But as others have said, decent commuting bikes are everywhere. I prefer non-suspension MTB frames because the straight bars are nice and tractable in traffic, and slicks are a must-have for getting rolling resistance down a bit. I often ride bad distances over crap roads, and…

If you do have a mountain-bike style bike, but dont use it off road..... replace those knobly tyres with smooth road-treads....

It will reduce your pedaling effort by heaps.... You'll go faster and roll further with less effort.

It has a very light frame for a mountain bike, and suitable gearing for Wellington hills (especially when combined with bike shoes and cleats). It does not have suspension (which soaks up your pedal power) or…

I made the same decision last year and reckon the main things to consider are road bike vs mountain bike; brakes; gears and weight of the cycle. There's heaps of educational info online and there are cheap deals on Trademe or at auctions.

If you want to commute you'll…

In Dunedin we have a cycleway which is quite quickly working its way to Maia, which is about halfway to Port Chalmers. I'm not sure how they're going to get it the other half (probably a cycle lane on the road), but the bit they've done so far…

http://www.getacross.org.nz

Let's remeber it was Dr Morgan "Fingers" Fahey Convicted sexual predator, struck off GP & disgraced Dupty Mayor of Christchurch who was the driving force behind this stupid line of thought.

The economics of it was to save $ by not making safer transport routes for cyclists and put the…

I've smashed plenty of helmets as a cyclist over the last 20 years, since the woman dragged her paraplegic son round my secondary school and convinced everyone that cycling was so dangerous you needed a lid or you'd be…

without looking at your Road Code, do you know how much leeway a driver is supposed to give to a cyclist? I didn't. Don't know if I ever did.

1.5 metres. Which I know from seeing signs on the backs of buses, not from the Road Code. Is it actually…

Recently a south island council removed the 17mile per hour speed limit for bicycles in their area. But that would make…

the gummint could consider taking a similar line to achieve a goal of more trips made by cyclists. I think the direction has to be to concentrate on making it harder to drive a car, and…

Actually if it was me I'd close one of the lanes, and split it half between pedestrian and cycleway. I'd imagine that'd cost a couple of million at most. But I'd imagine that idea going down like a lead balloon :)

That'd be the simple solution, with another lane as…

Hell yes. I found myself leaving work early in the mornings just so I could stop off on the bridge and watch the wildlife. I saw a shag eat an entire flounder in one mouthful. That's worth a month of cycling in my book.

Which sums up why a van…

Cycling isn't ever going to become a popular, convenient thing to do. I'm fine with that actually.
Meridian Energy begs to differ. And it's not an isolated case.

I saw somewhere last week, cannot remember where, a suggestion that one very effective way of discouraging car use would be to…

Another problem that bicycle commuters soon discover is that many workplaces don't even have somewhere to lock up your bike, let alone changing room with shower.

Cycling isn't ever going to become a popular, convenient thing to do. I'm fine with that actually.

Meridian Energy begs to differ. And it's…

Even then, I bet most would take the bus, despite long wait and travel times.

Another problem…

Incidentally, the harbor bridge already has a pedestrian corridor, its under the bridge, but it forbidden to the public, for safety reasons. It's the service way.

I thought a company was doing walking tours under/on the bridge? Having done the actual walk one summer when I was working for the…

Place this next to lobbying for a largely decorative $50m bridge across the viaduct which will benefit businesses and tourists...

I really don't see much cost/benefit on that one either. The bridge is ONLY for buses and pedestrians, not cars.

It could well end up being our own Bridge to Nowhere

CM has a romantic ring to it in theory, but: honestly? Exactly who in a motor vehicle is won over by a crowd of cyclists crawling through the CBD, slowing everyone down?

Well, lots of people were won over by a crowd of trucks crawling through NZ CBDs recently ...…

To not use your bike but put it in a vehicle to go over a perfectly good bridge? I think when you stand back and look at it it's silly.

Yes, yes – I get it now: it's the $40million Harbour Bridge Cycleway or nothing.
I haven't seen such dogmatic belligerence…

If that was Critical Mass, in several US cities they have a reputation for being jerks who put off even other cyclists. ...

