Bike Friday this week

I will be away this Friday.

Please get in touch if you would like to coordinate a BikeFriday event.

It should be a lovely day for a ride.

R.

Ride of Silence - apologies

Dear BUGers,

Having seen Saturday's Ride of Silence in the news coverage, I arrived at work this morning to find an email from BikeSA about it. It arrived at 6.28pm on Friday, long after most of us would have gone home, and too late to disseminate to you.

Like many of you, I would have liked to have participated in this event, and if I had monitored BISA a bit better I could have let you know a day or so earlier. The Ride of Silence respects those who have been killed in accidents, and as such is not publicised in brochures. But I do think it is important that safety awareness is raised and that there is a lack of coordination and dissemination of information amongst our cycling organisations. I have informed the relevant people.

R.

April Bike Friday morning tea

Liz is bringing some cake to Lirra Lirra, so get there promptly at 10:45 to make sure you get a piece.

Safety promo

Your input is invited for a potential safety promotion.

It is in our employers interests that we get to and from work safely, and they are happy to support us in this regard.

I invite your ideas for such a promotion. What would you like to participate in, what sort of advice would you like to hear, what skills do you want to work on, and what items do you think would improve your safety on the road? And are you aware of anyone who may be able to provide these sorts of products and services?

Your feedback and any ideas are most appreciated.

Pedal Update feature

The BISA 'Pedal Update' editor wants us to be first BUG featured in their newsletter. Your input is needed:

Hi Ryan and friends,
I have been re-elected to the position of Chair of BISA. before you all start the 3 cheers business I must say there wasn't a lot of competition! However that doesn't mean that I'm not taking the role as seriously as ever! To cap off the madness I have also taken on the role of Peedal Update editor. I figured it was only a short step beyond what seems to be my role as 'lead author'!
It's in the editor role that I write to ask the following:
- I would really like to have a semi-regular feature in which readers can hear from the various BUGs that have been set up around the place. I'd like to start with the Waite BUG if possible. What I'd really like is:
- a little story - maybe around 300 words of so - telling us how you got started, as individual riders and as a group, what your inspirations and aims have been, what you have achieved or the benefits you have noticed from coming together as a BUG, what having a BUG at work means (ie; formal, informal etc).
- 1 or 2 photos of cycling activity at the Waite (someone riding in etc), BUG members, parking and car pooling facilities or initiatives etc
- something about what it took to set up your really great Waite BUG Blog! I'd really like to see something similar for every BUG in Adelaide!

I'm looking forward to your input.

R.

Cornish bike racks

At long last, the bike racks in the Cornish under croft have been installed.

A special thanks to the staff in the Cornish building for giving up two parking spaces. We can now accommodate up to 18 bikes where once only two cars could park, plus we have opened up the entrance to the building.

Thanks also to Toney Hirnyk for installing the racks, and Keith Fernandez and CLW for helping with the funds.

Please make use of these racks rather than clogging up office space or chaining your bikes to fences.

Bike Friday

Bike Friday is on the 29th.

Join us for breakfast at the Highgate coffee shop on Fullarton Rd at 8am.

On yer bike...

On yer bike, SA MP urges
February 21, 2007 02:30pm
Article from: Advertiser
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POLITICIANS are often told where to go, but not often how to get there.
Enter South Australian Greens MP Mark Parnell, who wants his parliamentary colleagues to travel by bike.
The former environmental lawyer today launched the Parliament House Bicycle Users' Group, which will encourage MPs to use bikes as viable forms of transport both within their local communities and for getting to work.
Mr Parnell said more politicians on bikes could only be a good thing.
"The best way to appreciate cycling and the needs of cyclists is to get out and get on a bike," he said.
"There's already a committed group of us from all sides of politics.
"I hope that by setting up this group, even more pollies and staff will be encouraged to give it a try."
Mr Parnell said parliament house in Adelaide offered good facilities for MPs and staff who cycled, with showers and secure, undercover parking for their bikes.
But he said it lacked decent bike parking for visitors.
"One of the first things we will be pushing for is bike racks outside parliament house," he said.
"What a fantastic message that would send."

February Bike Friday

Meet outside the Taylor building at midday for a lunch time ride to Brownhill Creek. BYO food and drink. Ride leader to be announced.

Car pooling

A simple car pooling system has been set up in the Taylor foyer. A map of Adelaide is provided, with numbered pins for you to mark your place of residence, and a spreadsheet to put your name and contact details so that you can network with locals who are also willing to car pool.

Not everyone can walk or ride or catch public transport to Waite, and this provides an opportunity for the rest of us to cut car use and the associated financial, social and environmental costs. By sharing a ride with another single occupant driver you can essentially halve your greenhouse gas emissions, fuel bill and vehicle maintenance costs plus relieve road congestion and parking pressure. Share with 2 or 3 others and the impact is even bigger.

