ROLE: Project Lead, Project Facilitator, Creative Director, Government Liaison, Cycling Coach.

In my varied cycling advisory work with Waka Kotahi/New Zealand Transport Agency, I was asked to submit a proposal for an E Bike pilot programme on the East Coast of Aotearoa. 

'E Peke, Te Ao Paihikara - E Peke, The World Of The Bike' was a project I conceived on my usual road bike training ride, doing laps of Kaiti Hill in Gisborne. As I completed each lap I passed Te Poho o Rawiri Marae, which is at the foot of Kaiti Hill.

Exposing more maori to cycling has always been important to me, as, over my many years of riding, I haven't really seen too many maori riding bikes at any level other than as transport. 

By establishing the pilot programme at the marae, I was able to break down some societal barriers around access to E Bikes, and supply 6 commuter style Merida E Bikes completely free of charge for a 2 week loan period to programme participants that showed interest and applied for a bike VIA the marae facebook page. 

I was also able to allocate two Merida MTB E Bikes to the local environmental group based at the marae, that do regenerative work and pest control on Kaiti Hill. This feeds into the sustainability narrative around not using petrol powered vehicles for some of their work on the mountain. 

Finally I established a community learn to stride on the vacant tennis courts at the foot of the marae, and hosted regular 'learn to stride' classes for the local tamariki (children) from the kohanage reo at the marae. 

I worked with a local graphic artist to bring the project to life, and wrapped a brand identity, brand language, graphical elements, and a 'look and feel' around the project. 

The pilot programme was a huge success, with fantastic feedback from the community.