Unfortunately my treasured bike has been stolen from my garage sometime around 11am on the 26th April, Hillsborough Auckland.
Below are the specs of my bike:
Avanti Black Thunder 2010 model
Colour: Smoke green
Size:XS
Fork: Rockshocks SID Black colour
Tyre: Pana racer firexc 2.1 side White colour
Break:　Shimano deore hydro

If anyone comes across a bike with the above specs please contact 021 02006717. Very much appreciated!

Credit: The photo is from Corporate Cycling Programs. It seemed appropriate.

A while ago I had a conversation with somebody who was telling me that it’s a well known fact that lots of the power brokers of Taupo (yes, Taupo has power brokers) often go cycling together.

I’ve been meaning to write a blog post about this for ages because the profile of a classic recreational cyclist in New Zealand – middle aged, white, well off, male – is very reminiscent of the classic leader of industry or successful politician.

Also, I may be wrong, but often when I am passed by recreational cyclists or see them having coffees at cafes, they often seem to be groups of men who work together or to be talking about their different workplaces.

Turns out I’m not the only one to have noticed this – in fact, the Economist wrote a whole article about this phenomenon lately.

In it they say:

“Traditionally, business associates would get to know each other over a round of golf. But road cycling is fast catching up as the preferred way of networking for the modern professional. A growing number of corporate-sponsored charity bike rides and city cycle clubs are providing an ideal opportunity to talk shop with like-minded colleagues and clients while discussing different bike frames and tricky headwinds. Many believe cycling is better than golf for building lasting working relationships, or landing a new job, because it is less competitive.”

In New Zealand, this phenomenon also seems to be given more explicit recognition lately. For example, recently I noticed that as part of their Summer Series  Bike NZ is offering a CEO Challenge.

As they put it:

“The ultimate workplace rivalry will be battled out on some of New Zealand’s most idyllic roads this summer in the BikeNZ Summer Series – CEO Challenge. 

We’ve added a new CEO category to the General Classification. Every CEO or GM entered will compete in the GC for bragging rights and overall cycling supremacy.

With much more on the line than a simple cycle race, this series is run over 11 gruelling, but enjoyable events around New Zealand with an overall winner crowned at its conclusion.

The BikeNZ Summer Series – CEO Challenge kicks off in October with the Strata Group Tour of the Bay, so get training and get registered, because the last thing you want, in both business and sport, is to be beaten by the competition.”

This concept makes me want to throw up, just a little bit, for no particular reason I can put my finger on.

Perhaps I just don’t like the blokesy, competitive language or the idea that CEOs and General Managers are too important to compete against the average worker.

But, whatever my own reaction, these rides of the rich, famous and, perhaps most importantly, influential are becoming quite the rage.

Aaanyway, what do you think? Have you ever used cycling to network with colleagues or build business connections? Would you like to form an office team or even compete in the CEO Challenge?

They are looking at why so few users of the Northern Busway arrive there by bike. The busway has proved extremely popular and car parks fill up quickly, but the bicycle racks are relatively empty.

My brief for the flyer and accompanying poster was to “make them eye-catching & colourful”.

I thought my concept was a little clichéd, you know… “bikes are the missing piece of the puzzle”, so instead of an illustration I made the puzzle pieces with Play-Doh for a slightly different look.

Finding Play-Doh in our house not contaminated with cat fur or biscuit crumbs was a challenge so any old colours were used and I fixed them up later in Photoshop. I kept the layout and typography super simple and hoped the prominent picture would capture people’s attention long enough for them to board their bus (flyer in hand) and read some of the text on the trip into town.

It was somewhat ironic that when I popped up to Albany in the car to see how the posters had turned-out I couldn’t get a bloody park anywhere. I ended up legging it across the fields from the mall parking-lot, and as is often the case, the round-trip would have been just as quick by bicycle.

I now understand why the crematorium below was built in the busway car park. Turning up at 8am on a rainy monday morning (praying there is a free parking spot) must be VERY, VERY stressful!

“Luna” by Caroline Robinson

Do any of you guys use the Northern Busway? Do you ride your bike to the station and use the bike-racks or bike-boxes provided?

But Richie has gone up in the world since then. His latest tall-bike, STOOPIDTALL, is over 14ft above terra firma. The man has balls, the man has balls…

Step Class

Altitude Sickness

What could go wrong?

Bayswater Pipe Bridge

First up we have a total replacement of the Bayswater Pipe Bridge. That’s the long skinny footbridge starting at the base of O’Neill’s Point Cemetery in Belmont.

Temporary bridge on the left will be removed after the demolition and rebuild.

A perennial favourite with locals the existing bridge has seen a huge increase in traffic since the Devonport Green Route was developed and promoted. I enjoyed slowing down and interacting with people, but if you were in a hurry, squeezing past push-chairs and mud-caked St. Bernards could prove challenging.

