We teamed up with Whangarei District Council, Northern Transport Alliance, Whare Bike and Sport Northland to host a few bike related events and promotions for the Aotearoa Bike Challenge this year. Our focus was commuters so we flagged a few down around Whangarei and rewarded them with a coffee voucher!
Our public bike workshops were a chance for members of the public to bring their bike (or bike related questions) to our popup workshops and get some expert advise from our knowledgeable volunteers. We fixed flat tyres, adjusted brakes, refitted e-bike brake pads, gave bikes recently pulled out from the dusty corner of the shed a quick service and gave away a bunch of freebies while we were at it. We even had little heart shaped chocolates with a bike on them for our valentines day ‘Love your bike’ workshop.
We profiled a bunch of cyclists who regularly ride their bikes around town and shared their top tips for commuting by bike. The common theme? They all loved it and smiled – a lot! Their tips and reasons for riding were great too – from the health and wellbeing benefits, to being able to eat more cake. Tips included “get a wing mirror for your handle bar”, “buy the best helmet you can”, and remember “it doesnt actually rain in the morning as much as you think”.
At the invitation of the Bream Bay Shared Path Steering group we set up at the Marsden Cove Markets and ran a popup bike workshop along with a bike valet service for those who cam by bike and wanted to check out the various stalls. Newey’s Transport brought in a fully loaded logging truck which the Share the Road team used for a blindzone demonstration. Sitting in the drivers seat of a Mack Truck certainly gives you a whole new perspective, and is great insight into what a driver can and cannot see.
Importantly over 24,000 people particpated in ABC this year, cycling over 4,500,000 kilometers!
