My last post was an invitation to Brisbane’s upcoming BikeHack19 event. I have had a lot of interesting responses and conversations with friends and colleagues about this event and suggestions for pitches.
I asked Alison Turner, a dear friend, if she would like to come to BikeHack19 with me.
Alison and I have worked on a number of creative projects before. She not only has a head for business and project managing, but she is a skilled artist in her own right and I have called on her (many times!) when working on this-or-that thing either to cast her discerning eye over an idea, to practically help solve a design issue or just to join in making whatever it is I’m working on.
She is great company, a skilled artist, a flexible thinker and killer at scrabble – everything you want in a project buddy!
Unfortunately though, Alison can’t come to
BikeHack19.
But the offer got her thinking.
Alison worked for Australia Sailing for many years and was in charge of training and increasing participation in sailing in Queensland. So unbeknownst to me, she set her business prowess and program insights to good work. After doing some research of her own, she used her experience promoting sailing participation to the BikeHack19 cycling challenge and brainstormed some ideas.
The next time I saw Alison, she presented
me with her brainstorm (see below) and explained it in detail – it was spot on.
Alison and her BikeHack19 brainstorm.
We chatted about the similarities in crossover
of participation issues between sailing and cycling – and how much transferability
there was between the two sports.
I love having people like Alison in our community.
She is an example of those who not only freely give their time and ideas to friends,
but who are equally excited to apply the same effort and passion to building a
more cohesive and active community – what a gift!
I am very appreciative to Alison.
Thanks so much for your ideas and time!
I will definitely be taking these ideas to
BikeHack19.
This week, I attended the Chicks Who Ride Bikes (CWRB) first event for the year – the Climb Every Mountain Breakfast.
Last month, I posted about this event and how much I was looking forward to it. The breakfast was hosted by Olympian and cycling commentator Katey Bates who was joined by panelists Aussie cycling legend Loren Rowney and Media guru Jane Aubrey. Unfortunately, Chief CWRB Jordana Blackman couldn’t make it. It was a great way to start the day, the morning was glorious and I really liked the early breakfast format. I got there just ahead of time, signed in and headed out onto the Ship Inn deck to grab a coffee and mingle.
The format allowed for social time on arrival for the first half an hour, then we sat down for breakfast, where we got to meet a whole new group of people at the table. Then the panel took to the stage for a discussion and Q & A, and prizes were given out at the end.
I didn’t have to rush off for work so was also able to hang around and chat some more at the end as well which was an extra bonus!
The view overlooking Southbank from the deck was a wonderful backdrop. The coffee kicked in early and people were mingling and networking. I had a couple of lovely chats to new people and made sure I sat with people I hadn’t yet meet when we sat down for breakfast.
The panel discussion was very interesting.
I like the discussion-style, open, unscripted approach. The stories, challenges and success that Loren Rowney and Loretta Bayliss each shared were poignant, heartfelt and honest. They both have had such different interests, approaches, trajectories, choices and struggles.
Loren spoke of what happened when she was selected to be on the Australian Olympic Cycling Team, how she has dealt with her infamous crash and what she has been working on since.
Loretta drew on her love of mountain climbing, the importance of her ‘tribe’ when building an IT company and the role her children have had in shaping her understandings of life and herself.
Katey was a consumate host: there were laughs and contrasts, a good variety in questions, and she expertly linked panelist insights back to the collective audience.
There is a real power in hearing personal experiences first-hand!
Image: CWRB
There were many highlights, but a few standouts were the personal nature of the event, the vulnerability of the speakers, the friendliness of the attendees, and having a social event that doesn’t involve alcohol.
My favorite aspect of this event was simply having the designated time to meet and talk to a new group of women who I would otherwise not have met – and that we all had a common passion out of which other connections, ideas and topics emerged.
A big thank you to all those who attended – and to the organisers for putting on such an enjoyable and interesting event.
What a wonderful inaugural #CWRB event to kick-start the year!
