The Star: September 28, 2023

The Star Thursday September 28 2023
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16
NEWS
Could you have
Unleash your bike
NO ONE really knows how many
bicycles there are in Christchurch. The
only estimate in peer-reviewed literature
suggests there could be 272,510 bikes
lurking in garages and sheds across the
city. The team behind Biketober are on a
mission to get more of them dusted down,
tyres pumped and out for a spin.
“Spring is great time to start hopping on
your bike for local rides,” says Biketober
co-ordinator Michele Hollis.
“Riding a bike is cheap, easy and fun.
That’s what Biketober is about – more
people having more fun on bikes.”
Hollis describes Biketober as a
“community festival”, meaning events
are organised by a host of individuals and
clubs. The focus is give-it-a-go rather than
racing.
Biketober aims to amplify year-round
community initiatives like RAD (Recycle
A Dunger) and Aranui Bike Fix-Up.
“If your bike needs repair, or you need a
new one, there’s help available,” she says.
Many other events are created
PHOTO: BIG
STREET BIKERS
specifically for Biketober.
“I love little, local events where you
meet your neighbours, like Brighton Bikes
and Beers, New to Lincoln ride, and You
Can Ride in Rolleston,” says Hollis.
This year’s signature events are the
opening night movie, the Bike Rave 4
Climate, Dogs on Bikes, and Passports.
There are three Passport competitions
– Whānau Passport for kids, Big Passport
for adults, and a One Day Challenge
on October 29. All three use a locallydeveloped
web app. Register for free
on the Biketober website, then ride to
destinations, and collect digital passport
stamps. Five stamps and you’re in the
prize draw, including a trip for two on the
West Coast Wilderness Trail with Cycle
Journeys.
Any surprises on the programme this
year?
“Acoustic bike rides. I haven’t seen rides
advertised solely for non-motorised, slow
cycling before.”
• Visit https://biketoberchch.nz
ELEMENTARY: Canterbury University
psychology lecturer Dr Bethany Growns is
investigating super-matchers, a rare group of
people who are innately gifted at comparing
or matching complex visual patterns, much
like Sherlock Holmes.
PHOTO: GETTY
DO YOU have Sherlock
Holmes-style powers of
observation and razor-sharp
attention to detail?
Canterbury University
psychology lecturer
Dr Bethany Growns
is investigating supermatchers,
a rare group of
people who are innately
gifted at comparing or
matching complex visual
patterns.
Super-matchers are a
very small percentage of
the population who are
innately gifted at comparing
or matching complex visual
patterns; something forensic
scientists train for many
years to do.
“We have found that
there are rare individuals
in the general population
who are extremely accurate
in pattern-matching –
also known as visual
comparison,” Growns said.
“One example is
fingerprint-matching where
people are asked to decide
if two fingerprints are from
the same person or different
people.
“Our research has shown
that some people are highly
accurate in this task across a
range of different complex
HELPING
YOUR
STRENGTH //
HELPING
YOUR
FOCUS //
HELPING
YOUR
MOVEMENT //
HELPING
YOUR
MIND //
The best protection for your
health is to get moving and
then get moving some more.
Healthy body. Healthy mind.
Happy Life – it’s as simple as that.
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