Meet our Bike Library Coordinators: Shantanu, Rhi and Sri, a passionate team supporting Pedal Power ACT’s Bike Library and helping more people access safe, affordable bikes in Canberra.

Together, they bring a diverse mix of professional experience, cultural knowledge and community commitment. From heritage conservation and social enterprise to recruitment and community engagement, each coordinator contributes unique skills while sharing a common interest in sustainability, active transport and inclusive communities.

As a team, Shantanu, Rhi and Sri support Bike Library sessions at Margaret Hendry School in Taylor, working with borrowers, managing bike loans, and helping ensure the Bike Library runs smoothly. Their work plays a key role in removing barriers to cycling and supporting more people to ride for transport, wellbeing and connection.

Pedal Power ACT is proud to recognise the time, energy and care they bring to this program, and we look forward to the positive impact they will continue to have within Canberra’s cycling community. 

When women began riding bicycles in the late nineteenth century, the response was alarm. Women cyclists were portrayed as a threat to the social order and warned that cycling would undermine femininity. That discomfort with women being mobile, autonomous and visible in public space has not disappeared. It has simply changed its language.

Today, women’s decisions about cycling are still shaped by fear, poor infrastructure and the risk of harassment or violence. When women ride confidently and visibly, backlash can be swift, as seen in the abuse directed at Marisa Paterson after she shared a photo of herself cycling to work. This was not about cycling. It was about a woman occupying public space with confidence.

Pedal Power is challenging these realities through the Fancy Women’s Ride on International Women’s Day, a free, festive ride affirming women’s right to be safe, visible and confident on our streets.

When bikes in the Pedal Power ACT Bike Library reach the end of their use, volunteer Prince Jyubeh steps in to give them a second chance. One by one, he restores old bikes and prepares them for shipment to communities where access to transport can change lives.

The bikes are donated to Glorious Uniting Helps Ministries, which supports students and single mothers who often walk long distances to reach school, work, or essential services.

Through his quiet dedication, Prince turns bikes that might otherwise be scrapped into practical tools that make a real difference for families in need.

On 16 December, Pedal Power members came together at Lennox Gardens to celebrate the end of a big year and mark our 50th anniversary in true community spirit. Around 30 members enjoyed a relaxed picnic-style evening filled with shared food, great company and plenty of festive cheer. This year’s sustainable Kris Kringle, featuring handmade and pre-loved gifts, added an extra layer of creativity and laughter to the evening.

The night also saw the presentation of our 2025 Volunteer Awards, recognising the incredible efforts of those who go above and beyond for our community. Congratulations to all our award recipients, and a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helps make Pedal Power such a welcoming and active organisation.

After spending six months living in Madrid, Mikayla came back to Canberra with a very different perspective on what cycling can look like in a big city; both the good and the frustrating. Riding daily gave her a front-row seat to Madrid’s contradictions: impressive investment in sustainable transport alongside streets that still feel actively hostile to bikes.

From watching school bike buses roll past (sometimes ending in a well-earned bici-churro) to navigating major roads where painted bike lanes simply disappear, Madrid showed her how much infrastructure and community matters. Some parts of the city are doing it brilliantly. Others still have a long way to go.

This week, Pedal Power had the pleasure of attending the 2025 Volunteering ACT Awards, where we proudly nominated our Advocacy Team for the Team Award. Volunteer Advocacy Coordinator Mike Watson, along with advocates Rob Dalitz, Assistant Coordinator for Ginnindera Electorate and Gregg Berry, Coordinator for Yerrabi Electorate, joined Executive Director Cecily Michaels to represent the extraordinary work of the team. 

After a packed session at the National Library exploring why bicycles continue to capture our imaginations, about twenty riders joined Pedal Power Board member and long-time ride leader John Widdup for a gentle loop around the wetlands of Lake Burley Griffin on Saturday 15 November. 

The talk beforehand, Two Wheels to Adventure: Bikes and why we love them, drew a crowd of well over a hundred people. Facilitator Dr Rebecca Fleming guided a lively conversation with the panel: Tony Wheeler AO, co-founder of Lonely Planet, and historian Dr Daniel Oakman, well known for works such as Wild Ride and his biography of Sir Hubert Opperman. 

Most of the time, your rides will be uneventful in the best possible way. But when something unexpected happens, it helps to know you’re not facing it alone. 

Here are two fictional examples that show how Pedal Power’s membership insurance can support you, whether you’re injured yourself or accidentally cause harm to someone else. 

If something happens while you’re riding or volunteering, we recommend completing an incident report within two weeks, even if you’re unsure whether a claim will be needed. You’ll find the form on our website. 

Pedal Power has been advocating for years to secure a safe, direct connection between Coombs and the C5 near the RSPCA. The new shared path and bridge are meant to deliver precisely that. But the latest proposed design still poses a serious safety issue that can’t be ignored.

