Enews Headlines - 16 May 2013

ADELAIDE IS URBAN PERFECTION
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THOUSANDS OF RIDES FOR EVERYONE
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UNIVERSITY SA OFFERS FREE BIKES
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CYCLISTS TEACH NEW RIDERS URBAN SKILLS
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DO YOU HAVE TO STOP AT THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT?
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UPDATE FROM THE MAWSON TRAIL
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BIKE SA GETS CYCLISTS UP THE HILL
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IN THE NEWS: VIRGIN BOSS AND EASY RIDERS MAKE HEADLINES
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MARATHON EFFORT BY BIKE SA VOLUNTEERS
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Roadworks

RIVERBANK BRIDGE DETOURS - CLOSURE OF RIVER WALK
The river walk near the Festival Centre is currently closed during for construction of the new footbridge. The path is expected to reopen February 2014. The shared path on the northern side of the Torrens is also closed. 

Users are being directed around the construction zone with advance warning and directional signs in place on both sides of the river.  Cyclists are asked to dismount when approaching the front of the Festival Centre.

Click here to view the site map.
For more information about the Riverbank redevelopment, click here. 

SOUTHERN EXPRESSWAY ROAD WORKS - MAJORS ROAD
The $407.5 million duplication of the Southern Expressway will deliver an 18.5 km multi-lane, two-way expressway between Bedford Park and Old Noarlunga by mid-2014.

From 13 March 2013 Majors Road bridge, that crosses the existing Southern Expressway, will be closed to traffic whilst the bridge is extended to accommodate the duplicated Expressway. This bridge will reopen in November 2013.

Click here for more information, plus further information about the reopening of Seacombe Bridge.  

Regular Enews

Upcoming events:
11-25 May 2013 Outback Odyssey - Adelaide to Blinman - registrations now open
19-26 Oct 2013 Annual Tour - Kangaroo Island - more info

Free Rides Programme - proudly supported by RAA
Each year, over 1,500 organised rides are delivered as part of Bike SA's free Rides Programme.

Download the current Free Rides Programme here.

2013 Bike Maintenance Courses now open:

Advanced Bike Maintenance in April: 14 July 2013
Comprehensive Bike Care: 13 July 2013
Gears and Brakes:10 September 2013
Basic Bike Care: 13 August 2013

Click to download the 2013 registration form.

Enews stories

 ADELAIDE IS URBAN PERFECTION 

Is Adelaide a model city of urban perfection? 

Adelaide has been praised by Chicago Tribune as being a model of urban perfection. While there are indeed elements to Adelaide's infrastructure which make it cycling friendly, we are a long way from achieving the levels enjoyed by cyclists in some other cities around the world.Business Insider published this piece about why americans don't understand cycling very well. The article features a recent ranking system of the best cycling cities in the world.

Does Adelaide make the list?

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RECORD NUMBERS AT KONA DIRTY WEEKEND

South Australia's only 24 hour mountain bike endurance challenge attracted record numbers this year in the Adelaide Hills.

316 riders was a record and made the recent 2013 Kona Dirty Weekend a sell out. Cudlee Creek was packed with riders, support crew and spectators as the 24-hour marathon went through its paces. Mountain bikers rode as many laps of the 10km course in 24, 12 or 6 hours. Winner of the Solo Male 24Hr category "Mr Ollie" completed 32 laps, an impressive stat given the winning Male Team of 4 riding relay covered 39 laps, itself a massive achievement. 

Thanks to all the supporters and sponsors, including Kona, SAMBA, Forestry SA, Roof Rack City, Cycleworx AvantiPlus, IMBA, Torq, Schwalbe, Squirt, Exposure Lights, Ergon, Orbea, DJs Rowan, Tony and Josh, Ground Effect, Body Torque, Ventou, Aquaboss, Slime, Yangoora Wines, Upfront Bikes, Over the Edge, Nippy's and of course St John First Aid. Thanks too to the volunteers who worked hard through the Saturday and Sunday to make it the ultimate dirty weekend.

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THOUSANDS OF RIDES FOR EVERYONE

Want to ride your bike, but don't want to ride alone? Bike SA has rides for everyone and they are for free! 

We deliver Australia's biggest programme of free rides throughout South Australia. There are many different groups from the Night Espresso and European Bicycle Circle in Adelaide to the more distant Peninsula Pedallers and Southern Flinders Rough Riders. There are over 1,500 organised rides to choose from, led by experienced volunteer Ride Leaders. Find out more and view the latest Rides Programme (June to August) here.  

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 UNIVERSITY SA OFFERS FREE BIKES 

University SA now has an Adelaide City Bikes' node.

