YarraBUG

On this weeks program Chris talks to Tim Goldby about what he's been creating with The Bicycle Channel  and "encouraging cycling with entertainment and education", the character of Murphy Slaw, Australian bicycle infrastructure expert and his perspective on riding in Melbourne. Local news includes Lord Mayor Robert Doyle's kite-flying exercise about banning bicycle riders from particular streets in the CBD and how you can support the Yarra Council proposal to finally link up the Merri Creek shared path, which currents ends at Rushall station in Fitzroy North.

This week Chris discusses Senator Janet Rice's article: "Drivers vs. Cyclists is not either/or" where she makes numerous good points in her far-ranging article about cycling, health, gender, infrastructure, public transport and road user attitudes. Injera from Les Vaches Du Tour pops in for a lovely chat about three weeks of non-cycling cultural highlights of Le Tour on SBS Cycling Central, including Les Vaches spotting, Gouda, #sbstdf, #tourdesnacks, #butter, #trolldj and ephemeral delights of fieldart, magnificent European scenery and mad cycling tifosi.

After kicking off with good news about Adelaide's Frome Street bikeway and a quick overview of keep warm & comfortable riding in wintery weather, Chris interviews David Borella from BIKESydney about Cycle Hack Sydney, College St Cycleway Rally, Dr Henri Sueke and ongoing cycling issues in Sydney. Local Melbourne bicycle news includes Projector Bike Northcote night ride, Melburn Roobaix 10th anniversary weekend, Melburn Custom Bicycle Show at DISC and Port Phillip BUG "Saturday in Heaven" ride.

It's 3CR Radiothon so make your pledge, subscription or donation to YarraBUG Radio. Chris and Steve enjoy a leisurely start to this Queens Birthday holiday this Monday, so go make a nice cuppa. We chat to Sarah Imm from Velo-a-Porter about being stylish & riding with kids, proving it can be done! Local news includes Yarra Council Bicycle Advisory Committee Meeting, the 24 hour RAT Ride on the Yarra Boulevard against the continuing mystery tack attacker and Let's get public transport back on track forum at Northcote Town Hall.

It's the first *real* winter's morning as Val and Faith brave the chill on their respective bikes to make it to the studio. We share our bike moments before kicking off with a reminder that today is officially the start of the 3CR Radiothon and we need you to Activate the Airways by subscribing or making a donation to the Yarra BUG Radio Show. Yarra BUG Radio relies completley on volunteers and can only stay on the airwaves at 3CR if donations and subscribers provide support to keep the station on air.Moving on to other news Val takes a look at Contador's Giro win. We remind listeners of the roadworks starting in Swanston St this week, an opportunity to find those alternative routes for when tunnel works make Swanston St impassable for a longer period, and touch on some of the results from a recent bike survey.We also take a look at where and how you can find somebody to ride with, whether its for social or training rides. Some of the options we touch on are Meet Up, Bike Fun, Girl Ride! Melbourne, local bike

Two interviews on this weeks show, first up Chris chats to Cat and Sid from Wrenchworthy Bicycle Shed at their launch and fundraising tea party, a new group for a bike maintenance/mechanics space that's located at HOP Community Centre, for women, non-binary and gender diverse people. Wrenchworthys goal is to create a space that is welcoming and useful to people who are often made to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome in the masculine, male-dominated cycling culture. Second interview is with Alison Clarke during Public Transport Not Traffic's walking tour of the proposed Western Distributor route in Yarraville, discussing issues surrounding decision-making processes about planning for megaprojects, transport priorities and Melbournes continuing car-dependence. Local news includes City of Yarra Grants Program and Projector Bikes upcoming Fitzroy Edition of their Friday night ride this Friday 29 May, starting at Edinburgh Gardens.

Val and Faith stagger into the studio, blinded by the gorgeous autumn sun. We make a vague attempt to cover some local news including the new William St bike lanes, the Giro d'Italia and the increasing role of bike infastructure in local proprty development. Col Bell of Sunbury Cycling Club and Fields of Joy CX is our studio guest and joins us in sharing our bike moments.We then launch into our discussion of cyclocross, the weekend coming with the massive Dirty Deeds CX and Fields of Joy CX double-header, what it is that makes cyclocross so engaging for both competitors and spectators, the state and national series and a technical tip. Both Dirty Deeds and Fields of Joy rely heavily on volounteers so if you have been contemplating joining the fun then now is the time to do so!We finish up with some events before heading back ourtside into the sun.

