Tag: culture

How do I teach my child to ride a bicycle?

How do I teach my child to ride a bicycle is one of the most frequent questions we receive. Here is a simple step by step guide that any parent can follow:

Firstly, find a suitable location. You will need plenty of space, a mix of different surfaces like gravel, bitumen and grass and ideally some flat and gradient areas. Quiet Cul-de-sacs and car parks work – the tighter the spaces the harder it’ll be to learn. I personally prefer some leafy parks with shade, trees and interesting areas to ride along as an extra incentive. As parks can get busy, chose a time when it’s still relatively quiet so your child doesn’t have to contend with too many walkers, runners and dogs.

Secondly, prepare the bicycle. A bicycle that’s too small will be terribly difficult to ride on. A bicycle that’s too big can potentially scare your child as they can’t make contact with their feet. What’s the right size? Get your child to sit on the saddle, if your child can comfortably reach the ground with his or her feet, that’s perfect. If they can only just reach with their tippy toes or there’s no contact with the ground, the frame is too big – particularly if the seat is on its lowest position. If your child has to bend the legs or would stand with space above the saddle, the frame is too small, particularly if the seat is on its highest setting.

If adjusting the seat doesn’t get your child into the optimum position, your frame isn’t suitable. Try and get the right size bike before attempting to learn to ride.

Remove training wheels. Training wheels do absolutely nothing for your child as they take away the ability to learn how to mount the bike and how to balance, which are both core skills of riding. Yes, your child will be to pedal, but pedalling is easy. Transitioning from training wheels will require you to follow the below steps. So, off they go, bye bye training wheels!

Check the brakes are working. Ideally you want a bicycle with two brake leavers on the handle bar. Most bigger bicycles have two brake leavers (as opposed to a pedal back brake) so why not learn one system once and make the rest of the life easier.

Once you know the brakes are working, check that your child is able to use the brakes – a lot of the times leavers are set so that adults can use them, but children can’t. Adjust the position of the brakes so your child can easily reach and pull the leavers.

Optional: remove the pedals. If you want to ease your child into riding, this is the gentlest option. Take the pedals off, keep them close by and when following the instructions below you get prompted to put them on, put them on. A tool is required for removal of pedals, but to put them on only elbow grease is required.

If the bike is ready, you’ve sourced a suitable location then you’re ready to rock’n roll:

  • Explain to your child how brakes work and encourage him or her to always use both brakes. The left needs more pulling, the right is sensitive and both together will always help her control her bike.
  • The main goal is to get him or her scooting, like on a balance bike. Scooting means you sit on your saddle and use your feet to move yourself forward. You can stabilise yourself by putting her feet down on the ground.
  • Get them to start slowly, in their own time. Some children like to slowly ‘walk’ the bike, others go fast quickly. There’s no right or wrong here.
  • If you haven’t removed the pedals get your child to stick their feet out like a v-shape so they don’t hurt themselves on the pedal.
  • With growing confidence, encourage them to go a bit faster and count the seconds they can lift her feet off the ground and simply glide using the momentum they’ve build up. We’re aiming for three to five seconds of feet off the ground and the child gliding. That’d be sufficient time to start pedalling.
  • Depending on your child’s progress this part can take a while. There’s no point in rushing this part as this is how your child learns to balance.
  • To make it interesting you can swap between different surfaces – try to scoot down grassy slopes, gravel and/or bitumen and allow your child to feel the different responses of the bicycle. Anxious children tend to like grass as it slows the bicycle down and allows them to build their confidence.
  • Your child will be ready for pedals when she can glide for three to five seconds. This is the right time to either put the pedals back or explain the next challenge. Show her how to move the pedals with her foot backwards to a parallel position. If the bike has a pedal back break this will be a bit frustrating and tricky, you will need to help your child to dismount, lift the bike and move the pedals for them.
  • The goal is to put the pedals parallel to the ground then scoot as before. Once they have got the sense of gliding explain to your child to lift their feet up, place them on the pedals and start pedalling in a forward motion. Usually a lot of stop starts happen at this point in time. If you feel your child is getting frustrated, get them to refocus on scooting and gliding – the more confident they are at this, the easier it is to start pedalling.

