The People In My Neighbourhood

Today I made 3 train trips - and had 3 good conversations.

Met a guy who's down from Darwin, working with a local school. Naturally, he was dressed very much for winter. I don't think he'd ever experienced a day as cold as a Brisbane winter day.

Found a guy who seemed to know more info about sport than i do - which doesn't happen too often. And i probably wouldn't have talked with him - but he complimented me on my tie (which is my favourite) so that broke the ice - and we had a good chat about footy.

After an evening function in the city, Stuart was leaving at the same time as me was also catching the train. I didn't see much of him at the function, but we got to catch-up as we caught and rode the train.

Good Call

So if you've been watching the Tour de France, you've probably seen an ad for Bike Exchange. I checked out their website, and came across a nice line that summed up cycling...

In an increasingly obese and polluted world where the roads are congested, cycling tackles all three issues.

A Person A Day

You may have seen the Stateline report on Queensland's road toll. As at July 3, it's 185 (27 more than the same time last year). This quote from Queensland Transport Minister Rachel Nolan:

More than 300 Queenslanders a year die on our roads. And for every death, that's a whole family and a group of friends who have experienced a real tragedy. For all of those people, their lives will never be the same.

The report noted that 28% of deaths are caused by speeding and 24% weren't wearing a seatbelt. But that still leaves at least 48% who doing normal speed and buckled up - plus the people who were killed by someone else speeding. As police superintendent Col Campbell puts it,

People believe that it will happen to someone else that it won't happen to them.

Time Trial

Today a friend and i wanted to go to Fortitude Valley, which is a fair distance from my friend's place in Toowong. For reasons which are complicated (and not really that interesting) it was best for me to cycle there - and best for my friend to catch the train.

The obvious solution? (remember that i have a scientific nerdy side) ... an experiment!

So in the vein of Phileas Fogg (though with a little less fanfare) the challenge was made. Starting from Toowong it was a race to see who would arrive first, at our chosen destination.

Suffice to say that both options were quite speedy. However, the winner on this ocassion was the bicycle (yes that's right - even on the trusty old repco traveller). Taking the bicentennial bikeway to the city, and then adelaide and ann streets, the margin was a clear 6 minutes.

More Benefits

The Rapid Active & Affordable Transport Alliance (RAATA) recently launched a report entitled "Investing in Sustainable Transport".

At the launch, ACF diector Don Henry spoke of benefits in terms of reduced greenhouse emissions and less addiction to oil. Heart Foundation CEO Dr Lyn Roberts pointed out the health benefits of active transport (cycling, walking).

More than 16,000 Australians are estimated to die prematurely each year, mostly from heart disease and stroke, because they are insufficiently physically active. Physical inactivity also costs the community an estimated $13.8 billion a year ... We need to make the healthier transport choices – walking, cycling, public transport – the easier choices. And we need to replan our communities to promote physical activity – not obesity.

Matt O’Brien (CEO of Diabetes Australia) had a similar view.

Active community environments that encourage walking, bike riding and incidental exercise can help reduce the number of people who are overweight and obese. People who are overweight or obese are at a much higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This is of grave concern in Australia as the number of new cases of diabetes each year would fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Who Wants Worms?

Saw this the other morning in the city.


In addition to the proverbial worms, now the early bird gets the "special" of paying a mere 17 dollars for parking.

Bless Our Bikes

A friend emailed me about this one - a church that decided to have a Bicycle Blessing ceremony for the cycling community.


The prayers of blessing included:

In a world groaning under the excesses of consumption, we acknowledge the inherent goodness of non-motorized human powered transportation and give thanks for the simple beauty of the bicycle... Bless those who choose to not drive to work and those for whom driving isn’t even an option... Keep us safe as we ride.
God of life, hear our prayer. Amen

Exit Strategy

At the convention centre, i saw some people taking forever at this "fast exit" machine. Whoever came up with that name clearly hadn't seen my bike parked in this super-convenient spot. Now that's a fast exit - and i don't have to put 13 bucks into some dumb machine!

Floody Times

So a friend of mine (whose work has low-lying carparks for employees) tells me that in Brisbane's flood (2 weeks back) three of the guys in his office lost their cars.

Losing your keys is one thing, but losing the whole car!?

End of Suburbia

I've just seen this documentary - and i recommend it. You can see the trailer on youtube.


It's quite stunning to see how our entire lifestyle is quite literally built on the assumption of cheap petrol - and the problems that will occur when that's no longer the case.

ps. if you're seeing it, make sure to watch the bonus features - there's some classic 50's short films that are hilarious, but also kinda scary.