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Date: 8/27/2025
Subject: Bike North Newsletter - 27 August 2025
From: Bike North


27 AUGUST 2025	Your Bike North NewsLETTER

Volunteer Award 2025: ROGER POTTIE – Rides

If you ever happen to be near Meadowbank Wharf on a Friday morning, you can be guaranteed to see a group of chatty cyclists quieten as they gather around a wiry gentleman who captures their attention for some minutes. That gentleman is our new Volunteer Awardee, Roger Pottie!

For more than four years now, Roger Pottie has regularly led Bike North rides on Fridays, mostly starting from Meadowbank, and stretching out to all corners of Sydney.

Roger Pottie joined Bike North in June 2016 and enjoyed cycling on a variety of rides including Gerritt Hagan’s Friday rides.

When Gerritt advised of his imminent relocation to the Central Coast, with little hesitation, Roger willingly took up the mantle, undertaking training to be accredited as a Ride Leader in May 2021 to enable the Friday riders to continue to have the opportunity to ride.

And that commitment is what has earned Roger the Volunteer Award this year. Read what the nominators’ have stated:

The key to Roger’s contribution has been consistency, listing rides ever Friday - holidays, health and weather permitting, covering slightly longer distances but at an easily achievable pace for most riders. The fact that his rides fill up so quickly is testimony not only to his choice of rides, but also to his approachable and friendly nature. (Brian Lynne)

Volunteer Award 2025: MARY ANN IRVIN - Advocacy

In the somewhat hidden but important linking suburb of Willoughby in Sydney’s north, busy at work has been a Bike North member, advocating for improved conditions for cyclists.

That person is Mary Ann Irvin, recipient of a Bike North Volunteer Award for 2025.

A member of Bike North’s advocacy team, Mary Ann has been at the pointy end of change in the Willoughby area, participating on the Council’s Bicycle Committee for over eight years and in its reincarnation as the Active and Integrated Transport Advisory Committee since 2023. She has worked with others to put forward proposals for slow streets, contributing to the draft Bicycle Strategy.

Of her work on that committee, Bike North member and Willoughby Councillor, Andrew Nelson, participated on that Committee and mentions that:

MaryAnn has a detailed knowledge of Willoughby’s extensive bike routes and was able to contribute to discussions from a very sound position. She was also supportive of structuring that Committee so that it could more effectively provide feedback to Council. During our term together on the Committee we were invited to contribute to Council’s Cycling Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2034. As well as attending workshops to discuss input and the structure of that Plan, MaryAnn and others on that Committee made very lengthy submissions on the draft document.

Congratulations and thank you Mary Ann for your contributions!

Nominated by Carolyn New, Advocacy Convenor, Willoughby & North Sydney

Supported by Andrew Nelson & David Thomson, Advocacy Co-ordinator

Get SNAPPY - Bike North's photo competition starts today!

As part of our "Activ8 September" promotion, Bike North will run a photo competition.

The rules are simply:

Entrants must be a current Bike North member
The subject of your photo can be anything but if it shows cycling in general, or Bike North in particular, bonus points will be awarded
The photo may be taken anytime and anywhere in Australia or overseas
Photos to be submitted to socialmedia@bikenorth.org.au by 6.00pm 30 September 2025

Chris Byrne, our Social Media Guru and Wow! Photography interest group co-ordinator, will judge the competition.

The prize will be a Bike North-branded product!

So, get those cameras charged up any start snapping. If you want to hone your skills another Wow! Photography ride is coming up in September so keep your eyes on the calendar to grab your spot early!

Chris Byrne

REP FOR RYDE

Calling for EOIs from Bike North members to be representatives on Ryde Council's Sport, Leisure and Recreation Community Committee. Council allows two representatives from Bike North to be on this committee which meets online 4-5 times per year.

For more information contact Alison Pryor: alisonpryor99@gmail.com

To register your interest, take this link: https://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/Council/Committees/Community-Committees/Sport-Recreation-and-Leisure-Community-Committee

Editing RideWithGPS Maps

I recently had a conversation regarding how difficult it is to edit RideWithGPS maps.

Here are three techniques that make this process easier once you know how they work.