This blog prides itself on sharing the grassroots stories, events and experiences of local and international community cyclists. Around the world, cyclists are grappling with many issues – and this story from JP hit a particular nerve in drawing attention to the issue of air pollution. The article republished here was an open letter written by San Paulo local bicycle activist JP Amaral for Global Call to Climate Action at the end of last year. Recently, I reported on Areli Carreón who is the first ever Latin American Bicycle Mayor (Mexico City) because it is important to hear more from our concerned and proactive Latin American cycling brothers and sisters. A big thanks to JP for sharing his thoughts, research and insights with us. We applaud your work and are sending you much support from down under!
I used to believe poor air quality was a major barrier to cycling in our urban centers and couldn’t understand the reason for my respiratory problems in my hometown São Paulo, where air pollution levels are 60% above the WHO’s safety limits and responsible for 6,421 deaths each year.
However, as I started cycling, the health benefits were immediate, especially for my respiratory system.
Image: The Conversation
Now, after 10 years working on sustainable urban mobility, being co-founder of Bike Anjo, a large national network of volunteers promoting cycling as a means of transport in Brazil, and an active member of the international Bicycle Mayor Network, I understand that the health benefits of cycling and walking outweigh the harm from inhaling air loaded with traffic fumes.
This is a message we always try to get across to the people we help in learning to cycle or tracing their daily routes. Moreover, research studies have shown that car drivers in heavy traffic inhale more pollution.
The biggest metropolitan area in South America (population: 21.2 million), São Paulo is notorious for its traffic; a recent study found that São Paulo inhabitants spent 86 hours on average in 2017 stuck in traffic (or 22% of total drive time), putting it in the top five cities for traffic congestion.
In this city, cars and motorcycles are a much-desired escape from long, arduous journeys on public transport, especially for the poor living on the outskirts who commute every day into the city centre.
Over the past decade, Federal government incentives to the car industry have brought down the price of cars, making them significantly more accessible. It is not surprising then that the main source of air pollution in São Paulo – as in several world cities – is the vehicular fleet, accounting for 80% of total air pollutants.
Despite this unfavourable scenario, cycling has been growing in popularity in recent years: we’ve gone from 100,000 bike trips a day in 2007 to 300,000 trips a day in 2012, and a recent study by the Secretary of Transport estimated over 1 million bike trips a day in São Paulo.
Cycling in Sao Paulo (Brazil). Image: Raw Story
Investments in cycling infrastructure and a series of incentives, such as 400 km of new bike lanes and bike paths, new bike sharing systems and banning car traffic in some of the city’s busiest streets on Sundays have contributed to this culture change. Surfing on this trend, Bike Anjo expanded its network of volunteers, helping “paulistanos” explore safe cycling routes and cycle with more confidence.
This year, our successful Bike to Work campaign has highlighted the health benefits of cycling, focusing on two women who agreed to ride their bikes to work for an entire month for the first time, whilst having their health monitored by doctors.
Having experienced so many physical and mental health benefits from this challenging experiment, they both decided to continue their daily bicycling commutes. We hope that this experience, featured on national television, has encouraged many Brazilians to do the same.
While behaviour change campaigns such as this one can make a difference, a long lasting change in transport culture must be underpinned by robust public policies that are conducive to active mobility. At the federal level, a progressive piece of policy framework was proposed as the “National Urban Mobility Act”, in 2012, putting forward active mobility as the prioritized mode of transport in Brazilian cities.
However, the national plan implementation depends entirely on the formulation of municipal urban mobility plans, which are either non existent or at early stages of implementation in most of Brazil’s municipalities. Through working with civil society actors, Bike Anjo and the Brazilian Cyclists’ Union (UCB) have been trying to assist municipalities in getting their plans off the paper and into action.
The gaps are numerous; from policy design to implementation, from federal to municipal level, and importantly, the tendency of treating issues in silos.
Health policies rarely engage in dialogue with mobility policies, despite existing evidence that reducing air pollution in urban centres through clean, sustainable transport results in better public health outcomes and significant savings in government expenditures.