Exactly who in a motor vehicle is won over by a crowd of cyclists crawling through the CBD, slowing everyone down? Wouldn't it be a better advertisement…

The correlation between helmet wearing and safety is very strongly negative.

George,

Just had to respond to this.

Helmets do not save lives, but they do reduce head injuries. Just the other day it young fella got run over at the intersection with Victoria and Bridge streets. He was ok…

If that was Critical Mass, in several US cities they have a reputation for being jerks who put off even other cyclists.

I've heard similar things for a while. However, from all accounts, the Auckland Critical Mass runs (which leave from Albert Park some Fridays) are being increasingly patronised by…

Turned out this was a regular event where cyclists take over the streets.

If that was Critical Mass, in several US cities they have a reputation for being jerks who put off even other cyclists.

But back to the Harbour Bridge: do any cyclists care to comment on my modified shuttle bus idea, posted above?

To me it's illogical to get off your bike, and get in a bus to go over the bridge.

Yes for the ferry service, you get on the ferry because…

Apparently, it's so much more satisfying climbing hills with one gear when you know you'll get to skid all the way down the other side.

We're headed for your Belgian beer bar with our strangled vowels.

Ah, but without a car, how are you going to dispose of the vowels' bodies?

Got you there.

Although I haven't tried the Bullock Track.

It's a bugger. You don't get a run-up and it gets steeper just where you're losing the will.

As always, Monocle is there to help.

!!! Awesome – but 600quid becomes 1,400quid when shipped here. Ouch.

You could build a whole political party on that foundation.

How about cycling lanes and paths as a health investment ?

Indeed. There are many different areas where this could be justified. The cost benefit ratio of public investment far outstrips the return from the billions the current Government is spending on roads (and the opposition promises to spend more).…

I don't want to commute over the bridge, but visit friends on Friday night. Will there be a 'ferry' when I want to return home at 2am?

The biggest failing with public transport in Auckland. You cannot use it if you want a late night in town, with the limited…

So where can I find one of dem uber-stylish Copenhagen style cruisers for my Grey Lynn to CBD jaunts?

As always, Monocle is there to help.

Either I have an invisible sign above my head saying 'keep clear" or Auckland drivers are kind hearted. I prefer the latter theory.

As do I. My experience is that most Auckland drivers try to coexist with cyclists. Some of them dislike it, some of them actively hate it, but…

(Having been nearly bowled today at a pedestrian crossing by some lycra'd oaf with a self-righteous jacket reading "one less car on the road")
At least car drivers are better trained that way (and you can take their number)

do any cyclists care to comment on my modified shuttle bus idea, posted above?

I'm not currently a cyclist (I commute on foot from one end of the house to the other) but I have been in the past, and as a Shore dweller I think I can see a…

So where can I find one of dem uber-stylish Copenhagen style cruisers for my Grey Lynn to CBD jaunts?

Alan Preston in Christchurch has links to a number of decent bikes retailed in NZ. Unfortunately however, the prevailing tendency of bicycle store owners is still to stock overwhelmingly with racing…

And John said:

do any cyclists care to comment on my modified shuttle bus idea, posted above?

The proposition to get cyclists to start up a van scheme seems a cumbersome and indirect method to get us to prove our good faith and our number. Change the setting and more…

IMHO cycling is not well served at all in Auckland in terms of infrastructre, and I've done my small wee…

And look at that obesity graph!

ooh ooh did you see Dr Gunther von Hagens slice open fat people last night? Awesome. Its so cool seeing what's inside (fat)

Cycling. It burns fat.

If you could walk from one side of the Auckland harbour bridge to the other, would you not ever take your family on the walk some sunny Sunday?

Like the better half and I (and many many others) do every time we visit Sydney? If the walk and the views…

None taken.

We're headed for your Belgian beer bar with our strangled vowels.

None meant, of course!

But come one, come all. I'll tell the proprietors to lay down the sawdust before Friday.

Check out these numbers.

And look at that obesity graph!

Sheer mass made them safe

There's safety in numbers alright. Check out these numbers.

The correlation between the percentage cycling and safety is very strong. The correlation between helmet wearing and safety is very strongly negative.

North Shore munter subspecies

None taken.

