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Geraldton’s Midwest Area Senior Health Promotion Officer, Isabel Ross and the Peel Region Cycle Instead Bike Week (Mandurah) are both recipients of Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards to be presented in Canberra on Wednesday 1st June.
Isabel Ross received the Bicycle Achievement Award of the Year in the Professional category for her outstanding work in bringing the fun and community building ability of cycling to a vast region in the Midwest. Overcoming the significant disadvantages of living in remote parts of the state, Isabel was able to create many sustainable cycling activities and events including the Fix My Ride Mt Magnet.
Driven by a conviction that just because people live in a remote area
they shouldn’t be deprived of activities most people take for granted,
she has successfully worked with six Midwest Shires, nineteen schools,
the Yulella Aboriginal Corporation, Transport Department, Community
Justice Service and bike retailers to give many children a chance to
cycle.
“The strong support from local Shires has been very important to overcoming the challenges we faced”.
“But as cycling is something all kids love, the barriers such as a lack of bikes, the huge distances to farms where they live and the nearest bike shop (up to 350km) as well as the 3-cornered jacks that are everywhere have not stopped us”, said Ms Ross.
The Peel Region’s Cycle Instead Bike Week events are the result of nearly six years of work by the South Metropolitan Public Health Unit that has built partnerships across localCouncils, government departments and 14 community groups.
The Peel Region (Mandurah) Bike Week activities reached 483 registered participants in 2010, with a strong growth in seniors riding and the disability community coming on board over the last two years. Health Promotion Officer, Robyn Lister feels that the coordination among the Councils and community groups has been the key to success.
“The work to build our Bike Week activities has really created something special with so many activities now self-sustaining.
“The fact that some many people are now out there cycling all year round because of the Peel Region Cycle Instead Bike Week activities is a great satisfaction” she added.
The national award presentations followed the launch of a national survey conducted by the National Heart Foundation of Australia and Cycling Promotion Fund that found more than 62% of Australians want to be able to ride a bike for transport, but road safety fears are keeping bikes in the shed and off the road.
The data released should provide critical support to the efforts by state and local authorities across Australia to establish active travel networks to relieve the looming crisis in urban congestion and address many of the related issues facing Australians such as physical inactivity, obesity and quality of life issues in our cities.
More facts from the survey
- Those who ride a bike for transport typically ride on quiet roads
(48%) and alone (87%), significantly outweighing those who cycled on
busy roads (15%).
- The majority of respondents cycle due to health and exercise
benefits (90%) obtained from cycling but were also likely to be
influenced by the economic (71%) andenvironmental benefits (68%).
- Interestingly, of respondents who rode, more than 88% rode alone and
less than 1% claimed to ride with more than two people, bucking the
general perception that cyclists ride in big groups, taking over the
road.
- More than 60% of those surveyed wanted the Government to do more to encourage people to ride a bicycle to work.
Fast Facts - General
- In 2009 1.8 million Australians rode a bike (ERASS Annual Report, 2009)
- There was a 33% increase in bike riding between 2001 and 2009 (ERASS Annual Report, 2009)
- Around 20% of all car trips to work and study in Australia are under
5km (ABS 2009) providing plenty of opportunity to make cycling a viable
alternative to car use.
The Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards
The Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards are 9th national awards
run by the Cycling Promotion Fund. They aim to recognise innovation and
excellence in the promotion of cycling in Australia. Award winners in 10
categories will be announced at a breakfast on Wednesday
1st June.
Sponsors
The Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards are 9th national awards
run by the Cycling Promotion Fund. They aim to recognise innovation and
excellence in the promotion of cycling in Australia. Award winners will
include for the first time a National Media Award for Contribution
towards Cycling by a Journalist or Media Personality.
The National Heart Foundation of Australia is proud to be principal partner of the Cycling Promotion Fund, Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards.
Physical inactivity is a major health problem in its own right. About
half of Australian adults (54%) are not sufficiently active to gain
health benefits. Physical inactivity costs the health budget an
estimated $1.5bn a year and causes 16 000 premature deaths per year. It
increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, colon and breast
cancer and is a critical factor in Australian’s obesity epidemic, with
more than half of all Australian adults being overweight or obese.
The Asia Pacific Cycle Congress.
Hosted in Brisbane, Australia from 8 to 21 September 2011, the
Asia-Pacific Cycle Congress brings together key cycling experts,
researchers and enthusiasts from around the world. The Congress is the
proud sponsor of the Bicycle Achievement Award in the Honorary category.
www.cyclecongress.com.
Australian Cyclist Magazine
is the national magazine for recreational, commuting and touring
cyclists. It is Australia’s largest national non-competitive cycling
magazine. Australian Cyclist is the proud sponsor of the Award for
Contribution by a Politician.
For more information please contact
- Stephen Hodge - Cycling Promotion Fund - Mobile: 0411 149 910
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