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We are a group of university students and professionals who choose to ride bikes when we can and commute hundreds of kilometers a week in the pursuit of happiness and health!
We are striving to assist with the push for healthier transport options in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, so that one day we’ll all be out of jobs and have more time to experience this beautiful world without so much suffering.
Healthy Transport Hobart is a health advocacy group for safer cycling and walking transport environments in the greater hobart region. As daily bike commuters we are frustrated by a lack of basic infrastructure, traffic calming and facilities to make our journey’s a possibility for others. We are a voluntary self funded group who regularly make submissions to consultations and planning processes in relation to bicycle and pedestrian friendly changes. We also support Hobart’s monthly Courteous Critical Mass ride by investigating different routes, inviting celebrities, requesting police presence and offering free bike maintenance, tyre air, fresh fruit and spot prizes.
Yo Liam, check out the Bottles and Chains post: http://www.bottlesandchains.com/?p=358 ‘Bike Advocacy London Style’.. Would love to see this happening in Hobart, well.. Kingston anyway. The bike lanes at Kingston run out when you need them most, roundabouts, intersections and wherever the road narrows.. Totally useless.. I can get the road paint…
Hi Aiden et al.
Joined your ride on Friday – good to go on a new route. I like you enthusiasm but I think we are getting a little bit too courteous. The aim is to provide a presence for cyclists on the road. Going on footpaths etc is not really the right way to go.
Next time, lets keep to the road, keep to one lane. The small delay to traffic will not be significant and will help motorists get used to cyclists on the road.
See you next time.
Cheers
Evan
http://www.springwise.com/transportation/cycle2city/
Check it.
I commute to work on my bike every day and fully support your campaign. Hobart must be one of the most ideal cities in Australia to develop a good bike network due to its compact size and ideal climate. In my dreams I would stick two huge perspex pipes over the top of the Tasman bridge to allow cyclists to travel either way in saftey across our great river. Imagine the views and decrease in car traffic resulting from such an idea! I wrote to Graeme Sturges (Minister for Infrastructure) but he didn’t think it feasible, so we’ll just have to keep building more expensive car parks instead.
Hey guys,
really impressve stuff you are involved in..
i’d love to get involved somehow…
what’s the best way to get in touch?
i’ll see you all at the next critical mass,
cheers for all the awesome work!
Bridget
Hey Bridget,
chuck us an email at healthytransporthobart@yahoo.com.au
cheerio
Liam
Hi guys.
I’m also very impressed by the level of motivation you all have for your bikes and getting people moving – its great to see more people choosing healthy and sustainable transport these days.
However, I’d also comment that the monthly ride should stick to the road and focus on showing that cyclists have a legitimate and safe place riding on the road and should not be forced on to footpaths where they can frustrate other healthy/sustainable transporters such as pedestrians.
One of your rides from earlier in the year was almost entirely on footpaths and included riding around in pointless circles at the cenotaph. I found this to be a pretty pointless exercise and would encourage you to try and use the time more effectively in the future.
Finally, I wanted to ask why you only seem to focus on promoting the health and social benefits of cycling and ignore the bigger picture – that cycling is environmentally sustainable and carbon neutral – thus affecting many many more people’s health in the world. To focus just on individual’s health seems a bit narrow-minded and selfish?
Also, along those lines, if you are hoping to use group cycling as an opportunity for social connection and community building, what’s the rationale behind trying to exclude other groups from getting involved and promoting their cause?
Keep up the good work!
Sam
Hey Sam,
I think it’d be worthwhile meeting up to discuss these issues. definitely better off having quick chat so sort out whatever the problem is. I’m a pretty diplomatic person and reckon we could sort this out very quickly. we most definitely havent been trying to exclude other groups so thats your interpretation not our intention.
how bout after one of the monthly rides.
regards
Liam
Dear Sam,
Thanks very much for your feedback.
The particular ride that went around the cenotaph had lots of feedback. Some people really enjoyed riding around talking to other riders, networking and taking a breather from traffic. Our communications officer Jack Robert-Tissot also took some brilliant photographs of over 200 cyclists chillin’ out on the cenotaph as the sun set behind Mt Wellington. Others didn’t enjoy it much, and we have not repeated the particular route since. We are extremely open to route suggestions and would be thrilled if others would like to take leadership in this area.
If you take a better look at this blog, hopefully you will see that we do not focus on the health of the individual- our philosophy is flexible, but mostly based on primary health care principals including those of creating a supportive physical, social and political environment for good health. As we are a self-funded and voluntary group, we tend not to think of ourselves as “narrow-minded and selfish”.
We are very respectful of other community groups who have a more environmental focus however sometimes our philosophy’s differ slightly and we feel we must remain apolitical, non-confrontation and keep our message purely positive and cycling related. If you have any more concerns feel free to e-mail us at healthytransporthobart@yahoo.com.au
Cheers,
Katie Kingshott
Hi Aiden and James et al.
Do you guys have any concoctions for bike chain degreasing. Really would like to make some up from first principles as this would be alot cheaper.
A penny for your thoughts.
Cheers
Evan
Hey Evan,
its Liam and James (dunno where the Aiden came from).
Try car break cleaner as the cleaning fluid.and all you need is a chamber with brushes in it.
would love to help you out.
send us an email at healthytransporthobart@yahoo.com.au
Thanks Liam and James
Will compare the price of the brake cleaner with citrous degreaser down at supercheap. This gives me some options. Yes, I have a little plastic brush and gear set up. When I was putting it on, I dropped it off and spilled most of the provided cleaner – Doh! Hence the Q…
Sorry, thought there was an Aiden somewhere in you happy little band..