While you may feel the urge to hold your child’s bicycle and run with her: don’t. You will need to allow your child to discover the feeling of balance on their own. If you hold the bicycle for your child you are depriving them of learning the skill and the magical sensations that come with it. While letting go may be a bit scary (for both of you),  it is a step towards independence, which makes riding a bicycle so much fun. You can run behind your child when they scoot, glide or ride, but I would recommend if you are keen to stay close to your child, bring your own bike and ride behind them.

If you follow the steps above, you should be able to see some major improvements soon. If you run into troubles, please comment below so we can help you trouble shoot!<

What can drivers do to increase the number of people on bicycles?

If you see a ‘war on our roads’ and tend to spill your anger and vile about atrocious behaviour of cyclists or motorists all over your keyboard, then this post is not for you. Anyone else who is genuinely curious and open to other perspectives, please keep reading:

I’m a person who sometimes sits in a car, sometimes on a bicycle. I know the two worlds. I know what the two worlds feel like. And I know there’s a lot each and every one of us (yes, including me!) can do to make the people in both worlds feel a little better.

Does a person in a car have any interest in increasing the number of people on bicycles? Yes, we do. Every person on a bicycle means I’ll have one less car queuing up in front of me at the traffic lights (at the bowser, at turns, on the freeway – you name it). Every person on a bicycle means I’ll have a better chance of finding parking at my destination. Every person on a bicycle means someone else is helping to decrease pollution. Every person on a bicycle means our health system will be under less stress in the future because they are less likely to suffer from preventable diseases (think heart, diabetes, cancers).

The more people around me making the decision of swapping their car for a bicycle the better my drive will be today and the better my future looks in 20 years’ time.

If this motivates you to make others quit cars then follow these tips:

  1. Pay attention

When I drive, I accept that my vehicle can be dangerous to others (and to myself). It’s fast, strong and it relies on me who, even with the best of intentions, isn’t perfect. A minor inattention can have severe consequences and every time I drive I make myself acutely aware of this.

If you want to make sure more people ride then focus on what’s important, which isn’t the song on the radio, your phone call, nor the conversation with your passenger. Be there and pay attention.

  1. Accept reality

People who commute by bicycle usually feel the opposite of people who commute by car. When I get to work by car I’m often stressed, frustrated and upset about the world. When I ride I’m refreshed, motivated and genuinely happy.

I accept that the two worlds sound very different to the point of disbelieve and I also accept that there’s reasons why people chose either mode of transport.

If you want to be supportive of people who ride then accept that people chose their reality as much as they chose the colour of their shirts. Would you question someone’s fashion choice? I didn’t think so.

  1. More love, more patience, less anger

Honestly, I’m no stranger to cursing and cussing behind the steering wheel. Looking through that square window, beautifully sound proof, the profanities seem to be just tumbling out my mouth. And, hey, it doesn’t hurt anybody now, does it? Well, yes, it does. All my anger and lack of patience is a whole lot of negative energy that’s shifting my brain into awful mode. It’s self-perpetuating. The more upset I am the less resilient I become.

Dealing with people, even if they can’t hear me (and remember everyone can SEE me) is a lot easier if I let it go. I can’t control whatever silliness other people commit. The only thing I’m in control of is myself and the little car I’m sitting in. Even if I’m acoustically shut off from the world – everything I do is still a complete reflection of myself.

So, let your actions speak louder than the shouting in your car. Every single person on a bicycle (as well as in a car) will appreciate it.

  1. Stop the blame game

If you accept that patience and care is pivotal to making the world a better place then keep your finger-pointing in check. ‘He was too slow, she was too fast, he was tailgating, she jumped a red light, that car is parked across two bays, this one is blocking the driveway. I get it! We all make bad decisions in life for all sorts of reasons varying from almost understandable to ignorant and downright ridiculous.

I’ve been yelled at in my car. I’ve been yelled at on my bicycle. I’ve had rubbish thrown at me while riding. I’ve had rude gestures waved at me when driving. And, touch wood, fingers crossed, since I’ve had my driver’s licence for almost twenty years and have ridden my bicycle for almost 30 years never had an accident. Other people’s rudeness was just a moment of THEIR judgement on me.

I don’t need your judgement. You don’t need mine. I accept that you’re not perfect nor would I expect that I am. Can we agree on this?

Particularly, don’t tell a person on a bicycle off by honking your horn. It scares the living daylight out of them. If you think you’re perfect then practice perfection and let it go.

Do you have more suggestions of what we can do as drivers to make this world a bicycle friendly one?

