World Protest Bike Ride Newcastle- Sunday 14 March 2010

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*** *** World Protest Bike Ride Newcastle- Sunday 14 March 2010 ******---------------------------------------------------------------------------
World Naked Bike Ride Australia 2010

Newcastle:
Date: Sunday 14 March 2010
Time: 5pm
Location: Civic Park, opposite Newcastle Town Hall
Ride details
Newcastle will ride on Sunday the 14th March 2010. Assembly location is Civic Park, opposite the Newcastle Town Hall (the same as Critical Mass) and time is 5pm so please bring your bike lights.
It is usual practice that visitors from out-of-town can be helped with the loan of a bike on the day. Body painting is optional (though encouraged) so you can write slogans and protest messages that tell the public what the ride is about. Peace signs, hearts and flowers are always in theme. Body painting will place at a secret private location and this works well. The ride will include a party (before or after the ride) at a venue to be determined which will feature music, BBQ and vegan food and beer.

The official Southern Hemisphere World Naked Bike Ride date is Saturday the 13th of March 2010 and Sydney will ride on that date. Keen riders could participate in both cities.

For more details see:
http://wiki. worldnakedbikeri de.org/index. php?title= Newcastle
You can also download the flyer and poster for the event from that website and we really appreciate if you can print, distribute and post these to encourage participation in the event.
Facebook group: http://www.facebook .com/group. php?gid=18181494 080
Facebook event: http://www.facebook .com/event. php?eid=13763895 1594&ref= ts
World Naked Bike Ride Australia 2010
Peacefully expose the vulnerability of cyclists, humanity and nature in the face of cars, aggression, consumerism and non-renewable energy.

At least 7 Australian towns and cities will participate in the next southern hemisphere leg of the World Naked Bike Ride in March 2010. The official southern hemisphere ride date is Saturday the 13th of March 2010.
The dates and locations are:

