Val Nagle

Going Dutch

I love hearing from people who’ve been to the Netherlands, especially when its a visit to one of my favourite towns, Utrecht. In this week’s programme on 3CR Val and I were joined by Melbourne City Cr Cathy Oke. Cathy was recently on a study tour of the Netherlands, along with a dozen other Australians influential in policy and practice around urban mobility.

10387347_10153323019413696_6482181441335686047_nBased in Utrecht and visiting cities all over the country, the tour participants not only met local experts and heard about the role of cycling in urban transport but also got out on the streets on two wheels to see everything in practice.  If you missed the show live you can tune in to the podcast here:

The tour was organised by the CPF in conjunction with the Netherlands Consulate. You can read Craig Woolridge’s (Department of Transport WA) report here.

Whirring wheels

It’s a few weeks ago now but a quick trip to Japan and an imploding laptop have slowed things down around here. Back in September, the 22nd to be precise, Val and I enjoyed having Rod Charles, author of ‘A Whirr of Many Wheels’ on the Yarra BUG Radio Show.

RodCharlesRod is a very entertaining guest, as you’ll hear, and has written an incredibly comprehensive history of cycling in Geelong from 1869 to 1914. Of course, since everything that happened in Geelong came via somewhere else, his history of course ends up spreading a far wider net and is in effect a history of cycling worldwide, as it arrived in Geelong. One aspect that particularly impressed me is the inclusion of women and women’s cycling in the history, to an extent that is all too rare. You can catch up with the podcast of this program here;

http://www.yarrabug.org/radio/?powerpress_embed=1759-podcast&powerpress_player=mediaelement-audio

If you’re interested in buying a copy of Rod’s book, or the two planned sequels, you can find the details over here.

AWhirrofManyWheels

Books and bikes on the Yarra BUG Radio Show

GregFoyster-3

 

 

The Melbourne Writers Festival is in full swing so it seemed like a great time to revisit one of Val and I’s favourite intersections, books and bikes. I first met MWF Director Lisa Dempster on Twitter many years ago over a bike tweet, (A Surly Steamroller that was for sale and which turned out to be too big for her but which my husband still rides … ) and she was also a regular contributor for Treadlie Magazine for many years. Is it coincidence that there has been a cycling themed stream in each festival Lisa has run or a sign of the times?

Val and I’s studio guest is Greg Foyster, author of Changing Gears, and a guest on the show in the past. Greg is involved in a couple of sessions at this years MWF and seemed the perfect person to share our favourite cycle reading with. You can find literary intersections with bicycles in the most unexpected places, I even felt the resonance in Chris Hadfield’s keynote speech about space travel!

 

You can tune into the podcast here and check out the Melbourne Writers Festival program online here. Val-panelling