5 Life lessons inspired by riding a bicycle

Are you familiar with Einstein’s quote “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving”? If this rings true to you, check out our life lessons inspired by riding and teaching how to ride a bicycle:

You can be told the principle of balance, but finding it is up to you.

One of the first challenges of learning to ride a bicycle is to balance on the bike. As a bicycle teacher 90% of our job is to ease students into this challenge and while I spend a lot of time on giving tips how to achieve balancing on a bicycle, it is entirely in students’ hands (or body) to get the feeling for it.

From a technical perspective using the bicycle as a balance bike is the easiest way to teach riding. The student simply sits on the saddle and uses their feet to move the bike. In theory, the more at ease the student gets the longer they can keep their feet off the ground, giving them sufficient time to lift their feet onto the paddle. I prefer removing paddles entirely and get students used to the sensation until they’re ready to put their pedals on themselves.

Most adult students find this process entirely empowering, because they are in control of the process and determine their own progress. Some join classes thinking that their bicycle teacher will hold the bike for them, push them and run along to then let go of the bike and leave them pedalling on their own. This is probably what many parents do when they teach their children, but for two reasons I avoid this is approach. Firstly, I know the word ‘hate’ should be used sparsely, but I will in this context: I hate running. Particularly if it is rather pointless and can be avoided. Secondly, if I hold onto the bike I’m in fact balancing it for the student completely undermining the students learning experience of figuring balance out themselves. Which leads me back to point one: running behind a student and continuing to balance the bike on their behalf is pointless. Hence, no running.

The main point is though, everybody is different. Some will find it easy to balance, some need a bit more time to get the feeling. While we can all theorise about balance, in essence each of us, at our own pace, will work it out eventually.

Going fast is a lot easier than going slow.

Have you ever watched children learn to ride? Have you ever noticed that they have two types of speed? One is fast and one is standing still. It only really occurred to me when I watched adults learn to ride. When adults learn to ride they too will go either really fast or struggling to go at all. From a physiological point of view it makes complete sense and is reflected in Einstein’s famous quote and that if we move into a forward direction it is a whole lot easier to keep our balance. The slower we go the more difficult it is to keep the sideways forces under control. Imagine  you toss a coin. As long as the coin has momentum it will turn beautifully. The slower it gets the more sluggish it turns until it flops to one side and stops.

Isn’t this interesting? Taking a step back and mulling over this observation in a slightly more metaphorical sense I wonder how much this is true for how we are living our lives? As long as we have motivation and focus we feel in control perceive our lives as ‘moving ahead’. If things slow down and don’t seem to ‘move anymore’ are we still feeling in control? Are we still feeling motivated?

I’m not advocating a high-speed life as much as I don’t recommend people on bicycles going fast all the time. Quite the opposite. There are reasons why going slow is vital – in life as much as on a bike. As you would recognise a proficient person on a bicycle who can ride slowly and still keep their balance perhaps it’s worthwhile for us to acknowledge that life simply is a little bit harder to balance at times and to check in what pace we’re going at. Have we gone fast for quite a while or are things slowing down a bit?

Mostly we focus on when we’re out of balance. Balance is the inexplicable joy and ease we usually call ‘living’.

Particularly adult learners are their own most sever critique. I noticed that they love picking on themselves and their lack of skills. Putting myself into their shoes I understand the self-criticism. As adults we don’t like imperfection and we’ve forgotten what it feels like to learn something new. Children learners are accustomed to suck at something, but as long as the process of trying is fun, they’ll keep at it. Adults are a lot harsher and tend to comment on every failure. For a bicycle teacher managing students’ self-talk  is essential – if you keep repeating in your head how much you’re failing you’re shifting your mindset to failure.

What I find particularly interesting is the fact that in subsequent sessions students rarely notice when they do actually meet major milestones. This is even more noticeable further down the track. Joining a riding group where students have started as learners and now riding weekly for several kilometres, but have one situation where they may come off the path once or struggle to ride through bollards they will provide this a prove how little they know. Asking them how they enjoyed the remaining 15 kilometres of their ride they’d look puzzled as if a split second matters more than an hour of blissful bumbling along. Do we value when things go smoothly? Do we feel grateful and acknowledge when we’re balancing life okay?

Many things that make us come undone were creeping up on us long before we cared to notice.

