HEALTHY TRANSPORT HOBART

58 riders was the official count from the first ride back in the light and the last for winter. 1 year ago the August ride had all Tasmanian political leaders and about 200 cyclists, but this ride was just as fun. Lots of new riders and lots of people wearing red as well as 2 skateboarders. Big thanks to the motorists for being nice when the wave of cyclists caused a minute or two delay and an even bigger thanks to all the legends who came along for the ride.

Just a warning to people riding the channel highway through Taroona that there is some big cracks opening on the road that could swallow your front wheel whole and send you tumbling. They are located on the eastern edge of the road as you travel past Taroona Primary School halfway along the new section of footpath next to the traffic island. They have been getting bigger over the last month and someone has done a pretty average job to fix them by sprinkling fine gravel into them which is being kicked out by car tyres anyway. We will be notifying DIER this coming week to see what they can do about them as they pose a serious safety risk to cyclists.

Deck yourself in Red for this months Courteous Critical Mass on Friday 28th August! Meet 515pm at Franklin Square for the last winter mass for 2009! Soon nobody will have poor-weather excuses for leaving their bike in the shed as daylight lingers and hands defrost.

Healthy Transport Hobart have joined forces this month with University group IMPACT to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS tragedies in poorer communities. The annual Red Party at Hotel Soho takes place on Saturday 29th August  from 8pm and is raising money for Oxfam’s work with orphans in Africa.

Cycling is the perfect way to ‘think global, act local’ and we believe this cause is worth promoting. See you in red!

As a rider of bikes I’ve come to learn that they can be restrictive on movement when a hefty load is required to be moved a decent distance. Cars have always been needed for me when I have anything more than what can sit on my back to move from A to B. When I did load the back pack up with textbooks or grocery’s I got home exhausted, hating the traffic and pretty fed up with the sore backside I sustained from heaving an extra 15kg on my narrow seat. These worries are a thing of the past as I’ve realised that the only true way towards being bike independent is to have a trailer to move my gear. Not only do I get an awesome extra bit of exercise from it but I feel pretty damn good lugging enough food to keep the household of 5 running for a week or all the textbooks and papers I need for my uni work. 

Lately I’ve been carting the weekly vege and fruit shop home as well as moving all my uni stuff. There is still somethings that I cant quite move with the bike alone, such as the new washing machine, but in good time I’m sure I can get a bigger trailer to move those things that cars still have a use for!

All this behind a bike in one load, who needs a car boot?

The July ride led by a skateboarder promoting another great form of transport circled the city and dropped through lower Sandy Bay before winding up through Battery Point to Salamanca. The ride was another good example of the the positive relationship that is possible between cars and bikes on the roads in Hobart if we all just relax a bit! One lady vented her feelings at the group of approximately 50 riders with a loud ‘RIDICULOUS’ which we ignored. A few of the Healthy Transport Crew have been seeing far to many people getting around without lights to we made a point of spending up big and sponsoring 5 lucky people to ride away with brand new super flash rear lights!

The Tasmanian University Bicycle User Group facilitated another fantastic maintenance session on friday 31st July. A couple of knowledgeable experts took to the lawns out the front of the TUU building at the Sandy Bay campus and performed basic checks and a few more advanced procedures. With a days promotion they did extremely well to attract the trickle of passersby who dropped in for a chat, some fruit juice and a few tips. Watch out for more of these mobile bike fixing stations coming soon. And for information on Hobarts Bike Kitchen you will have to wait and see!