Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out the women’s riding survey conducted by Australian Mountain Bike Clinics as part of the research process for creating the newly launched women’s development program. The survey results (and a discussion of) are available here: Chix Survey AnalysisContinue reading “Women’s Riding Survey Results”
Category Archives: Research
Time Transcendence Performance Conference
The “Time.Transcendence.Performance” conference was held at Monash University in Melbourne from 1 – 3 October. The event attracted a diverse collection of artists and researchers with interests extending to a range of artistic, philosophical, performative and lived experiences. It always feels like a great privilege to hear people share their work at an event like this, and to be surrounded by so much enthusiastic discussion beforehand and afterward.Continue reading “Time Transcendence Performance Conference”
Ride Calendar: supporting brain and spinal injury research
The consequences of injury is a reality we fear in mountain biking, and something we often try not to think about due to the uncertainty of what it could do to our quality of life. With a focus on life after injury, Ride Calendar 2010 tackles this issue in an inspiring, positive manner. The calendar is a non profit initiative from Design by Peppi and features stunning illustrations of high-profile riders who have sustained life-changing injuries doing the sport they love. The website created for the calendar includes a collection of short interviews revealing the attitudes, determination and new experiences of these athletes post-injury.
All profits from the sale of this calendar will to go to Wings for Life and the Brain Foundation, charities which provide funding for research into brain and spinal injury. At $24.95 a pop, this is a small donation to two important causes that make a big difference to the lives of people in our community.
Watching the Worlds!
One of the chapters in my PhD takes an in depth look at the experience of spectating, particularly in relation to mountain bike events. The experience of spectating at these events is pretty extraordinary as most of the people watching have a bodily appreciation of the skills and experience on display. This influences the motivation people yell from the sidelines, and the inspiration an audience feels after watching a talented rider make a technical hill look flat.
I’ve posted a few photos below that give a feel of audiencing, and the proximity of spectators to the action, at the World Mountain Bike and Trails Championships held in Canberra last week. What you can’t see is the noise, and the number of people that took off on their bikes during the event to hit up some other Canberra trails!
Photos: Kath Bicknell
Kath Bicknell 