As I sit at my work desk forcing myself (at time unconvincingly) to focus on my bike PhD research, I feel Kissime (my bike packing bike) glaring at me through the walls.
The indignant heat of her inattention radiates out, burning my skin 12 feet away.
Okay, Okay!
On a longer break, I maneuver closer to her for reassurance and flick on YouTube.
Together we sit, hand in grip, enjoying the latest offering from Katrin Hollendung. We have an unspoken agreement to go on a similar epic adventure (just as soon as the PhD is accepted).
Katrin Hollendung is a German adventure bike-packer who started posting her international rides on YouTube only in the last 12 months.
Her page is my new favorite reprieve.
So what do I like about it? You mean aside from the fact that she travels to awesome locations, riding her bike for love, not ego and takes the time to enjoy the uniqueness of it all? ……Well, it’s not in English. She usually travels with one, select intrepid buddy. Oh, and she gets super, extra, EXTRA kudos points for having ridden the Cairngorms (Scotland), where I lived for 2 years.
In Katrin’s videos, there is a good mixture of riding ups and downs, local culture, odd encounters, breathtaking vistas, necessary language and personality readjustments and a bit of local history and storytelling mixed in with Katrin’s reflections of life, two wheels and the world at large.
I like that the videos are no super polished or over produced – they are personable, interesting, approachable and at times daggy….. you know….normal!
Her videos range from 15 mins to 37 mins and are purposefully narrated with English subtitles. Here are a few of her trips:
I appreciate not only the trip itself, but the amount of video editing and work Katrin puts into sharing her bike packing adventures.
As I look lovingly over at Kissime, (who, for now at least, is consoled), I relish Katrin’s adventurous spirit and patiently await the time when I’ll be out there exploring trails with Kissime and mate, just like Katrin.
Bicycle Network is Australia’s biggest bike riding organization that has nearly 50, 000 members nationwide. One of the things I really appreciate about Bicycle Network is that they often undertake surveys in order to see how members and local riders feel about certain key issues. Previously this blog has shared Bicycle Network’s survey on how people feel about Australian helmet laws as well as the results of that survey and some of the flow on critiques and counterarguments the survey results stimulated. Their latest survey gauging how bike riders how they use end of trip facilities at work and if that might change because of COVID-19.
This post is an invitation for Aussie riders to contribute their ideas to help Bicycle Network create a set of guidelines for workplaces so end of trip facilities remain open and people can ride their bike to work- if you are interested – read on!
Image: Bicycle Network
Does your workplace have somewhere to store your bike and wash up after your commute? Do you wish it did? Let us know what you do when you get to work and how that might change when lockdown eases.
End of trip facilities—areas with bike parking, showers, change rooms and lockers—are a vital part of workplaces that enable people to ride a bike instead of driving or taking the train.
And it is likely end of trip facilities will become more important. New bike lanes are being installed in Australian cities and public transport is running at reduced capacity, encouraging more people ride to work.
However, end of trip facilities will need to run a little differently to before COVID-19.
Some facilities might need caps on the number of people who can use the facility at the same time and cleaning will need to be done more regularly.
Bicycle Network is producing a guide with advice for workplaces on how to manage their end of trip facilities so people can keep riding to work.
To help us make the guide we’d like people to complete a survey, tell us how their end of trip facility works and if it will affect the way they travel to work after COVID-19.
Image: Bicycle Network
Survey, images and content in this post courtesy of Bicycle Network.
Jon is an everyday guy
who lives in the US. He is a mountain biker, runner, camper and loves a good beer.
He has a daughter called Sara who is mad about football (soccer), is an active outdoorswoman and keen musician.
Jon has been uploading
short videos on YouTube for 10 years. When he first started out in 2010, he
uploaded one video per month. His videos range from 11 seconds to 7 minutes and
they document everyday life moments – family outings, work commutes, football highlights,
music jams and Sara at various stages of growing up.
In 2019, it looks like
Jon set himself a challenge to upload one video per day for the whole year. Each
video is no longer than 1 minute.
The video that caught my eye was from Jon’s 2019 collection. It was the title that got my attention first. It was calledDay 89: Fairy Houses and Mountain Bikes.