Demolition of the old girl starts this Friday and the project is expected to take 3-4 months. That’s a bummer for those of us riding the Green Route regularly, but it makes sense to get it done over winter and the replacement will be a generous 2.5m wide. That’s plenty of room for a bicycle, a push-chair and a St. Bernard although at 3m they could have squeezed-in a southbound corgi.

Follow the red line if it hasn’t rained for a fortnight.

Alternative Access Route

A temporary foreshore route from the bottom of Bardia St is in place but it’s tough going now that the ground is wet and boggy, not the idyllic (mid-drought) thoroughfare in the photo above.

Barbados Reserve

For those riding further north they are finally finishing-off the boardwalk at the bottom of Unsworth Reserve where according to signage it confusingly morphs into Barbados Reserve.

This is a key section of my favourite route to Albany and after a frenzy of tree-felling and hammering was left unfinished some time ago. The new bridge and final section of boardwalk are well underway and the wetland has been tarted-up. I much preferred the old path winding through the trees but this new one will be fantastic for wheelchairs, push-chairs, rug-rats on bikes & scooters and all-weather cycling if you are picky about getting mud on your tyres.

Barbados Drive entrance.

Boardwalk foundations in progress.

I used the belt for a few weeks of night-commutes and liked it a lot. Although you can wear it as an actual “belt”, unless your shirt is tucked into your pants it’s going to be obscured. Chucked loosely over my shirt or jacket I hardly noticed it was there and when wearing a backpack it was clipped around that instead. Not just an accessory for cyclists, the Halo Belt could be used for running, walking, early morning paper-runs – pretty much anywhere you don’t wish to be flattened by a car.

Left on “continuous mode” they reckon you’ll get 20 hours use before the two CR2025 batteries need replacing. I never got near that as I felt safer when the belt was flashing.

The Halo is not searing-bright like the latest generation of blinky-lights, but it covers a large surface-area and provides almost 360˚ visibility. I see it as more of a compliment to your existing front and rear lights with side-visibility you just don’t get from most products.

The video below is a good gauge of how visible it is traveling through city streets, that’s what it looked like to me anyway. I encouraged (forced) my children to ride around the neighbourhood after dark but I failed miserably to get a decent photo of the belt in action. The murky shot at the bottom of the page is the best I could do – best to leave night-photography to the professionals!

Hitting the mean city streets way past her bed-time.

Could it be improved upon? Yes probably. I’d like to see future models a little lighter, a little narrower and a little brighter, with USB charging built-in.

As it stands though the Halo Belt is a solid product. It’s well-made, is visible from all angles and unlike the plethora of hi-vis reflective vests and suchlike out there it doesn’t lower your cool-points. If anything your bike-mojo increases!

Thanks to Bells & Whistles for the review sample.

Today I went to Auckland Transport’s Contact Us page and sent them some feedback about a safety issue.

I won’t bother posting my whole comment but basically I was worried about a snapped off pole which is now at ankle height on a cycle way (see particularly bad photo above).

It’s grey and I’m concerned that it would be really easy for somebody to cycle into at dusk or at night without seeing it.

My friend who reports a lot of these problems tells me that Auckland Transport is usually pretty quick to fix the easy ones – like trimming back branches that have grown out too far over a cycle way.

Hopefully they’ll get onto this one quickly before somebody rides into the pole in the dark and comes a cropper.

If you see issues like this, don’t hesitate to report them – I realize it’s not exactly going to make Auckland a cycle friendly city overnight, but at the same time, reporting only takes a few minutes and might make a real difference to somebody’s safety.

Recently the debut issue of  Journey landed on my metaphorical desk. The majority of bike magazines are vehicles for advertising, focus on the equipment not the experience, and are destined for the recycling-bin as a result. Journey is a different animal, more in the mould of The Ride Journal or Bone-Shaker. But this is our animal, a Kiwi animal!

Published by Inspiring Riding it’s obvious these guys are passionate riders not journalists, the passion flows from every page. Inspiring people to try a little adventure in their lives is what it‘s all about and bicycles are the conduit for that. Adventure doesn’t have to be a six week off-road tour, that first night-ride or a maiden two-wheeled family outing qualifies. Push yourself just a little and adventure happens all by itself.

I unwrapped my copy, plunged a fresh coffee and deposited myself on the couch. I hardly read a word the first fifteen minutes, I simply thumbed through the pages soaking-up the vibe. The graphic design is restrained, the photography and illustrations simply beautiful – this is a quality publication you’ll keep on the bookshelf and read over and over again.

Adventure on the couch.

I don’t need much “inspiring” to ride my bike but I have to admit most of my riding is routine, a carbon-copy of the week before. After an hour on the couch with this I was planning that first overnighter in my head and trips out of Auckland to sample new trails.

