It was only a matter of time before New Zealand adopted pedal power in the major cities in a bike sharing programme.  Over 25 countries in Europe have bike sharing whereby bikes are strategically left around the city, and peddlers can hire, or use them within certain city boundaries.  Good gear has led the charge in New Zealand starting last week with bicycles left (and helmets) in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, and Rotorua.  These bicycles are left in a number of places to be able to rent by texting Good gear, and get the code to unlock them at a rate of $3 per hour, or $15 for the whole day.  While some cities maybe more difficult than others because of the terrain this still gets the culture of bike commuting out there.  It's not uncommon to see many decked out roadies in their matching kit do a morning spin, and then jump in their Audi to drive to work.  It's a common occurrence in Auckland, so hopefully in the coming years we will see more people jumping on their pimped out commuter bikes around doing the coffee lap in their team kit.

Even the big apple New York city is currently trialling a bike sharing scheme.  Other cities have adopted variations of the same including a gym membership scenario in Barcelona, or completely free bikes in Denmark, where in Copenhagen 35% of commuters ride all year round (rain or snow) on the hundreds of kilometres of bike paths around the city.  Amsterdam

Auckland City Council already has ~16 bike paths around the city, and on commuting paths into the CBD, while another 8 are due to be completed by the end of this year.

The new world did initially pave its way with roads, but it has become inevitable with increasing traffic, and petrol prices that bicycles will lead the charge for new millennium transportation.