A wheely good ride

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4 Sun Newspapers WEDNESDAY, October 24, 2012.

A wheely good ride

By DAMIEN McCARTNEY

HUNDREDS of notnormally-lycra-clad

Territorians left the cars at home and rode their pushies to work last week.

Ride2Work day saw roads quieter and bike paths become busier last

Wednesday morning.

Dingo Hall from K9 Cycles, Vicki Krause and Eric the Swapper at the RDH Ride to work Day Breakfast

Coconut Grove bike shop

K9 Cycles owner Dingo Hall donated his morning to

Royal Darwin Hospital.

Mr Hall said hospital staff regularly came into the shop, so he decided to give some time back to them.

He said the popularity of cycling in the Territory was growing rapidly.

‘‘There are more and more people riding to work in Darwin,’’ he said.

‘‘There is a growing bike track network around the city, suburbs and even

Palmerston.

‘‘It’s great that people are concerned about their health,’’ he added.

Mr Hall said he and other hospital staff members — and Eric the Swapper — were handing out spot prizes to staff for riding into work in the morning.

He said one staff member rode a whopping 22km into work — from the other side of Palmerston.

‘‘All you need is a good bike, and it’s easy,’’ he said.

He said many cyclists made the mistake of buying cheap bikes.

‘‘You can pick up a decent bike for under $500, so they’re not as expensive as they once were,’’ he said.

Mr Hall said he rode to work about three times a week, and encouraged all

Top Enders to do the same.

There is a growing bike track network

Clowns no joke for sick kids

THEIR work is a laugh but the benefit of ‘‘clown doctors’’ is no joke.

Research to be presented today at a children’s healthcare conference reveals young patients improve physically and psychologically after encounters with specialised clown performers.

‘‘We found the impact of what they do goes beyond that actual moment of performance and interaction,’’ researcher

Leigh Tesch said.

‘‘Beforehand, the children felt excited and so there was this anticipation.

Afterwards they remembered what happened and felt good talking about it.’’

More than 50 performers are employed by the

Humour Foundation to visit

21 hospitals in Australia.

Foundation general manager Melinda Farrell said the interaction of clowns empowered children and took their minds off their treatment.

Contract for CLP member

THE Territory Government has awarded a $48,000 contract to a CLP member to investigate a communications strategy.

Julian Swinstead is a ministerial adviser in the office of Chief Minister

Terry Mills.

The former journalist went close to being chosen as the CLP’s candidate for

Port Darwin in the 1990s.

The Government said Mr

Swinstead was just one party to the contract.

It said he was ‘‘eminently qualified’’ to carry out the consultancy as he had managed newspapers in

Australia and New Zealand.

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Part of the Presbyterian

Church of Australia

Every Sunday 10 am at Kormilda College

Auditorium, Berrimah Rd

1st & 3rd Sundays 5pm at Sattler Christian

College, Sattler Cres,

Fred's Pass

Minister:

Rob Duncanson

Ph 8945 7878

Mobile: 0413 021 716

darwinpresbyterian.org.au

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