CAMWEST: Cyclists’ Action Movement West

CAMWEST News — June 2010

Fellow CAMWESTies,

Please take the time to read all of this email as there are some important issues regarding CAMWEST that need to be addressed.

Incorporation of CAMWEST

At present we are a fairly ad-hoc group of interested people who carry out a range of activities under the CAMWEST banner. This is fine and the loose nature of our organisation has suited our activities and I am proud to say we have achieved many goals in promoting cycling in the west and north west of Sydney. Thank you to those of you who work silently under our banner.

However, society progresses or regresses, depending on how you look at things, and insurance issues have forced our hand and CAMWEST now has a need to be Incorporated. In the very near future, Bicycle NSW Inc will no longer consider us as part of the Bicycle User Group Network under their insurance cover unless we are incorporated. This will require us to have a formal Constitution, an elected Board and a roll of members. It will also require some annual reporting and a need to hold regular meetings. Therefore, I am looking for someone who has had involvement in this process before with a group similar to CAMWEST to help guide us through this procedure. It appears fairly painless, but someone with experience in the process would be a great help. If you are that person, please call me on 0410 662 390 or 9686 2391.

Coming Events

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Brains Trust

BikeEast recently ran a short 1 to 2 hour presentation on items presented at recent cycling forums, both here in Australia and overseas. They have agreed to make the same presentation to us at Parramatta. This presentation will be of interest to anyone with a desire to see cycling progress as a legitimate recreational, sporting or commuting activity. It would also be of benefit to those involved in the design, construction and promotion of cycling facilities, such as Local Government, Police, traffic planners etc,. I intend to distribute invitations to all of the Parramatta City Councillors and interested staff as well as similar people from neighbouring councils. It will also be open to all interested members of the public to attend.

Secure bicycle parking will be available in the Horwood Place Carpark. Come along and learn what is new in cycling infrastructure, what you can do for advocacy and what the future has the potential to hold for cycling. The evening will run for two hours; admission is a gold coin donation. Light refreshments will be provided.

Here are some tentative details (may change):

DATE:
Tuesday 21 September 2010 [This is a change from the previously posted Wednesday 22 Sep date.]
TIME:
6pm for a 6.30pm start
VENUE:
Parramatta Town Hall, Church St, Parramatta.

There will be three presenters and time for discussion and questions afterwards.

ParraCAN and 350.ORG http://www.350.org/mission

There is a heap of information on the link above to tell you all about 350.org, but basically it refers to the level of CO2 in our atmosphere that we need to achieve to reverse the effects of global warming.

Local Environment Group ParraCAN (Parramatta Climate Action Network) wish to hold an event on Sunday 10/10/2010 to promote the ideals of 350.org. They are in the planning stages at this time, but one idea they are exploring is to have cyclists ride 350 laps of Parramatta Park in conjunction with other events on the day. Now don't get out your calculators and write back and tell me that is slightly more than 1,120 kilometres. The idea is to do it in total, so 1 rider, 350 laps each, 10 riders, 35 laps each, 100 riders 3.5 laps each, or the ultimate goal, 350 riders doing 1 lap each. I will be riding, so come along and save me from doing 350 laps of the Parramatta Park.

Cheap Bicycle Helmets

Bicycle NSW have a number of Netti Bicycle Helmets that they would like to dispose of before the end of the financial year. Orders have to be placed through your Affiliated BUG, so if you are interested, give me a call on 0410 662 390 as soon as possible. They can only be ordered by the Club President. You can view the helmets here.

They will be selling for $15.00 (normally $25 and $35.00) Gear Up Girl is the cheaper helmet.

Secure Bicycle Parking In Parramatta

Look for announcements in the local press and elsewhere soon for the official opening of two brand new secure bicycle parking facilities in Parramatta. Parramatta City Council have constructed a secure cage in the Erby Place and Horwood Place Carparks that will accommodate a total of 40 bicycles. Lockers, showers and toilets will also be available for use by subscribers to the secure parking. Fees will be announced soon, but are likely to be around $1.00 per day. So, if you already commute or wish to commute to Parramatta by bicycle and don't have secure facilities at your work place, here is an opportunity to get in on the ground floor. In the meantime, drop in and have a look. Both areas are on the ground floor, just follow the green painted road.

Ride Leaders

Bicycle NSW is also revamping its Ride Leader Training and very soon they will be holding refresher courses for existing ride leaders. If you have already completed the Ride Leader Training, I need to know certain things:

Name, Address, Bicycle NSW Membership Number and expiry and the year you completed your training (Approx)

If you would like to become a ride leader, there will be a course run shortly, can't find the exact date, but give BNSW a call on 02 9704 0800 and get some details. There may be an opportunity for CAMWEST to subsidise this course as well (*conditions will apply)

Thanks for your patience,

John Holstein
Member of CAMWEST (http://camwest.pps.com.au) advocating for better cycling infrastructure for Sydney's West.

"if we don't change direction, we will end up where we are headed"
(Professor Irwin Corey American vaudeville comic and actor (1914 – ))

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