cycling Archive

  • Eugenie Sage

    Better transport planning needed in Christchurch - by Eugenie Sage



    This week in Christchurch I attended a breakfast lecture by visiting planning consultant Todd Litman from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, British Colombia.  He was advocating the benefits of “multi-modalism” transport planning – which basically means modern transport planning that spreads the focus over several forms of transport options – cars, public transport, cycleways, and [...] read more
    May 17, 2013 1:44 pm - 2 Comments
  • Julie Anne Genter

    There’s no better time to invest in cycling - by Julie Anne Genter



    There’s things going on all over the world at the moment that tell us that using bicycles for transport is more than just a fad – it’s a growing phenomenon that offers all sorts of solutions to our transport woes. Cycling is a win-win-win for transport. It reduces congestion. It reduces fuel use. It makes [...] read more
    May 4, 2012 10:46 am - 20 Comments
  • Holly Walker

    Getting my frock on - by Holly Walker



    I’ve decided to set my sights for Bike Wise month high in 2012 and take on that doyen of the cycling world, Hutt South MP Trevor Mallard in a head to head challenge. read more
    January 26, 2012 4:56 pm - 1 Comment
  • Julie Anne Genter

    Cycling to Southland — Epilogue - by Julie Anne Genter



    This is how the story ends. Yesterday I took apart my bike and crammed it into the small rental car of a friend attending the festival. We drove back to Dunedin airport, where incredibly helpful people gave us materials to pack up the bike. Upon arrival in Wellington, I unpacked it, put it back together [...] read more
    January 24, 2012 3:37 pm - 22 Comments
  • Julie Anne Genter

    Day 6 – just 110km or so to go - by Julie Anne Genter



    I’m nearly in Southland, having traversed coastal Otago, and headed west into the strong winds this evening. I left beautiful Karitane this morning, after an incredible breakfast that included gluten free pancakes made by my exceedingly generous hosts. The morning was cool and overcast, perfect conditions for cycling, and still very beautiful. The ocean was [...] read more
    January 20, 2012 3:55 pm - 2 Comments
  • Julie Anne Genter

    Day 2 — The windy Canterbury Plains - by Julie Anne Genter



    Okay, I’m not going to lie. Today was tougher than I expected. It all started out very auspiciously, with a sunny still morning, an invite to breakfast at the home of a friend who is a former cycle champion and now transport planner. He made me a fantastic omelette, helped check over my bike and [...] read more
    January 16, 2012 12:11 am - 9 Comments
  • Julie Anne Genter

    Cycling to Southland – Prelude - by Julie Anne Genter



    Gareth’s already blogged about the Keep The Coal in the Hole summer festival, and I’m excited to be attending. As the new transport spokesperson, I decided to take a bit of time during the summer holiday to travel to the festival in the most climate-friendly means possible. I’ll be leaving by ferry from Wellington on [...] read more
    January 12, 2012 2:02 pm - 9 Comments
  • Kevin Hague

    It’s official: Bicycling can save your life - by Kevin Hague



    The highly esteemed British Medical Journal has found, after an extensive study, that cycling literally saves lives. The research looked at the differences in health benefits of using a bicycle sharing scheme run in Barcelona compared with travel by a car in an urban environment. The results were clear: public bicycle sharing schemes can improve [...] read more
    October 20, 2011 10:02 am - 4 Comments
  • Kevin Hague

    Riding the first of the on-road Cycle Trails - by Kevin Hague



    This weekend, I got to ride big parts of the 180km route from Taumarunui to New Plymouth. The ride was a celebration of the opening of the first on-road component of Nga Haerenga, the New Zealand Cycle Trail. The weekend had a bit of everything: gorgeous scenery, local hospitality, wide-eyed children, even local political drama. [...] read more
    August 24, 2011 10:50 am - 11 Comments
  • Keith Locke