Air pollution is now responsible for over 7 million premature deaths per year, globally. The urgency of reducing such mortality rates, coupled with that of mitigating the impacts of climate change, leaves us with no more time to tolerate carbon emissions from fossil fueled transport.
Image: Dublin Cycling Campaign
The latest UN scientific report has warned we may have only 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe if global warming exceeds 1.5C, singling out the transport sector as the fastest growing contributor to climate emissions
This first global WHO conference on health and air pollution is a unique occasion where national leaders from different sectors facing similar local challenges can meet and exchange experiences, learn from civil society and ultimately commit to agreed targets to meet the WHO’s air quality guidelines by 2030, matching the needs of reducing carbon emissions.
Image: WHO
Clean, renewable energy, electric vehicles, the elimination of fossil fuels subsidies, smarter urban planning, and better public transport infrastructure are some of the choices policy makers can make to avoid countless preventable deaths, drastically improve air quality and health, and contribute towards a safer climate.
At the conference, I plan to highlight how cycling can play a major role in transforming mobility around the world. Given the convenience, health benefits and affordability of bicycles, they could provide a far greater proportion of sustainable urban transport, helping reduce not only air pollution, but energy use and CO2 emissions worldwide.
Active mobility is often underestimated, but if you think about it, bicycles could be the ultimate icon of sustainable transport. As the far right takes power in countries across the planet, including most recently Brazil, city level solutions offer real hope and the best bet for change.
Image: WHO Image: WHO
About the author JP Amaral is an active member of the international Bicycle Mayor Network initiated by Amsterdam based social enterprise BYCS, and co-founder of the Bike Anjo Network (bikeanjo.org), currently coordinating the “Bicycle in the Plans” project. He has a bachelor degree on Environmental Management at the University of São Paulo and has been working in sustainable urban mobility since 2008. He is certified as an auditor on the BYPAD methodology – Bicycle Planning Audit, and is the Bicycle Mayor of São Paulo. He is also fellow member of the Red Bull Amaphyko network for social entrepreneurs and of the German Chancellor Fellowship program for tomorrow’s leaders from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, working with international cooperation towards cycling promotion, especially between Brazil and Europe.
Bike Anjo (Bike Angels) is a network of voluntary cyclists who engage people to use bicycles as a mean of transforming cities – from teaching how to ride a bicycle to identifying safe cycling routes for São Paulo inhabitants and building national campaigns.
The Bicycle Mayor Network is a global network of changemakers – initiated by Amsterdam based social enterprise BYCS – that radically accelerates cycling progress in cities worldwide. The individual use the power of their network to influence politics and the broader public to start cycling. Bicycle mayors transform cities, cities transform the world.
Pablo Neruda and his wife, Matilda Urrutia. Image: Unapizcadechmha via Pintrest
Valentine’s
Day is celebrated internationally as ‘Lover’s Day’.
Poems are often shared as a way to express that which we love.
This
year, I’ve turned to Chilean Poet Pablo Neruda.
Neruda was a prolific poet, a political and social activist, and an international diplomat.
He had a wonderful sense of humour and wrote collections of love and life. Neruda also wrote many odes to celebrate simple daily objects that may be taken for granted, like tomatoes, salt and socks … and bicycles!
This is a gorgeous film in its own right, only made better by having the lead character delivering love poems by bicycle!
Perfecto!
So for all the lovers of bicycles – and the people who ride them, here is Pablo Neruda’s Ode to Bicycles.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Enjoy!
Il Postino. Image: cranesareflying1
Ode to Bicycles
I was walking down a sizzling road: the sun popped like a field of blazing maize, the earth was hot, an infinite circle with an empty blue sky overhead.
A few
bicycles
passed
me by,
the only
insects
in
that dry
moment of summer,
silent,
swift,
translucent;
they
barely stirred
the air.
