Sydney experienced a cold winter and many of Bicycle User Group Bike North’s 500 members put their bikes away for a few weeks. But by September, it was, as the Beatles song went, ‘Here Comes The Sun’ with temperatures approaching 30 degrees on some days.
The Bike North Executive decided to launch a promotion under the banner Activ8, aimed at encouraging members to brush off the cobwebs and join a group ride.
The Mascot Out and Back group ride on Saturday 14th September. The fantastic active transport link around Sydney Airport provided some great vantage points for plane spotting. (Image: Bike North)
“Simply, the challenge was for ride leaders to each list two or more rides during the month, and for members to join two or more rides,” said Brian Lynne, Bike North’s Rides Co-ordinator.
Additionally, ride leaders were asked to consider leading some of their standard rides at a different pace or to put on different rides from Bike North’s 500+ rides catalogue.
Almost rural on the 20km Willoughby, Castle Crag, Middle Cove and Walter Burley Griffin ride on 22nd September! (Image: Bike North)
Chain Reaction, Bike North’s weekly newsletter, contained articles each edition on how to dust off and Activ8 your bike. And your body for those who had been in hibernation over winter!
Up-dates on progress and bios of members who had Activ8-ed were also shared.
What makes a perfect ride? Firstly, take a group of Bike North friends because cycling is as much about mental health as physical health. Add great scenery, a few climbs and descents for variety and some flat sections to allow you to stretch out. Finally, add a coffee stop where the coffee is just right, and the milk shakes are served in tall metal containers. The Footloose in the Foothills to Kurrajong ride hasn't been on the calendar for some years but it was revived for Activ8 (Image: Bike North)
So how did it go?
Against an average 38 of rides per month, September saw 68 rides listed!
The biggest change was in the easier rides on weekends. Many more easy rides were put on to attract less confident riders to get back on the bike. However, all categories of rides, from easy through medium to hard, saw huge increases in the number of rides available.
“Most weekends, we offered four or five different options with different degrees of difficulty,” said Bryan.
The very full Event Calendar for September. All levels of ride were on offer - from easy to hard, short to long, flat to hilly. Blue = easy, green = easy-medium, yellow = medium, orange = medium-hard and red = hard (Image: Bike North)
With over 440 participants on 68 rides, Bike North groups covered over 22,700km in just one month! That is over 1.5 times the distance around Australia’s Highway 1 (14,500km). If that doesn’t blow away the cobwebs from winter, nothing will.
Exploring the spectacular new Blacktown Exercise Sports and Technology Hub (BEST) during the Bungarribee Flyer ride on 8th September (Image: Bike North)
Brian’s message to Bike North members and the wider Bicycle NSW community? “Whilst this was a special month, it’s never too late to Activ8!”
Five riders tackled the challenging, but scenic route from Sutherland to Wollongong on a hot and windy 19th September (Image: Bike North)
Would you like to join group rides, meet new people and explore NSW?
Find out how to become a member of your local Bicycle User Group (or BUG) here. The listed BUGs are all affiliated with Bicycle NSW. Their ride leaders are comprehensively trained and approved by us to deliver high quality, interesting and suitable rides for all participants.
And make sure you join Bicycle NSW to support our advocacy and benefit from top-of-the-range insurance and a myriad of member benefits.
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Membership fees and donations are the only source of funding for our work to make NSW better for bicycle riding.