    Mayoral backing for Auckland Harbour Bridge Walkway/Cycleway - by Keith Locke



    It looks like there may be a breakthrough in the years long campaign for a bikeway/cycleway over the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Yesterday I attended the launch of the Pathway Working Group”s concept plan in the newly opened waterfront Wynyard Quarter. Auckland Mayor Len Brown spoke very positively about the plan, and it was supported by [...] read more
    August 22, 2011 10:12 am - 2 Comments
  • frog

    What are the Police doing about bike safety? - by frog



    Many of us love to ride bikes. It’s a great way to get around, keep fit, beat the traffic, and save the planet. But it’s not as safe as it should be. Green Party Active Transport spokesperson and champion of all people who ride bikes, Kevin Hague, recently discovered that Police do very little with [...] read more
    July 4, 2011 1:14 pm - 10 Comments
  • frog

    Auckland Bridge walk and cycleway – $10 a pop! - by frog



    The latest proposal for a walk/cycle way across Auckland Harbour Bridge would involve charging tourists $10 a pop. Seems a little crazy to me… read more
    February 9, 2011 11:11 am - 17 Comments
  • Kevin Hague

    MPs combine across party lines for cycling safety - by Kevin Hague



    As the Green Party’s spokesperson on Cycling I have had the opportunity to carry forward my background in advocacy for cycling into new areas. For example, our work as a co-sponsor with John Key (he brings the dollars, we bring the cycling expertise) has seen Nga Haerenga (the NZ Cycle Trail Network) develop from a [...] read more
    January 12, 2011 12:14 pm - 2 Comments
  • Kevin Hague

    Rally brings hope for safer cycling - by Kevin Hague



    Yesterday, along with my colleagues Keith Locke and David Clendon (and Jacinda Ardern from Labour), I had the pleasure of attending the Bikes for Life rally in Auckland which you may have seen on the news last night. The rally was called in response to the recent spate of deaths we have seen on our roads. The husband [...] read more
    December 6, 2010 11:22 am - 8 Comments
  • David Clendon

    Last chance to get Dominion Road bus/cycle way - by David Clendon



    Just a reminder that the last day for submissions on the redesign of Dominion Road is this Sunday, 29th of August. I’ve commented on this issue before so will be brief.  Auckland City Council is planning to redesign Dominion Road, one of the busier roads in central Auckland. Their plans for redesign currently involve letting [...] read more
    August 26, 2010 4:13 pm - 5 Comments
  • David Clendon

    Another link in the Auckland cycleway chain! - by David Clendon



    I really enjoyed attending the opening of the Mt Roskill cycleway along SH20 with Keith yesterday morning. It’s great to see the completion of another important link in the city’s cycleways. The cycleway was developed by Auckland City Council staff working closely in co-operation with local iwi and I think they have done a fantastic [...] read more
    July 26, 2010 9:12 am - 1 Comment
  • frog

    The Nubrella and other cycling news - by frog



    Tip of the pen to the Cycling Advocacy Network who provided me with most of these links. First off – welcome to the Nubrella – a hands-free umbrella you can wear while cycling. So long, as CAN says, “you don’t mind looking like you’ve been partially devoured by a giant transparent caterpillar”. So will the [...] read more
    March 18, 2010 9:00 am - 9 Comments
  • Jeanette Fitzsimons

    Copenhagen Diary #3 - by Jeanette Fitzsimons



    Copenhagen has a public transport system to die for. With a population similar to greater Auckland, although covering much less space, it has a new (2002) metro that is very fast and I’ve never had to wait more than 4 minutes even though I’m near the end of the line. read more
    December 16, 2009 3:27 am - 5 Comments
  • frog

    37% of people commute by bike in Copenhagen - by frog



    I am very impressed by the bicycle infrastructure in Copenhagen. Highlights of this video include: Many double-laned bike lanes; special blinking lights on the road so turning traffic know that bikes are coming; traffic lights that are synced for vehicles travelling at 20kph… read more
    December 15, 2009 12:43 pm - 40 Comments
  • frog