On todays program Chris has interviews with George Mihailides, Charlie Farren and locals that Steve recorded at last weeks No Boulie Tacks Protest Ride on Yarra Boulevard,  Adam Bandt speaking at The Fox Hotel to celebrate the demise of the East West Link, plus news of the all new blinky-dink bike glove from The Bicycle Channel and a word from Murphy Slaw on important news about Bicycle Infrastructure - Australian style. I hope to have an in depth interview with Mr Slaw in the next few weeks, and his creator. Local news includes works on the Merri Creek shared path at Northcote, Commuter Cycles Garage Sale, Cycling and Traffic Safety Public Forum organised by Moreland City Council and VicRoads and Cycling and Wrenchworthy Bicycle Shed launch and fundraising tea party.

Its a stunning autumn morning in Melbourne as Val and Faith welcome studio guest Elliot Fishman to the show. We all share our bicycle moments, a combination of unseasonal magpie swoops. riding down mountains and dooring before taking a look at some local news. The #boulietacks protest ride on Sunday was well attended, and our colleague Steve interviewed several attendees as well as capturing some of the speeches, you can check that online here. The Particpate Melbourne Draft Bicycle Strategy survey is open until May 8th and is your opportunity to tell the City of Mebourne what you would like to see changed or improved about bike riding in and around the city.Dr Fishman of the Institute for Sensible Transport has been living in Utrecht while completing post-doctoral research and joins us today to share his observations on the planning that goes into creating cycling as a significant mode of transport in the Netherlands. We discuss some of the most significant differences between approaches in NL and Australia

We first interviewed Loretta in May 2013 when Good Cycles was just getting started, so this week Chris catchs up for a recap about their inspirational achievements and developing social enterprise programs during the last two years. Local bike news includes City of Melbourne: Temporary closure of Main Yarra Trail at Alexandra Avenue near Morell Bridge, City of Yarra: Merri Creek Path Closure: Clifton Hill Rail Bridge & Creek Parade, Rushall Reserve shared path consultation, The Squeaky Wheel: Art + CLIMATE = Change 2015 Bicycle Tours, Commuter Cycles Dynamo Lights Demo and Stop the tacks on Kew Boulevard protest ride. 

Find Randell here randellstephenspoetry.com

Chris talks to Lachie Thomson about the 23rd Cycle Messenger World Championships starting in Melbourne this week. We discuss the changing nature of bike courier work due to the impact of the internet, a run down of CMWC events including a road ride to Mount Donna Buang, CMWC open forum at The Baron Said, time trial on the Yarra Boulevard, opening group dinner, Cyclotrack at the Harrison Street Velodrome, Fyxo Swap Meet, Bespoke Chainrings Goldsprints Party and all the main events happening at Docklands over the Easter weekend.

It was a warm, but damp, autumn morning as Val and Faith welcome Kip Jordan of the Melbourne Whip to the studio for this edition of the Yarra BUG Radio Show. We share our bike moments before running through a couple of news items including the Milan-San Remo race held the night before and the Brunswick Junior Clinic Championships.Kip tells us all about the Melbourne Whip, a local publication showcasing Melburnians and their bikes, that he started up out of a curiosity about the stories behind people's bikes and wanting to share them. With no background in publishing, photography or editorial, this creative project has taken ona life of its own and led to many new friends! We finish with some upcoming events including the CMWC 2015, the Womens Ride and a handful of those listed at BikeFun. 

Val and Faith make it to the studio in hot blustery conditions where they are joined by studio guests, Caz Whitehead and Anna Thompson. After sharing our bike moments we move on to the week's news. The Australian women are tearing things up at the Track World Championships in Paris with an impressive list of achievements including Anna Meares' 11th World title. Still on the subject of racing, Melbourne cyclists are racing each other on shared bike/pedestrian paths prompting calls for Strava to not support segments on those paths and us to raise the question; is it time to move on from shared paths? Recently twenty-five women took part in a mass Everesting on Mount Donna Buang, attempting to ride 8848 metres (the elevation of Mount Everest) with repeated laps of the mountain. Caz and Anna, both participants, share with us why they took part and what it is like to push the limits of your endurance. And why? We finish up with a quick wrap up of upcoming events on the bike around Melbourne.