Of course, car pooling cannot be outdone by the humble bicycle - which costs next to nothing to run, is truly carbon neutral, does not constrain you to leaving at certain times, can zip past traffic queues, gives you your daily exercise and gets you where you need to go at the same time.

Why wouldn't you ride?

Waite / Cross Rd intersection

Many of the BUGers will remember the noise we created last year regarding the Waite / Cross Rd intersection, including letters to MPs, councils and the local Messenger newspaper. There have been a number of accidents, including a fatality, at this intersection over the years, and traffic volumes are increasing. This is set to continue with the expansion of the Waite campus. It is particularly dangerous attempting to turn right out of Waite Rd, or simply crossing Cross Rd for pedestrians and cyclists. I have personally been shrouded in debris from an accident whilst standing in the pedestrian island at this intersection. You feel very vulnerable sitting there, and it is not uncommon to see the guard rails crumpled and glass and plastic strewn on the road. A most unsatisfactory situation, considering the close proximity to the campus, local schools and aged care facilities.

Having moved out of the Eastern Courier zone and up into the Hills, I missed the above clipping. Thanks to David G for passing it on. Concept plans for traffic lights are being developed and will be considered in this year's Black Spot funding, amongst many other submissions state wide. We are by no means guaranteed traffic lights at this stage, and I suggest that anyone who is concerned about this intersection to keep the pressure on. I have correspondence from the Minister Carmel Zollo, DTEI and local MPs for further reference should anyone be interested.

Volunteers wanted - Mitcham

The Mitcham Council is implementing its Mountain Bike strategy. Volunteers will soon be needed for a variety of tasks. If you enjoy the outdoors, aren't afraid of a little hard work and want to see sustainable cycling opportunities in the Mitcham area, go to www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/goto/mtb for more info and to register your interest.

Coast to Coast - possible team entry

This one is for the roadies - the annual BikeSA ride from Glenelg to Victor Harbour on the 18th of Feb. I've done this one a couple of times, back when I was a little fitter than I am now :)

If you would like to do this ride and take advantage of the less expensive Team Entry, post a comment below and /or mailto:waitebug@gmail.com



For more information n the Savings & Loans Coast to Coast go to http://www.bikesa.asn.au/Events/Events_07/coasttocoast_07.htm or to register online, go to http://www.bikesa.asn.au/events/event_forms/online%20registration/forms/coast2coast/reg_form.php

Bikes Wanted

Do you have an old bike sitting around that you would be happy to lend out or sell for a reasonable price?

Are you after a bike for a short loan or to purchase?

Post a comment below with details of the bike and an extension number, or mailto:waitebug@gmail.com

Happy 2007

Can you believe we are already through January? The kids are back to school and the Tour Down Under has come and gone.

We will kick off our regular Bike Friday activities this month, with a morning tea and a lunch time picnic ride to Brownhill Creek - a great way to get some gentle exercise on the last Friday of the month and catch up with your fellow BUGers. All are welcome.

There is some exciting news on the horizon regarding bike parking. I have been given the OK to go ahead and order some new bike racks. We will convert two parking spaces in the Cornish under croft to bicycle parking for up to 18 bikes. It's a great problem to have when there is not enough bike parking around due to more and more people riding to work, and very satisfying to get rid of two parking spaces to meet the demand. Well done everyone!

Towards 2007

It has been quite a year. The BUG has grown to close to 80 members, and for a fairly loose and fledgling group we have managed to achieve quite a bit. Breakfasts, morning tea, lunchtime picnic rides, road safety lobbying, Ride2Work day and our good friends at the PRC have successfully lobbied for more bicycle parking (well done Tim and Liz!). On the agenda for next year is a secure bicycle parking in the Cornish building undercroft (we have verbal support), continue the pressure on Waite/Cross Rd, a bigger better Ride2Work day, group entry to BikeSA events and anything else our members, want. I will be contributing part of my CLW environmental award to continue to grow the BUG, and have some groovy pro-cycling designs that I want to get onto t-shirts.

In the mean time, The Tour Down Under and associated events are coming to town (16th to 21st Jan). Check out www.tourdownunder.com.au for all the latest. For those wanting to participate on two wheels, the Challenge Tour (128 or 84km) is on Friday the 19th and the Fun tour (20km) on Sunday the 21st of Jan. Check out the website for details. Hope to see you at some of the events.

For now, happy and safe holidays to you all, and see you in the new year.

What's your story?

It's official. Having thought about it and spoken about it for years, I've finally sold my car. We're a car free household!