Saturday the 6th of March 2010: Nimbin.
Sunday the 7th of March 2010: Byron Bay.
Saturday the 13th of March 2010: Sydney and Adelaide.
Sunday the 14th of March 2010: Newcastle.
Sunday the 21st of March 2010: Canberra and Melbourne.
Ballarat has a WNBR Organiser who has volunteered in late 2009. They plan to hold the first WNBR in Ballarat in 2011 to do justice to the planning, organisation and pubicity.
Check website for details: http://australia. worldnakedbikeri de.org/ or follow the links to the towns cities webpage on this wiki website.
Other cities across the world will also host rides as part of the southern hemisphere leg of WNBR's global movement, including Lima (Peru), Golden Bay (New Zealand), Sao Paulo and Brasília (Brazil). Riders in some northern hemisphere locations (such as Brighton UK) ride in solidarity with the southern riders.
The World Naked Bike Ride is an annual clothing optional protest ride for Naturism, Environmentalism, Peace and the rights of cyclists to use the road safely.
The ride is not a race and goes at an easy recreational pace. An element of competition between cyclists is present only in respect of how bizarrely they can decorate their bodies with paint, slogans and bits of costume. Many riders paint their bodies with peace signs, hearts and flowers.
The dress code for the ride is "Go as bare as you dare"! Nudity is not compulsory. It is not a ride promoting overtly sexual behaviour in public.
It is a very hippie and green event.
Many problems beset the world:
There is a need for people to hold a body positive image. A lot of people have hang ups about the human body and can not distinguish between non-sexual nudity and pornography. People are living creatures and part of nature, not superior or detached from it. Shame or disgust of human bodies, it all their colours, shapes and sizes is a form of prejudice.
Burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and mineral oil) causes environmental damage including climate change, air pollution, acid rain and water pollution. The destruction of our natural environment threatens all living things with extinction. We face the carbon-induced nemesis of nature.
Without using nuclear fuels (uranium, plutonium) nuclear accidents, nuclear weapons, depleted uranium tipped weapons and nuclear contamination would not exist. Exposure to nuclear radiation causes cancer, genetic mutations and death. Nuclear material remains radioactive virtually forever.
Health Problems including asthma and respiratory illnesses occur partly because of the pollution caused by burning fossil fuels. Obesity, diabetes and lack of exercise come from our sedentary car-addicted lifestyles.
We see violence everyday because of the fraudulent wars fought over oil, road rage and deaths and injuries to pedestrians and cyclists from motorised vehicles. Worldwide it was estimated that 1.2 million people were killed and 50 million more were injured in motor vehicle collisions in 2004. We need a peaceful and gentler world which includes our roads.
For a future to exist for tomorrow's generations, we must stop exploiting mineral energy, stop polluting the Earth, stop fighting and killing in the name of consumerist wealth accumulation and learn to love and respect all life, and to continue to spread this message.
The World Naked Bike Ride Mission Statement
Peacefully expose the vulnerability of cyclists, humanity and nature in the face of cars, aggression, consumerism and non-renewable energy.
World Naked Bike Ride History
Manifestación Ciclonudista Mundial began in Spain in 2001 and the WNBR grew from that protest which takes the form of a naked bike ride. Since then, the WNBR has spread to over 50 cites in about 20 countries with the participation of thousands of riders. Because of differing climates, the WNBR is conducted in two legs. The Southern hemisphere WNBR occurs on the second Saturday of March and has included Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and cities in Florida (USA) where the weather is comfortable at that time of year. Eugene in Oregan, USA and Brighton in the UK have braved the winter weather to ride on the Southern hemisphere date. The Northern hemisphere WNBR is much larger, both in terms of number of rides and participants with some rides like Portland, Oregan alone getting about 5000 riders in 2009. WNBR is most popular in Europe and North America.
WNBR Australian History
There is a story that Australia participated in the first WNBR on 12 June 2004. Six naked bike riders (4 men and two women), led by Luke and Kathy, are supposed to have rode from Tweed Heads to Bilambil through the countryside. There are no known photographs of the ride and Luke and Kathy have lost contact with the rest of the WNBR. Did it really happen?
In 2005 Marte Kinder organised the first WNBR in Australia that not only went through a city, but was photographed and witnessed. Marte founded the movement in Australia and has since built the organisation in terms of riders and rides around Australia by recruiting participants and Organisers in various cities and towns.
Everyone is very welcome to participate or help organise! I have not seen any photos of past events where riders are not grinning and laughing their heads off. WNBR is terrific fun! Why not have a go?
To find out more, go to http://australia. worldnakedbikeri de.org/ If you do not have a computer or internet connection you could use an internet café or public libraries´ computers.
If people in Australia are interested in attending a WNBR event in Australia, please have a look at the website first. Also, if you live anywhere where there is no WNBR planned, you are welcome to organise one yourself and you will get supportive and friendly help from the Australian Co-ordinator. It is pretty easy to do and a very rewarding experience. The WNBR Worldwide site http://www.worldnak edbikeride. org/ has reference pages with tips for people to use when organising. It will happen if you help make it happen!
What does it cost?
Nothing. There are no fees involved at all. There are no forms to fill in. There is no registration and we do not want to collect people´s personal details.
WNBR is loads of fun and a consciousness expanding, giggle festival. You could help save the world or at least die laughing while trying.



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*** Welcome to the Newcastle University Bicycle Users' Group (NUBUG). ***---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Marshall invites you to join a new club:

The Newcastle University Bicycle Users' Group (NUBUG).

Tom writes:
"Facilities Management wants to improve cycling infrastructure for staff and students, but wants recommendations from cyclists first. To gather opinions and advocate cycling in a representative manner, I am setting up a bicycle users' group to exist as a NUSA-affiliated club, which will facilitate meetings and other communication in order to work collectively with the university.

By improving the cycling facilities, I mean specifically lobbying the university, Newcastle City Council and RailCorp for cycle paths separate from both roads and footpaths. We are also looking to have more bike racks and showers built at uni, in a co-ordinated manner. Our aim is to make cycling safer and more comfortable for those who already ride, and in doing so, encourage others to cycle to uni. This is a product of a NUSA enviro campaign I have been helping to run this year, which involves the free bike workshop at NUSA on Thursdays, called the Bike Love Corral."