Jekyll2023-08-13T22:15:59+12:00http://pablo.gomes.nz/feed.xmlpa.blogFather of two, husband of one. The right number of bikes to have is N+1. Mix of 🚲, 🎮, tech and climate action.
Pablo Gomes LudermirProgress on the IndieWeb!2022-12-20T00:00:00+13:002022-12-20T00:00:00+13:00http://pablo.gomes.nz/notes/2022/12/20/indieweb<p>I have now onboarded this blog to <a href="https://fed.brid.gy/">brid.gy</a> and <a href="https://webmention.io">webmention</a>. Hopefully this post will be published via my ActivityPub feed now.</p>pabloI have now onboarded this blog to brid.gy and webmention. Hopefully this post will be published via my ActivityPub feed now.Goodbye Twitter, Hello Fediverse!2022-12-19T16:43:37+13:002022-12-19T16:43:37+13:00http://pablo.gomes.nz/2022/12/19/hello-fediverse<p>The recent events happening at Twitter have put me off the platform, at least for now.</p>
<p>Twitter 2.0 is a place fuelled by misinformation, racism and misogyny and I do not want to be part of that. This is a real shame because I have made a few like-minded friends via Twitter and I am hoping all of them transition to Mastodon or another social media platform. I have shifted my social media presence away from Twitter and onto Mastodon.</p>
<p>From now on you can find me at <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">@pablo@pablo.gomes.nz</code> which is an alias to <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">@pablo@mastodon.nz</code>.</p>pabloThe recent events happening at Twitter have put me off the platform, at least for now.A Bike Encounter in Three Acts2018-05-16T00:00:00+12:002018-05-16T00:00:00+12:00http://pablo.gomes.nz/2018/05/16/bike-encounter<p>Transport economists, behavioural psychologists, engagement strategists, city councillors – you can go home now, the kids get it!</p>
<p>As many people on bikes know, one of the great things about cycling is how easy it is to engage with the world around you. Stopping your bike is easy, but more often than not, a lot of encounters happen on two wheels. This is the story of an unexpected bike encounter.</p>
<h2 id="act-one-dad-gets-schooled-during-the-holidays">Act One: Dad gets schooled during the holidays</h2>
<p>The morning had a bad start. I was frustrated with the news of the Thorndon Quay cycleway developments. To top it off, I had to drive today.
My regular routine is to bike to school with Mr. Nine and Ms. Six and then continue to work on my bike.</p>
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<img src="http://pablo.gomes.nz//assets/bike-school1.png" alt="Biking to school" />
<p class="image-caption">Biking to school</p>
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<p>But it was the school holidays and the holiday programme that we’d chosen for that day wasn’t accessible by bike. Not because of the distance, my kids are able to cycle the distance, but there simply wasn’t a safe route for the three of us to cycle between Island Bay and Mt. Vic.
Whenever we go out, I try to show my kids different types of people on their bikes, not just your typical middle-aged man in lycra (disclaimer: I do not wear lycra).
So, as we are driving along the great Island Bay cycleway I spot a woman riding her e-bike with a funny helmet. It had googly eyes stickers on the back of it. I show it to my kids and we share a laugh.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I was taking my kids to a holiday program in the city this week. We left Island Bay and I noticed a lady with a funny helmet on the cycleway and pointed it to them. 1/n</p>— Pablo (@pablogl) <a href="https://twitter.com/pablogl/status/986853864467918848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>I thought that was the last time I would see funny helmet lady but I was mistaken. At the first red light in Berhampore there she was again, riding past me to the front of the lights. I don’t know why that surprised me, I play the same cat-and-mouse game with drivers every day. Of course the funny helmet lady was going to catch me as well, especially on an e-bike.