One of the most essential safety skills a person a bicycle can acquire is scanning. Not a bar code, of course. By scanning I mean to turn your head to the left, right and even slightly behind you so that you can get a grasp of what’s around you. Scanning is the ability to look around you and identify anything that may have the potential to be a risk to your own journey and then take the action to keep safe.

Students who start riding on shared paths or parks often become overwhelmed by the potential of stationary or mobile obstacles they could run into or which could run into them. Mostly that’s because they still focus on the basics of balancing, starting or stopping and they don’t have the ability to scan just yet.

Having said that, just because one has the ability doesn’t mean that one uses this ability. On social rides with beginner riders the little things are what makes students come undone – like a dog that charges at them when overtaking, a child erratically jumps into their way, or the jogger runs across the path or a bollard that seemingly comes out of nowhere. Not all situations are foreseeable, but many are, if we had cared to look around us and take notice.

If you focus on the obstacle, you’ll be heading straight into it.

Even the absolute beginner rider can ride with uncanny accuracy. I’ve seen students hit a very narrow bollard, which would take a skilled cyclist serious navigating if they wanted to ride into it.  While it is one of the most frequent problems of beginner riders to avoid obstacles like riding through a set of bollards, narrow paths or bridges, it is one of the best practices that you can incorporate into your daily life.

So, you’ve scanned ahead (well done!), identified a potential obstacle – what happens next? You focus on said obstacle, start panicking, lose balance and control and forgot you could use all your balancing skills (and your brakes) and instead hugged the bollard (handrail, or whatever else it is you were fretting about).

How do you stop this from happening? Focus on what’s beyond the obstacle. Relax, pace your speed, glide through the tight spot and keep riding.

The first part is the hardest – don’t focus on the obstacle –  but if you consider how we live our daily lives I truly believe we tend to focus on issues and problems that we seem to be heading straight into. Metaphorically lifting the gaze and reminding ourselves that there is more to our life than what’s right in front of us feels challenging.

I’m not suggesting to ignore the problem (nor bollard), but I’m proposing to keep it in perspective. Yes, it is there, but there’s also other things we’re heading towards. It helps keeping a balanced life to keep everything in sight, not just the obstacles.

Do you have any treadlie inspired life-hacks to share?

Life from the backseat: Profile by Mr Mo

Hi there, My name is Mr Mo, you can call me Mo or Momo. In fact, you could call me anything (preferably endearing) as I don’t hear. I’m 100% deaf, but that’s okay. My disability doesn’t impact on my riding at all. I’ve got my whits about and other senses to help. My nose for example works splendidly despite my age.

But let’s start at the beginning. At 79 years I’m a senior cyclist and I’ve come to riding bicycles very late in my life – I’ve only just started about two years ago. I love it so much though.

I’ll be honest with you, I was a little reluctant to try a bicycle. I mean, at my age? I’m not exactly a spring chicken anymore. What would I do if the bicycle tipped? At first I found it all a bit uncomfortable and really couldn’t see the point. Walking seemed like such a better way of getting around. Keeping the balance was the hardest part and it took me a little while to work it out. But paws down, now that it’s not so new to me anymore, I really can’t get enough of it.

I mostly ride on weekends either to the beach or I join Him and Her who like to hang out at cafés. I myself am not so much of a coffee drinker, which I suppose means that I’ll never be a real ‘cyclist’. Him and her also take me and the bikes on holidays and we explore things together. We went to Denmark a few months ago, rode into town, the beach and visited wineries. Just gorgeous!

I actually experience a whole lot more by bike than sitting in the car where I’m way to short to see anything. And it’s also hard to smell much. With my arthritic hips riding a bike means that I can get around so much faster, yet I’m still connected to the outside. In summer sniffing fresh air, but I’m not getting too hot and exhausted.

Feeling the wind in my face and smelling the scents of my hometown is really important to me. It makes me feel that I belong here.

Payal’s chain reaction

I actually never learnt riding when I was young, just one of those things that got totally missed out. We had a bicycle at home and my brother rode it often, but I never did! I learnt how to drive a car but could never balance myself on a bicycle and never really tried. Somehow, I wanted to learn much later in life in my late twenties, but never came around to doing much about it.

