YarraBUG

After a long summer break Val and Faith are back on the air and catching up on all things cycling in Melbourne and beyond.

On this weeks program Chris chats to Warwick Duncan from Rail Trails Australia about how you can support bushfire affected communities with their #Ride2Recover campaign including ‪#‎RoadTrip4Good,‬ #RollOnBack and #EmptyEsky. Railtrail news includes the upcoming opening of the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail and Stage 1a of the Yarra Valley Trail. Take a look at rail trails around Australia and start planning your trip.News includes The Hague providing up to 1000 euros for dismantling old diesel vehicles, City of Yarra draft Brunswick Street Masterplan, City of Melbourne consultation for bike lanes on Kavanagh and Balston Streets in Southbank, A Safe Cycling Vision for Moreland, Saturday, 29 February, Coburg Library, National 'Stop Fining Healthy Transport' 2020 bike ride, Saturday, 14 March, Sydney Road Community Ride - Make it Safe, Sunday, 15 March, PARK(ing) Day Sydney Road, Saturday 21 March and the new JUMP by Uber partnership to trial Melbourne's first dockless e-bike share scheme with City of Melbourne, City of Yarra and City of Port Phillip. February is 3CRs annual subscriber drive - become a member and keep radical people-powered radio on-air!

Chris and Steve return to the 3CR studio for 2020, with the ongoing Australian bushfire crisis we discuss impacts ranging from Steves route for the Hunt 1000 back in November, Audax Alpine Classic and how bikes can help fire impacted communities such as MallacootaCycling news: Paris’s mayor has a dream of ‘the 15-minute city’, Bike riders forced onto Moreland streets for 18 months after Upfield bike path closure and Victoria will finally join other states and introduce a 10c refund on bottles and cansThis weeks interview: Phil Barton from Batlow-Tumut Rail Trail Project: we first spoke to Phil back in February last year. Batlow and surroundings were severely impacted by the Dunns Road fire in early January and no doubt many people saw Matt Robert’s horrifying photos of burnt forests, dead animals while he was driving into Batlow on 5th January plus the incredible work by local RFS to save the town.Phil discusses massive economic challenges facing the Batlow area, the need for immediate government support, Eastern Riverina Rail Trail Alliance, support from local politicians and very surprisingly, no support from the Snowy Valleys Council since 2006, a situation that needs to change to the positive in wake of the bushfire crisis. Read here about how you can assist this rail project.Back2Bikes are having another Bicycle Maintenance Workshop, 7pm – 9pm, Thursday 6 February. Cost is $10, read more details here February is 3CRs annual subscriber drive - become a member and keep radical people-powered radio on-air!

In this series of summer specials, Chris catches up with Nicky Page about Step Away from the Car (broadcast on YarraBUG Radio in 2017/18) and Step Away from the Car 2.0  The 2019 series was recorded by interviewer/producers Nicky Page and Suzanne Reece at the 2019 Australian Walking and Cycling Conference in Adelaide. Nicky talks about the first Step Away From the Car series, Port Adelaide Bicycle Users Group and talking to participants at the Australian Walking and Cycling Conference1. Everyone Can Ride a Bike Right: Not everyone can instinctively learn to ride a bike. Unable to tolerate the thought that children, particularly children with additional needs, would never know the excitement and fun of cycling, former primary school teacher Lee-Anne Fleming set up Ride A Bike Right. Now she teaches children (and often their parents) how to ride.2. Out of the Gridlock: PhD candidate Nicholas Fogarty exchanged bussing for cycling to work and arrived in half the time. Now he’s speaking with a variety of road users in a project funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery grant, hoping to uncover causes, cures and concepts from the snarls of Sydney’s seemingly intractable traffic congestion issues.

Faith and Val are taking a break over summer. We've put together some of the shows listeners have enjoyed listening to the most for you to enjoy over the summer. In this show we feature two interviews with Kat Carter, cyclist and physiotherapist at Rehub Studio. Kate talks to us about bike fit and why it hurts when we jump onto our bikes after an extended break.