We're headed for your Belgian beer bar with our strangled vowels.

Ooh – is there any sense in the strategy document?

See for yourself at
http://www.wellington.govt.nz/haveyoursay/publicinput/index.html

You've got until Sept 22nd to provide feedback. I reckon it's a reasonable policy, main notable points being:
– expansion of bus lanes and ability of cyclists to use same (OK, busses make me very…

I have very vague recollections of it being underneath the 'new' Mangere Bridge (aka the SH20 crossing, aka the bridge which is shown partially complete in 'Goodbye Pork Pie'). Is that correct? Is it still there?

I haven't thought about that for about 20 years!

Confirmed. I rode to Mangere…

Interesting, the NZ Herald views section generally seems to back the cycleway

There actually seems to be signs of intelligent life there. It must be the absence of the Granny staples; politics, boobs, and crime.

I liked this gem:

NZ roads are designed to kill those who ride bikes, so…

Totally off-topic, I reckon the new NZ passports look cool.

Fully. I'm really gutted that they're not coming in until the middle of next year, though. My passport expired last year, and with a measly five-year life (bastards!) I'm not going to get one too much before I'm going to…

Wellington has more cycle usage than Auckland. Hills are one factor, but only one.

Ooh – is there any sense in the strategy document? I know the Bot gardens are a law unto themselves, so chances are their bike-unfriendly attitude is not shared by the rest of the council (one…

However, a few decades ago, the terrain was just the same, yet all the kids rode bikes.

Everyone who's seen the ghostly streets at school holiday time knows that the bulk of the traffic (and the danger to cyclists) in the…

A mate and I were talking about this on the wkend. He is quite involved in advocating for walking and cycling. He noted that many of the cycle people were... abrasive.

This is a fair point, cycling in Auckland is naturally selective for abrasiveness.

There are loads of hills and…

Cyclists do have votes but do they pay road tax

This is one of my bugbears: the notion that since cyclists don't pay "road tax", they don't deserve to be on the roads. There is no such thing as road tax. There's a vehicle registration fee, which is the annual…

PS: As a teenager in South Auckland me and my mates used the New Mangere Bridge cycleway most weekends. It was a sewer: glass, graffiti, human poo, burnt mattresses. But it was fun, and it worked, and it was easy, and the old bridge was an alternative. Certainly…

The weather we can't do much about, but it doesn't stop high rates of cycling in rainy…

Totally off-topic, I reckon the new NZ passports look cool. Rick Barker's craggy face, not so much

Auckland weather is too random.

Yes, but it should be more tolerable (ie a little more stable) , from now until next June, than it has been the last two godforsaken months. I hope.

There are loads of hills and ridges. Shots of thousands of everyday people riding…

I've ridden a bike as (variously) a long-distance commuter / dawdling drunkard / bike messenger / dad taking 2-y-o to playground / bmx street freestyler, in a truckload of cities from Auckland to Tokyo…

showing people how to cycle or walk across town without being run over.

Or running over pedestrians. The Bot Gardens in Wellington have recently started enforcing (or at least reinforcing) their no biking through the gardens rule. They've always notionally been banned, but all cyclists ignored the bike buster signs…

The car ferry analogy earlier was a good one. We don't build bridges just because a dozen cars use the car ferry.

Ha ha well i was hoping you'd interpret it the other way – people will go a long way out of their way to avoid faffing about with…

And yet I also drive a shiny black SUV....

Hey, maybe that means I am a cyclist that will get listened to for once? I'll call…

He is quite involved in advocating for walking and cycling. He noted that many of the cycle people were... abrasive.

I'm working with a local politician here, we've found the same thing. He's a top class triathlete, but has lived in Amsterdam for years, so stands on both sides of…

They are worried that the 'build it and they will come' idea may not apply given history.

Regarding 'build it and they will come', the same council is dumping $51 million into a bridge across the Viaduct Harbour ($16 million over budget already and highly likely to rise) for the…

Trucks smash the road up real fast, and are de facto subsidised by other users.

Yeah, but the general populace are happy with that. Were you living under a rock on the day of the truckie protest?

