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Cycling in Melbourne.
Sep. 8th, 2010 03:14 pmSo I leave for 6 days, I get back, and everyone is smashing me on the KMs, it's truly uncalled for, and also awesome to see.
I had a great break in Melbourne and as promised did some cycling research on facilities, style and general cycling happenings. I have to say, taking photos of people riding is hard to do without looking like a stalker, and I tried my level best to make sure that no one in the photos will be recognisable since they are going on the interwebs. Basically, I am illustrating a point.
Photos will be uploaded soon, there is cake to eat and meetings to be had at work right now, I can't be exploring the finer details of cycling chic in Melbourne... but needless to say, the photographs will have some description in the details that may be to your liking. [Edit] Photos will be uploaded to this post when I have time... I hope.
In the mean time, here are some fun facts about people cycling in the land of Melbourne.
1. More people do it - there are people cycling in regular clothes everywhere which is really cool to see and they are doing it to get around and get shopping done or to meet up with friends.
2. Apparently, people in Melbourne don't need bells, they just feel the vibrations of cyclists coming - I don't know how true this factoid is; but my friend Frankie seemed adept at doing this, explained it as such, and I definitely didn't hear a bell when I was over there.
3. It seems common for people to use milk crates for EVERYTHING in Melbourne, including bike baskets - this is the truth, I have seen it, seen it EVERYWHERE. They swear by them. The entire time I was there I don't think I saw one store bought bike basket. A lot of crates, old washing baskets, old trays etc. it's very interesting. Apparently crates also make good bed bases, bins, shelving, grocery bags etc.
4. It is common to see showercaps on seats - no really. Like I saw a bunch of them and now I wish I had evidence, I think I was too shocked. Usually it's a shower cap or a plastic bag when a cycle is parked to ensure a dry seat if it's been raining.
5. There are locking facilities everywhere - so locking your bike and leaving it really isn't hard, and because so many people do it, it looks safer too. Whether that is true is a different story.
6. There are cycle paths... of varying quality - it's great that there are cycle paths but if we do it here in Perth I sure hope that most of them aren't as bad. The cycle paths in Melbourne are often off to the side where there are cobble stones and uneven roads, and cars like to park in the cycle path, which is especially dangerous on busy peak hour roads like Brunswick Street and St Georges Street.
7. Lots of people still ride at night - especially girls which I think is amazing, because I have even seen them on Lygon street. They all seem brave, wear helmets and have lights flashing. It's amazing the safety they must feel.
8. The bike share scheme isn't working so much - apparently 70 people have signed up and it's being called a flop. I think if you see where the bikes are and factor in the congestion, the fact a lot of people who are going to ride in Melbourne already have bikes and the no helmet no riding rule, it's not surprising that they haven't been very successful. I wonder if the money would have been better spent on upgrading paths and roads.
9. There are some streets that are made for cycling - I think one is called Canning Street; wide grassed medians, cars can go there but they are not the primary mode, now that is cool. Reminds me of Stirling plans, however, I think it's important that the places with safe cycling culture are integrated properly with the areas of different culture.
10. There are more girls riding there than guys - I am basing this factoid purely on what I saw, but I saw a critical number of girls riding and I saw them doing it in casual clothes. I also saw a lot of men riding girls bikes that they had obviously borrowed, so the push for women cycling can certainly learn something from the ladies over there. Specifically, I am not sure what, but regardless, something.
Mark did a few big rides over there and on Sunday he did the Degani Kinglake Ride. It's like a 120KM loop through the country side. I seriously considered adding him to our Pin Pals group just to rack up the KMs but I keep telling myself, it's not about winning. The link to some preliminary pictures for the Degani in case you are interested is: http://www.supersprint.com.au/events/degani-kinglake-ride-2010/photo-gallery.aspx#/media/116488/DKLR1.jpg
In final news I saw some photos go up on the Glamour Push website and there are some lovely ladies and men looking very lovely on the bike. My picture is up there and I don't look awful which is a plus.
