Noel
“I took to bikes from a very young age, I got into Penny Farthing riding when I was 12. There were Penny Farthing races happening in Oamaru and I asked a guy if I could have a go on one. Half an hour later, I won my first race, and six months later, I built my first Penny Farthing from scratch. I’ve built about 56 Penny Farthings in my time, there are bikes of mine all over the world.
I'm the type that has a bike for every kind of cycling. There are project bikes, I always tend to have projects on the go. I work as much as possible with recycled materials, so I'll have all these projects going, but they may be completely still until such a resource is available. I grew up in a household with a workshop. We strapped a chainsaw to a Raleigh 20 and ripped around the neighborhood, so I was very familiar with motorized bikes.
I love e-bikes as a great form of transport. I can get out to places that would literally be out of my range on a normal bike, I just don't have quite the same steam as I used to. And e-bikes make even the hills flat, I love the freedom I have.
After the earthquakes there was a major issue with bike theft. At one point, we were losing over 200 bikes a week in Christchurch. I started the stolen bikes group on Facebook with the mission of trying to combat it, that's been going solidly for the last 10 years.
Back then, bikes were maybe two grands worth that were getting pinched. Nowadays you've got bikes that are worth more than cars so it's become even more critical that groups like mine exist. I'd love it if we didn't need to exist, but unfortunately, we do. We’re getting multiple bikes back, empowering people, teaching people how to secure their bikes. We're actually making a difference.
We have a zero tolerance for people asking for money, no one's allowed to accept rewards at all. If people insist on giving rewards, we say, give it to charity. It's cyclists helping cyclists, that’s how it should be. I like the fact that Christchurch is one of those cities that if you break down on the side road, another cyclist will stop for you. Christchurch really is a bike city.”
Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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36.5% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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63.5% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
Scam Alert: Bank cold calls
ASB is warning customers about reports of cold calls from scammers claiming to be from ASB. These scammers are trying to obtain personal information, including usernames, dates of birth, and verification codes sent to your mobile phone.
🛡️ The "Caller Check" Test
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from ASB and you’re unsure, just ask them for a Caller Check. You will then be able to verify the call through the app.
Remember, banks will:
❌ Never ask for your banking passwords, PINs, or verification codes
❌ Never need to know your full credit card number – especially the CVC
❌ Never ask you to download software or remotely access your device
❌ Never ask you to purchase gift cards or transfer funds.
If you have received a phone call and think your account has been compromised, call ASB on 0800 ASB FRAUD (0800 272 372), or visit your local branch.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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