The Munda Biddi Trail Foundation will today receive the national Award for Bicycle Friendly Business for an iconic tourist trail set be the longest of its kind anywhere the world at more than 1000 kilometres.

The presentation will be made in Canberra at this year’s Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards presided over by the Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Maxine McKew.

“The Munda Biddi Trail Foundation has been able to create what is sure to become a national icon in active tourism and regional economic development by working with 32 key stakeholders including everyone from local community groups and councils, to state government departments and sporting groups,” said Stephen Hodge, spokesperson for the Cycling Promotion Fund.

• Media Release: Iconic West Australian cycling trail wins national Award (PDF, 60kb) 
  

“The result will be the longest continuous trail of its kind in the World, stretching from the Perth Hills at Mundaring, through the South West region all the way to Albany in the Great Southern Region, a distance of more than 1000 km,” Hodge added.

The first half of the Munda Biddi Trail, which means ‘path through the forest’ in the Nyoongar Aboriginal language, from Mundaring to Nannup (498km) is complete and increasingly recognised as a world-class, nature-based, off-road cycling experience.

A Community Development Program will ensure local communities continue to participate and reap the tourism, economic and physical activity benefits as the trail is completed along its entire length.

The Bicycling Achievement Awards have been held by the Cycling Promotion Fund annually since 2002 and this year official partner the Heart Foundation joins with federal MP’s and senators from around Australia to recognise innovation, commitment and achievement in making

According to the Award’s Principal partners the Heart Foundation, physical activity, including walking and cycling, plays an important role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.

“Physical inactivity is a major health problem in its own right. Disturbingly, about half of Australian adults (54%) are not sufficiently physically active to gain health benefits. Physical inactivity costs the health budget an estimated $1.5bn a year and causes 16,000 premature deaths a year, “said Susan Anderson, National Director – Healthy Weight, Heart Foundation.

“It is particularly concerning for the future health of Australia when you consider that the last decade has seen a rapid decline in the number of children walking or cycling to school and few adults choosing walking or cycling as a mode of transport,” she said.

Increasing participation in cycling creates healthier and more liveable communities and enhances choice for people wishing to make short trips or access public transport.

“The Munda Biddi Trail provides a range of additional economic benefits for the regions it passes through and demonstrates again the contribution outdoor cycling recreation can make to our health and community liveability across Australia” said Hodge.

Award Presentation details

• 7:15am – 9:00am, Wednesday 16 June, Old Parliament House, King George Terrace, Canberra
• Images of the Awards available upon request
• Media contacts: Cycling Promotion Fund, Stephen Hodge: 0411 149 910
• Heart Foundation, Kirsten Andrews: 0413 777 404

Winners of the Eighth Annual Bicycling Achievement Awards are:

• Cycling Promotion Award of the Year (Professional) – Warren Salomon, Bicycle Federation of Australia (BFA) Representative, Australian Bicycle Council.
• Cycling Promotion Award of the Year (Honorary) – Joint winners: Damian Maclennan - Sydney Cyclist and Paul and Di Truebridge, volunteers - Pedal Power ACT.
• Contribution to Cycling by a Politician – Hon Rachel Nolan MP Minister, Queensland Department of Transport (Honourable Mentions – The Hon. Anthony Albanese, NSW and Senator Christine Milne, TAS).
• Award for an educational institution for innovation in encouraging cycling to school - Bowden Brompton Community School, South Australia.
• Local Government Award for Special Initiative to encourage and promote cycling - Sunshine Coast Council, Queensland (Honourable Mention - Blue Mountains City, New South Wales).
• Award for Contribution Towards Cycling by a Bicycle Retailer – bikerepairs.com.au, New South Wales
• Special Achievement Award by a Bicycle Organisation – BIKESydney, New South Wales (Honourable Mention – Brunswick Cycling Club, Victoria).
• Award for Bicycle Friendly Business – The Munda Biddi Trail Foundation, Western Australia.

About The Cycling Promotion Fund:
The Cycling Promotion Fund is an initiative of Bicycle industries Australia to enable the bicycle industry to work collectively to promote and encourage cycling and to work with stakeholders and governments nationally to create a more bicycle friendly Australia.

See www.cyclingawards.com.au and www.cyclingpromotion.com.au for more information.

About the Heart Foundation:
The Heart Foundation advocates a whole of community approach to make it easier for Australians to live more active lives and fight heart disease. For more than 5 years the Heart Foundation has been successfully influencing governments and urban planners to make the built environment and neighbourhood design more supportive of active living opportunities for members of their local communities. It recently identified 10 key action areas and solutions outlined in The Heart Foundation’s ‘Blueprint for an active Australia’.

For your copy visit www.heartfoundation.org.au