The path leading to the bridge currently sits at a 9.3 percent gradient. In real terms, that’s steep. For comparison, Canberra’s best-practice guidelines recommend gradients between 5 and 7 percent for shared paths, and ideally lower in areas used by children or beginner riders. Once you push past 8 percent, braking distances increase sharply, bikes gather speed quickly without pedalling, and it becomes much harder for riders to maintain control.

Cycling Without Age helps older, less mobile Canberrans enjoy a breath of fresh air and the wind in their hair.

On Saturday, 29 November, Pedal Power hosted free rides in our Danish trishaws, pedalled by our volunteer pilots. Some would say we felt a little too much wind in our hair that day, but the breeze didn’t stop us from taking a relaxed ride around Lake Ginninderra. In fact, the determination of our pilots made the chilly morning feel surprisingly cosy.

Cyclonats had very humble beginnings and has very grand ambitions. The idea for a festival of cycling began when Nigel McRae had an inspiration and invited a few dedicated cyclists to brainstormed the idea at Smith’s Alternative in 2024. These cyclists had a vision of a weekend festival that would spread all over Canberra in March every year, celebrating every kind of rider from toddlers on trikes to elite athletes on the fastest machines.

E-bikes may be one of the most sought-after Christmas gifts this year, but the market has become confusing - and in some cases, unsafe. With more Canberrans turning to electric bikes for recreation, commuting and family riding, it’s vital to understand the difference between a legal, roadworthy e-bike and the growing number of illegal high-powered devices being sold online as if they were bicycles. 

Thank you to everyone who took part in our recent Membership and Stakeholder Surveys. We had over 500 responses, giving us a strong sense of what our community values and where you’d like to see us focus next. Your feedback helps guide our priorities as we plan for the years ahead. 

This week, we interviewed David Thomson, a long-standing member of Pedal Power. He described what cycling has meant for him throughout his life and shared the experiences he has had with Pedal Power. We are incredibly grateful for his insights and for the passion he brings to our community. Stories like David’s remind us why cycling matters and how much our members contribute to the spirit, history and future of Pedal Power.

While preparing for this year’s Celebration Ride, we took a deep dive into the Pedal Power archives and unearthed something truly special: our very first newsletter from April 1975. Among faded pages and typewritten lines, we found the beginnings of a movement that shaped cycling in Canberra. The stories, the tone, even the focus on safety and community all feel familiar, reminding us that while the way we share has evolved, our purpose hasn’t. The wheels started turning fifty years ago, and they haven’t stopped since.

Rosemary’s cycling journey began in 2014 after a knee injury led her to Pedal Power’s New Horizons course, and what started as rehab quickly became her passion. Since then, she has become one of our most recognisable members, riding with multiple groups and now hitting the trails on her mountain bike three times a week. Elected to the Board in 2017 and serving as President from 2018 to 2021, Rosemary guided Pedal Power through bushfires, COVID and key governance reforms. Today, she is known for her warm support on TeamApp and her leadership of the Social Rides Management Group, bringing deep organisational experience and a strong commitment to our community.

Fifty years ago, a small group of determined Canberrans rode together in protest, calling for the city to build safe, separated bike paths. That simple act sparked a movement. It was the beginning of Pedal Power ACT – and the start of Canberra’s journey to becoming the Cycling Capital of Australia. Half a century later, the heart of Pedal Power remains unchanged. Volunteers have always been the engine behind this organisation: passionate, persistent people who believed Canberra could be a city where anyone, at any age, could ride a bike confidently and safely. Their vision has shaped a city that is widely regarded as Australia’s leading cycling city, and scores well in international assessments of cycling infrastructure quality.

The celebration at Lennox Gardens brought everyone together over pide, dips, fruit and plenty of good conversation and great tunes thanks to Paris Lord from Canberra By Bike, who provided music along the route and at the park, entertaining those who stayed on to chat, relax and even have a dance. Long-standing and new members alike spoke about how meaningful it felt to be part of such a moment - honouring the past while showing up for the future.

From family picnic rides by Lake Burley Griffin to challenging Mountain Goat climbs and scenic weekend tours, Pedal Power’s social rides have been bringing Canberra cyclists together for 50 years. This article celebrates the history of our rides, highlights the diversity of cyclists who participate, and shows how volunteer leaders have kept these rides safe, fun, and welcoming for all. Whether you’re new to group cycling or a seasoned rider, there’s a social ride for everyone and a community waiting to share the journey.

Canberra’s roads are shared by people with very different levels of cycling experience and confidence, from the strong and fearless to those who are interested but concerned. This article explores why creating safe, inclusive streets matters for everyone, highlights common challenges cyclists face on busy routes, and explains how small acts of respect from drivers can make a big difference. By giving bike riders the space and safety they deserve, we can reduce congestion, encourage more people to ride, and help make Canberra a better, more livable city for all.