Pedal Positive

You may have seen me riding my bicycle around, mainly on the coastal road, it’s a blue bike, basket on the front, Polynesian bike hire stickers plastered over it’s frame. I’m riding it red faced with suncream stained limbs, out of breath and wishing I’d hired a moped instead.
However, there are numerable reasons to endure. In hiring and riding bicycles we are lowering our carbon footprint during our stay on Rarotonga. This isn’t just a buzz word but makes a real tangible difference. It means that we are not buying or using the islands low petrol reserves - saving us money, and the island from more needless pollution.
Cycling on this island is not without its pitfalls, such as the storm beaten coastal road and unrelenting elements. Potholes and disintegrating road edges can be tricky to avoid and the sheer amount of broken glass on Rarotongan roads poses a puncture hazard. These factors surely contribute to only a resolute few choosing bicycles on an island of such short journeys, an island that in theory would be the ideal place to choose cycling as your main mode of transport.
In large, congested, European cities, such as Amsterdam, Holland and Copenhagen, Denmark, bicycles are not solely recreational but a way of commuting to work, getting to school, a statement of intent that you will reach your destination under your own power. People routinely cycle distances that would lap the island. All Rarotonga needs to adopt this sensibility would be a higher standard road surface and the will to cycle. The repairs to the road surface are a matter for government, whereas the will to cycle is something that several agents on the island are working on.
We spoke to representatives of the Polynesian Bike Hire company, located in Avarua, about their initiatives regarding cycling. They have previously promoted bicycles by parading new additions to their range around the island, though they note that tourists are often more interested in renting mopeds, many of whom have never ridden mopeds before. Riding a moped seems a tourist attraction in itself, however the islands latest immigrant, the Hybrid Bicycle, could offer an ecological cost effective alternative that could rival the hallowed moped in the eyes of both tourists and locals.
This ‘Eco Go’ electric powered bicycle, capable of pushing you along at a steady pace whilst not costing you a single drop of petrol, simply plugs into your electrical supply. In a single vehicle you have two forms of motion, your own pedal power and that of a small electric motor. This is the realisation of the best of both worlds- you can boost your fitness and health levels and yet avoid the heat exhaustion suffered on the humble push bike. When a vehicle such as this is combined with one of the renewable energy initiatives currently promoted by Te Aponga Uira, you are in effect getting a form of perpetual transport with no energy costs. Currently there are only four of these vehicles on Rarotonga, but who knows what the future may hold.
Whether your stay on Rarotonga is short term or permanent you can cut down on the negative effects you have on the island by simply using some pedal power.

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