Biketober is back
As far as inventions go, the humble bicycle is up there with the best. Egalitarian transport, gentle exercise and pure, simple joy. Throughout its history, the cycle has opened up worlds of possibility. Today, it offers one of the simplest forms of climate action. And we need it, desperately; if we’re going to reach net carbon zero by 2030, we’ve got six years to halve our emissions. And it’s not going to happen from the car.
Biketober is back for the second year to celebrate all things pedal-powered. Run by not-for-profit Wao Aotearoa, the annual Southern Lakes Festival of Cycling will transform the month of October with workshops, races, family events, film nights and more.
Biketober is a celebration, and a rallying cry. According to researchers at the University of Innsbruck, driving 500 metres equates to roughly 1kg of glacial ice melt. We need to change our behaviour, fast. This festival is a chance to ignite an active transport culture in our community, and to gather in the name of a future on a liveable planet. A future filled with bicycles.
Across Queenstown, Glenorchy, Arrowtown, Wānaka, Alexandra and Roxburgh there’ll be a range of events for all ages, from a native plant cycle tour, six-hour mountain bike race and e-bike picnic to film nights, maintenance workshops and a kōrero on bike-packing.
Things kicked off on 30 September, with Boots 2 Bikes in Wānaka, in what was a fun afternoon in a closed-off Ardmore carpark combining retro ski gear and bikes.
Wao Summit program manager Babu Blatt, part of the organising team behind Biketober, hopes to see way more bikes on our roads come October.
“I’m most looking forward to the Chargeabout Tour De Fridge: it combines bikes, community, quirkiness, music and food/drinks - all my faves!” Blatt says.
There is the Glenorchy Gravel Grind on Saturday, 14 October as well as a festival of biking events across Labour weekend at the Cyclorama ebike festival in Arrowtown.
Amongst other highlights will be the Wao Green Drinks on 19 October, exploring Queenstown being a ‘10 minute city’, the two bike film nights on 10 October and 17.
As well as official Wao Biketober events, Blatt says this year the number of partner events has ramped up. “It’s awesome - the whole community is coming on board!” Activities, many of which are free, include group rides, social events, tours and a week’s worth of activities for kids.
And if it’s competition that gets you moving, try entering the Biketober Challenge through Lovetoride.net. You might surprise yourself, and inspire your mates to get involved and give you a run for your money.
At the end of the day, we need to get out of our cars in whatever way we can. Because, whilst the Southern Lakes is a region which goes crazy for recreational biking, we’re not doing so well transport-wise. Across 2021 and 2022, the Wao initiative, Get SMART, Get Moving ran a local transport survey to find out how our community was moving around. Despite 70% of people having access to a cycle, people were making the majority of their trips (most of which were short - under 10 kilometres) in the car.
Whether it’s an e-bike picnic, a mountain bike race or a night about bikepacking which sparks your interest, Biketober has got something for every appetite. If we want a liveable planet, we urgently need to change what we’re doing, but it needn’t be grim. Get your bike ready, and we’ll see you at the festival.
Tickets: https://www.wao.co.nz/events/biketober2023