Jon and Sara out MTB riding.
It features his daughter Sara working on a fairy house and then the pair going for a ride in the woods. Perfect!
When I watched this
video, it made me smile.
This video has it all – simple pleasures, whimsical creative play, celebrating everyday moments, quality father-daughter time, trying new things (thrills, spills) and getting outdoors – and of course bikes!
I also love the juxtaposition of fairy houses and MTB –very original!
Sara’s Fairy House
It always makes me so happy to see MTB dads getting out with their daughters/kids on bikes – and Jon not only does that, but also incorporates Sara’s interest in the Fairy House into the video as well. GOLD!
This video spoke to me of connection, fun, action, playfulness, diversity and inclusion.
Which is what riding bikes is all about for most riders.
I like watching MTB videos
(like on Pink Bike) and
appreciate the beautiful cinematography, scenery, skills and soundtracks. But
equally, I can be turned off by how polished, white, male, elite rider centric most
of the videos are.
I prefer videos that show a wider range of MTB experiences – like riders of all shapes, sizes, places, colours, ages and skills.
And having a twist – and the Fairy House is a great addition. I have seen a few ‘creative’ things on the side of MTB trials – why not MTB fairy houses. Why so serious?
It is also great to see
the more experienced male riders – and dads in particular – genuinely encouraging
more young girls/daughters to ride more.
Yup, it makes me smile.
We definitely need more videos, men, dads and riders like Jon (and Sara).
Happy riding all!
All images courtesy of Jonathon Wilkins video (see above).
This is an ongoing initiative that gives an
individual or organisation the opportunity to control the Cycling Brisbane
(@cyclingbrisbane) Instagram account for 7 days.
This is a great way to showcase community
members and local biking groups various interests, perspectives and personalities.
The idea is that participants share their views
of what riding in Brisbane means to them.
This account has guest host takeovers by an impressive range of Brisbane cycling and biking enthusiasts including Colony (BMX), Queensland Police, specific-type-of-bike fanatic/s, school groups, racers, families, local businesses, MTB clubs and more!
Similarly to this blog, my takeover key themes are inclusion, participation and diversity for a range of ages and stages of the community and for all types of cycling.
Ongoing motifs will also be dogs, local personalities, riding for enjoyment, having fun, sustainability/recycling, getting out in nature and showing off my local bayside surrounds.
And of course, lots of photos of Leki my
flowerbike!
To do a @cyclingbrisbane takeover, you can
either contact the organizers (at the link in the IG bio) or you are directly approached
through the local cycling network or because someone knows/recommends you.
From there it straightforward. After you receive the terms and conditions and fill out the consent, then you receive the account login and dates of the takeover
I was contacted directly by the organizers who I
know through various local biking events.
During the takeover, you need to upload between
1- 4 images per day to the @cyclingbrisbane Instagram account.
The idea is that images should be inspiring,
visually appealing and most importantly representative of the great cycling
options around Brisbane.
Content should
align with Cycling Brisbane’s core themes of commuting, connectivity,
discovering Brisbane by bike or active and healthy lifestyles.
You can only upload images and/or videos and
they have to be your own original work.
Uploads need to include the hashtag #cyclingbne
Of course, all content uploaded needs to model responsible
cycling practices. So, you need to obey road rules, wear a helmet and not use a
mobile phone while riding a bike. That’s why there are no selfies of people riding their bikes.
This is a great initiative and one that other organizations might consider doing to increase engagement, exposure and diversity in their social media platforms.
It also makes it much more interesting for those
who follow the account because each week you are getting these insights into the
vastly different people, places and biking lifeworlds that make up our Brisbane
bicycle/cycling community.
I don’t often directly repost stories on this blog. As a luddite, I am also very wary of social media. But amongst the doom and gloom of news reports, husband found this gem of humanity. It is the story of a former refugee, Mevan Babakar, who was given a bike by a refugee camp aid worker. 20 years on, she still remembers the kindness of the man and the joy of riding the bike. Mevan recently used Twitterverse to track the man down. Although this account is more about the power of Twitter and doesn’t have many details about the bike or what happened after she located him, I still love the idea that the simple gift of a biycle to a child can have such a profound and long-last impact.
