Cycling NZ

Wouter Van Wezemael and Vanessa Mudarra are cycling NZ and raising money for The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. The NZ Herald reported that the couple, who are traveling with their toddler 'decided to stay off the main roads' after drivers began to behave dangerously near Whangarei. Wouter writes that they had a few close calls with ignorant motorists:

drivers...apart from not guarding [sic giving us?] enough distance, did not reduce speed while passing us by. That is a very dangerous trend that is only seen in countries where most youth never had the experience of cycling...If you do not have the infrastucture to promote cycling, people will not understand the culture. You can hardly blame the car driver for something he/she has not been taught how to deal with...

More of their impressions of cycling and cycling infrastructure in NZ can be found at their blog cycle 4 nature.

Cycling reconsidered

Insanity. Oh my god some of this is jaw dropping. Steel is strong stuff.

International day of climate action

This Saturday October 24 is the international day of action on climate change.

Here are some events happening in Wellington, including a couple of riding options

Kim Hill interviews Phillip Darnton Sat 24th October about 2009 Cycling Conference

Cycling Conference 12 and 13 November in New Plymouth. For the Kim Hill interview. Ride from Wellington and show them your bike.

Topics:

Great Cycle Rides and Touring Routes

Cycling Promotion and Initiatives

Pedestrians and Cyclists

Physical Activity and Health

The Economic Case for Cycling

Marketing and Innovation in encouraging Cycling Inspiring Overseas Cycling Examples Planning and Design for Cycling

Overcoming Obstacles to Cycling

People who should go:

Central government politicians/policy-makers

Transport policy, planning and design professionals

Health sector agencies and community public health groups

Local/regional government staff and elected members

Tourism and economic development agencies

Community service organisations, charities and trusts Sport and recreation organisations Planners, engineers, researchers and other professionals in cycling-related sectors (e.g. education, police, urban design, environment, road safety)

Everyday (commuter), touring and recreational cyclists

Suppliers of cycling-related services and goods

Cycling advocates and other road-user group representatives

Car hits cyclist and drives away

Sadly another motor vehicle has killed another cyclist. The poor guy was out training for a charity ride. Fatal head injuries were the result.

Hydrator photo shoot

When passing the bike yesterday I noticed it now has a frame attachment for a front handle bar bag!! I need to have my camera on me constantly I think, to capture its ever-evolving state...

Could we have separate cycle lanes in Wellington?

A nice video of how to signal and take the lane to avoid getting smashed by car doors.

This is followed by a video of how councils could design streets better to separate cycle lanes from the moving motor vehicles.

NZ cyclepaths and NZ cycle lanes

Yet sharing the road doesn't seem to work in NZ. Cycle lanes should not be shared with buses or pedestrians or unseparated from major roads. The Wellington City Council doesn't get it .

Basically NZ cycling infrastructure doesn't exist. Let's look at the incidents that occur in 'cycle lanes' or because cyclists must ride as far to the left as possible.

All the pointless rage and stress being vented on the NZ Herald page in response to the serious injuries suffered by a group of cyclists hit by a car on Tamaki drive comes down to the fact that NZ has few safe dedicated cyclepaths.

Auckland Cycle Chic reported on Auckland cycle lanes in August:

So where exactly am I supposed to bicycle? The problem is that buses are the same width as the bus lanes with not a lot of room to spare - makes perfect sense, as they were built for buses. So to get past the buses, am I supposed to bicycle in the gutter? or perhaps somewhere between the four lanes of traffic? It obviously looks perfectly reasonable on paper [that cyclists share the bus lanes], but .... It's BLOODY SCARY (excuse my French) when they're moving! And sorry, but facilities like this won't get me off the pavement!!

[Adapted]

The incidents

Incident 1: How can the area 1m from a 100Km/hr road full of heavy traffic: state highway 1, ( actually the shoulder which is an area for motorists to use in emergencies) be considered a cycle lane?! What a joke.

Whenever I am on a major road in NZ with cars passing at speeds around 100 I feel completely vulnerable to say, a driver on a cellphone, a driver who's had a few beers, a driver who is talking to their kids etc.

What NZ needs is physically separate cyclepaths for bikes to encourage people to use the bicycles more often. Alex Unwin CEO of Bicycle NSW describes a proposed plan for "a coordinated trunk network of cycling routes to interconnect the City's villages [involving] separated bicycle roads within existing kerbs." Of course the idea that cycling is worthwhile and to be encouraged is important too. Changing attitudes in NZ is going to be a fundamental part of any cycling strategy.