Workers
and girls
were riding to their
factories,
giving
their eyes
to summer,
their heads to the sky,
sitting on the
hard
beetle backs
of the whirling
bicycles
that whirred
as they rode by
bridges, rosebushes, brambles
and midday.
I thought about evening when the boys wash up, sing, eat, raise a cup of wine in honor of love and life, and waiting at the door, the bicycle, stilled, because only moving does it have a soul, and fallen there it isn’t a translucent insect humming through summer but a cold skeleton that will return to life only when it’s needed, when it’s light, that is, with the resurrection of each day.
Oda a la Bicicleta. Image: lesmolletsmoteursPablo Neruda. Image: Only Melbourne
If any Brisbane riders are looking for some extra motivation or want to meet some like-minded people, Chicks Who Ride Bikes (CWRB) have just announced their first event for 2019 – it’s a breakfast panel!
I’m looking forward to this event and have already got my ticket.
If you don’t know who CWRB are, or have not yet heard about the Climb Every Mountain Breakfast Event – then read on!
Image: Chicks Who Ride Bikes
What is CWRB?
Chicks Who Ride Bikes is a social network connecting women around the world through a shared passion for cycling.
Founded in Brisbane in 2013, CWRB is the fastest growing women’s cycling community IN THE WORLD!
CWRB hold some great events and work hard to build a welcoming and engaged community. Head Chick Jordana Blackman must be one of the busiest people I know because I not only run into her at cycling meets, races and CWRB events, but she is also often travelling all over the country (and beyond) working on all manner of major cycling tours, events and media junkets…Impressive!
For this event, CWRB is hosting a breakfast with a panel of three Aussie female cycling icons.
I really like the idea of merging breakfast with the panel event.
The panel has a great line up (see below) and I’m keen to hear the speakers unique experiences, advice and stories. It will also be good to meet other attendees.
Here are the event details that CWRB released this week.
Join us for a lovely breakfast and coffee, meet some like-minded ladies and ‘climb your mountain’.
The event is hosted by Olympian and cycling commentator Katey Bates who will be joined by a panel of legends including Chief CWRB Jordana Blackman, Aussie cycling legend Loren Rowney and Media guru Jane Aubrey.
The panel will share the ups and downs of their life and career, their strategies to tackle challenges, embrace the stumbles, and come out on top… or at least come out with a smile on their face and some good stories to tell!
We’ll have some incredible door prizes and our full range of 2019 CWRB kit to try on.
Image: Compfight cc
The Host
Katey Bates An Olympian and world champion cyclist, Katey loves her cycling like Eskimos love their ice. Fuelled by a passion for two wheels, she scaled the heights of international cycling.
Her stacked results sheet is highlighted by winning a coveted rainbow jersey with world championship victory in the points race, Commonwealth Games GOLD at back to back games, and a green and gold National champions jersey o the road.
Katey is one of only two Australian women to represent Australia at the Olympics in both track and road cycling, and since retirement, works in broadcasting, commentating on major international cycling events such as the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, World Championships and the Tour Down Under.
The Panel
Jordana Blackman Chief Chick at Chicks Who Ride Bikes, Jordana was drawn to cycling after a shock cancer diagnosis in her 20s. While in recovery, she saw a poster for a Ride To Conquer Cancer event at her local cafe, and decided to challenge the 200km in 2 day ride ….. but there was just one problem.
After buying her first bike (and falling off it on more occasions that she’d like to remember), she rode her first charity bike event alongside her partner and 2,000 other fundraisers – each of which had been touched in some way or another by cancer.
She spent a lot of time training on her own or on an indoor wind trainer because she couldn’t find a group of girls to ride with at her pace, so when she moved interstate in 2013, she decided to create a Facebook group to make friends and meet other women who rode, and Chicks Who Ride Bikes was born.
Loren Rowney Over half a decade, Loren Rowney was a highly sought after rouler in the international cycling scene. Riding for the world’s best teams including Mitchelton-Scott and Canyon/SRAM, as well as wearing the green and gold for the Australian National Team, Loren was known for her tactical know how, resilience, and ability to make her team mates smile.
