rachel.blog

Category: Cycling

  • Sexism, carnivorous plants, and cycling

    I sometimes have problems spotting the more subtle forms of sexism. I’m not sure if this is because I’m a woman and I just don’t notice, or if it’s for some other reason. Fortunately I’m married to a feminist so I’m unlikely to be taken advantage of for being so naive about this. What constitutes…

  • I’ve got Busby back!!

    Busby finally arrived today. He’s been at the hospital (= bike shop) in York having some work done. We took him out for a spin. I felt very wobbly at first as the longer frame takes some getting used to and I haven’t ridden him for 10 months now. But after about 15 minutes or so I…

  • The velomobile: I want one!

    Now here’s a really cool bicycle. It’s got three wheels, solar panels and shelter from the elements. It’s fairly pricey at $5,495 but you don’t have to pay for insurance, petrol or rego so overall it’s pretty cheap. The only thing missing, in my view, is space for two children. More about this on Grist.

  • Cargo cycling

    Someone sent me this (thank you!) which shows how fabulous cargo cycling can be for the entire family and more! It’s in German but don’t let that put you off. The visual is the main thing.

  • Cycling in Auckland part 2

    Cycling on the footpath sucks. It really does. I’ve just returned from cycling Elizabeth to kindergarten and I’ve started cycling on the road for parts of the trip now. In fact, when I’m on my own cycling home I use the road almost the whole way. Why? Because the footpath is difficult to navigate. It’s…

  • Cargo bikes

    A friend sent me this cool video of cargo bikes in action:   It’s no secret that people who get to work under their own steam by walking, running or cycling are apparently happier than those who drive or take public transport. But did you know that people who drive or take the train during…

  • Cycling in Auckland

    Today is a great day. For the first time ever, I was a commuter cyclist in Auckland. I finally overcame my fear and cycled Elizabeth to kindergarten, a round trip of about 8km. It was hot! But it was a good ride, easier than I was expecting and no lives were lost. Auckland is very hilly…

  • Opinions are great, except when I disagree with them

    Opinions are great. I love listening to people’s opinions more so than the boring nothings of fence-sitters. Ok, so I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes people’s opinions rile me but there’s something challenging about that as it forces me to question what I think. For this reason, I like listening to RadioNZ’s The…

  • Naked cycling

    Let’s see whether this title generates more traffic than my bikini photo did. The Automobile Association of Britain has launched a campaign on cycling safety and they’ve produced this video clip of a naked cyclist. It’s very good. Coincidentally, my 7 year old has been asking questions about nudity this morning. He said, “When did…

  • Running vs cycling

    I have injured my heel while running and so have had to abandon this activity for the past few days while I hobble around and hope it gets better soon. This has been disappointing because I was starting to semi-enjoy running. Not wanting to become slothful, I decided to head out on my creaky old…

  • Phones calls, traffic, the bridge and beards

    Daniel, who is 7 years old, got his first phone call the other day. I answered the phone and heard a young boy politely introduce himself and then ask to speak to Daniel. Completely stunned, I handed the phone to Daniel who was just as surprised as I was and then I heard them discuss…

  • First bike ride in Auckland

    I rode my bicycle today for the first time since arriving back in Auckland. Here is my Auckland bicycle: It was very strange riding a regular bicycle again. It’s not true what they say, that you never forget how to ride a bike, because I was very wobbly and unsure of myself. The handlebars are…

  • A beautiful frosty morning

    I have been longing for some snow but there has been none. We haven’t even had a proper frost, that is, not until this morning and the first real frost did not disappoint me. I used to love frosty mornings when we lived in Christchurch with the sound and the sensation of crunchy grass beneath…

  • A few things: York, the bicycle and the IPCC

    I spent the morning wandering around central York today. I took my last walk down the Shambles, sat and enjoyed a pot of tea at one of the cafés there and generally felt a bit teary about saying goodbye to my fair city of York. Then I transported our living Christmas tree to a friend’s…

  • Falling in love with inanimate objects

    My last precious days in York are flying by. We have a crazy couple of weeks in store as we must now pack up six months of our lives and condense them into three suitcases. This is not going to be easy. On top of that, we have to empty our rental property. We could…

  • An open letter to Gerry Brownlee

    We will be leaving the UK at the end of this month and so I have started to think about what my life will be like back in Auckland. The biggest change will be the shift from a commuter-cycling lifestyle here over to a car-dependent one in Auckland. But does it have to be this…

  • Scarborough New Year’s Day Dip

    What kind of crazy person goes swimming in the North Sea in winter? My sister-in-law, that’s who. Yesterday, we went to Scarborough on the North Yorkshire coast, to join the New Year’s Day Lions Club fundraising dip. Ben’s sister swims every weekend in Lake Geneva so she is well-trained in icy dips. I thought about…

  • A whinge

    I’ve just come back from picking Elizabeth up from nursery on my bicycle and now I want to have a whinge about the rain and wind. So here goes: I’m wet, exhausted (anyone who has cycled in the wind will understand why but add a factor of ten to this given that I’m cycling a…

  • Bakfiets spotted in Brisbane

    My father has just sent me this photo he took of a bakfiets on the streets of Brisbane. This is so nice for me to see. I grew up in Brisbane and never cycled much in that time. The city is not really conducive to cycling with hot and humid weather, lots of hills, urban…

  • The Terminator

    He’s known in the school playground as the Terminator and here he is in my bakfiets. Be afraid, be very afraid.