Technique 1 - Control Points (Desktop Editing)

In my experience the confusion when it comes to modifying routes is not understanding the impact of control points and it is badly documented (except for here!). If you don’t understand control points you won’t be able to edit a route.

Here is a video demonstrating the details explained below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmAnEI2FIyY

Control points look like those indicated in image 1.

You can right click on them to remove them and perform other functions (e.g. splitting route).

If you have a Control Point it means the route is fixed to go though here. A control point is created when you click on the route with “Control Point” selected on the edit menu as indicated in image 2 or you drag the route somewhere.

I would recommend you leave Edit on this setting while modifying the route (do not use “Add to Route”). Otherwise you end up adding unwanted sections to the end of the route.

To change the route you should set control points to anchor the route to where you want the changes to start and end and then drag the route to where you want to go. If things don’t work I recommend you undo the change, adjust and try again as this is less confusing.

image 1

image 2

Technique 2/3 - Changing the Start/End (Mobile App)

We use these techniques on tour when we have accommodation that is off the route so we can start and end directly at the accommodations.

On the mobile app if you go to the route and select “Plan” from the menu at the bottom you will be able to edit the map in a limited manner.

If you click the hamburger menu you will see the options as per the image on the right.

The “Change Start” and “Change End” options do what they say and guide you through the process involving the following actions:

Tapping on the new start position on the map
Tapping on the map where you want to join the route.

RWGPS will then compute a route between the two.

Paul Williamson

Bike North is proud to support Big Bike Film Night 2025 at the Roseville cinema screening on THURSDAY 4 September from 7.00pm.

Join us for a selection of short films of cycling tales from around the world.

Featured this year are our friends Cycling Without Age and the wonderful trishaw rides they provide for less able-bodied citizens.

Proclaimed as “a feast of short films devised and designed for the two-wheel devotee” it has its humble beginnings in Taupō, New Zealand in 2015. The Big Bike Film Night is now a much-anticipated global Film Festival that brings a love of cycling to cinemas, presenting an array of international movies specifically selected by New Zealander Curator | “Film Pedlar”, Brett Cotter.

“Our scintillating 2025 collection contains eight mesmerizing films that are as varied and diverse as you could hope for. With arguably the finest selection of cycling films yet, from the exotic location of northern Pakistan to the suburban streets of Santa Barbara in America, from the soaring mountain peaks of Austria to breathtaking Queenstown, New Zealand to the captivating Scottish Highlands” states Mr Cotter.

Watch this trailer and get excited: Watch this trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es-LelGKDh0

Find our more here: https://bigbikefilmnight.nz/

Book now: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1364789

BN members can email your receipts by 31 August 2025 to entries@bikenorth.org.au to go into the draw to have your tickets reimbursed in our annual draw!

...and ...

if you are going to the BBFN, why not join others at El Karim for a meal, snack or drink prior to the movies?

Bike North members are welcome to attend the restaurant any time from 5.00pm. There is no formal booking, so just join whoever is there or start a new table.

REGISTRATION ESSENTIAL. Please register via the Calendar in the usual way so that we can notify the restaurant of numbers.

Are You Ready to Activ8?

We’ve previously talked about the need to check your bike over if it has been inactive over the Winter period but what about you?

Winter is often a time of excess heavy foods, inactivity by the fire and a glass, or more, of your favourite red wine, and why not? You worked hard for this time of relaxation and what if the scales show you have put on a few extra kilos? Obviously, it’s time to buy some more honest scales.

But September is the first month of Spring and it’s time to Activ8, but are you up to it?

Read our article to get ready to Activ8!

The Sydney Spring Cycle is coming ...

Spring Cycle returns on Sunday, 12 October 2025!

Join thousands of people for a celebration of cycling that starts in North Sydney and continues across the Sydney Harbour Bridge main deck and on to the festival-style atmosphere at the finish-line.

Get ready to take on our Classic 50km ride or the 10km City ride in support of Lifeline.

Registrations are now open: https://springcycle.com.au/

Want to ride with other Bike North members? Then register via our Calendar in the usual way, download the app and join the Spring Cycle Channel to find out meeting point and more.

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