Mission accomplished then, Inspiring Riding indeed!

Inspire them young.

Subscription information and a list of retailers on the Journey website. They have a facebook page too.

It gets wet so you don’t have to.

If you don’t have a dedicated commuter in the stable you might not want to attach anything permanently to your sleek fixie, road or mountain bike – that’s where the Ass-Saver comes in.

Those clever Swedes at Ass-Savers have shaped and creased a section of recycled plastic to form a mini-mudguard. It slips under your seat, clips to the rails, and best of all can fold-up out of the way when not in use.

They say it fits 80% of saddles and it certainly attached to all of mine, but it won’t clip to a Brooks for example, they make an alternative model for those.

Swedish plastic meets Italian leather meets Taiwanese farm-gate.

Two of my bikes already sport mudguards but the weather has been so good lately I’ve been rocking Denis the Disco-Queen to work. Denis has the required attachment-points for full mudguards but purchasing those would double his value, a piece of shiny plastic is much more his style. Your results may vary but the Ass-Saver clipped up under my saddle really securely, it doesn’t move around or rattle at all.

In storage-mode. Reasonably discrete even on a minimalist saddle.

As luck would have it the heavens opened the second day I used it. I waited-out the worst of the rain at work then bolted for home on some very wet roads. The fronts of my legs got wet, the backs of my thighs were slightly damp, but my bum, and most importantly my undercrackers, were as dry as the day they left the factory. Product worked as advertised, cool!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Something this small is not going to be much help in a torrential downpour, but a little back-up onboard  for less taxing duties is a smart idea. Could be just the ticket for winter training?

I purchased the Ass-Saver from the good folks at Bells & Whistles. There are several colours available, you don’t have to go with fire-engine red!

I know that the rest of the country is tired of hearing Aucklanders complain about the rain on social media, but really Auckland does have pretty intense rain.

Today was lovely and while we hopefully won’t see another big storm for some time, there is definitely more rain to come in the near future.

According to NIWA’s Climate Data page (which has a wealth of information) the next four months will be the rainiest of the year before things start getting better in September.

This graph below shows the monthly average rainfall and temperature from 1971 to 2010 for Auckland.

So, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Rain definitely has a chilling effect on cycling in Auckland – it’s a minority who ride to work every day, come rain, come shine. I’ve been doing it for about ten years now, and there’s no denying that the middle of winter is the hardest time to keep going.

Having said that, in my experience, cycling in the rain is not always miserable. In fact, it can often be quite fun and exhilarating, especially cycling in a storm.* What is miserable is the bit at the end where you stop and you’re all wet.

Cycling in heavy traffic and heavy rain in Auckland is also often not fun because a lot of motorists just don’t adjust their speed for the conditions.

Anyway, my main tips for making cycling in the rain in Auckland better are:

• Take two pairs of socks and have a spare pair of shoes at work if you can. Nothing brings your day down like sitting around with wet feet for 8 hours
• Wear shorts or a short skirt to cycle in if you can stand the cold, or polypro tights if you can’t. Put your jeans/trousers on once you’re inside. See previous comment about sitting around with wet legs
• Get mud guards on your bike to stop the water splashing on your legs from the tyres. It makes a surprising difference to how wet you get. Having said that, choose your mud guards wisely – mine weigh a ton which makes cycling and hauling my bike up and down steps that much harder.
• Don’t try and cycle down the North-Western in heavy rain at high tide. This is fun to do once (the water comes way up over the pedals!) but a pain in the arse when you’re actually going somewhere. The salt water also really buggers your gears.

• Put on flouro and/or lights. Now I’m not trying to be the safety police! Obviously, this is totally up to you and you may feel like a bit of a gimboid cycling around during the day in a drizzle with lights on – which is fair enough. Your choice. However, before making a decision either way, I’d experiment with getting a loved one to cycle towards you in a grey top in heavy rain.  They’re surprisingly hard to see right? And you’re looking for them…
• Be careful riding down steep hills in big wind gusts. Obviously, this has nothing to do with rain per se but the two things often go together and you’ll be surprised at how far a big gust can carry you sideways.

And finally, get a good raincoat. It will be worth it if you’re planning to commute by bike, particularly  if you cycle in the same clothes you wear to work.

Personally, if it’s really raining I tend to keep on the same top that I will wear to work – confident my raincoat will protect me – but wear shorts or tights on the bottom half.

And that brings me to the crowd sourcing part of this blog post – can anybody recommend me a good cycling raincoat? I’ve been cycling in my tramping raincoat which is fine but it is really too long and clunky. What I’d like is a really waterproof, waist length raincoat that I can fold up and put in my bag easily when I arrive at my destination.

What do you think about riding in winter – do you mind the rain? What are your tips for dealing with it?

*Note: While exhilarating, cycling in storms is probably not actually very safe – you have been warned.