Fancy a bike ride but can’t face levering the trusty ten speed from behind  Granddad’s train set in the shed? Seems you’re in luck, ‘cos Goodgear bike racks are springing up around Auckland City.

It seems pretty easy - you call or text to unlock a cruiser-style bike for as long as you like, and drop it off at any rack when you’re done. The bikes look  modern and well maintained, and come with helmet, lights, and a nifty rack for your shopping.

The website uses Google maps to keep track of the bikes, and racks are dotted around the central city, from Symonds St to the Viaduct (obligatory Aucklandista viaduct Booooo! goes here). If you’re confident cycling around town, they’d be great for zipping to meet a mate for coffee, or you could take one to Mission Bay for fish ‘n chips of a weekend.

This is not an answer to Paris’s Vélib‘, or “freedom bike”, a state-sponsored scheme that has the French cycling to the theatre or picking up bread, cheese and a little wine from the market, all the while smoking a Gauloise, but it’s a start. The Goodgear team seems to have some council co-operation, securing prominent locations for racks on Queen Street.

What do you think? Would you ride a bike around Auckland? There’s all those hills to contend with, not to mention rabid drivers, but this seems a sensible part of the continuing effort to get Aucklanders out of their cars. Go Goodgear.