    A host of cycle signs! - by frog



    The Central Connector is an excellent project that has improved Symonds Street for buses and cyclists alike. City Councils need more funding for projects like these. read more
    October 29, 2009 3:21 pm - 2 Comments
  • Kevin Hague

    She was asking for it - by Kevin Hague



    Reaction from Auckland motorists to the Greg Paterson bicycle incident has been largely unsympathetic in today’s Herald, especially the editorial. The implicit argument from drivers that cyclists break rules so are not worthy of protection beggars belief. It also an argument that gets repeated ad nauseum around the world it seems: The myth of the scofflaw [...] read more
    September 29, 2009 4:10 pm - 42 Comments
  • frog

    Cyclists frock up for a safe climate - by frog



    On an awesomely clear Saturday in Wellington, around 150 cyclists gathered on the waterfront to show their support for the 350.org campaign and better cycling infrastructure, and to celebrate having fun on bikes while saving the planet. Cyclists of all persuasions showed up, from glamourous frocks on bikes through to the lycra set, families with [...] read more
    August 24, 2009 11:58 am - No Comments
  • Kevin Hague

    Cycleway shifts up a gear - by Kevin Hague



    A journalist remarked to me on Monday that they found it strange to see John Key and I sitting together (one green tie, one blue) to answer media questions about the New Zealand Cycleway Project. My position is that when the Memorandum of Understanding with National was signed he (correctly) indicated that there were some [...] read more
    July 29, 2009 1:30 pm - 21 Comments
  • frog

    Pedalling to save some health dollars - by frog



    While I’m on the topic of cycling there’s a another survey here at Vorb, New Zealand’s most popular website for cyclists, Mountain Bike New Zealand posed a quick set of questions to all the political parties. As yet they have only received a response from Kevin Hague of the Greens. Given his background in both [...] read more
    November 6, 2008 4:47 pm - 1 Comment
  • frog

    Cycling to the polling booth - by frog



    The Cycle Advocacy Network has released the results of its poll on which candidates are cycle friendly.  And again the results are fairly compelling: The results relied, at least in part, on parties and candidates willingness to engage and respond, so I am sure some parties on that list fared worse than they felt they [...] read more
    November 6, 2008 2:57 pm - 9 Comments
  • frog

    Labour plans to invest in transport look familiar - by frog



    As part of its response to the impending economic crisis Labour yesterday announced changes to it planned expenditure on roading.   Like Act they recognise a good idea when someone else has it and appear to have drawn heavily from the Greens: An enhancement of the existing Financial Assistance Rate for funding local roading would be [...] read more
    November 3, 2008 3:13 pm - 3 Comments
  • frog

    Bike helmets - by frog



    Transport safety Minister Harry Duynhoven’s comment about bike helmets, “I wonder if we never had helmets what our cycle population might be … I’m not advocating getting rid of helmets, I’m just saying I wonder what the social effect of helmets has been,” is interesting but basically irrelevant to the important debate about promoting cycling [...] read more
    October 23, 2008 11:05 am - 20 Comments
  • frog

    A will but no way - by frog



    Today’s Shape New Zealand poll asked respondents a series of questions about what actions they have taken personally in the past year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help manage climate change.  Some of the transport answers are: Used alternative everyday travel options rather than use a vehicle – 25% Walked (rather than using the [...] read more
    October 15, 2008 11:23 am - 5 Comments
  • frog

    Subsidising the oil burning industry - by frog



    George Monbiot has this story from the northern hemisphere about ‘the other bail out’: Last week, George Bush agreed to lend $25bn to US car manufacturers. It’s a soft loan, which will cost the government $7.5bn (1). Few people noticed; fewer fought it. The House of Representatives approved the measure by 370 votes to 58. [...] read more
    October 14, 2008 3:21 pm - 9 Comments
  • frog

    A bicycle story - by frog



    The pictures were taken in Odense, Denmark. Freiburg, Germany, Stockhom, Sweden, and Vienna, Austria. read more
    October 7, 2008 6:22 am - 1 Comment
  • frog

