From the Sydney Morning Herald…
Tampere, Finland: The largest review yet of bike helmet use by 64,000 injured cyclists worldwide has found helmets reduce the chances of a serious head injury by nearly 70 per cent.
Claims that bike helmets damaged the neck and caused serious brain injury were also found to be wrong in the study by University of NSW statistician Dr Jake Olivier, who presented on Tuesday to the international injury prevention conference Safety 2016 in Finland.
This article will promote some interesting discussion….
From SMH (6/8/2016): When it comes to safety on two wheels, is brighter really better, or have we been sold the great fluoro fallacy?
“Being visible is different from being noticed. Visibility is about standing out from the background and cyclists can enhance that, especially in poor weather or low lighting conditions, by wearing high-visibility materials,” says Dr Sandar Tin Tin
“But being noticed is different because it depends on drivers’ attention to and expectation of the cyclists,” she says.
This distinction is key to a Transport for London commercial, viewed more than 22 million times on YouTube, that asks viewers to count how many passes a basketball team makes.
From the Sydney Morning Herald….
The number of infringement notices issued by police has risen dramatically following a recent crack down on cyclists who do not wear approved helmets.
The latest statistics show a 56 per cent rise, to 1545, in the total number of fines issued in the two months after the government increased penalties for cyclists on March 1, compared with the same period a year earlier.
The fine for riding without a helmet more than quadrupled on March 1 to $319.
The amount of fines collected from people riding without helmets totalled $350,262 in March and April, compared with just over $50,000 in the same period in 2015.
From the Sydney Morning Herald…..
The most persistent theme in exercise science in 2015 was that to live long, age well and maintain a nimble mind and shapely brain, we must be physically active – but not for as much time as many of us might fear, or in the ways that many of us might guess.
Certainly the most encouraging research this year focused on the links between regular exercise and improvements in our thinking and the structure of our brains. There has been discussion in past years about how exercise increases the number of new neurons in the brain and sharpens thinking skills and mood, especially as we age.
But this year, interest among scientists in exercise and brain health seemed to reach a critical mass. Many new studies are highlighting previously unexplored ways in which exercise changes our brains and minds. A recent brain-scan study in Japan found that the brains of fit older men were almost as efficient as the brains of young people.
The NSW government has announced new rules relating to cycling. These new measures will come into effect in March 2016.
From 1st March 2016….
There will be increased fines for those who transgress these rules.
There is currently a great deal of public discussion about laws relating to the wearing of helmets by cyclists.
In the early 1990s laws mandating that cyclists wear bicycle helmets were introduced in Australia. But as early as 1978 attitudes towards the wearing of helmets were changing.
The article below, published in today’s SMH, is part of that discussion, reflecting on changing attitudes since the late 1970s.
Attention all Kiama BUG members….
The 2015 Annual General Meeting of the Kiama Bicycle Users Group will be held at the Kiama Bowling Club on Friday 26th June 2015, commencing at 6:30pm.
The AGM will be followed by dinner.
Please review the information below – to either nominate to serve on the executive committee, and/or to select from the menu for the AGM dinner……
| Nomination for Kiama BUG Executive | |
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Nominations Closed If you wish to serve on the Kiama BUG executive committee, you may self-nominate, in which case you may find a seconder for your nomination or we will arrange for a seconder for you. Nomination forms (icon on left) must be returned to either the Returning Officer (details on the form) or Kiama Cycles by the COB on Friday 12th June. |
| AGM Dinner Menu | |
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The Bowling Club caterer has provided us with an (optional) set menu.
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Event closed |
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Looking forward to seeing everyone at the AGM on 26th June.
From Warren McPherson….
Recently I rode the A2O, the Alps 2 Ocean with my brother and two other guys from Western Australia. It was a fabulous experience. I thought that sharing my thoughts might be useful to anyone contemplating such a ride…..
The new (two years old) A2O Cycle Trail is in the South Island of New Zealand. It winds its way through the Mackenzie Basin down the Waitaki River to its end at Oamaru on the coast.
A2O is therefore east of the NZ Alps, the less rain and fewer sand flies side.
It begins at a mountain – well at the base of one, Aoraki/Mt Cook village at 600 meters altitude and ends of course at 0 meters.