In this series of summer specials, Chris catches up with Nicky Page about Step Away from the Car (broadcast on YarraBUG Radio in 2017/18) and Step Away from the Car 2.0  The 2019 series was recorded by interviewer/producers Nicky Page and Suzanne Reece at the 2019 Australian Walking and Cycling Conference in Adelaide. Nicky talks about her start in cycling advocacy in the early 1990s, Unley Bicycle Users Group,  longer cycling routes and differences between urban and regional councils.1. On NOT Re-inventing the Wheel: As Australia grapples with questions of how to encourage more walking and cycling, Churchill Fellow Jo Cruickshank looked to cities that have already come up with some answers. Jo is a Senior Policy Officer with the Northern Territory Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics. You can find her report at https://www.churchilltrust.com.au/fellows/detail/4218/Josephine+Cruickshank She speaks here about what she learned from European cities that have wholeheartedly embraced cyclists.Nicky talks about the importance of community radio and how to keep Radio Adelaide on air by donating to their campaign to raise $50,000 by 10 January 2020.2. Making the Bike Economy Work: Anyone lucky enough to travel in developing countries knows the extraordinary loads that a single bike can carry. Daniels Langeberg has been running a successful business on that basis for some years now. He started with his electric tricycle taxi fleet bearing the company name, EcoCaddy. He’s making it work, not only in the relatively small Adelaide market but now in Melbourne too.

Val and Faith were lucky enough to catch up with the the Hughes family on their way through Melbourne. Nicola, Andrew, Hope and Wilgy had ridden their bicycles (tandems!) around Australia and were on their last leg home to Tassie. They've documented their adventures with videos and created educational resources for thos kids not lucky enough to ahve tandem-toting parents which they share via their website SwagFamily. Tune in for this entertaining chat with Nicola and Andrew about adventures with young kids on tandems.

In this series of summer specials, Chris catches up with Nicky Page about Step Away from the Car (broadcast on YarraBUG Radio in 2017/18) and Step Away from the Car 2.0  The 2019 series was recorded by interviewer/producers Nicky Page and Suzanne Reece at the 2019 Australian Walking and Cycling Conference in Adelaide. Step Away from The Car: Getting There Faster by Slowing Down: For over a century, we’ve been told that Faster Is Better, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Associate Professor Paul Tranter goes as far to as to contend that over reliance on cars steals our time, money and health. Slowing down whole cities can improve public health, drop infrastructure costs and increase our sense of community.Nicky talks about her observations of the 2019 AWC conference, cycling advocacy initiatives, the importance of community radio and how to keep Radio Adelaide on air by donating to their campaign to raise $50,000 by 10 January 2020.Donate now to keep our sister radio station on the air waves + digital!

Faith and Val are joined in the studio by our guest Phil and we kick off the show by sharing our bike moments. We take a look at local news including the opening of the William St bike lanes in the CBD and Bike West's detailed response to the City of Maribyrnong's Draft Bicycle Strategic Plan. You can find the Draft Bicycle Strategy here, Bike West's suggested reponses to the survey here and an example email to local councillors here. Phil tells us how he came to the decision to buy an electric MTB after years of riding bike paths around Melbourne. Keen to explore further and discover new areas he soon found his old hybrid wasn't up to the task. Phil is in his seventies, and an electric MTB has given him the confidence to go further, averaging 80-100kms on most trips and giving him a much larger playground to explore. Phil carries a second battery, his tools and camera on his bicycle journeys and documents his rides, including GPX files, on his blog, eMTB Cycling Vic meaning everyone can enjoy them. We finish up with a reminder of all the Neighbourly Rides local rides planned for December and January so if either you or the kids get a bike for christmas and you haven't ridden for a while, you can make the most of the summer!

On this weeks program Chris welcomes long term YarraBUG Radio presenter Steve back into the studio after a lengthly break doing bicycle adventures including the 2019 Hunt 1000. Steve chats about the amazing alpine landscape, riding the trails, making his own bikepacking gear and adventures along the way.This weeks interviews are from Reclaim Our Merri Creek walk, a community event organised in response to last weeks alleged assault on the trail in Coburg. Hundreds of locals walked along the Merri Creek trail on Sunday evening in response to concerns about using public space, preventing attacks against women and reclaiming the area for everyone. Interviews included Fiona Patten, MLC for the Northern Metropolitan region and two women expressing their concerns, including dealing with ripple effects from the attack, public perception about safety, changing societal expectations rather than kneejerk law and order responses and confronting microaggressions from men while riding. Expressive Women's Choir sung MILCK’s Quiet as part of the walk that finished at Harding Street Bridge.Local news includes heads up from Glen Eira Bicycle Users Group for Thursday 12th December 8am- 9am "thumbs up" pop-up at a secret location to be revealed Wednesday PM as they need as many people as possible to help bring the message home supporting safe bike paths and the Angry Butcher bikeshop in Sunbury kicks off their Drought relief fund.