Tony Abbott - cycling Prime Minister

sourced from www.news.com.au

I have been quite for the past to months because cycling wise it has been very busy with inquiries and community reference groups, oh and that we just had a Federal Election. This means a new Prime Minister (PM)

In the Last 10 years we have had a
- walking PM
- talking PM
- knitting PM
- and now a cycling PM
I have found it interesting that some that ride bikes ask the question now that we have a cycling PM will it increase the public profile of cycling and increased riding. Personally I think it will do very little but to continue to reinforce the stereotype and personally it is a stereotype that I am sick to death of being labelled with. This was also reinforced in the now PM elect's own opening election ad 5 weeks ago!

This continued stereotype will just mean more people will think as riding as a sporting activity that needs to change. Unfortunately this will not change if the only time we see the new PM on a bike is when he is in Lycra!

PS also lets hope when he does wear lycra he makes some smart decisions because we do not want a repeat of the Polish cycling team from the new PM.

Why I don't Own a Car - Cost

http://www.racq.com.au/motoring/cars/car_economy/vehicle_running_costs_2013

There is one big reason why I have never owned a Car even though I can drive, COST!

Now don't get me wrong, cars are great but for most trips I just don't get it. I just don't get why you would want to move a 1 1/2 ton of metal just to transport yourself surely that must cost a fortune and according to the RACQ it does! Even the smallest car cost on average 40c per km to run going up to 80c plus for the desire of many Australians the Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore. All I could think was that is way to much, but begs the question what does my bike cost per km to run.

 

First off one off costs

Bike = $1000

Mudguards = $50

Chainguard = $30

Pannier Rack = $40

Total = $ 1120

divided by a min life of 5 years

yearly Cost $224

 

Yearly Costs

Heavy Service = $180

Tire = $60

Brake pads  = $30

lights = $60

Total = $330

 

Now on average in my commutes alone I cover around 5000kms so I will use that as the Base line!

($224 + $330) / 5000kms

= 11c per km.

Now that is a big difference in cost and this is not including the extra ks that I cover doing short little trips. I would also like to point out this figure does not include locks and a few other small items as these were written off on the cost of bikes I had before.

Now comparing cost per km is not really fair you also need to compare cost per week and this is where there is truly some big differences. This one knocks me for six! It ranges for those two previous car examples from $117 to $220 a week. My weekly cost of my bike is $10.65 and that is it.

 

Now naturally this can range a little depending on the bike and the kms you do but unless you are changing you bike yearly and doing very low mileage traveling by bike is extremely cost efficient.

 

No wonder I don't own a Car it costs a fortune and I leave you with the picture that I had at the top as it says everything. Ouch

 



A metre matters "another death"

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/muchloved-sue-bell8217s-road-death-leaves-townsville-cycling-community-in-state-of-mourning/story-fnihsrf2-1226668440401
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/missing-cyclist-found-as-another-mourned-20130624-2orar.html

Another cyclist has died and three others are injured after a poorly executed overtaking manoeuvre. While saying as to weather a minimum metre rule would of stopped this tragedy it is not possible, it may have meant the driver would of given them a little more leeway who knows. The fact is with no minimum distance there is no current enforceable guide to what should of been the minimum clearance between the driver and the cyclist.
It is strange how a tragedy like this becomes more focused right when the Queensland Parliament is looking into enacting a minimum passing distance.
Like before my condolences go out to the family & friends involved.

Breaking stereotypes, cycle chic

Just a quick one today. I found this video from Vancouver Cycle chic. I just love it because it breaks so many stereotypes regarding who rides a bike. I really don't need to explain it, just watch it, it's great!

P.S I lover her pannier bag not even looking like a pannier bag!