From next Monday the University of South Australia's City East and City West campuses will offer free Adelaide City Bikes, available to the general public as well as students and staff. There are now twelve Adelaide City Bike locations in the city, plus two in Unley and five in Charles Sturt where you can hire a bike for free. It's quick and easy. All you have to do is fill out a form and leave your ID as collateral. View the new map and other information here. The Adelaide Parklands and Linear Park are popular places to cycle, offering relatively quiet spaces to turn over the pedals. 

Users of the Adelaide City Bike scheme populate the Parklands every day of the year. Apart from the road crossings, the shared used paths are free of motor vehicles. Navigating the circuitous trails surrounding the CBD provide perfect places to escape with friends or family, or just enjoy some alone time on your bike. They also provide some direct links for cycling commuters. Development and use of the Parklands has hit the headlines recently, including this latest piece from AdelaideNow 

CYCLISTS TEACH NEW RIDERS URBAN SKILLS

There's been loads of talk about New York's up and coming bike share scheme which is rolling out this month. Bike SA is interested to see local community groups stepping in with education support. 

Meanwhile in South Australia, Bike SA offers a suite of education programs to suit new or rusty, as well as advanced riders. These range from 2 hour one-on-one sessions which can be delivered at any level, for any purpose; learning to negotiate roads and cycle paths or tips for new road bike users.  Bike SA caters for groups in our CycleSafe and commuter programs covering bike skills, road rules, road awareness and bike maintenance.  

One of the great courses we have coming up is the Advanced bike maintenance courses on July 14, which teaches you absolutely everything you need to know about bikes over three sessions. Other courses of interest include the Comprehensive bike maintenance course (July 13) and the Basic Bike Care (August 13) course. 

 You can find out more about it here. 

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DO YOU HAVE TO STOP AT THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT?

What are a driver's responsibilities to stop at the scene of an accident?

Thankfully, the legal talk is turned into simple english at the latest 'Law Talk' blog post from Andersons Solicitors. And don't forget that as a Bike SA member, you'll receive a range of benefits from them (including a free first interview and 10% on a range of legal services and free simple wills). Find out more about the benefits of Bike SA membership here.

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UPDATE FROM THE MAWSON TRAIL

Last Saturday 140 cyclists began their epic Outback Odyssey along the 900km Mawson Trail from Adelaide to the Flinders Ranges. Bushfires in the Adelaide Hills meant the first leg was diverted via Gorge Road. But since then riders have enjoyed the wind on their backs, even if it has been a little cool and damp. They'll arrive in Blinman after two weeks in the saddle, riding via the Barossa, Clare, Burra, Melrose, Quorn and Hawker. A few are keeping a blog of their adventures. Read their stories and view their photos on our Facebook page. The next Outback Odyssey is scheduled for May 2015.

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BIKE SA GETS CYCLISTS UP THE HILL

Since work began on the Belair rail line upgrade in January, Bike SA has given a lift to over 5,000 cyclists up the hill from Mitcham train station.

The free service will continue to run during the afternoon and early evening on weekdays plus all day on weekends, until the train service resumes. The Bike SA service is supported by the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure. View the timetable here.

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CYCLING IN THE NEWS: VIRGIN BOSS AND EASY RIDERS MAKE HEADLINES 

We've seen quite a few stories on cycling the past fortnight. 

Two features from AdelaideNow provide contrasting coverage for cycling: This story about Richard Branson and this one about the Adelaide Easyriders.  As the Easyriders demonstrate, wearing a helmet is very cool.  

Feel free to share any stories you've heard of lately via Facebook and Twitter. 

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MARATHON EFFORT BY BIKE SA VOLUNTEERS

Bike SA simply wouldn't be where it is today without all its wonderful volunteers. 

On most days every week volunteers keep the Bike SA wheels turning. From fixing bikes and customer service, to handing out refreshments and lugging equipment, our volunteers are the bedrock for much of our activity. Recently some volunteers worked throughout Saturday and Sunday, including the night, for the Kona Dirty Weekend event. Meanwhile on the other side of the world one of our volunteers was contributing another marathon effort. In a time of 4 hours 39min, Des placed 39th in the 70+ age group and about 19000th out of 39000 entrants in the London Marathon. Normally Des helps maintain our fleet of Adelaide City Bikes, and he was a Ride Marshal during Boileau VeloAdelaide, supporting slower riders struggling towards the back. Des ran the London Marathon to fundraise for WaterAid, and thanks to all his supporters he has reached his target. Congratulations, Des.

You can read a full account of Des's marathon effort in the next issue of Bike SA's member magazine, Cycle! Here is a taste of the current issue. 

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