At that moment, I had a live experience to show to my kids on why I chose to ride my bike instead of driving: It didn’t matter how fast my car could go, I would still get caught in traffic, worry about finding parking and then have to walk the final part to my destination. The funny helmet lady, on the other hand, could cycle around the obstacles (i.e. cars) and bike from “door to door”. Besides, she was exercising and not polluting the planet. It was a great teaching moment, I just did not realise that I was the one getting a lesson. Here’s how our dialogue went:</p>
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<p>– Me: Look at the funny helmet lady, she is getting to the CBD as fast as we are.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– Mr. Nine: Yeah, if there were cycleways to the city we could bike to our holiday programme.</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>– Ms. Six: And people would be jealous (laughs)!</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>– Mr. Nine: And if we make them jealous, more people would ride their bikes!</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>– Ms. Six: We should ask the mayor to build more cycleways so we can ride everywhere!</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>– Mr. Nine: And then less people would drive.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– Ms. Six: Yeah! And if we’re riding on a cycleway and there are no cars, we won’t need a helmet!</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The rest of this thread was the resulting dialogue between Mr.9 and Ms.6.<br /><br />Mr9: If there were cycleways to the city we could bike to the holiday program.<br /><br />Ms6: And people would be jealous.<br /><br />Mr9: And if we make them jealous, more people would ride their bikes!<br />3/n</p>— Pablo (@pablogl) <a href="https://twitter.com/pablogl/status/986855083173294080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My wife and I both try to be role models and ride our bikes as much as possible, but we’ve never taught them about induced demand and mandatory helme laws.<br /><br />The kids just looked at the facts and realised what future they wanted. 5/n</p>— Pablo (@pablogl) <a href="https://twitter.com/pablogl/status/986856144734863360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>Boom! I could not believe the dialogue I just heard. My kids, completely on their own, had figured out that more roads just induce demand for more driving, and cycleways are the antidote. Not only that, they also realised that helmets are not an effective protective gear for people on bikes. The most effective gear, from their perspective, is … dedicated cycling infrastructure! Kids are smart, they know that a simple plastic helmet is not going to be any real use in a car crash.</p>
<p>Still flabbergasted by the dialogue I rambled on Twitter (as one does) about the situation, sharing our conversation to bring attention to the fact that our transportation network objective must be to move people effectively, instead of moving cars.</p>
<h2 id="act-two-the-funny-helmet-lady-rides-again">Act Two: The funny helmet lady rides again</h2>
<p>It was still the school holidays. I was taking the kids to the same holiday programme during the second week. As we drive around the Basin Reserve and enter Kent Terrace I notice a woman on her bike - and then I check out her helmet. Yes, we meet again, unfortunately this time just for a brief moment. I drive past her and we turn into Mt. Vic. As we drove past I remind the kids about funny helmet lady.
They get excited. Ms. Six wanted to roll down the window and wave to her (unfortunately the window had been child locked). Nevertheless she notices the woman.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>– Ms. Six: She looks so happy!</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– Mr. Nine: Yeah, and she won’t be late for her work.</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>– Me: Why?</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>– Mr. Nine: Because she’s RIDING A BIKE! DUH!</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We saw the funny helmet lady today again.<br /><br />Today’s dialogue was:<br /><br />Ms6: She looks so happy!<br />Mr9: yeah, and she won’t be late for her work.<br />Me: Why?<br />Mr9: Because she’s riding a bike! Duh! 🙄 <br /><br />😂 <a href="https://t.co/O1pBDNrulV">https://t.co/O1pBDNrulV</a></p>— Pablo (@pablogl) <a href="https://twitter.com/pablogl/status/988528191701630976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<h2 id="act-three-the-funny-helmet-lady-has-a-name">Act Three: The funny helmet lady has a name</h2>
<p>The school holidays were over. We are back to our routine: ride to school with the kids, then off to work. I am in Berhampore again when all of a sudden someone rides past me up the hill on Adelaide Road. I looked ahead and saw the same white e-bike with a flower pattern bike bag on the back and the funny helmet with the googly eyes. Yes, it was the funny helmet lady!
I had to talk to her. Our story had to be shared. The kids would want to know her name.
But how can I talk to her? She’s much faster on her e-bike.
