Get on yer bike to help create cleaner, healthier communities
AS a society we are faced with many problems, from climate change to air pollution, childhood obesity to rural decline, congestion on our roads, not to mention our hospital corridors. These issues often seem so disparate that we sometimes forget that there is a simple device that can help us address these challenges, namely the humble bicycle.
Cycling offers the potential to not only enhance the livability of our our towns and villages but also our public health, fitness, air quality and at the same time holds the potential to act as a sustainable economic stimulus for rural communities especially in counties like Kerry.
With this in mind two events taking place this week are a must for anyone who wants to see a strong cycle culture and economy develop in Kerry. These are a screening of a new documentary “Why We Cycle” which focuses on Dutch cycle culture and a presentation by Sustrans founder and Greenway expert John Grimshaw.
On Thursday the Kerry Cycling Campaign will host a screening of “Why We Cycle” a new documentary which takes a ride with ordinary cyclists and experts. These conversations uncover some obvious, but even more hidden effects of cycling on people, on societies, and on the organization of cities.
To the Dutch, cycling is as normal as breathing. They don’t think about it, they just do it. Perhaps the fact that they don’t think about it is the key to the bicycle’s success there. As they do not give cycling a second thought, they don’t really know what the deeper needs of cyclists are.
This film is a free event and will take place at Kerry County Library, Tralee, on Thursday 12th of April at 6.15pm
On Friday the Great Southern Trail will host a presentation from John Grimshaw, founder of the UK’s leading sustainable transport charity Sustrans, and a pioneer of greenway developments with almost 50 years experience developing trails.
John was the author of the Great Southern Trail report commissioned by Shannon Development and published 30 years ago this year, which proposed a trail on the former Kerry - Limerick railway line. The project is seen as Ireland’s first planned Greenway. At that time John walked the entire route from Tralee to Ballingrane junction and is now returning to cycle the route to the Kerry border and is delighted to hear the news that Kerry County Council are progressing the route from Listowel and Tralee.
As part of the presentation John will outline his experiences in developing Greenways and the multiple benefits that accrue to communities as a result. For both dedicated Greenway enthusiasts and those who wish to inform themselves this will be a rewarding evening.
This talk is free and will take place at the Glórach Theatre, Abbeyfeale on Friday 13th April at 8pm. MY first paid employment was a part-time job with Quinnsworth over 30 years ago and the advice my father gave me back then has never been more relevant to what is happening today.
In going to work that first day, he addressed the fact that I was now an adult doing adult things but inherent to all things adult, there were responsibilities. One of those responsibilities was to use caution when it came to gossip or commentary, both professionally and personally. He advised me to never say, do or write anything that I could not defend with honour and truth in open court.
It was a dramatic thing to say to his young daughter who was only looking to earn some extra cash. But it is advice that I have wittingly and unwittingly taken onboard my whole adult life. Next to my mother’s wisdom of “don’t worry about what people are thinking about you because they are probably not thinking about you at all”, I cannot deny that parental pragmatism has served me well.
Evidence from the Belfast Rape Trial and certain reactions to the verdict was very indicative of a culture; a particular culture existing amongst some young men today.
The Ireland and Ulster rugby player (not on trial) who was identified as the composer of an offensive WhatsApp message to one of the defendants, (presented in evidence), has come out in apology and regret for his words. Two further prominent sportsmen have also apologised and ‘MOST Everything that you want in life is sitting just outside of your comfort zone’ - Jack Canfield.
By definition, comfort zones are life situations that most of us gravitate towards where we feel safe and at ease. Regular routines and patterns minimize stress and risk. The pay-off in them is that in the short term, you enjoy normal ‘ happiness’, low anxiety, and reduced stress. The price is that growth and most of the other good things you want in life demands you take regular trips outside of them.
The idea of comfort zones goes back to a classic experiment in psychology in 1908. Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson showed that a state of relative comfort resulted in a steady level of performance. However, in order to achieve optimal performance, we need a state of ‘relative anxiety’—a space where stress levels are a little higher than normal. This is called “Optimal Anxiety,” and is located just outside your comfort zone!
Sometimes life pushes you outside of your comfort zone. Something happens. You have to take an action that challenges you and makes you feel uncomfortable. Sometimes the trigger is your desire to move forward and expressed regret for tweets about the complainant in the immediate aftermath of the verdict.
Why write such things in the first place? Should people not know better?
But this is the crux of it – they don’t. Somehow amidst the technological revolution, rampant consumerism and the body beautiful, principles of good behaviour have been lost.
I welcome the Minister for Education’s call for improved measures in how relationships, sexuality and the issue of consent are dealt with in schools, something for which I have been championing. We credited the rape trial for starting a conversation with our young men and women but that is a cop out. We should not have to rely on the destruction of lives for this conversation to begin. As parents, teachers, mentors and leaders, we are all responsible for this discourse.
Recent events have exposed acutely the detriment of negative peer pressure extending to the infinite world of social media. But peer pressure can be positive too and a valuable learning tool. Regular space on the school curriculum needs to be made for dialogue on issues that have been long since been avoided or bypassed. Maths theorems and verb declensions have their worth, but knowing how to contribute meaningfully, equally and respectfully to any relationship whether that relationship be personal, casual, work, social – serves not just the individual but society. Our society.