It is also a reminder to make the effort to say thank you and/or recognise those who help and support us. Some valuable lessons for us all. This story is written by Maani Truu and was published in Australia by SBS online today. Enjoy! NG.
Thousands of people
have come together from across the globe to unite a former refugee and the aid
worker who bought her a bike.
A blurry film photo, a location and a
touching Twitter post launched an international hunt to find a man who gifted a
young refugee child a bike “out of the kindness of his own heart”
more than twenty years ago.
Now, after more than 3,000 retweets and
thousands of messages, London woman Mevan Babakar is set to meet the man who
made her “five-year-old heart explode with joy” in person.
On Monday, the 29-year-old former refugee posted her quest to Twitter hoping someone would recognise the man who worked at a refugee camp in the Netherlands when she was a child living there in the 90s.
“Hi internet, this is a long-shot BUT I
was a refugee for 5 yrs in the 90s and this man, who worked at a refugee camp
near Zwolle in the Netherlands, out of the kindness of his own heart bought me
a bike,” she wrote.
“My five-year-old heart exploded with
joy. I just want to know his name. Help?”
In under 24 hours, the post garnered
thousands of responses from around the world and on Tuesday evening,
Ms Babakar shared the exciting news.
“Guys, I knew the internet was great but this is something
else,” she said.
“We found him!”
Ms Babakar, who was born in Baghdad,
Iraq, to Kurdish parents, also said she was not the only refugee to be helped
by the unidentified man, known only as “Ab”.
“I’ve also had other refugees reach out
to me and tell me that he and his wife helped them too! Their kindness has
touched so many lives,” she wrote.
“One woman said ‘they weren’t friends
to me, they were family’.”
According to BBC News, Ms Babakar and her
parents fled Iraq during the first Gulf war, passing through refugee camps in
Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Russia before spending a year at the one near
Zwolle between 1994 and 1995.
Ms Babakar is now a tech expert, who currently lives in the UK and she has travelled back to Zwolle to research her family’s past.
Many of us would love to undertake a month-long challenge.
But work, family and hobby demands often get in the way.
Two days ago, I came across the National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo.
In this event, I saw an opportunity to adopt certain principles of NaNoWriMo to use in an academic context that would not detract time and energy away from my current work/research demands – but would, in fact, be a productivity kick-starter!
Source: NaNoWriMo
What is
NaNoWriMo?
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) happens every year, It is an Internet-based creative writing challenge to write a 50,000-word novel from 1st to the 30th of November.
The National Novel Writing Month website started this challenge in July 1999 with only 21 participants. In 2010, 200,000 people wrote 2.8 billion words and in 2015, 430,000 participants completed 50,000 manuscripts.
This is a great challenge to get inspired, build a regular writing routine, overcome writing anxiety and writer’s block, and also be part of a highly active online community.
Source: Jeff Schwisow
Using NaNoWriMo for
academic writing
During NaNoWriMo, it is the length of the draft, not the quality that is the main goal. Editing and polishing the document comes later.
Producing writing is a constant pressure for academics and PhD candidates.
Essentially PhDers are assessed on their writing output. PhDers are required to, at a minimum, produce an 80,000-120,000-word high-quality dissertation and at least one peer-review journal article in order to fulfil their candidature. Having additional publications, conference proceeding and other written documentation are also expected.
That is one of the reasons I started this blog – to force myself to write
regularly.
I love the idea of a writing challenge. I have not been producing as much writing as I did when I first started my research and my usually productive writing routine has slipped.
Although NaNoWriMo is a novel writing challenge, I am going to use it as an opportunity to apply some of its principles to jumpstart my academic writing productivity.
Many NaNoWriMo ideas are transferable to an academic writing challenge.
So I went on an online binge to glean some of the most useful NaNoWriMo approaches.
As an R &D homage to the original NaNoWriMo, I’ve called my initial checklist (below) NiAcaWriMo– or Nina’s Academic Writing Month.
Here’s what I came up with….
