LOCAL NEWS
CYCLING HAS SEEN A RESURGENCE IN AUCKLAND OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS... Covid-19 lockdowns have been a significant contributor to Aucklanders grabbing bikes out of the back of the shed or garage and rediscovering the wind in their hair and the sense of freedom associated with cycling. Scores of people have added cycling back into their regular repertoire of leisure and exercise activities. Amongst this increase in cycling activity and opening at 376 Great North Road in Grey Lynn at the end of '21, My Ride Grey Lynn is the area’s latest cycle shop and one that aims to be a key and valuable part of the local cycling community. The store is locally owned, with owner Dan Bye addressing a gap in the market in the local area. “In recent years cycling has been in definite growth as a sport,” says Dan, “but with a lot of the established stores playing to a particular niche or specialist area of the sport and not servicing the wider cycling community. “Our aim with My Ride Grey Lynn is to have a specialist store that caters to all aspects of cycling from super-casual leisure cycling, kids first bikes, through to schools racing, and from commuting cyclists to hardcore road and mountain bikers as well an emerging gravel and adventure cycling segment.” You only need to look overseas to see cycling has fast evolved from being a niche leisure activity and if Melbourne, Sydney or even cold and wet London are indicative of where cycling culture could go in Auckland, we are at the start of a boom where cycling rapidly evolves from niche to mass participation. Ponsonby, Grey Lynn and the surrounding suburbs are well placed to be at the forefront of this change, with significant investments from multiple different parties in the infrastructure that services the local cycling community. Locally, Grey Lynn pump track has fast become known as being one of the best in Auckland, unknown to many there is a brilliant set of mountain bike trails in Arch Hill which have
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been painstakingly maintained and upgraded by Auckland Mountain Bike club and we also have one of Auckland’s leading road cycling clubs with Grey Lynn Cycling Club building a fearsome reputation as being one of the fastest bunches to ride with in the greater Auckland area. You also only need to look at the investment that is being made in upgrading existing cycle lanes along the Northwestern motorway as well as planned new dedicated cycle paths along Great North Road, Meola Road and other key transport routes to see how cycling is destined to play a greater role in urban mobility, particularly for those looking to commute via bike. Electric bikes (or e-bikes as they are more commonly known) are a key part of this, with numbers of e-bikes imported into NZ growing steadily from 23,000 in 2017 to 75,000 in 2021; with many Aucklanders' choosing to both reduce carbon emissions on their daily commute as well as avoiding the need to sit in Auckland peak time traffic. “E-bikes are a real game changer and an increasingly popular purchase with both leisure cyclists and commuters; no one wants to roll into work looking like a hot sweaty mess first thing in the morning and with motor assistance taking away a lot of the strain, e-bikes are key for people to be able to hop off the bike feeling comfortable to sit straight down at a desk or workstation,” says Dan. “We are seeing significant interest from customers wanting to make a small personal change that adds up to a significant increase in carbon reduction, cuts down their commute time and helps fit some light exercise into a trip that is otherwise a
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