If I, as a cyclist, were to receive a true accounting based on…

Add in the additional step of a van, ferry…

I want a city that takes cycling from the cyclists (spandex wearers) and gives it back to the people (wearing normal clothes and going at a reasonable pace).

What's "a reasonable pace"? I wear semi-normal clothes (sports clothing, but not spandex), and easily hit 40-45km/h on the flat. If I…

I want a city that takes cycling from the cyclists (spandex wearers) and gives it back to the people (wearing normal clothes and going at a reasonable pace).

A mate and I were talking about this on the wkend. He is quite involved in advocating for walking and cycling. He…

/me has been reading too many American writers recently.

Cyclists do have votes but do they pay road tax

Of course. Like most commuting cyclists, I own a car too.

But anyway, my bicycle damages the road hardly at all compared to a heavier vehicle, and requires far less area.

Trucks smash the road up real fast, and are…

Cyclists do have votes but do they pay road tax

Pedestrians cross roads without necessarily paying road tax either I guess.

Footpaths and (I think) cycleways are paid for from other sources.

And to a certain extent, when someone cycles, walks or catches public transport instead of driving,…

It seems to me that making cyclists free and extending the hours and services on the harbour ferries would probably make more sense, as far as benefit per dollar goes.

That would be good, but really only service the leafy 'burbs of Devonport

Fullers ferries currently sail from Bayswater, Devo,…

The council were not sure but gave it a go. However instead of building the cycleway they offered a bus/van service which picked up the cyclists on one side and deposited them on the other.

Not quite the same... that's like comparing a road bridge with a car ferry.

It…

If you could walk from one side of the Auckland harbour bridge to the other, would you not ever take your family on the walk some sunny Sunday?

When I lived in Auckland, I used to go for weekend walks. One day I ended up at the marina by the…

It seems to me that making cyclists free and extending the hours and services on the harbour ferries would probably make more sense, as far as benefit per dollar goes.

That would be good, but really only service the leafy 'burbs of Devonport. The lane over the bridge would surely…

So the cyclist who has picked an autonomous and intrinsicly rewarding form or transport gets to wait for a van.

I'm sure had they wanted to catch a quaxing bus they would have.

These people really really don't get it.

It was a dedicated van thing with big open area…

Say what you like about Canberra but it does have plenty of bike paths.

This city rests on a reputation established by things that were done in the 1970s. It means that politicians who do nothing can pat themselves on the vack. It is a city of the car.

However instead of building the cycleway they offered a bus/van service which picked up the cyclists on one side and deposited them on the other.

So the cyclist who has picked an autonomous and intrinsicly rewarding form or transport gets to wait for a van.

I'm sure had they wanted…

The council were not sure but gave it a go. However instead of building the cycleway they offered a bus/van service which picked up the cyclists on one side and deposited them on the other.

And how many people used this service?

sweet f a. And i mean *seriously* sweet…

What is needed are Governments (local and national) that see cycling as a top priority, and making cities about the…

God this is frustrating. No matter who I vote for in the council, we still keep getting the same old short sighted stupid shit decisions.

There used to be a nice piece of graffiti (Aro Street, if memory serves) which said:

"Don't vote, governments always win."

Many years ago the same cry was made, cyclists need access to the bridge, build a cycleway and we will come.…

Say what you like about Canberra but it does have plenty of bike paths. Recently we actually had a 'Give Way' sign erected on our street where a bike path crosses (the very convenient bike path that goes directly…

Oh well, keep spending billions on more roads, so we can squeeze on more cars, so we can waste more money on fuel, and pollute…

Cyclists do have votes but do they pay road tax

I imagine they dont, I mean everyone that is a cyclist is prevented from owning a car or paying PAYE tax because they quite clearly must be lawless hippy types that shun the system.

I just spent a few months in a cycle friendly city and it was magic. I could cycle into town beside (but not on) the main highway south/west. This main cycle lane was used by huge amount of people getting to work and for recreation/training on the weekends. It…

That said it seems a no brainer to improve cyclist's options because it would leave the roads with less cars on them and give the car/SUV drivers more targets

Their number one priority in life is to get re-elected.

Cyclists don't vote do they?

Allowing anything other than cars on the bridge requires imagination and vision and that doesn't get you re-elected.