    Walking to work - by frog



    It was fairly impressive this morning to see swathes of people people enjoying the Wellington spring sunshine as they walked  to work along the waterfront.  Sadly this massive increase in pedestrians was all due to entirely the wrong reasons.  No matter what you may think of Go Wellington’s industrial dispute with its bus drivers, a [...] read more
    September 25, 2008 8:13 am - 33 Comments
  • frog

    The Harbour Bridge debate - by frog



    The internet seems to be awash with Aucklanders contesting the great ‘cycle across the harbour bridge’ debate (e.g Public Address and the Herald).  Or at least the debate that’s not happening because it seems the Auckland City council is not to keen to have it.  Not hard to guess my view obviously. Keith notes: This [...] read more
    September 4, 2008 2:15 pm - 11 Comments
  • frog

    Cycle safety - by frog



    Without knowing anything more about the circumstances than what has been reported, it was pretty disturbing to hear multi sport’s Coast to Coast star Steve Gurney was involved in a car accident while cycling in Christchurch. However, it’s a good reminder that there is only one day left to sign the Cycle Advocacy Network’s 9-Point [...] read more
    August 30, 2008 7:36 am - 13 Comments
  • frog

    A week of g.blog - by frog



    g.blog was busy over the weekend with Ari joining to report on an innovative new solar glass technology that concentrates different colours of light into a focused border around the edge of the glass: …part of what makes solar power so expensive is that the light that we collect for it is very unfocused, and [...] read more
    August 18, 2008 11:06 am - 10 Comments
  • frog

    Why hide your sound system in a car? - by frog



    From Treehugger: Now that fuel is so expensive, a kid can’t cruise the streets in his car with the sound system turned up so high that the road vibrates. Instead, a group of Trinidadian teenagers in Queens are customizing their BMX bikes. Hmm, I’m not sure this would work in Wellington without some sort of [...] read more
    August 15, 2008 2:20 pm - 12 Comments
  • frog

    From different corners of the internet - by frog



    Food Democracy covers a new European study, published by the Food Commission, claims that the heavy use of antibiotics in livestock farming is the cause of many superbugs, including salmonella, campylobacter and E.coli. worldchanging.com shows how two views of the same data on climate change can lead to very different solutions. In one set of [...] read more
    August 14, 2008 8:16 am - No Comments
  • frog

    Cycling in Hungary - by frog



    The Cycle Advocates’ Network‘s latest newsletter had a link to this Hungarian cycle promotion video, which goes to show there are health as well as environmental benefits to cycling. read more
    August 13, 2008 9:31 am - 5 Comments
  • frog

    Cycling hints - by frog



    There’s some helpful cycling advice from Treehugger this week on making sure you claim back tax deductions for extra food as fuel expenses incurred while working – this might be particularly relevant to those many cycle couriers who burn extra calories whizzing about town all day long: And there’s also ten tips to ugly your [...] read more
    July 31, 2008 12:14 pm - 7 Comments
  • frog

    Happy Birthday Velib - by frog



    Streetfilms has a video celebrating the first anniversary of Paris’s famous Velib system: On July 15, 2007 Paris debuted the world’s largest self-service “bicycle transit system” called Vélib outdoing previously designed bike share programs. Vélib is a balance of scale and functionality, clocking in with more than 20,000 bikes, and 1,451 docking stations, which are [...] read more
    July 16, 2008 9:12 am - 12 Comments
  • frog

    ‘I stood there with my mouth open like an ape’ - by frog



    Indeed you would. A senior council planner from the Nelson City council is being ‘dealt with internally‘, after he or she chose to cycle to a building site to inspect a resource consent application rather than drive. Apparently cycling was ‘not appropriate’. Interestingly the Nelson Mail article reports that the time wasting journey was probably [...] read more
    July 3, 2008 10:50 am - 14 Comments
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