Freeway Bike Hike to raise funds for Asthma Foundation

17/02/2009

Western Australians can be part of the State’s biggest cycling event on March 22.

Transport Minister Simon O'Brien today launched the fifth annual HBF Freeway Bike Hike for Asthma at Joondalup's Central Park.

The event, timed to kick off Bikeweek, is expected to attract about 8,000 participants who would cycle along sections of the Graham Farmer, Mitchell and Kwinana freeways.

Mr O’Brien said he was pleased to be the event’s official ambassador.

“This is a rare opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy cycling in safety on a closed freeway,” he said.

“Choosing to cycle is a simple way to improve general fitness and reduce our carbon footprint by easing traffic congestion, greenhouse emissions and pollution.

"This is the only ride in Australia conducted over closed freeways.”

The HBF Freeway Bike Hike for Asthma raises funds for the Asthma Foundation of WA, a community-based, non-profit organisation dedicated to alleviating asthma as a cause of morbidity and mortality.

"There are currently more than 220,000 Western Australians and more than two million Australians with asthma and the ride highlights the vital work of the Asthma Foundation of WA,” the Minister said.

The Freeway Bike Hike began in the 2005 and now has more than 7,000 cyclists, making it the State’s biggest cycling event.

The ride is designed for the whole family with three distances: a 60km hike starting in Kwinana (at the train station), a 30km ride via the Northbridge Tunnel (starting at Belmont Race Course) and a 10km City of Joondalup Family Ride (starting at the Greenwood Train Station).

The rides finish at the City of Joondalup with entertainment, music and festivities.

Entry forms are available from HBF (members receive 15 per cent off the entry fee), local bike shops or online at http://www.freewaybikehike.com.au

The event is supported by the State Government through the Department for Planning and Infrastructure's BikeWest initiative, Main Roads WA and the Public Transport Authority.

Some facts about bikes and cycling:

• annual world bike production: 108,799,200.
• the number of bicycles sold in Australia has outstripped the number of cars sold for nine consecutive years.
• there are two-and-a-half times more bikes produced annually than cars. 
• the top five bike producers are: China, India, the European Union, Taiwan, and Japan. They are responsible for 87 per cent of global production.
• according to the Australian Bicycle Council, the cost of buying and maintaining a bike is about one per cent of the cost of buying and maintaining a car.
• China produces more than 60 per cent of the world’s bikes but in Beijing, only 20 per cent of commuters rode bikes in 2002, compared to 60 per cent in 1998.
• it is estimated that more than a billion bicycles are present in the world, with nearly half of them in China.
• the Canadian Automobile Association calculated the annual cost of running a car minus the cost of a bicycle and estimated that if just half of the people who bought a bicycle within a year were able to stop using their car they’d have an additional $5,000-$6,000 of disposable income. (Australian Bicycle Council)
• cycling just 10 kilometres each way to work instead of driving saves about $770 in transport costs and 1.3 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year. (Australian Bicycle Council)