An avid blogger about mental health and the challenges she has faced while transitioning from a professional sportswoman to civilian, Loren remains a keen road and MTB cyclist, with a passion for seeing women achieve equal rights and equality in sport.
Jane Aubrey Over the last two decades, Jane’s career has spanned journalism and production working on the world’s largest sporting events including Olympic & Commonwealth Games and has held media and operational roles in UCI teams, WorldTour events and the inaugural Indian Pacific Wheel Race.
A former Editor at Cyclingnews and Cyclist Australia & New Zealand, Jane has also worked in the Public Affairs Unit teammates Department of Defence of Australia, and as Media Manager for Basketball Australia and Athletics Australia.
Now providing consulting advice in communications and public relations, Jane’s spare time is spent preparing to take on some of the world’s highest mountains and she’s working on a plan to conquer the Seven Summits.
Register for tickets
The breakfast is being held at the Shipp Inn (Southbank) on Thursday 28 February 2019 at 7:00 am – 8:30 am AEST.
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 28th. 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 13th 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.
I remember reading this story ages ago – and it really stuck with me. As a bike rider and dog owner, there is nothing more appealing than hitting endless trails on bikes with a furry mate. For our honeymoon, husband and I took the bikes and Zoe and spent three weeks driving up the east coast of Australia riding all the best MTB trails along the way. We had an amazing time. So when my work gets more than the usual crazy (mostly around marking time) and I’m feeling like there’s a lot going on, I think back to our time on the trails with Zoe and I reread this story…..and it makes everything okay. Just to know that this is an option and there are riders out there living the dream makes me happy. In our house, there continues to be talks of future cycling puppy inclusive cycling travels. Hazah!! Ride on #bikes_CISTA teams! NG.
Joshua Sivarajah sold all his possessions and set out to bike around the UK with just his dog Nero for company – a year later, he has found no reason to stop.
For the first 34 years of my life, I led a fairly conformist existence – university, a succession of jobs, my own sales business – but I never felt fulfilled.
When my mum suggested I move to Indonesia with her, I thought, “Why not?” and started making preparations. But as the departure date got closer, I realised how much I was going to miss the UK.
I decided I’d spend some time touring the country on my bike with Nero, my five-year-old collie.
Giving it all up to cycle the world with your dog
I sold my car, gave away my furniture, quit my flat, bought panniers for my bike and dragged my tent and sleeping bag out from under the stairs.
By the end of the week, I was on my way, Nero trotting beside me.
My plan was to cycle round the UK in about seven weeks. But a fortnight in, I realised there was no need for me to go fast – I just needed to appreciate what was around me.
It was tough going sometimes, but I learned how keen people are to help.
Most nights we camped on farmland or in parks (even in a castle once) but we also met people who were happy to put us up for the night.
Travelling with a dog, you make friends wherever you go.
Very early on, Nero burned his paws on hot tarmac and took to riding on top of my bags; an ironmonger in Whitby welded a special shelf on to my bike for him to sit on.
I’ve seen and done much more than I expected. The west coast of Scotland was particularly thrilling – I learned to sail and fish, I caught wild mackerel for breakfast and saw sea eagles with two-metre wingspans.
It was around that time that I phoned my mum and said, “I don’t think I can come to Jakarta, Ma. This is what I was born to do.”
My only outgoings are food for me and Nero, about £300 a month.
I carry my tent, my sleeping bag, hammock, and my laptop – other than the bare minimum of clothes and a few cooking utensils, that’s all I have.
I feel lighter, both physically and mentally.
We’re now cycling across Europe – we’ve visited France, Spain and Portugal so far. I never want to stop.
We’re slightly limited by Nero’s pet passport, so we can’t go to Africa or Asia, but I hope to cycle in the US next year.
It is my pleasure to announce that Bicycles Create Change is breaking new ground!
I have many exciting plans for this blog and making these ideas into reality will take a concerted amount of effort, organisation, research, networking and resources.
