious rosettes.

Demo laps were a way to show off many of these vehicles throughout the day.

To satisfy the community’s thirst for knowledge about the emerging technology in EV’s, there was a diverse seminar series, where experts delivered presentations on a range of topics, from introductory level to the more technical.

Special guests – world record holders!

One very special international guest is Eva Hakansson, who designed and built the fastest electric motorcycle on the planet (400+km/h), and she also raced it herself (what a woman!).

Another World Recording holding special guest is Alan Johnson, who converted his 4WD to full solar-powered electric and drove across the Simpson Desert last year. The vehicle was on display, and he was there alongside it to answer questions.

There were also many more technical presentations on various aspects of vehicles, the industry and the potential incentives our government could be offering to increase the uptake of EV’s in Australia.

Awards Electric vehicles come to town. Bicycles Create Change.com 1st May, 2018. (Oooh! Who won that the last category?! Congrats RevBECCA! NG)

What are the next steps and take-aways?

The goal of the EV Expo is to demystify this exciting and sustainable technology, which is indisputably coming to disrupt the existing status quo; the unnecessary burning of fossil fuels for personal transportation.

The organisers aim to empower consumers to make informed decisions in their next choice of vehicle and prompt governments to take action to encourage faster uptake of EV’s.

Other countries are already in the middle of this revolution, thanks to progressive governments encouraging early adopters through financial incentives.

Norway already has more than 20% of new car sales being pure electric (and over 50% are electric/hybrid), a result stemming from decisions made as far back as 1990 to eliminate import taxes on electric vehicles, making them cost comparable to similar petrol and diesel vehicles.

Until they have the target 50,000 zero-emission vehicles on the road, Norwegians also enjoy free parking, free toll travel, and are able to use bus lanes. All policies started back in the 90’s.

Currently, in Australia, we only have about 4000 electric cars on the road, a mere 0.1% of new car sales.

The main barriers to buying an electric car are around the price (higher than petrol equivalents, although much lower ongoing costs), battery range per charge (most models are about 200-300kms per charge) and the limited infrastructure available out there for charging (although there are more powerpoints around than petrol stations, and charging normally happens while the user sleeps).

So, I think the main barriers are really a lack of understanding and the upfront cost.

The EV Expo aims to address the first point directly, and the second point by engaging government in conversation.

“A global revolution in electric vehicles is underway and with the right preparation, planning and policies, Australian consumers are set to be the big beneficiaries,” said Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg.

In his recent opinion piece, the Minister pointed to what needs to happen to increase the uptake of EV’s here in Australia but fell obviously short of actually committing to any incentives being rolled out by the Turnbull government. So why did he write this piece? I think something is coming.

With the major auto manufacturing industry now officially over in Australia (perhaps due to a lack of investment in future markets), there is little reason not to encourage the importing of cleaner vehicles over dirtier ones. Watch this space for breaking news, hopefully soon.

The Electric Vehicle Expo 2018 was held at the Melbourne International Karting Complex, just near the West Gate Bridge, 5kms from the CBD.

More details can be found at www.EVexpo.org.au

See you all at the next EV Expo!

Video: Rev-Electric Bikes. Riding high-powered.

All Images: @Rev-Bikes and EV Expo.com

22/03/201818/04/2018

English Australia – PD Fest

English Australia (EA) is the national peak body for the English language sector of international education in Australia. On the weekend, the Queensland English Australia – PD Fest was held. This event is a precursor to the national conference coming up later this year. I always enjoy this event and have been looking forward to it. Here is what happened. Enjoy!

English Australia – PD Fest

I really enjoy going to the English Australia PD Fest each year. I love catching up with industry news, meeting other teachers in my field and seeing what others are doing in the PD sessions. I presented for the first time in 2016, but last year went as a participant and had an equally great time. So this year, it was time to present again. Turns out I ended up presenting twice and here’s how it went!

Session 1 From EAS to collaborative internship: Lessons and insights where bicycles create change

Abstract: This session presents the results and insights drawn from the 8-week collaborative internship I worked on over the Summer of 2016 with 4 DEP students: Sachie, Mauricio, Juliet and Gabriel. This session outlines the multiple theoretical perspectives that underpin the course design and explains how the project focused on providing the participants with genuine and English, academic, professional and practical workplace skills and opportunities in inventive and engaging ways.

Presenters: Sachie Togashiki is in her third year of International Liberal Arts at Soka University, Japan, majoring in Philosophy. Juliet Alfred is Special Educator at Sommerville Special School, Auckland, NZ. Mauricio Gonzalez is a Software Developer working on private contracts for the Queensland Government. Gabriel Besong was unable to present. All are graduates of GELI’s Direct Entry Program (DEP) and were participants in the 2016 Bicycles Create Change Summer Internship. Nina Ginsberg is a Language Instructor and Academic Tutor with Griffith English Language Institute (GELI).

How did it go? This session went well. I had to really condensed the session down as the afternoon sessions had less time than the morning sessions, but it was a good challenge to hit the high points of theoretical perspectives, aha moments, what worked and what didn’t work.

I spent a bit of time going through the Internship outline as this was the crux of whole venture. I explained the different components, how they work together and gave some examples of tasks and activities undertaken to show critical points of skill development, which the audience were really interested in.

It was also great because the audience got to hear directly from three out of the four participants about their experience: Sachie and Juliet had pre-recorded video (they are both overseas) and Mauricio attended in person. Congrats to all three who presented – they did a great job!

Bright Ideas Nomination: This session was one of five on the day that were nominated for a Bright Ideas Award. This means that there was representative of English Australia in the audience evaluating the presentation. Their review is coupled with the distant feedback and a summary of the session written by the presenter. The Panel then assesses each of the five sessions and announces the winner.

