Is learning to get around on two wheels as easy as riding a bike? Not exactly, writes Wyoming Paul. As an adult, saying that you can’t ride a bike can feel like admitting you’re not sure how to use a can opener, make a bed, fry an egg, or read a clock. It’s a basic … Read more
As Covid-19 continues to force an immense shift toward online shopping, the kind of authentic, face-to-face experience offered at one Auckland bike shop is becoming all the more valuable. When you walk into T. White’s Bikes on central Auckland’s Symonds St, you’re left in no doubt that bike riding is a serious business. Above every … Read more
We’ve had a taste of what streets designed for people, not cars, could look like. Let’s take those lessons with us when we emerge from lockdown, writes Emma McInnes. Our cities feel profoundly different these days. The whine and roar of traffic has been replaced with the chatter of birds, the squeals of delighted kids, … Read more
On the good days, riding a bike is the best. But in Auckland there aren’t nearly enough of those days, and unless decision makers take urgent action, that’s not going to change. This piece originally appeared on Bike Auckland My first bike crash in central Auckland happened on Symonds Street. I was biking downhill towards … Read more
For anyone considering fixing up a bike, sourcing bike parts, or with an interest in perusing a yard full of years’ worth of trash-turned-treasure, now is your time. Loop Groop – the Eden Terrace co-op that rescues and repairs old bicycles and provides space for people to tinker with bikes themselves – is being forced … Read more
In our Q&A series, The Lightbulb, we ask innovators and entrepreneurs to tell us about how they turned their ideas into reality. This week we talk to Guy Howard-Willis, formerly of Torpedo7 and now founder of Manta5, makers of the world’s first hydrofoil e-bike. First of all, give us your elevator pitch for Manta5. We’ve … Read more
It’s supposed to be a shared path, but Auckland’s Northwestern Cycleway has been deemed too dangerous for a local school’s walking bus, reports Rowan Quinn for Radio NZ. Auckland primary school children have been verbally abused and almost hit by high speed cyclists on one of the city’s most popular cycleways. A primary school in … Read more
The answer to the Lime scooter/pedestrian conflict is right in front of us, says Jessica Rose of the group Women in Urbanism. A confession: I didn’t think Lime scooters would take off when they appeared on our streets overnight. Now I believe Limes could be the transport tool the people of this city both need … Read more
Cycleways are under fire this week following an incredibly misleading Herald story. Hayden Donnell goes in search of some transport projects to actually get angry about. A peloton of bullshit rode forth from NZME headquarters this week. Its journey began with a story by the Herald’s supercity reporter Bernard Orsman on Monday, which claimed several … Read more
In the second episode of The Good Citizen, a new podcast of interviews with exciting and innovative New Zealanders, Jeremy Hansen talks to Henry Crothers about having the bravery to transform our urban landscapes. “We need to stop chickening out.” Landscape architect and urban designer Henry Crothers is playing a guiding role in the creation … Read more
Auckland Council have passed the Regional Fuel Tax on a 13-7 vote, but concerns about how it will disadvantage low-income communities remain. Better public transport would help – but so would greater access to e-bikes, argues Auckland University’s Dr Kirsty Wild. I am a cycling researcher who drives a lot. When my son was little … Read more
Every week we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Timothy Allan of Ubco, makers of an electrically-powered, eco-friendly alternative to off and on road bikes. ONE: How did Ubco start and what was your inspiration behind it? Ubco was founded by myself (CEO and … Read more
A protest against the relocation of 15 mature trees from Quay St to nearby parks is continuing to prevent work on the cycleway extension. Jolisa Gracewood and Max Robitzsch of Bike Auckland sigh deeply, and explain how we got here. Having ended 2017 with a story about the opposition to the Grey Lynn cycleway, we … Read more
There are protest signs all over Grey Lynn, but who do they really represent? Jolisa Gracewood and Max Robitzsch present the case for better bike riding and good planning in Auckland’s inner west. Decades from now, we’ll look back on 2017 and say: that’s when it changed. That’s when Auckland reclaimed its urban mojo, stared … Read more
Auckland has a new bike share scheme! Or does it? Simon Wilson investigates the strange case of the bumblebee bikes in the central city. Seen the brand new OnzO bikes all over central Auckland? Two by two, like animals from the Ark, gleaming black with shock-yellow wheel rims, they’ve turned up suddenly at almost every … Read more