As many of you know, it is a principle of Bicycles Create Change to collaborate with Griffith students and graduates to support and develop advanced personal, academic and professional skills.
These forays have been highly successful so far – such as:
Bella Turner (a Griffith Design (now) graduate) and I worked on a few projects together before she graduated and left for the UK, including the Go Ride app she and her team were working – and our collaboration to create the fun short film LEKI, which won the People’s Choice Award at the Brisbane Bicycle Short Film Festival 2018.
Nao’s assignment: What is the current status of Australian female MTB participation?
Project: Australian women’s participation in mountain biking
Currently, I am working on a number of bike-related projects and initiatives.
One of these is a public lecture investigating the issues and aspects relating to Australian women’s participation in mountain biking.
This is a big research project.
To help with this project, I am delighted to introduce the newest member of the Bicycles Create Change team – Nao Kamakura.
Nao is joining us as a Research Assistant and will be responsible for the background work for this investigation.
Introducing Nao Kamakura
Below, is a little bit about Nao in her own words….
Hello Readers!
My name is Nao and I am from Japan.
I came to Brisbane to study English and study at Griffith University. I want to learn about Australian business culture. After my English studies and a semester at Griffith University, I am now a research assistant for Nina and Bicycles Create Change.
The focus of my research for Bicycles Create Change is investigating aspects of women’s participation and perceptions of mountain biking – with a particular focus on the Australian context.
I’m a Chemist and an Environmentalist.
I believe the past development of the field of Chemistry has unfortunately destroyed our Earth a lot, but further, that future chemical innovations will be able to create a better world!
Therefore, I would like to be a person who contributes to a future where Chemistry can facilitate a more sustainable world.
Here is a link to my website called Enjoy the World. This is where I sometimes write about my greatest hobby – travelling and Australian life. I will let you know now though, it is all written in Japanese!
The BCC Research Assistant role
Nao and I have worked together previously. She is a DEP graduate of my class and for the last 13 weeks, we have been working on a PhD writing course as well while she was completed a semester of Griffith Coursework. Now she is looking for a new challenge.
Nao brings a remarkable set of skills to BCC. She has a science background so has a particular analytical approach to work, which offsets my more global and creative approach to work. She is great at the detail, I work best with the big picture. She is also a thoughtful and proactive environmentalist.
As well as having excellent English skills, Nao is also incredibly well travelled. For the last 8 years, she has kept her own travel blog, which is an amazing record of all the places she has travelled, people she has met and wonderful insights she has garnered along the way.
For this BBC role, Nao ‘s has been charged with finding and collating data, reports and research about the participation, motivations and perceptions of why women either do – or do not- ride mountain bikes in Australia and then to synthesis this information.
You will be able to hear about Nao’s work as she will also be presenting her findings as part of an upcoming Bicycles Create Change Public Symposia I have planned – the details of which will be released very soon. Stay tuned!
In Afghanistan, many children do not go to school. Literacy and school are especially limited in the rural areas, where distance and a lack of access and resources mean that education is unrealistic for many families who live in villages where the closest school is 3 hours away.
Education is paramount to reducing poverty and increasing quality of life.
One local, Saber Hosseini is trying to rectify this.
Every weekend, Saber loads up his ‘bicycle library’ and travels to six surrounding rural villages to share his library so that the locals (who have no access to books) can learn to read and have an opportunity to read.
Adding to this, Afghanistan has a mountainous geography and vast tracks of barren land, which make travel to school impossible. Even if travel was possible, so many schools were destroyed and education was so severely restricted, that rural children from remote villages were forced to drop out.
The Afghani teacher who bicycles books to rural villages
Saber has been riding his bicycle library since 2016. Saber bought his first 200 books with fundraising support from his friends and local literary circles.
Saber had to travel to the Iranian border to buy most of the books as previously, most publications, literature and books were essentially forbidden.
Over the years, Saber has been supported by friends and local volunteers – as well as people overseas. Now his library has 3,500 books and Saber has since been able to open the first ever public library in Bamiyan.