Source: WCUK
NiAcaWriMo
Have all equipment and materials prepared.
This includes working tools like the keyboard, monitors, laptop/desktop, notebooks and any other paraphernalia needed. Delete Netflix or any other distractions. For me, this also meant setting up a dual monitor stand-up desk and putting my laptop in for a service and updating the operating system and all software.
Spring clean and organise your workspace.
To create productive energy and focus, declutter and spring clean your workspace. Clear out any distractions, tidy up or better yet, remove as much as you can out of your workspace to make it a lean and clean studious area. Dust off screens and keyboards, and wipe down any surfaces, IT cords and equipment as recognition that this space is open to new and fresh ideas. Commit to keeping the space clear by not allowing others to put anything in your workspace, clearing your desk at the end of each day and only keeping the basic work materials needed on your desk.
Prepare a soundtrack.
Some people listen to music while working, others prefer silence. Either way, know what kind of soundscape is most productive for you. When I work in an open office, I use ear plugs as well as high-performance ear muffs (a technique I use on public transport as well) if I want quiet and little sound. Or I use headphones with my own soundscape. I have had great success with alpha, beta and gamma binaural beats, which I used to complete a 17,000 minor thesis in four days. Another option is classical or instrumental music with no lyrics. Or have background music in a different language so your brain is not subconsciously engaged with the lyrics, but focused on your written language. For this technique, I’d recommend the French R & B duo Les Nubians album Princesses Nubiennes. Other creatives swear by having the same song on constant repeat which helps to create a consistent and familiar flow state. Find what works best for you.
Tell others about your challenge.
This means getting your significant other/s, family, work colleagues and
friends on board with what you are doing. This will save a lot of misunderstanding
and issues in the future and people will be a lot more understanding and
supportive. If you are upfront with your purpose and time frame, then measures
can be taken to organise and negate possible future complications such as invitations
and drop-in visits and even further to include things such as house cleaning
and grocery shopping.
Protect your focus
For one whole month, you need to make your writing challenge top priority – and this protecting your focus. This step requires you to know what you need to do your best work, what time of day you are most productive and that you put into place strategies to minimise interruptions and stay productive. This can include setting a schedule or a daily timetable. Or read some key literature that is not only inspiring, but is at a standard you wish to achieve. For academic writing, I like to have 3 journal articles that are my gold standard – two by my favourite author in my research field and another on a different topic whose style, expression and vocabulary I really enjoy reading. Another way to protect your focus might is to set your phone to silent and leave it in another room for your sessions. Or use an app to help your focus and build self-control, or a productivity app that helps avoid distractions, like Cold Turkey, which I recommend to postgrad students.
Prepare body and mind
We all know looking after the body and mind is important during intense work bursts, but the challenge is to make it a priority in order to sustain productivity. This includes eating well, being hydrated, taking regular screen breaks, doing regular exercise (until sweaty), getting adequate sleep and generally looking after your overall well-being. Build these elements into your daily schedule to ensure you protect your focus and keep yourself working at the optimal level. Have a look at A Year of Productivityfor other strategies to help prepare the body and mind.
Other NiAcaWriMo considerations
Once prepared, you then need to put it all into action.
This is an area I am still refining. So below is an outline of some tactics I’ve found to be incredibly helpful in consistently producing written work.
Morning Routine: I have had great success using a priming morning routine that I have adapted and personalised over the last three years.
iThinkwell. Over the last two years, I have attended two iThinkwell workshops: Turbocharge your writing and Seven habits of highly successful research students. I still some of the strategies from these workshops. If you get to one of these sessions, get your library to order the companion books which cover the same material so you can still get ahead.
Prepare the next day the night before. One key technique is starting a new day fresh and proactive, is to prepare what you are going to do the next day before you leave your desk the night before. IdentifyingThe Next Thing is a quick and easy way to get a new productive day started without wasting any valuable energy or focus on planning the day, you just get on and do it. Some writers like to leave a question as a stimulus for the next days’ writing session, or dot points that need expanding on, others leave notes to complete, or end the previous day mid-sentence so there is an idea to complete the next day and continue on.
