February is Bike Wise Month, and Sport Whanganui is right behind the initiative, recently celebrating National Go By Bike Day with the community on Wednesday, February 11.
Bike Wise is a national initiative which aims to encourage New Zealanders of all ages to view cycling as a practical, safe, economical and
enjoyable means of transport - and an appealing option for sport and recreation. On Go By Bike Day, all New Zealanders were encouraged to hop on their bikes and consider cycling as a viable option for transport.
Free breakfasts were provided for passing cyclists at three locations around the city, with Green Bikes and Velo Ronny's Bicycle Store providing bike maintenance checks and offering expert advice, also free of charge.
Sport Whanganui in partnership with Whanganui Bike User Group, Te Oranganui and Gonville Library organised the breakfasts for cyclists, to celebrate National Go By Bike Day.
An important focus of Bike Wise 2015 is the Share the road campaign, encouraging road users to be courteous to each other and acknowledge that they're not the only one on the road. The campaign is designed to personalise and humanise cyclists so that motorists see them as real people who have a right to share the road safely - seeing the person not simply the bike. Strengthening that campaign are the high-visibility vests that identify cyclists as they are in their family roles - whether a mum, a dad, an uncle and so on. Glenda Leitao, Horizons Roadsafe Co-ordinator for Wanganui and Rangitikei, was on hand to give out the vests.
More FM Breakfast Show host Sue Miller stopped by at the Dublin St roundabout on her way to work. Sue took up the challenge of cycling to work every day last week, and was happy to don a hi-vis vest appropriately labelled "Mum".
Sport Whanganui encourages everyone to get involved with the cycling festivities that are on offer throughout February. For a full schedule of Bike Wise events happening throughout February in Wanganui, visit the Sport Whanganui website www.sportwanganui.co.nz
