February Social Ride + news
Meanwhile, on the otherside of the Yarra ..
Next Yarra Social Ride
Sustainable Living Festival
Hi everyone,
Time to put bottoms on seats and go riding at talking pace in the lovely February sun to Eltham.
Meeting at Fairfield Park car park, we can ride at a leisurely pace along the Main Yarra trail bike path and a short section of the Diamond Creek trail to Eltham, for lunch.There’s lots of native birds and serene bushland to enjoy on the way with almost no use of public roads. Paths are a mix of asphalt and firm gravel, mainly flat with 2 or 3 short hill climbs. Some basic fitness is required or at least the ability to ride a 20km distance.
We will stop at Eltham for lunch or you can BYO. There are no Café stops on the way but there are a couple of toilets and watering holes. Bring water, snacks and sunscreen, your mountain bike or hybrid bike in good working order and a sense of adventure! You can either return via the same route on bike or catch the train from Eltham. Parking is available at Fairfield Park, or along Heidelberg Road.
Ride Details: Fairfield to Eltham via “Main Yarra Trail”. Date: Sunday 19th February 2006: Meeting place: car park at Fairfield Park, Heidelberg Road Fairfield, Melways Map 30, ref J 12. Meeting/start time: 10am. Distance: 24km one way/48km return ride.
What to bring: Your lunch (or money to purchase food at café), snacks, weatherproof jacket, water/drinks, sunscreen, repair kit or a spare inner tube. A bike helmet must be worn.
Suitable for mountain bikes, hybrids and touring bikes. Road bikes may not be suitable for the gravel section. Contact: Please phone/email Karen Douglas on 0419 412 401 or 9639 1822 or kdouglas@cpsuvic.org. Remember, if you’re not out cycling, you’re just marking time.
This week the Sustainable Living Festival commences at Federation Square, see below for bike and transport themed talks:
Seeds for Change: 1/4 century on! Philip Sutton, Alan Pears, Chris Mardon, John Dick, Deborah White, Dr. Ian McPhail, Jim Castles (host) The Edge. Thursday 16th | 6:30pm - 8pm. What’s changed, what was predicted and recommendations. The authors of “Seeds for Change” analyse the past 25 years in the light of their influential book. “Seeds for Change” is a book on the energy crisis and its implications for Victoria and Australia. But it is also about people and lifestyles, government and decision-making, and many other issues that are rarely linked with energy.
Tips and Tricks for Cycling: Damon Rao, Louise Sales and Frank Fisher: Design stage. Friday 17th | 11:30am - 12:30pm. Speakers will talk about some of the inhibitions people have about getting on their bike and some constructive ideas on how to get going. Last year there were almost 1 million motor vehicles sold in Australia and 1.2 million bikes. People are buying bikes but are they getting as much use out of them as they could? Louise Sales explores the issue of women and cycling. Frank Fisher gives some advice on how to make the bike-rail connection. Finally, Damon focuses on the basics of getting started.
Health and Transport: Prof. John Pucher, Dr. Jan Garrad, Dr. John Merory, Elliot Fishman (host) Transport choices have powerful effects on our health. Living close to a freeway makes you four times as likely to be obese. This forum outlines why this is the case and how your transport behaviour can work to improve rather than decrease your health and that of the community. Come and find out why active transport (walking and cycling) is not just cheaper but proven to increase your life expectancy. Saturday 18th | 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Re-imagining Our Cities: Prof. John Pucher, Prof. Peter Newman, David Engwicht, Dr. Jan Garrard (host) . Sunday 19th | 12pm - 2pm. The shape and feel of our cities has been influenced in no small way by our transport choices. Our current transport behaviour, dominated by the car has resulted in large proportions of the city being paved over - to make way for road and parking space. This is just one of the many difficulties of mass car use in urban areas. This forum brings together some of the world’s leading urban thinkers to ignite our imagination to what might be possible in a city less dominated by the car.