Guest Blogger: Anti-iWay supporter, Pedro the petrol can

This week we talk to an unusual Guest Blogger, Pedro - who’s in fact a petrol can. Pedro first approached us after he thought iWay and our messages were a bit one-sided.




I am Pedro Supremo and I am here to bring some common sense and balance to the iWay programme.

Oil and car companies spend billions of dollars every year promoting their products, and the common people love to hear from them. But do ever see any of this mentioned on iWay? Of course not - and I’m going to put that right.

This week, the iWay team will be promoting something really big. And I’m telling you straight: DON’T GET INVOLVED. Stay home, watch telly, pick your nose, whatever. I don’t care.

I have many important opinions, but some of them are so important that you need to understand them right away.

I call this the “Pedro Supremo Manifesto”. Why not print it out and keep it?

1. 100% journeys by car – by 2020 I aim to see every short trip being made in a car. Even for really short journeys, like putting the bins out.

2. Quit whinging about the cost of fuel. Petrol is great value per litre (compared to perfume). That hundred bucks you just spent filling up? I earn that in half an hour.

3. Stop encouraging kids to cycle. Years ago we all cycled as children, but now we all drive and that makes it too dangerous for our kids now. Why should they get the same opportunities we did when we were kids? I don’t like kids anyway and I don’t want to spend any money on other peoples.

4. Remove the new cycle lanes. No one cycles anyway, at least no-one I like. Which is not very many people, actually.

5. Cyclists must pay for the cycle lanes. I know I just said there were no cyclists, but if there were some, why don’t they pay ?? And here’s something else that annoys me: do pedestrians pay for the footpaths ? Do kids pay to use the park ? NO THEY DON’T!

6. Let’s be generous. Almost all the money we spend on cars and petrol goes abroad, rather than staying here in NZ. I met someone from Kuwait the other day, and he told me how desperately this cash is needed to support good causes over there.

7. Share the Road? Pah! I don’t share my car, I don’t share my dinner, and I certainly don’t share any of the profits from my company. Why the hell would I want to share the road?

8. Don’t ever call me a “fuel can”

I’m not particularly interested in your opinions. But if you would like to talk about mine, just email me at pedro.supremo@myself.com

Guest Bloggers: Ruby Evans, Sunday biker

This week we spoke with 2-year-old Ruby Evans, who every Sunday bikes with her Dad to a local coffee shop for fluffys and good chats.

This is me heading out the door

My new bike Mum and Dad bought me with an extra long handle for when peddaling gets a bit tough

Dad's yummy breakfast last Sunday

Oh and this is me on a recent family holiday to Vanuatu - we still visited a local cafe on Sunday!

I like Sundays. Sundays are the day when me and Dad get on our bikes and bike to our local coffee shop.

I get to hear how his week has been at work, and I tell him as best I can about my week and the kids at daycare.

The best bit - apart from the food and coffee (fluffy for me) - is the bike ride. Especially because Mum and Dad just bought me a brand new bike. It’s got a super long handle at the back too for when I get a bit tired from all the biking and Dad can take a load off.

We bike along the Rotary Pathway on the waterfront and I am amazed at the birds and other people out and about at that time of the morning.

Parking our bikes outside the coffee shop is a breeze as I’m allowed to take mine inside with us. Sometimes I see the other kids looking at my bike and I am happy that it belongs to me.

Once we’ve filled up on warm drinks and yummy breakfasts (see Dad’s breakfast last Sunday above) we’re off again. Sometimes I don't want the bike ride to end, well that's most of the time but eventually we have to head back home.

A confession

I've got a confession to make: I don't have a Guest Blogger for you this week. Yes I know, I'm slack. But, in my defense, returning from a week in Fiji (think 28 degrees, white sandy beaches and crystal clear water - photos above to make you even more envious) has proven to be a little more difficult than expected. There was the 70-odd emails on my return, an unexpected very expensive roaming mobile phone bill, and the numerous ''how was your holiday'' questions all to contend with.

So, this week I thought I'd share with you some interesting numbers about what iWay's achieved in the one year since its birth.

- 25 kilometres of new cycle lanes
- 55 new bike racks
- 177 kids trained in cycle safety
- 480 iWalk Challenge walkers
- 52 fashion models on bikes at the Heels on Wheels Fashion Show
- 49 bikes fixed up for local kids at the Hawke’s Bay Prison
- 2.1 kilometres of off road cycle lanes developed
- 378 bikes fixed at Big Bike Fixups
- 17 iWay events
- 1200 iWay water bottles given out
- Over 14 thousand kilometres cycled by Hastings District Council staff in February
- 748 iway friends on Facebook
- 139 intersections upgraded

I hope you all have a great weekend in sunny Hawke's Bay.

x

Pre-Friday wind down: Amsterdam bike-styles

Yey it’s nearly Friday. And to celebrate, I thought you’d all enjoy a few cool pics of some cycling Amsterdam-styles.

Having been to Amsterdam and been completely blown away by the number of bikes in the city, I can appreciate that of the approx. 780,000 people living in the city, there’s over 600,000 bikes.

Guest bloggers: Ross Holden

A slightly belated blog post this (last?) week... Eloise takes one little holiday and the place falls apart!

Our guest blogger is Ross Holden, a host with the Radio Network and an ardent sports fan.



When I was a schoolboy I was a cyclist but I am a little older now and walking seems about the right pace for my life.

As I look around Hastings and see the many kilometers of new cyclelanes, I remember back to my childhood in the small Thames Valley town of Te Aroha.

The college was located on the outskirts of the town and many of the students biked to school. The route was along a busy stretch of road and the towns fathers had the foresight to build an off road cycleway along that stretch of road. That’s over 50 years ago-offroad cyleways have been around a long time.

But I digress. Walking is certainly slower than cycling but it does give me more time to savour the great outdoors, breath the fresh air and take in all the great scenery which abounds around Hawke’s Bay. With all the new pathways which have been developed, walking has never been easier-or more enjoyable.

Saturday mornings the time. About 9 o’clock it’s off for a 2 hour stroll. Not power walking, just an amble with a friend and a chance to solve all the problems of the world and then some.

Last Saturday was a little damp but we braved the weather and set off as usual. After 90 minutes into the walk we were wandering along the walkway near McLean Park and the subject inevitably turned to how well will the Magpies will do in the ITM Cup competition and then to the two matches to be held at the park during the Rugby World Cup.

The world cup games will be so good for the region. It will be a time when we can show off our style and I reckon the pathways around the region will get well used by both cyclists and walkers. A few of those visitors may even be encouraged to return at a later date and enjoy more of what is on offer.

When the sun shines, or even if it’s a little mirky, a walk along the foreshore is most pleasant, looking out to sea, watching the small boats bobbing around on the waves and the sea sparkling in the distance towards Cape Kidnappers.

Yes, not a bad way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday morning-good company, good conversation, good scenery and a little exercise.