Published 28 November 2023

Travelling fresh…by bike

By Heather Horswell, Marketing and Communications Lead, Sustainability Trust

Heather lives on the Kapiti Coast with her husband and two kids, Isla (6) and Arran (3). She takes the train into the city for work twice a week and has recently rediscovered the joys of biking now that her daughter is old enough to bike far enough to get to school from the family home.

When we moved up north from Central Otago in 2021, we couldn’t wait to use the train - it was such a treat for the kids and we loved the idea of relaxing for an hour, checking out the stunning coastal scenery and not having to find a parking spot in the city centre. My husband Stu and I grew up using public transport in Europe, however, it just wasn’t part of our lives in rural New Zealand.

We had taken the opportunity to buy an EV when my Mum needed a car to drive around Alexandra back in 2019. Our only option was to buy secondhand from a dealership in Christchurch that happily delivered it for free - we paid about $20k for a Leaf with 10 bars of battery life, but we could have easily paid half that for a car with more mileage and poorer battery health (which is fine if you’re only going around town). I decided I needed to drive it for a few days before handing over the keys to “make sure it ran ok” - that trial period turned into several weeks and we loved it so much we bought another one.

Despite all the fun we’ve had with our Leafs (Leaves? Small branch?!), it still didn’t really feel like this was the solution. Just swapping one car for another didn’t sit right with me and it was only when we moved to Wellington and we got to use the train as a family, did we realise what public transport really offered as an alternative. When I decided to re-enter the workforce after Arran started daycare full-time, the train presented another opportunity - not only could I minimise my carbon footprint and save money, I could work on the train. This fact alone enabled me to complete my (full-time) work hours AND get back to Paraparaumu in time to pick up the kids from daycare and after-school care. Oh…and I mustn’t forget to mention, the walk along the waterfront from the station to Tory St is stunning - no matter the weather. I couldn’t ask for a better start to the day and I truly look forward to my office days at Sust Trust HQ.

This year, we made it our family mission to get out on the bikes more. Having tried family bike rides in the past, I honestly didn’t see us biking any useful distance anytime soon. Isla couldn’t even make it to our local park without having a meltdown. It seemed my dream of us biking to school was far, far away - but then this Labour Day weekend we decided to give it another try and bike, as a family, to Isla’s school for a picnic. Isla had recently got a new well-suited secondhand bike and we invited some of her friend’s families to meet us there, in the hope that may be some extra incentive. Lo and behold….we made it. We had a lovely day and as we approached the time to leave, I was sure we’d face some challenges going home considering how tired the kids were - but nope - something just clicked and all of a sudden, Isla realised how liberating it was - she was in charge of where she went - at speed - for the first time ever!

Isla and I biked from our house to her school the very next morning - and she loved it. She was very disappointed to hear I couldn’t take her the following day as I’d be in the city for work, however I promised we’d go again the following day and we did. I was sure she’d be fed up by the end of the week and that soon it would be a chore and something I’d have to convince her to do - but that never happened, and weeks later, Isla still whoops with joy when I tell her tomorrow is a “bike to school day”.

My need for exercise and fresh air and Isla’s love of the freedom biking provides is all very well however, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be doing it on a regular basis if we didn’t have a bike track that takes us 80% of the way. The final leg of the journey is through quiet streets that takes us to a quiet back entrance of her school. If we had to bike along busy roads AND then negotiate through cars parking/pulling out/dropping off kids, it would be a very different story.

Change the System

Big improvements to infrastructure are needed; the current systems can only take us so far. Want to get involved in systems change?

Cycle Wellington – https://www.cyclewellington.org.nz/

Cycling Action Network - https://can.org.nz/

Save Our Trains - https://www.allrailways.co.nz/

Future is Rail Conference - https://www.railconference.info/

Take the Jump is a climate action movement that everyone can take part in, by trying seven shifts. Travel Fresh is the shift to using public transport, active travel (walking, cycling), and carpooling and car sharing as much as possible.

Reference: https://www.takethejump.org.nz/travel-fresh