I had my kids and then whenever they’d ride I would think of teaching myself. Finally, when I saw the course at the City of Belmont I just had to join. I learnt a lot at the course, but my balance was still off even on the last day of training. By that time though my confidence was high and I was persistent. I just learnt how to balance very recently after practising with my kids on my elder boy’s bike. It’s only been three or four weeks since I can ride a bike. But I enjoy it immensely.

Now I ride about two to three times a week and for very short distances. I still do not have the stamina to ride uphill from my cul-de-sac, so haven’t gone much further from home yet. But I practice regularly and intend to eventually be able to ride farther from home, maybe to the train station or every day for work, if possible.

My kids ride with me too. And just a couple weeks back my husband bought a bike for himself. Even my father in-law has picked up bike riding. He used to drop my kids to school and walk with them while they rode, which was frustrating for him. He now rides a bike alongside them when he goes to drop and pick them up. This all started in a way after I mentioned that I wanted to learn how to ride…like a chain reaction!<

Christina buys a tent: more experiences in quaxing

I’ve learned two things on the weekend.

  1. A lot can be accomplished in a dress [or, insert any other garment that is generally considered only suitable for looking pretty] and
  2. One must know the the word  “quaxing”.

After my recent post on transporting things on bikes I was keen to share my latest experience with Jillian, who writes on this blog too. Jillian knows everything – especially when it concerns dresses, bikes and social media.  She loved my story, because it contained dresses and bikes and she introduced me to quaxing, which I know now translates “to shop,  in the western world, by means of walking, cycling or public transit”. Apparently I missed the twitter row in 2015 about whether people shop by bike and public transport or not. It’s a shame, because I would have loved to add my two cents worth. As social media has the longevity of a mayfly I’m basically reaching back into the archives and add some more fodder to the topic that is quaxing.

So. Last weekend I decided to buy a tent. Not just any tent. I decided that the humongous six people sleeping Spinifex Huon was EXACTLY what a couple with dog (by dog I really mean “tiny pooch”) needed for a weekend away – the verdict whether this purchase was wise is still out. But: it was on special. How can one resist?

My Saturday started with a semi-work function at part the Perth Writers Festival at the University of Western Australia. If you’re not from Perth: this venue is notorious for expensive, limited parking and best, if not solely, accessible by bus.

Picture crystal blue skies, sizzling summer heat, I’m strutting along in a flattering wrap-dress. On my way to the bus stop after the function I’m thinking, ‘Well, it’s now close to 40 degrees and not even noon yet. Do I want to catch the bus to Innaloo, pick-up the tent and then bus, train and bike the package home to Fremantle? But yes, of course I do. Not only am I half-way there already, it’s also on special. Who knows whether any will be left tomorrow?’

So, off I go and hop on the bus to Innaloo and do what I do best on public transport: relax and listen to music. I arrive at the outdoor shop and ask for the tent. The friendly shop attendant hauls my parcel onto the front counter. It is not just a cute box. It’s THE MOTHER OF A TENT: a 13.7kg bag, which from hereon I will refer to as ‘the mother’. I gulp and reconsider the parameters of my adventure: a big box, a girl in a dress, a bus, a train and a bicycle. I’m thinking, ‘Well, I could leave ‘the mother’ at the shop and come back tomorrow. But I’m already here and it’s on special!” So I pay and haul ‘the mother’ to the bus stop to start my journey home.

The great thing about public transport is, once you’re on it, your work is accomplished. So, I sit, relax and listen to more music. The bus I’m on will go all the way to the Fremantle train station, but if I change on to the train half-way, I’ll save about twenty minutes. It’s basically public transport on special – do you see a pattern here? I’m also considering poochy at home, who is probably longing for me so, of course I swap to the train at Shenton Park.

After a seamless transfer, I marvel at the ocean (another perk of riding the train) and realise, I have actually no idea of how to attach ‘the mother’ to my bicycle. In wise anticipation I packed three straps, but I have no clue how to use them. Vivid childhood memories of teddies and bags resurface that I had tried to transport on my treadlie only to realise they had either disappeared along the journey and worse, flipped off and almost taken me with them. I’m thinking ‘the mother’ is not to be reckoned with, a fluffy toy she aint! If the box moves or tips only slightly there’s no doubt I will come off my bike.

But that’s okay, because the great thing about public transport and smart phones is that I’ve got space and time to research the best approach to my next phase of getting home. I google “How to strap a box on your bike rack”, because everything has already been done and documented. And it has. I find this excellent forum in which ‘freiheit’, a forum user, has taken the time to explain EXACTLY how to do what I’m about to do. Because I’m a visual learner I’m greatly appreciating ‘freiheit’s’ images of how to attach things.