Reports are that literacy rates in the area are rising as a direct result of Saber’s bicycle library.
At the start, the books were simple, but now, more advanced titles have been added as local reading rates have improved.
The library is now so accepted and popular within these communities, that adults are coming to use the library and are borrowing advanced level children’s books.
Saber uses the opportunity to talk to the locals about peace, avoiding drugs, and being more understanding of different people’s beliefs, lifestyles, culture and choices.
The following story about Saber is from the Global Citizen: One time, Saber spoke to children about guns, and used the slogan:
“Say no to guns, Say yes to books.”
The next time he returned to the same village, the children collected all of their toy guns and handed them over to Saber.
This was a heartwarming gesture, but the kids wanted to bargain: they would forfeit their guns if they could be the first village in the next round of book deliveries so that they could get the first pick.
Saber has brought joy to many communities, but there are costs to his endeavor. He has received many threats and many have opposed his caring works.
Even still, Saber continues to make room for the opportunity to learn. A library is more than just a pile of books, it is also a community of individuals willing to learn and discuss and grow
“When I hand the books out to them, I can see their excitement and joy,” Hosseini said. “It is the joy of being able to learn. I am also inspired.”
Below is a video about Saber’s bicycle library.
High Stakes: Girls’ Education in Afghanistan
Saber’s efforts are particularly important given that illiteracy is a major issue in rural Afghanistan.
A recent Joint NGO Briefing Report of Girls Education in Afghanistan entitled High Stakes: Girls’ Education in Afghanistanreports that female education has faced significant obstacles in Afghanistan, yet there have been enormous gains since 2001. Under the Taliban, the majority of girls’ schools were closed and gross enrollment fell from 32% to just 6.4%.
The report also states that:
Female students have high aspirations for their educational achievement.
Many schools do not have the infrastructure needed to provide a quality education.
Poverty was seen as the single biggest obstacle to girls’ access to education. Poverty as a major barrier to girls attending school.
Poverty is also linked to early or forced marriage, which is an additional major obstacle to girls’ education.
The number of available female teachers is insufficient to meet demand.
Availability of education is insufficient to meet demand.
Distance, along with attendance in mixed classes or interaction with male teachers, becomes increasingly problematic as girls approach adolescence, when cultural norms regulating their behaviour become more restrictive.
Decision-making around whether or not girls go to school, and for how long, is complex and extremely varied from province to province and even household to household.
The World Bank’s 2017 Poverty Status Update Report on the socioeconomic progress in Afghanistan, indicates that the last 15 years of growth in Afghanistan is now being undermined by a recent rise in insecurity.
Let’s hope Saber keeps riding his bike, sharing books and helping others – and that his commitment inspires others to do the same.
All Images: Now This/The Daily Motion (video still) unless otherwise indicated.
Plastic is a systemic global issue. As a local Morton Bay rider, I regularly see first-hand the terrible environmental and sealife impact of plastic pollution in our oceans and waterways.
I hope that cyclists and bike riders are active role models – both on AND off the bike – for their families, teams and communities of individuals who are taking positive steps to address the plastic pollution problem.
What do you do as a bike rider to promote a more sustainable, plastic-free future?
Garbage covers the beach days after an extended storm hit the shoreline of Zouq Mosbeh, north of Beirut, Lebanon, on January 22, 2018. Environmentalists say the winter storm pushed a wave of trash onto Lebanese shores, stirring outrage over a waste-management crisis that has choked the country since 2015. Image: Hussein Malla- AP
Plastic pollution is a major social and environmental issue.
There is a growing global awareness of the collective action now needed to deal with the amount of plastic that already exists, and greater pressure for people to take more immediate and direct personal and community responsibility to reduce current single-use (and use in general) plastics.
This week was a perfect case in point, with two major international commemorative dates spotlighting the growing worldwide plastic issue.