It's been an interesting journey. In the last few years it has been very rare indeed that I ever drove alone, and on those occasions that I did use my car it was for trips into the country for mountain biking, bushwalking, rogaining and the odd interstate trip, and usually with others in the car too. Trips around town were essentially by bike, even the grocery shopping at the central markets, and the times that it was inconvenient to pedal I car pooled.

JP and I have set ourselves up marvelously for a car free lifestyle. We live at Linden Park, across the road from the shops, library and cinema. It's an easy bike ride to work, even easier to town. The swimming pool is up the road, and the Adelaide hills easily accessible for walks and runs in Chambers and Waterfall Gully. We don't even have a tv, but there is never a boring moment. Life is too busy to watch telly anyway!

And so I would pay registration and comprehensive insurance for my 1991 VN Lexcen to basically take up space in our garage. 15 years old, and less than 140000km on the clock. I'd done less than 10000km over the last two years, and that included a trip to Melbourne via Sydney and Canberra, and numerous highway jaunts for my recreational pursuits. There are a lot of fond memories in that car, and so I was a little emotional to let it go. Funny, coming from someone who lives and breathes bicycles and so openly encourages others to ditch the car and bike instead.

I'm not sure how many times I exclaimed "I've sold my car. I've sold my car" during those first two days after letting it go. I took my driving test in that car 10 years ago, almost to the date. Living in western Sydney back then you 'needed' a car. I would commute 3 hours each day, a trip that included the train and a bus, but to get to the train I had to drive. With those long days as a science undergrad at UNSW it was impossible catch the bus between home and the train station, especially since they stopped running at 6pm and were notorious for not turning up at all. It was almost worth moving out of home, except I would have to spend all those saved hours working to pay for exorbitant Sydney rent.

And so I was presented with a panacea on arriving in Adelaide. Cheap rent. Great food. A compact, flat city and relatively uncongested roads. Wow. It was actually conceivable to ride my bike to uni. How novel. And I fell in love with it. I've gotten to the point that I start to feel sick sitting in a car around town. And I feel like a wreck if I don't get that daily pedal, even though it's only 15 minutes each way. And so it was a surprise when I found myself confused, uncertain, and very insecure when I watched the new owners drive away in MY car.

I've settled down now. And am starting to like the idea of all that extra space in the garage. My lifestyle hasn't actually changed all that much since I was so unreliant on the car in the first place. No doubt I will start to appreciate not having to fork out for insurance and rego soon too. I must confess that I do have a backup. My partner has a car and it seems that most places I ever go that I couldn't really pedal, she's going there too, so it is a bit easier for me than it should be. Nonetheless, it was a big step, and one which I will not regret - even though that Lexcen has been very good to me over the years.

What's your story?

It's very refreshing and encouraging to hear what people are doing to reduce their reliance on cars. As the BUG co-ordinator I get to hear a lot of these stories. It's a real boost, highly motivating and I think we should be sharing them. Just yesterday morning a BUG member told me that not only did he ride to work, but his wife and three kids rode too! And a new cyclist from our first car-free breakfast is turning into a repeat offender - fantastic news!

Please email the BUG or me directly with your story, and I will post it. Or else click on 'comment' below, use the anonymous option and type to your heart's content.

Cheers
Ryan

October BikeFriday

Just a few drops of moisture and a very pleasant ride along Brownhill Creek Rd. 6 of us found a lovely spot down off the road next to the creek for a very pleasant lunch.

We'll do the same next month, weather permitting, so put it in your diaries.

10% off accessories at Bicycle Express

In support of Ride2Work day, the Bicycle Express city store gave us a heap of key rings giving a 10% discount on accessories.

Send an email to waitebug@gmail.com to organise your key ring. First in best dressed.

Cycle Parking

A rudimentary calculation of a 5% p.a. return on investment on the Urbrae real estate taken up by a parking space is around $300-$600 per year. Using basic bicycle parking (a metal rack) you can easily park 6 bicycles (up to 12 using hanging facilities) in the same area - so we are looking at $50 - $100 per year.

Should motorists be paying the difference? If not, should cyclists, public transport users and pedestrians get a $250-$500 bonus in their pay packets each year?

Fat chance. But we should at least have appropriate facilities to store our bikes. It is evident that the Holmes bike racks are near capacity, and the number of bikes in offices and chained to posts and fences around the place is increasing.

It is no coincidence that 3 people have independently suggested that the Cornish Undercroft carpark be converted to a secure lock up for bicycles (thanks to Marc and Kerryn!). This is a brilliant idea. All it would require is 3 sides of fencing, some racks, and a gate with swipe card access. Throw in a few hooks for wet weather gear on a rainy day and we have solved some of the biggest obstacles to bicycle commuting at this site.


What are your thoughts?