Once I arrive in Fremantle I already know how to handle ‘the mother’. Freiheit recommends having a second person on hand to load the box, but using my kickstand is just fine. I wrap the straps around my rack, place the box on top, fasten the straps, compare my work with freiheit’s images, jiggle the box: it’s tight as!

The extra weight makes the bike a tad sluggish, but the best part about my ride home is that I don’t have to lift ‘the mother’. She’s tightly secured and stays in place just fine. Who would have thought it’s THAT easy to quax in a dress?

Here is a photo of me – ‘the mother’ is lingering behind me, out of sight, but I promise she was there!

Me in pretty dress. 'The mother' is safely tied to the bike behind me.
Me in pretty dress. ‘The mother’ is safely tied to the bike behind me.

Your Bike and Transporting Stuff: Product Review

If you use your bicycle for transport or commutes it is essential that you can carry a good amount of loads easily. As we get many questions about what the options are and what works  best we thought it’d be worthwhile to give you the pros and cons – what works for some may not work for others.

You should also know that none of the products/companies mentioned below have paid us or provided free goods.

Backpacks

Packing your gear or shopping into a backpack is probably the cheapest quick-fix – that is, if you already own a backpack, of course. I’m personally not a fan of riding with a backpack as it gets hot and heavy on my back. As I have back issues and prefer comfort over speed I’ve always been keen to explore other options of transporting stuff on my bicycle and luckily there’s plenty of other options.

Having said that, anything else will require your bike to have a penny rack installed. For the weight conscious rider (that is the weight of the bike, of course) this may be a thorn in their eye as it adds a fair few grams, which means it’ll slow your ride down. There are lightweight bike rear carrier options available though and if weight is a concern for you than it’ll be worthwhile searching for lightweight options.

Also, your bike will need to have attachment points to fit a rack. If that means absolutely nothing to you, ask your bike shop if it’s possible to add a bike rear carrier.

Basket (on the back)

I like a sturdy basket (as you can see on the picture). This is a wire/mesh basket that is attached with four screws and holds a decent sized shopping bag, or a small Maltese, which is what I mostly carry with me. The dog loves it, but the shopping has been observed to bounce out of the basket, which is terribly inconvenient. A good bag prevents groceries from vanishing and anything else you might like to take with you fits easily.

But, there’s a lot of cons for me too. Firstly, I like to use different types of gear on my bike rear carrier and exchange the basket with something else takes a moment. That moment is usually fifteen minutes I didn’t plan into my routine and can be annoying.

When I use my basket I can’t swing my leg over the back of the bike either. Usually puppy’s head is in the way or groceries are sticking out so that I have to move my leg over the bike’s middle bar. It’s also not a biggy, but it’s annoying.

And lastly, similar to the backpack, the centre of gravity is quite high. That means, if any of your goods role or move you start swaying on your bike. Just a little bit. Enough to be a bit annoying and unsettling for the puppy.

As the basket is the only option for doggy to come along I’ve made my peace with the gravity issue and have looked around for a basket that’s solving my biggest issue: the ex-changeability. Low and behold, Ortlieb have produced a basket that’s using an easy clip on/off system. It’s just big enough for the puppy and takes seconds to attach and take off. Yay!

In comparison to my mesh basket the only down side (as far as I can see for now) is the cost. It’s been a bit of an investment!

I’m not a fan of baskets in the front as most systems attach to handlebars, which annoys me so much that I’m not even contemplating it. If you like the look of front baskets please be aware that any weight interferes with your steering and it should be kept to the absolute minimum.

I do love the idea of baskets in the front that are attached to the frame, not the handlebar, which doesn’t pull so badly. My bike doesn’t cater for those though. Similar to the back rack your bike frame needs particular attachment points to allow the rack to secure in place. It’s certainly not impossible, so check with your bike shop if you’re keen.

Panniers (detachable)

Hands on my heart, I love my panniers. If you have a bike rear carrier and you like shopping for handbags that match purposes and looks then you may share my love. I have a set of small and large Ortlieb bags that clip on within split seconds. They are waterproof and I can chuck in almost anything (apart from the dog). Goods sit tight and neat and don’t roll or bounce around. The bags have a strap so I can use them as a normal bag too.