June 5th was World Environment Day. The theme this year was ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. For me, the most compelling evidence for World Environment Day came from a series of photos curated by Alan Taylor, (some of which are shown here) which details the disturbing importance, scope and severity of impacts of plastics in various places around the world.
Then, a few days later, on June 8th, it was World Ocean Day. The focus was again was on plastics – but this time on preventing plastic pollution and encouraging solutions for healthier oceans.
Plastic items float atop a garbage-filled creek in Manila, Philippines, on May 12, 2018. Image: Noel Celis AFP
Beat Plastic Pollution – on your bike.
So what has plastics got to do with cycling and bike riding?
A few cyclists have really taken this issue to heart
In her article for Adventurers Against Plastic, Helen Taylor showcased a number of athlete/activists who are working to raise awareness and clean up of plastics. Of these, there are two cyclists from London who are combining their creativity, ingenuity and love of cycling to tackle the plastic issue head-on. Here is what Helen said about the two bike-inspired eco-projects:
1. Dave Cornthwaite.
Dave is the founder of London-based social enterprise SayYesMore, has organised a 1,000-mile community relay along England’s rivers and canals, where a different person each day will ride a specially-made aquatic bicycle whilst removing plastic rubbish from waterways.
He aims to remove one million pieces of rubbish in 25 counties engaging youth groups, schools, and local clean-up initiatives along the way and says: “All in all, not one group, individual or project can solve all aspects of the issue, but it takes a communal mindset to instigate change. Using an innovative adventure relay to get more people outside will help with this – ultimately if people don’t walk or paddle along rivers they don’t care about what’s going on there. If they see for themselves bottles and crisp packets floating alongside wildlife, they’re more likely to take action.”
Images: Emma Karembo Taylor & Tanya Noble
2. Dhruv Boruah.
Dhruv is also using a quirky handmade bamboo waterbike to solve the plastic crisis at the source. As part of his Thames Project, Dhruv has been engaging the public in the issue by using his eye-catching waterbike contraption to collect plastic litter.
Dhruv realises that reactive cleaning isn’t the solution to the problem, but sees the project as an educational process: “Cleaning up is a good way of showing people what’s in the canal, it’s a good way to get people involved, when they come and see what’s in the canal they go back home and think twice – adventure activists need to go in and interact with local communities, engage with them and get them out in their spaces and on the waterways.”
Dhruv has also been lobbying policymakers – environmental charities, London councils and the Mayor of London’s office, the BBC, and large supermarket chains – to encourage them to change their single-use plastic habits, as well as promoting a circular economy.
Images: Adventure Uncovered & Canal Boat.com
Such bicycle projects are admirable.
But not all cyclists need to go to such lengths to take action.
I like to think that my fellow cyclists make their own regular and impactful contributions to improving the environment and reduce plastic waste.
This may be making your own power snacks that forge the copious amounts of packaging used in gel packs, to picking up pieces of rubbish during a ride where possible and putting them in the bin at the cafe at the end of a ride. Seemingly small actions like these are not only needed and necessary, but also demonstrate that cyclists are taking definitive action to reduce plastic pollution.
So next time you are out riding, think about one easy step you are comfortable that will help to reduce plastic dependency and that shows cyclists and bike riders actively care for our beautiful environs.
May all your rides be plastic reduced!
Garbage covers the beach days after an extended storm hit the shoreline of Zouq Mosbeh, north of Beirut, Lebanon, on January 22, 2018. Environmentalists say the winter storm pushed a wave of trash onto Lebanese shores, stirring outrage over a waste-management crisis that has choked the country since 2015. Image: Hussein Malla- AP
Source: @RedTRaccoon
A black-footed albatross chick with plastics in its stomach lies dead on Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands on November 2, 2014. The remote atoll is a delicate sanctuary for millions of seabirds. Midway sits amid a collection of human-made debris called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Along the paths of Midway, there are piles of feathers with rings of plastic in the middle—remnants of birds that died with the plastic in their guts. Each year the agency removes about 20 tons of plastic and debris that wash ashore from surrounding waters. Image: Dan Clark