Incident 2: Sharing a bus lane is not a solution for taking care of cylists. What should a cyclist do when a bus comes. Stupidity to the extreme.

Incident 3: Cyclists are obliged to ride at the edge of the road. This is not safe. Here we have the classic: door opens on stationary vehicle pushing cyclist into high speed traffic. Cyclist hit and killed by truck. Thanks a lot.

Suggest how to improve cycling in Wellington

Cycle Aware Wellington is set to advise the council how to set up good cycling infrastructure. Add your suggestions and comments here.

Also remember the Oct24th Great Harbour Way cycle rides!

Cyclists injured; hit by car on Tamaki Drive Auckland

This statement from The Green Party about the cyclists hit by the car on Sunday morning in Auckland tries to inject some sanity into a heated and messy debate on the NZ Herald comments page. Journalist John Campbell waded into the debate by finding out what is happening with Sydney cycle paths. Watch the short video here.

Carnage as vehicle crashes into bikes (again)

Sunday morning in Auckland and a motor vehicle sideswiped a group of riders leaving four cyclists in hospital. The NZ Herald reports that this violent incident left one rider with critical head injuries; another with a broken vertebrae in his neck and broken ribs; a third a deep gash...and a broken kneecap requiring surgery; a fourth had his collarbone, shoulder blade and thumb broken.

"Seven cyclists have been killed so far this year on New Zealand roads. Last year 10 riders were killed and almost 900 injured, with most crashes occurring at intersections on urban roads."

My guess is the car didn't see the cyclists, misjudged the cyclists' speed, or as in the case in the road race crash in November 2008, became aggravated and tried to rush past with little regard for the safety of the cyclists. Metal on skin on concrete= carnage.

It has emerged that the woman drove through a stop sign. No charges yet. Tv3 has the evening report on the incident. The comments beneath have been interesting to say the least. There is a lot of rage at cyclists out there. It goes both ways: Fear and loathing. AucklandCycleChic reacts.

Why aren't drivers charged with negligent or reckless driving more often?

When cars hit bikes and pedestrians it always seems to be the cyclist's or the walker's fault. Given the risk involved i.e a cyclist or walker is much more likely to be injured/killed in a collision, it is no surprise that they occasionally go a little apeshit when cars come too close too fast. 1.5 m is the suggested passing distance according to the NZ road code, but cars routinely pass cyclists (especially in Wellington) much closer than that.

These two incidents in the U.S show that drivers need to be trained to drive more defensively; that people need space to ride, walk and play safe from cars, and kids need to learn how to ride near/on roads. Both incidents involve SUVS and kids. One involves a kid on a scooter and one a car hitting a bike in a residential area.

I found these comments regarding a pedestrian fatality from The Weekly Carnage enlightening:

"Every time something like this happens, we keep hoping that it will be the straw that breaks the camel's back. We keep hoping it will wake people up to the… culture of blaming victims, the need for safer streets, and the desire to honor the lives of those needlessly lost by changing our car-centric culture.
Unfortunately, this will just be chalked up to some blanket statement, like "the guy probably didn't have the right of way," or "it was dark outside, it's not his fault," or "New Yorkers are bad drivers."

What will it take?!
February 11, 2009

Oscar
"What will it take? Probably some celebrity or model being run over by an immigrant"

Cycle on October 24th in Wellington

Frocks on bikes had a rainy but successful day in Auckland.
Was there a Wellington event? No- it's still coming on October 24th!

There are some rides happening on October 24th to promote the Great Harbour Way.

One leaves from one end at Days Bay in Eastbourne at 11 A.m, and one from the other at Shorland Park Island Bay at 12 p.m. Click for more information here.

There is also an urban ride that leaves the Railway Station at 1pm. Click for more information about this ride

All the bike rides will end up at the Macs Brewery on the waterfront.

Road Cycling Wellington

If you click on the title you find some useful information about grades of road climbs for cycling in the Wellington area. Compare your commute to the category 4 climbs on Le Tour!

Dangerous intersections for cyclists

This is a list of dangerous intersections on a google map for cyclists.
View Black Spots for Cycling in Wellington in a larger map