My years of mountain biking would have to help me. I do a massive push uphill, but she’s still way ahead of me. As we get to the top I pedal faster. We’re now on the descent towards Newtown and I catch up to her at the corner of Countdown at the red light.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>– Me (puffing): Excuse me please, this will sound bizarre but…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>LIGHT GOES GREEN</p>
<blockquote>
<p>– Me: Sorry, I’ll tell you at the next light.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– We bike a bit further and stop together at the next red light.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– Me: Hi, my kids and I saw you riding your bike a couple of times last week and they both love your helmet.</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>– Her: Really?</p>
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<blockquote>
<p>– Me: Yes, I try to show different people riding bikes to them and they loved seeing you on your bike, with the funny helmet and the flowery bike bag. We called you the funny helmet lady. I am Pablo, by the way.</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>– Her: Oh, that is so great. I am Alice.</p>
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<blockquote>
<p>– Me: My daughter even said the last time we saw you that you looked very happy and that made her happy.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– Alice (laughing): Yeah, my friends tell me that I always have a smile on my face when I am riding.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– Me: I can’t blame you for that. I am always happy on my bike too.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We ride together and make small talk through the Basin Reserve, where we part ways. She passes along greetings to my kids and carries on. I am happy to have met a new person, and Alice seems delighted to have made an impression on my family.</p>pabloTransport economists, behavioural psychologists, engagement strategists, city councillors – you can go home now, the kids get it!How my children get cycling2018-04-24T00:00:00+12:002018-04-24T00:00:00+12:00http://pablo.gomes.nz/2018/04/24/cycling<p>I have two very cool kids. They are kind, caring and goofy. But what I love most about them is that we have a shared love for cycling.</p>
<h2 id="me-myself--my-bikes">Me, myself & my bikes</h2>
<p>My own passion for cycling started when I was 6 years old. My grandpa gave me a BMX bike for Christmas, navy blue with a race plate in front. It got stolen from my house a few years later, and that was the last time I ever left a bike unlocked. I remember always being on a bike as a kid. Then, when I went to university I got a road bike as it was a lot more convenient than taking 1 bus and walking a long way to get to my classes.</p>
<p>After university I moved to the Netherlands, and biking was simply a commodity. Protected cycleways everywhere, there were always hundreds of bikes everywhere I went, so I never paid much attention to it. It was simply part of my life.</p>
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<img src="http://pablo.gomes.nz//assets/bike-nl.jpg" alt="My trusted dutch bike" />
<p class="image-caption">My trusted dutch bike</p>
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<h2 id="sharing-the-love">Sharing the love</h2>
<p>When I moved to New Zealand with my family in 2010, I realised that something was missing. I’d stopped riding. Just then I noticed that for the first time in my life I did not own a bike. So, I had to fix that. So, within 2 months here I got a new bike.</p>
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<img src="http://pablo.gomes.nz//assets/bike-trailer.jpg" alt="Our old trailer" />
<p class="image-caption">Our old trailer</p>
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<p>The difference this time was that I would never ride alone again. Our son was nearly 2, so I started riding with him on the the back of the bike. A year later our daughter was born and when she was old enough we got her riding on a bike seat as well. The bike seats turned into a bike trailer, and the trailer turned into kids’ bikes.</p>
<p>We are also very privileged to live in Island Bay, with Wellington’s first protected cycleway literally at our doorstep. When the very first piece of the cycleway was available, my kids and I went riding on it. Note that allowing a safe space for a then 3 year old girl to ride her bike is the seal of approval that a cycleway needs. Fit for all ages and all abilities.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet tw-align-center" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lets see how smooth the bypass ramps are. Tick of approval from this little rider!<a href="https://twitter.com/IBCycleWay">@IBCycleWay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bikeWgth?src=hash">#bikeWgth</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/pablogl">@pablogl</a> <a href="https://t.co/066C9Up4vk">pic.twitter.com/066C9Up4vk</a></p>— Brevet Specific (@AxleRyde) <a href="https://twitter.com/AxleRyde/status/674819152591192064">December 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<p>Over the years we had many other great memories involving bikes: both kids cycling without training wheels, riding to school, going on the Wellington Ciclovia events, riding the South Coast Kids’ Bike Track non-stop, trying out cool cargo bikes on the Wellington waterfront, discovering mountain-biking together, the <a href="http://word.org.nz/">W.O.R.D.</a> community, and so many more.</p>
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<img src="http://pablo.gomes.nz//assets/bike-cargo.png" alt="Just having fun on a cargo bike" />
<p class="image-caption">Just having fun on a cargo bike</p>
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<h2 id="the-penny-drops">The penny drops</h2>
<p>The latest memory, ironically, happened while I was driving them to a school holiday program last week. Because if we are not riding our bikes, we are paying attention to other people on their bikes. On that day, I noticed this lady on her e-bike at the Island Bay cycleway, and she had googly eyes on the back of her helmet.</p>
