Anyone heard of the Biketober Business Challenge (NSW)?

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AUbicycles
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Anyone heard of the Biketober Business Challenge (NSW)?

Postby AUbicycles » Fri Oct 26, 2018 5:32 pm

I got an email today from a group named lovetoride who appear to be NZ based. I am not familiar with them however they are working with the NSW Government and have been promoting the Biketober Business Challenge... it has been running this month and ends in a few days and they emailed to ask if I can help support / promote.

Obviously timing was way off... but I was more interested in the fact that I hadn't heard a single thing about this specific endeavour and curious if others are aware. At this stage, my criticism would be directed towards the government for spending taxpayer money on a program which they are not promoting... but perhaps you have heard about it and may even be participation.
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Re: Anyone heard of the Biketober Business Challenge (NSW)?

Postby find_bruce » Fri Oct 26, 2018 6:33 pm

Nope, never heard of it. A quick google shows there was some pre-event promo but none of it came to my attention.

I see it arose out of the City of Sydney's "Sydney Rides Challenge". Here is (or at least was) a big "Sydney Rides" display right outside my work in Martin Place, but I didn't notice anything about Biketober.

I have a reasonably wide mix of business people on my strava feed & I don't recall any of them talking about it either
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Re: Anyone heard of the Biketober Business Challenge (NSW)?

Postby AUbicycles » Fri Oct 26, 2018 7:00 pm

Interesting to hear that. Not being in Sydney could mean I miss some things but receive a lot of news... and know of most events and initiatives.

With you being in Sydney and fairly active and involved in cycling exactly fit the target audience, it would suggest that there have been serious deficits... and tax payer money spent 'for cycling' with questionable effect/results.

I regularly ask the NSW Government for a breakdown of the cycling spending, they usually ignore. They have also refused and I spent time on the phone to government staff and got promises that I would receive info... but of course it never happened. I am concerned about the transparency and about appropriate allocation of the comparatively minute budget.
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Re: Anyone heard of the Biketober Business Challenge (NSW)?

Postby opik_bidin » Fri Oct 26, 2018 8:34 pm

im in it, there is a poster on the lift wall in our building.

https://www.lovetoride.net/nsw

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Re: Anyone heard of the Biketober Business Challenge (NSW)?

Postby Cyclophiliac » Fri Oct 26, 2018 9:04 pm

AUbicycles wrote:At this stage, my criticism would be directed towards the government for spending taxpayer money on a program which they are not promoting.
I know I frequently post very cynical replies on these forums, but I have to say it: perhaps the government wanted Biketober to fail, so they can reduce their estimate of cycling's popularity, and therefore reduce any cycling-related budgets?

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Re: Anyone heard of the Biketober Business Challenge (NSW)?

Postby human909 » Fri Oct 26, 2018 10:03 pm

Cyclophiliac wrote:I know I frequently post very cynical replies on these forums, but I have to say it: perhaps the government wanted Biketober to fail, so they can reduce their estimate of cycling's popularity, and therefore reduce any cycling-related budgets?
Never attribute a conspiracy to something that is more readily explained by incompetence or apathy.

Some-, somewhere, at sometime had the idea and it was started. Possible with good intentions, alternatively simply to tick a box... Job of managing the venture gets passed to a person or people who don't care or are incompetent or both and the execution fails.

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Re: Anyone heard of the Biketober Business Challenge (NSW)?

Postby opik_bidin » Sat Oct 27, 2018 7:35 am

the stats as of today:

BIKETOBER BUSINESS CHALLENGE

401 ORGANISATIONS
2,335 PARTICIPANTS
246 NEW RIDERS
496,191 KM
24,337 TRIPS
51,768 KG CO2

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Re: Anyone heard of the Biketober Business Challenge (NSW)?

Postby AUbicycles » Mon Oct 29, 2018 12:59 am

Interesting, I feel that if a program is being manipulated and shows success where it is no due, then no extra credit is due.

But if those stats are the result of genuine promotion and engagement and are a success, maybe it just passed many of us by (despite a great representation from advocates and NSW bike commuters).

Fair enough.
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Re: Anyone heard of the Biketober Business Challenge (NSW)?

Postby RobertL » Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:16 pm

We had a Love to Ride month here in Brisbane in September. It was run in conjunction with the city council and various businesses and organisations. It's about encouraging people to ride.

I'm not sure how successful it is at that, but I registered and linked my Strava account so that I was included.

They are at: https://www.lovetoride.net/

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Re: Anyone heard of the Biketober Business Challenge (NSW)?

Postby inside lane joe » Mon Nov 05, 2018 10:09 am

This is interesting to come across this post as I'm doing some research into an event and we have just brought Love to Ride on board as key support for helping us collect data from the community.

I'm fairly sure this post could be verging on advertising, but I can only ensure you that I have my best interests at heart, and am a avid daily commuter myself. I'm just trying to find ways to reach out to the wider cycling community.

So in January, Sydney festival is going to attempt to collectively ride to the moon.
https://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/event ... o-the-moon

I've done a little basic maths off my own cycling habits and with the installation we will have in the CBD, at best, we could maybe collect 25-30,000 kms. So I need to find another 350,000 kms somewhere else. Really hoping that Love to Ride is going to help with that.

I guess the point of this post being, I'm glad that the cycling forums are at least talking about the website, because that make me think there are a few of us out there who might be keen to sign up and help out, if you're not already signed up. :D :D

One thing I have noticed in playing with it myself though, the app it recommends for tracking (Ride Report) is terrible, inaccurate and buggy. But Strava is pretty faithful, so fingers crossed there.

If anyone is around World Square in January, come and and have a ride or give us your KM's. Should be fun.

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