Have a daily goal. I have a PhD friend who has a daily goal of writing 250 words a day. Another academic I know has committed one hour every day for the last five years to writing. Whether it is time, words count, tasks or any other goal, having a clear daily goal is a good way to set the intention for the day, track progress and establish milestones of achievement.
50,0000 words in a 30-day month equals 1,667 words per day.
Take each day separately. Keep in mind that progress is based on day-to-day productivity. Set-backs are inevitable. Don’t be too hard on yourself and be realistic. There will be blow-outs, mess-ups, crappy days and interruptions – this is part of life and work. If you struggle one day, reset and try again the next, but don’t try and catch-up as this adds extra stress. Take each day as a stoned alone session and accept that there will be ‘good days’ and ‘bad days’.
Know what a ‘good day’ looks like. How do you define ‘a good day’ of work? What does it look like? Is it producing a 500-word outline? Or writing 1,500 original new words? Reading a journal article? Having this clarification means that you know when you have achieved it. If this is not clear, you are at risk of ending each day feeling like you have not achieved your goal and could have done more, no matter how much your produce.
Garbage in, garbage out. Be mindful and actively manage what you allow yourself to be exposed to. This includes TV, social media, movies and the news – and also people. Remember the quality of your output is determined by the quality of the input. Read quality literature, reduce media exposure, unplug and read more engaging books.
Acknowledge milestones and reward. As you progress with writing, acknowledge micro-successes and milestones achieved. Having small rewards helps track activity, recognise breakthroughs, monitor improvements and boost motivation.
Writing is not editing. Writing and editing are two different skills, yet many people edit as they write and this can hamper progress and flow. For NaNoWriMo, participants are writing a 50,000-word draft. There is no editing at this stage and this a good idea to keep in mind. Many people get distracted while writing by fact-checking, looking up a definition, searching for a ‘better word’ or stopping to insert an accurate reference as they write. Doing these during the writing phrase inhibits ‘writing flow’ and focus. So the aim is to get ideas in writing down on without stopping to edit.
I use the write fast, edit slow – and theread a bit, write a bit, edit a bit adage to instil the distinction and importance of doing each of these tasks regularly. Another way to achieve the writer’s flow state as advocated by Blindboy is to write with fire, edit with ice.
Source: Jeff Bullas
Next steps
I only
found out about NaNoWriMo this
week, so it was too late to participate this year.
But it has inspired
me to get organised and get back into my writing routine.
Who needs a formal date to write? A month-long writing challenge can be undertaken at any time!
Take this blog post as an example: just writing about this challenge has produced a 2048-word blog post and helped clarify my next steps and preparation for NiAcaWriMo. That in itself is already a valuable and productive writing activity.
As we come up to the
end of the year, I’m gearing up for a NiAcaWriMo challenge in the new year.
And I will certainly
be looking out for NaNoWriMo next November.
So if you have any
kind of writing project, perhaps now it the time to get inspired and create
your own month-long writing challenge to crack the whip and get those important
first words onto paper.
As many of you know, World Bicycle Relief is one of the NGOs that is aligned with many aspects of my PhD bicycle research. Next week is April. That means a full month of extra happy riding! Why? Well, it’s 30 Days of Biking time of course! So get motivated and get amongst it! Now is the time to register! Have fun! Ride bikes! Do good!
What is the aim of 30 Days of Biking?
The goal is simple: Ride your bike every day in April, share your adventures online, and help your community provide life-changing bicycles to students in rural Africa!
From the WBR website, the most important info to know is, you…
Pledge to ride your bike every day in April
Join riders from all over the world and make it more meaningful by fundraising for WBR
Share your adventures on social media using #30DaysofBiking
30 Days of Biking began in 2010, in Minnesota, USA. Today, it boasts thousands of pledged riders in dozens of cities around the world. #30DaysofBiking also encourages you to join or lead your own rides during April. It’s free to everyone, everywhere.
Whether you ride for exercise, environmental advocacy, socializing or for fun, you can make an impact.
There is no distance too short and no donation too small – keep riding and don’t give up!