For work days I have less sporty panniers from CycleChic. I’ve had different versions and all of them work well and look gorgeous as handbags. The waxed canvas bags are water-repellent and big enough for a laptop, if you need to carry one with you. The sizes are generous handbag sized and don’t work for a lot of shopping, but that’s when my sporty versions help out.

What I love most about panniers is that no matter how heavy your load, the low centre of gravity means that your ride gets smoother and more stable. My biggest ‘aha’ moment with panniers was when we packed gear for a weekend trip camping, loaded the bikes with at least 20 kilos of tent, mattress, food, water and other paraphernalia and rode down a hill. Zooom! Yes, it’s weight you have to push up, but once your going it’s such a lovely sensation to just cruise and feel the weight working in your favour.

I don’t own permanent panniers. That’s a version that is attached to your penny rack and stays on. You can throw your gear in or put it in bags that you take out and with you when you’ve parked your bike. I personally prefer flexibility and changing things around, though I have seen very pretty versions that made me contemplate a purchase.

The downside of panniers? They’re not cheap and you need a bike rear carrier.

What is your favourite way of carrying your stuff with you?

Barrack Square Ice-Cream Kiosk Offer

Riding along the Swan River is GORGEOUS and perfect for a family day out, group ride or solo trips. Frolicking dolphins, soothing parks and the marvellous scenery of the river – why wouldn’t you want to explore the shared paths along the area?

The new Elisabeth Keys development is worthwhile checking out too and while you’re there we’d like to pass on an offer from the Barrack Square Ice-Cream Kiosk, which is tucked between the Lucky Shag and Halo, which form the Old Perth Port to the East of the Bell Tower.

If none of these locations mean anything to you then it’s high time to venture into town. But, back to the offer: Print the above voucher and get 10% off of your next purchase over $5. Yay!

Quality of time, or, less isn’t more. It’s less.

The latest buzz is to ‘slow down’. Metaphorical or otherwise. Wisdom has it that if we do slow down we “increase our productivity/health/happiness/work-life balance” – or insert your life goal of choice. Whether it is a meme on your social media platform of choice or a well-meant lunchtime chat, the sentiment is the same. Our way of life is hectic and stressful and can only be improved, our life amplified by the speed of which we do things.

On the surface there is nothing really to object to, really. Yes, most of us are busy. Our schedules seem to be filled to the brim. We chase from one commitment to the next. The to-do lists grow by the minute. We’re anxious, stressed, exhausted. Then we hear the well-meant advice to slow down. Breath. Be less stressed. Be more mindful.

Somehow this feels like adding another layer to the chores. A bit like telling someone who is close to drowning to stop worrying so much or stop paddling so hard, perhaps instead breath more and add a smile to your face while you’re at it.

While the sentiment of choosing mindfulness, of consciously living in the moment may have I incredibly positive impacts on our lives, its attempts to incorporate this set of thinking into the contemporary ‘busy-bee’ lifestyle has warped it into another challenge to be accepted and another idea to be marketed.

And yes, why wouldn’t you want to attend a workshop learn to be more happy, healthy, productive or connected to people around you?

The problem with the idea is the proposition that if you incorporate mindfulness into your day you can continue your lifestyle just as an ‘improved’ version of it when that’s simply impossible.

Let’s say I spend more time on consciously devouring a custard tart. I stop multitasking, put my phone away and really focus on the sweet stickiness on my tongue and feel the  pudding texture in my mouth. No doubt will I have maximised the experience of eating said dessert, which may increase my overall well being and happiness. That doesn’t mean that now that I’m more mindful I have the ability to now catch-up on all the other things I had planned on doing.

In other words, more isn’t more of everything. It’s less of some things. I’m consciously choosing what I don’t want to do and increase THAT part’s quality.

And that’s crux – beauty and challenge alike – of slowing down.

What on earth does it have to do with active transport? Very simple: using bicycles for transport is literally and metaphorically slowing you down. Yes, it is not as fast as a car (depending on your route, traffic and time of the day), but the quality of the journey is improved: your exercising, connecting to your place through experiencing the season, the weather and people around you. The point isn’t to be fast and the consequence is that, yes, I may have spent 15 or 20 minutes longer to get home from work/school/uni, but have increased the quality of that experience.