Will try and upload some photos and descriptions soon, in the meantime, keep riding, keep smiling and I'll keep blogging.
I had a great break in Melbourne and as promised did some cycling research on facilities, style and general cycling happenings. I have to say, taking photos of people riding is hard to do without looking like a stalker, and I tried my level best to make sure that no one in the photos will be recognisable since they are going on the interwebs. Basically, I am illustrating a point.
Photos will be uploaded soon, there is cake to eat and meetings to be had at work right now, I can't be exploring the finer details of cycling chic in Melbourne... but needless to say, the photographs will have some description in the details that may be to your liking. [Edit] Photos will be uploaded to this post when I have time... I hope.
In the mean time, here are some fun facts about people cycling in the land of Melbourne.
1. More people do it - there are people cycling in regular clothes everywhere which is really cool to see and they are doing it to get around and get shopping done or to meet up with friends.
2. Apparently, people in Melbourne don't need bells, they just feel the vibrations of cyclists coming - I don't know how true this factoid is; but my friend Frankie seemed adept at doing this, explained it as such, and I definitely didn't hear a bell when I was over there.
3. It seems common for people to use milk crates for EVERYTHING in Melbourne, including bike baskets - this is the truth, I have seen it, seen it EVERYWHERE. They swear by them. The entire time I was there I don't think I saw one store bought bike basket. A lot of crates, old washing baskets, old trays etc. it's very interesting. Apparently crates also make good bed bases, bins, shelving, grocery bags etc.
4. It is common to see showercaps on seats - no really. Like I saw a bunch of them and now I wish I had evidence, I think I was too shocked. Usually it's a shower cap or a plastic bag when a cycle is parked to ensure a dry seat if it's been raining.
5. There are locking facilities everywhere - so locking your bike and leaving it really isn't hard, and because so many people do it, it looks safer too. Whether that is true is a different story.
6. There are cycle paths... of varying quality - it's great that there are cycle paths but if we do it here in Perth I sure hope that most of them aren't as bad. The cycle paths in Melbourne are often off to the side where there are cobble stones and uneven roads, and cars like to park in the cycle path, which is especially dangerous on busy peak hour roads like Brunswick Street and St Georges Street.
7. Lots of people still ride at night - especially girls which I think is amazing, because I have even seen them on Lygon street. They all seem brave, wear helmets and have lights flashing. It's amazing the safety they must feel.
8. The bike share scheme isn't working so much - apparently 70 people have signed up and it's being called a flop. I think if you see where the bikes are and factor in the congestion, the fact a lot of people who are going to ride in Melbourne already have bikes and the no helmet no riding rule, it's not surprising that they haven't been very successful. I wonder if the money would have been better spent on upgrading paths and roads.
9. There are some streets that are made for cycling - I think one is called Canning Street; wide grassed medians, cars can go there but they are not the primary mode, now that is cool. Reminds me of Stirling plans, however, I think it's important that the places with safe cycling culture are integrated properly with the areas of different culture.
10. There are more girls riding there than guys - I am basing this factoid purely on what I saw, but I saw a critical number of girls riding and I saw them doing it in casual clothes. I also saw a lot of men riding girls bikes that they had obviously borrowed, so the push for women cycling can certainly learn something from the ladies over there. Specifically, I am not sure what, but regardless, something.
Mark did a few big rides over there and on Sunday he did the Degani Kinglake Ride. It's like a 120KM loop through the country side. I seriously considered adding him to our Pin Pals group just to rack up the KMs but I keep telling myself, it's not about winning. The link to some preliminary pictures for the Degani in case you are interested is: http://www.supersprint.com.au/events/degani-kinglake-ride-2010/photo-gallery.aspx#/media/116488/DKLR1.jpg
In final news I saw some photos go up on the Glamour Push website and there are some lovely ladies and men looking very lovely on the bike. My picture is up there and I don't look awful which is a plus.
Will try and upload some photos and descriptions soon, in the meantime, keep riding, keep smiling and I'll keep blogging.