CREATING IMPACT
Last year, the 30 Days of Biking community collected over 7,000 pledges and raised over $15,000. The aim this year if to unite as a global community and reach 10,000 pledges and raise over USD$30,000 for life-changing Buffalo Bicycles in rural Africa!
What kind of events can you do for 30 days of Biking?
Anything you want!
Limited only by your imagination!
You can host a regular weekly bike ride, a movie night, a family ride, a tiny bicycle shop concert (my personal favourite!) – or any other manner of social events that involve riding.
What a great way to build community and do some good!
If you already ride a lot and are keen to give it a go – now is the time to register!
To whet your motivation, here are some fun ways other US cyclists are kicking off the challenge (click here to see more events). Good luck with yours!
This post was going to be on the Melbourne Bike Rave 2018 I had the delight of participating in last weekend while I was down for the SLF. However, I am putting this quick post in as it is time sensitive. Bicycle Network is surveying Australian riders and cyclists to gauge what people feel about the current Australian cycling conditions. The survey ends in a couple of days, so I thought I would put up this quick post with the link to the survey, so if you have not already included your voice, here is your last chance to do so! We’ll get back to the Bike Rave in the next post! See you then. NG
Bicycle Network often undertakes surveys – not just of its members, but for all cyclists and riders.
Given that Bicycle Network is Australia’s largest bicycle advocacy group, and has over 50,000 members, the organisation likes to keep abreast of current cycling issues and help to push for more positive riding change for all cyclists – hence the survey!
Are Australian riding conditions better?
Do you think the cycling conditions have changed? What about over the last year? Five years?
Bike riding conditions in Australia are always changing, and it is interesting to see if bike riders notice any differences.
What changes have you noticed?
Do you think things getting better for bike riders?
What needs to be done?
Add your ideas and experience to the survey below and let’s see what kind of changes you have seen on the bike.
In September 2016, the supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei, issued a fatwa (which is a legal ruling issued by an Islamic religious leader) that prohibits women from riding a bike in a public place.
Mr Khamenei explained via the state media, that the fatwa was issued because “riding a bicycle often attracts the attention of men and exposes the society to corruption, and thus contravenes women’s chastity, and it must be abandoned.”
Despite this, women in Iran are uploading videos of themselves riding their bikes in defiance of the fatwa that bans female cycling for “contravening women’s chastity”.
Since then, a number of women and groups of riders are refusing to adhere – and more so, are encouraging others to take a stand too.
This movement has been covered over the last year by a small number of online and social media as well as through news outlets such as:
My Stealthy Freedom is an onlinemovement that was started in 2014 by the activist/journalist Masih Alinejad. It is an online movement that began by sharing images of women without their scarves, and has since evolved to draw international attention to a range of Iranian women’s rights and issues.
Such as not being allowed to ride a bike.
My Stealthy Freedom has been avidly promoting and sharing images of female bike riders on various social media outlets – many of which are shared using #Iranianwomenlovecycling.
2 #Iranianwomenlovecycling
This social media hashtag is used on Instagram and Twitter as a forum to publicly defy the fatwa, raise awareness and as an unregulated avenue for local female riders to show their love of riding.
Talk about locally-driven social and gender activism!
It is very inspiring to see this kind of movement – and being supported by so many cyclists (and others) overseas who understand and value the importance of bike riding for all.
It is also great to see that bicycles really are universally loved.
It also makes me very humble to be living and riding in Australia.
It begs the question: How is your bike riding contributing to making society a better place for all?
Happy riding!
Here’s a few pictures from #Iranianwomenlovecycling.
Helmet use for cyclists is an ongoing and contentious issue.
Lately, there have been some very heated, passionate and convincing arguments being thrown around.
So it is very timely that Bicycle Network (BN) is undertaking an open invitation to participate in a Helmet Survey to gauge current community feelings about compulsory helmet laws. Have you put your two cents in yet? Better hurry!
Bicycle Network is Australia’s largest bicycle advocacy group. It is the resultant amalgamation of Bicycle Victoria, Bicycle NSW and Bicycle Tasmania (QLD, SA and others opted not to join). This group has over 50,000 members and is proactive in responding to current issues and driving more positive change. Hence the survey!
