Cycling

Bike to Church in ‘Biketober’

October is a great month to pick a Sunday to be Bike to Church Sunday! Here are some ideas to celebrate Biketober in October:

Celebrate cycling with rewards for those who come on 2 wheels.
Invite a speaker to share why our carbon emissions matter to God.
Get a keen cyclist to share about how cycling expresses their faith and mission.
Host a community bike maintenance workshop to repair not-quite-working bikes.
Promote and volunteer at a community bike fix-up like the Aranui Bike Fixup in Christchurch.
Promote and attend cycling events like the Build a bike trailer workshop in Christchurch.
Check out some of Grace Vineyard Church’s promotional images - get your church members involved in promoting Biketober too!

Images courtesy of Grace Vineyard Church.

Be a cycling-friendly church

To ensure your church is cycling-friendly, here are some things your church could consider doing:

Provide good quality and ample bike parking at church.
Provide lockers or hooks inside your church to accommodate biker’s gear like helmets, outerwear, and water packs.
Provide a bike map of safe routes to and from the church on your website or on a notice board.
Provide a bike repair station at your church.
Support a local bike-share program and consider sponsoring a station at your church.
Purchase an electric bike for the church to share. Check out this featured story: https://www.ecochurch.org.nz/stories/electric-bicycles-for-church-leaders
Churches could also consider collectively buying e-bikes for employees and church members to get a discounted rate and get more church members into e-cycling. To find out how to organise this, check out: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/walking-cycling-and-public-transport/cycling/workplace-cycling-guide/resources/employer-e-bike-purchase-support-schemes/

More ideas from the Diocese of Manchester, Church of England to support cycling at church. https://www.manchester.anglican.org/beelines/

Cycling Church website

Cycling Church aims to encourage the spiritual benefits of outdoor activity and to stimulate the connection between the feeling of spiritual well-being in the outdoors and the act of worshiping God. Core values are appreciation of God in the outdoors, humour and caring for God’s creation as a core part of the Gospel of Jesus.

Funding to encourage cycling

Community Bike Fund - Does your church have a great idea to get more people cycling? The AT Community Bike Fund is available to support communities and groups to deliver activities, events and projects that encourage more people to ride bikes more often in Auckland, especially new riders. The Community Bike Fund forms part of AT's ongoing commitment to support and promote cycling as a transport choice.

Free “Love My Bike” Safety Check at your church

For churches in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland...

We have a special offer for your church brought to you in partnership with Bike Hub Mt Roskill. Invite the "Love My Bike" free safety check to your church and encourage your church members to bike more! Let's work at reducing transport emissions!

Relevant Eco Church NZ stories

Featured

Cycling, Transport

Installing a bike rack - a simple but impactful step

Cycling, Transport

Cashmere Presbyterian Church in Christchurch have recently installed a bike rack at the front of their church. It’s a simple but impactful step which they hope will encourage both church members and community groups who meet at the church to choose a transport option which is healthier for people and kinder to the environment.

Cycling, Transport

Waste, Sermons, Self-Assessment Worksheet, Practical Conservation, Purchasing, Community Gardens, Transport, Cycling

All Saints Burwood Eco Church

Waste, Sermons, Self-Assessment Worksheet, Practical Conservation, Purchasing, Community Gardens, Transport, Cycling

All Saints Burwood shared with us their journey so far as an Eco Church… and the little and big steps that have been made.

Waste, Sermons, Self-Assessment Worksheet, Practical Conservation, Purchasing, Community Gardens, Transport, Cycling

Cycling, Transport, Waste

Sunday church service turns into free bike fix-up

Cycling, Transport, Waste

At Wellington South Baptist Church we’ve been imagining new ways to engage with our local community, to share something of God’s amazing reconciling vision for the world. This past Sunday, we partnered with a local charity, EkeRua/ReBicycle, to host a ‘Free Bike Fix Up/Repair/Swap’ event. After a shorter ‘normal’ service on the Sunday morning, we transitioned into a space of welcome for whoever was going to attend, including the bike workshop, a morning tea spread, and a place for kids to hang out while their (or their parent’s) bikes were getting fixed up!

Cycling, Transport, Waste

Community Gardens, Food, Compost, Green Spaces, Cycling

All Saints, all in!

Community Gardens, Food, Compost, Green Spaces, Cycling

Late in 2020 All Saints Anglican Church in Ponsonby formed an eco-committee and went through the Eco Church self-assessment worksheet to ascertain areas to begin working on. A number of areas were identified through the worksheet, with the establishment of a community garden being determined as the most important. We liked the idea of a community garden because the church had available land, it is a very visible project and one of our church members has the expertise to make it happen.

Community Gardens, Food, Compost, Green Spaces, Cycling

Transport, Education and Engagement, Cycling

Build your own bike trailer workshop

Transport, Education and Engagement, Cycling

In conjunction with Biketober Christchurch every October, Steve organises a build your own bike trailer workshop. Constructed from pallets (the frame), old plastic recycling bins, 20 and 24 inch bike & wheelchair wheels, and locally-made aluminium tow-bars and componentry, the trailers are low cost and hugely popular.

Transport, Education and Engagement, Cycling

Electric bicycles for church leaders

Transport, Education and Engagement, Cycling

In 2019, A Rocha member Steve Muir started a personal initiative to share his love of cycling – he purchased ten e-bikes and is loaning them long term to church leaders in Christchurch.

Transport, Education and Engagement, Cycling