The prize for the Bright Ideas Award is a full expenses paid trip (all airfares, accomodation, gala dinner, registration etc) to present as the Queensland representative at the 2018 English Australia (National) Conference to be held in Sydney on 19-21 September. Bloody wicked!!

Click here to see the 2017 Bright Ideas (Queensland) Winner’s session.

Session 2: You’ll never believe what happened in class today!

Abstract: Teaching is hard, but rewarding work. Every teacher has memorable moments that has made it all worth it. This fun and positive participatory session celebrates the unique, wonderful, hilarious and often touching moments in our collective teacher experience. Join us for a few laughs and double entendres as we reminisce magical class moments!

Presenters: Just me!

How did it go? I hadn’t planned on doing this session this year. I spoke to the organisers a week before it was being held and they were still short a few sessions. I had the idea to do this session next year, but the discussion forum format was easy to organise, so I volunteered to double up. I’m glad I did.

The premise that this session was the provide designated space the teachers to sit down and share their experiences. I wanted to steer away from the usual pedagogy, theory and practical skills PD session to really acknowledge and celebrate the personal and often unknown moments that many teachers have, but are all too rarely shared.

I also wanted to recognise and honour the positive and fun side as a counterbalance all the hard work that goes into teaching, which is usually the central focus of many PDs.

The session was simple. After a quick introduction, I told a few funny stories of faux pas, pronunciation confusions, hilarious misspellings and cultural misunderstandings to get the ball rolling. We then divided up into four groups of about six people and spent the time exchanging the memorable times that it made us laugh in English class.

This session was informal, friendly and funny. It was a wonderful way to end the day. The participants who came were very generous in sharing their stories and experiences and it was lovely to hear laughter flowing easily.

Here are a few highlights from my two sessions. A massive thanks to Elliot Kirkwood Photography for providing all session photos other than my presentation slides – what a professional!

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!!

27/02/201804/03/2018

Riding through the Storm

This guest blog post is particularly special to me. It is written by KJ, whom I met at a local cafe. We were sitting next to each other outside and struck up a conversation, which quickly turned to the topic of bikes. We had a wonderful chat and she told me the amazing story below. I immediately invited her to write a guest post about it, and true to her word, here it is! I love that this story emerged out of two strangers striking up a conversation and that bicycles brought us together. I also think this is a very important story to reflect on and share. Thanks so much to KJ and Ian for telling us their experience – and it goes without saying…if you ride in Brisbane and see Ian out and about – be sure to say hi!! Enjoy! NG.

Riding through the Storm

Image: Ian’s amazing bespoke bikes

Chances are if you frequent north Brisbane bikeways, you’ve encountered Ian. You may not have overtaken him though; arms pumping and metal shining, he keeps quite a pace on his recumbent hand cycle. Ian has hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), a rare disease causing progressive muscle weakness, but that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing the sport he loves with determination and creativity.

Ian fixed up his first scrapheap bike at age 15, in order to be able to “scream around the bush”. With his experience of in-shed tinkering with a neighbour, he found mechanical skills came easily, and these skills were put to use in his work as a panel beater, bus driver and Telstra exchange technician. A car license made him forget his first love until his mid-thirties when the purchase of a $120 bike offered the freedom of a daily ride before work. Before long he was upgrading, tinkering in the shed again, and sharing his joy of riding and repairing with his two children.

However, the signs that he had inherited his mother’s muscular disorder were there from as early as age 10 when he started to develop problems with his feet and knees turning inwards, and his feet dragging. His disease defied diagnosis until he was 52 when genetic testing confirmed he had the rare mutation of HSP. By this stage, Ian had been made redundant and, no longer able to climb ladders and with difficulty walking and the prospect of worsening mobility, he went on the disability pension.

Ian realised it was time for a cycling change when he tried to put his foot down to dismount and crashed. A familiar feeling for many, but this wasn’t the usual inability to clip out; his foot had just remained on the pedal. He bought a recumbent bike from Flying Furniture, and with clip-on shoes keeping his feet on the pedals at the right time, he was able to get enough momentum, despite fellow cyclists’ disparaging shouts of “Get off your bum you lazy…”

With time and progressive weakness, Ian needed to add an electric motor for pedal assist, but ultimately ran into problems with his knees falling inwards. His cycling future seemed over, with hand cycles at $10,000 priced out of his reach. He simply set to building one, and after a year and $300 was back on the bikeway.

Two hand cycles later, Ian relishes the freedom longer rides of 40 km to Woody Point or Sandgate offer, although he’s happy for a lift home from his wife Narelle. He suffers from the endorphin deficiency all cyclists experience when unsuitable weather or injury keep them off the bike – maybe a bit more than most because day to day there is a need for something to lift the spirits. Because of his fluidity and speed on the bike, fellow cyclists may be taken by surprise when he struggles to get into the end of ride coffee shop.

One thing is for sure, this is one cyclist who will not let disability hold him down.

Further information can be found at the HSP Research Foundation – created in 2005 to find a cure for Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia – an inherited, degenerative disease affecting mainly the legs, causing muscle weakness, spasticity and severely impairing walking.

The HSP Research Foundation is an incorporated, registered Australian charity that facilitates and funds research to find a cure. The Foundation is also the community hub for HSPers in Australia, creating awareness and providing support and education.

12/01/201803/02/2018

Brisbane Bicycle Film Festival 2018

Image: Space for Cycling Brisbane.

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

I can’t wait!

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

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

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

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

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

Image: Bicycle Film Festival 2012.

What do I need to know to submit an entry?

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

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

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

To submit a film – the official requirements are:

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

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

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

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

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

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