<p>The kids had a great laugh about it. Then I overtook her and we moved on with our lives. That is, until the next red light.</p>
<p>Once we got to the traffic light, googly eyes helmet lady catches up to us. The kids laugh again. This keeps repeating itself at every light between Island Bay and the Basin Reserve. I should have expected that, as I do the same when cat-and-mouse game every day when I ride to work on my bike. That’s when this dialogue started:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>– Me: Do you see now why I ride to work? It takes the same time as going by car!</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– Mr. 9: If there were cycleways to the city we could bike to the holiday program.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– Ms. 6: And people would be jealous (laughs!).</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– Mr. 9: If we make people jealous, more people would ride their bikes!</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– Ms. 6: We should ask the mayor to build more cycleways so we can ride everywhere!</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– Mr. 9: Yeah, and then less people would drive too.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– Ms. 6: And if we are riding on a cycleway and there are no cars, we will not need a helmet!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I could not believe what I had just heard. Their dialogue caught me by surprise. I had never told them that mandatory helmet laws are a nuisance. I never explicitly told them about induced card demand. All we ever did was to have fun and be a role-model for them that it is possible to live a life that is not car-centric.</p>
<h2 id="the-kids-get-it">The kids get it</h2>
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<img src="http://pablo.gomes.nz//assets/bike-school1.png" alt="Biking to school" />
<p class="image-caption">Biking to school</p>
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<p>My kids get it.</p>
<p>They get it that you can’t solve traffic woes by adding more roads into a cramped city.</p>
<p>They get it that cars are not the most efficient mode of transportation, and we should prioritise high-density transportation alternatives.</p>
<p>They get it that helmet laws are a band-aid solution to utter lack of insfrastructure.</p>
<p>They get it that our transportation network should be designed to move people and not cars.</p>
<p>They get it that you can never feel as free and happy as when you are riding your bike.</p>pabloI have two very cool kids. They are kind, caring and goofy. But what I love most about them is that we have a shared love for cycling.In defense of Wellington’s cycling infrastructure2017-08-05T00:00:00+12:002017-08-05T00:00:00+12:00http://pablo.gomes.nz/2017/08/05/ibcycleway<p>Kia ora koutou!</p>
<p>It takes 60 seconds to provide feedback on the Island Bay Cycleway. Could you please do it? Here’s the <a href="https://diagram.typeform.com/to/OQkIo0">link</a>.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ibcycleway-options.png" alt="Cycleway Design Options" /></p>
<p>As you know, I’m a cyclist, and so is everyone in my family, including my kids. So, I am here pleading for the protected kerb side Island Bay Cycleway. The outcome of the #LoveTheBay consultation on the cycleway will shape all future cycling infrastructure in Wellington (directly or indirectly).</p>
<p>Don’t ask the council to build cycling infrastructure to build it for me. I am (barely) brave enough to share the roads with cars. Instead, please ask the council to build cycling infrastructure that will work for people of all ages and all cycling abilities.</p>
<p>My 5 year old daughter, who just learned how to ride without the training wheels. My 8 year old son who loves to go on Mountain Bike trails with me. My mum who loves biking but is terrified of the traffic. They all love cycling. And they are all vulnerable riders when they are on the road. However, they are also hazards for pedestrians when they’re cycling on footpaths.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lets see how smooth the bypass ramps are. Tick of approval from this little rider!<a href="https://twitter.com/IBCycleWay">@IBCycleWay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bikeWgth?src=hash">#bikeWgth</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/pablogl">@pablogl</a> <a href="https://t.co/066C9Up4vk">pic.twitter.com/066C9Up4vk</a></p>— Brevet Specific (@AxleRyde) <a href="https://twitter.com/AxleRyde/status/674819152591192064">December 10, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<p>My vision for Wellington is for an inclusive city, with <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/national-complete-streets-coalition/what-are-complete-streets/">complete streets</a> that offer multiple transport options including active transport (i.e. cycling and walking facilities) for all ages and all abilities.</p>
<p>Did you know that recent surveys indicated that 76% of New Zealanders would cycle if they had access to segregated cycling infrastructure? So, here’s your chance to start giving it to them.</p>
<p>My favourite design options for the cycleway are C, B and D (in that order). If you disagree with me, I would love to understand why and have a constructive conversation about it.</p>
<p>All design information about the cycleway is on the <a href="http://wellington.govt.nz/have-your-say/public-inputs/consultations/open/love-the-bay---delivering-on-the-cycleway">Wellington City Council website</a> if you would like to know more about it.</p>pabloKia ora koutou!Martin Scorsese’s film school2015-07-01T00:00:00+12:002015-07-01T00:00:00+12:00http://pablo.gomes.nz/notes/2015/07/01/film-school<p><a href="http://cinearchive.org/post/95205731750/the-story-goes-like-this-young-filmmaker-colin">Link for my bucket list.</a>.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/movie_list.jpg" alt="Movie list" /></p>pabloLink for my bucket list..