Living in a time when we can seem to purchase anything the proposition of willingly choosing something we give up and say ‘no’ to in order to experience, treasure and enjoy what we do have seems to be the biggest challenge.

When did you choose to say no last time in order to slow down?

Profile: Carol Green’s bicycle story and Auckland’s bike advocacy

I grew up in a small village just outside Cambridge, UK. My Dad never learned to drive a car, so he always biked everywhere, and still does, at the age of 74. I think he was a big part of normalising bike riding for me. He’s my bike hero.

I was quite late to learn to ride my own bike, until I was 7 I used to sit on the front of my Dad’s bike and go really fast down hill (and I wasn’t a small child). The road we lived on, at the outskirts of the village, had 70mph traffic so I didn’t learn like my friends did, out in the local streets.

In the last class of primary school, all the kids did a cycling proficiency test: riding on the road, indicating, that sort of thing. I think because it was the early 80s and because it was Cambridge, it was seen as a necessary skill to learn, like swimming.

Both my primary school and secondary school were too far to ride to for a kid, but at weekends I would ride to piano lessons and to visit friends in the village. I think because my Mum was the only car driver in the family, giving us the extra independence of a bike meant that she was in less demand as a taxi service.

My 6th form college, when I was between 16 and 18 years of age, was close enough to ride to, so I spent 2 years riding there and back, followed by two years on a course and working in Cambridge city. This was when my bike afforded me the most independence and I’d do most of my days and nights by bike. Almost none of my friends my age could afford to buy or run a car.

At 19 I went to university in Nottingham and took my bike with me. It didn’t really occur to me that I was one of the few people who rode a bike to college. In my final year, my bike got stolen and it felt as if my independence had been taken away. Walking home alone in the dark felt too dangerous, but riding a bike seemed much less so.

I moved to New Zealand in my mid-twenties and settled into Auckland, where the only people I saw riding a bike were mostly men on road bikes, wearing Lycra, or on mountain bikes, driving to a mountain bike park, riding round and round and getting back in the car. My partner was a mountain biker and I tried it, but I had to confess to him that I didn’t much like it. I wanted to bike to a destination. I wanted it to be part of my everyday transport.

For the first 10 years I was in Auckland I walked a lot but didn’t really ride a bike. I also drove a lot, like most Aucklanders. But when I visited the UK every 18 months or so, I would immediately get back on my bike and realise I really missed it in my everyday life.

The point at which I really got back on a bike in Auckland was about 5 years ago when I moved from working at home to a shared office a “doable” bike ride from home – 20 minutes – and I started riding every day. Part of that commute was along one of the motorways and I would regularly be riding faster than the cars. An off-road cycle path 50% of the way also helped make that choice easy.

Two offices later I now ride about 40 minutes each way. I wouldn’t have done that at the start – too far – but now it sets me up for the day, gives me some exercise, which I would otherwise struggle to do, and makes me much less prone to feeling down. If I had to go further than that every day (or if I had to deal with more hills) I would get an e-bike.

I got involved with my local bike group, Bike Te Atatu, not long after it had been set up, because their proposal to add bike infrastructure to the main roads and to slow traffic on the side streets was (and still is) a brilliant one. Te Atatu is a peninsula, one road in and out. It’s fairly flat and has lots of families and young people living here, so it’s ideal as a model suburb to try ideas and measure improvements in numbers. Of course everything official takes a lot more time than it should and we are still waiting for these things to be taken up by Auckland Transport. In the meantime we organise social and recreation events and rides, trying to encourage more people onto bikes. I think normalising transport bicycling is important; the more people are seen riding bikes to the shops, for example, the more people will give it a try, and the numbers increase exponentially.

I have also been involved with Bike Auckland (Bike Te Atatu’s ‘parent’ organisation) to help people set up similar groups in their suburbs. There’s a groundswell of cyclists now, not just recreational cyclists but people moving from A to B, going shopping, riding to work or school, and I think the more we can promote and encourage this the better. Recent investment in proper infrastructure has seen rider numbers increase a lot, and completion of some of those networks will help.

I ride an upright bike, fairly slowly, in my normal clothes, with all sorts of things in my giant basket, and (illegally) not wearing a helmet. I like to think that people see me and think “if she can do it, maybe I can too. Maybe it’s not so scary or dangerous. Maybe I don’t need to buy special clothes.” That’s my basic form of every day bike advocacy.