I have two bikes and, sort of, two modes of biking.

My Auckland bike is a cruiser, a heavy 3-speed bike from California. It's big and heavy and painted with flowers and people always smile when they see it. It doesn't go anywhere fast, except downhill. I ride it wearing everything from shorts and jandals, to short skirts and high heels. Definitely no helmet. I'm with Patrick Morgan on the 'Mary Poppins' effect. I pretend I'm in New York or Paris, where helmets are not compulsory. I ride on the road if I feel safe and the sidewalk/pavement if I don't. If on the sidewalk, I give way to pedestrians. Rude not to really.

My mountain bike goes between Auckland and Wellington. If I am going for a serious ride, I'll dress appropriately in layers. Much of it is my working outdoors gear, but there might be some lycra in there too. No specifically 'bike' clothing. I'll wear a helmet if I'm doing a lot of downhill or think its necessary. Ditto with riding gloves.

And I love my detachable bike lights, can't remember what they are called, but they come in red and white lights with an elastic so you can strap them to bars etc.

As a sort of aside, I'd be interested to know what the crowd and the council think of bike lanes which go between sidewalk and parked cars. Seems a lot safer to put more visible parked cars between cyclists and motorists.

done with pleasure. thank goodness for PA, and for witty intelligent discourse that doesn't just become a shouting match of political ideology: my people are right, your people are wrong. and you like music!

I used to think John Campbell was quite smart but he totally missed the point tonight. As have most of the media. It's not about when the blacklist was listed, or who was right or wrong, or that it's now over: the damage has been done. Break it down. Think of WB (and any other studio) as a tourist planning their overseas holiday. If you hear of unrest, civil war (i.e. actor's strike), you decide to go to Cook Islands instead of Fiji. It doesn't matter whether the problem is a storm in a teacup, or resolved or whatever. Perception is enough. WB - unlike PJ- have NO emotional attachment to shooting The Hobbit in NZ. That, now, is the challenge for the NZ film industry - changing the way we are seen in a competitive global market where budgets are shrinking across the board. And business is always looking to minimise risk and maximise returns. Is NZ now seen as a risk?