"a metre matters" may become law

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/car-buffer-zone-considered-to-boost-safety-for-cyclists-and-motorists/story-e6freoof-1226658948691
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/government-to-review-rules-for-overtaking-cyclists-20130606-2nsxy.html

http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2013/6/7/panel-to-review-onemetre-rule-for-bikes

 

sourced from www.amygillett.org.au

What has both stunned and pleased people that happen to ride bikes, the State Government of Queensland has announced that a parliamentary committee will look into changing the road rules to increase the safety of cyclists. Thankfully this is to include investigating as to weather a 1m minimum passing distance for motor vehicles overtaking bicycles should be law. It has to be said the Government was very much forced into this. With the tragic death and lack of conviction then the Parliamentary e-petition passing 5000 signatures and still increasing there was not much choice.

While this is good news there is a sting in it's tail. The terms of reference also include "the potential benefits and impacts of a bicycle registration". Lets just hope common sense prevails on this point. We know what the impacts will be, bicycle use will plummet and the benefits will be next to nil.

I can only hope that the law will be changed so cyclists have greater legal protection and the stupidity of a bicycle registration is killed at the first opportunity.


Citycycle - the past fortnight

A citycycle loaded up with my Christmas Shopping last year

The past month has been interesting one for Citycycle.
What is possibly the most surprising for me was the locking of the courtesy helmets onto the bikes by citycycle staff. I have posted in the past as one of the reasons why they are continuing to loose these helmets to theft is due to increasing numbers of them being left in the bike's baskets. Now this can easily be done by mistake when you pull up at a station and forget to place the correctly before docking the bike. The problem was getting worse by the staff not correcting this when they cleaned the bikes. Due to this reinforcement not occurring more helmets were being left in baskets and users were getting more lax with it. Viscous cycle! This is why when I was walking home past a station I was blown away to see one worker cleaning the bikes will the other locking the helmets to the bikes. I have to say it looked very simple. He scanned his card on the bike dock, pulled the bike out, correctly placed the helmet over the mounting arm and pushed the bike back in. All I could think of at the time was why has this not been occurring every time since the courtesy helmets became available. Never the less it is an improvement and I can only hope it continues as it just looked so simple!

Another welcome development is an ABC Local Radio piece asking as to weather Citycycle needs extended hours of operation. I have to say personally I think it is ridiculous that it has restricted hours of use. It has personally limited my use of the service. What I found most interesting was councils excuses.

1. The Contractor suggested it
2. It would create noise from people milling around the station
3. Only 2% of use is between 9pm and 10pm

I found all these reasons quite pitiful. I honestly don't know how much observation the councillor has done of Citycycle stations but most people turn up, get/drop there bike and go. You would get more noise from the local Bus Stop where people have to wait for the transport. Most people are not milling around! As for the 2% usage well that is in line with most services during there last hour of operation. Using his reasoning Public transport would be truncated to an earlier hour due to the low patronage in that last hour of usage, or a store would close. The fact is this extended hours of usage is about reassuring patrons that the service is there when they need it as that increases overall usage. This is what should also occur with Citycycle, patrons need to be reassured that it is there for them and the early closure time does not do this.  Most importantly the councillor admitted it would cost no more to have extended hours of operation so why not? Patronage is still vastly below expectations it is not even breaking an average of 1 trip per bike yet so something needs to change. Even a small increase in usage would be an improvement over the status qua.

Both of these topics are encouraging and things need to change to improve both the service and the patronage.

"A metre matters" and it needs to be law

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2013/05/08/are-cyclists-mere-obstacles-to-motorists/

Following the Court result the week before last bicycle riders of Brisbane and Queensland have been called to action like I have not seen for some time. Following the court decision both the Brisbane CBD BUG & Amy Gillett Foundation made vocal the need for a minimum passing distance of 1m when a Motor Vehicle overtakes a bicycle. This was further pushed when Safe Cycling Australia with the help of MP Bruce Flegg launch a Queensland Parliamentary E-petition calling for Minimum of 1.5m passing distance. As of this morning the E-petition has reached 4100 signatures, if you are a Queensland resident please sign this.

Due to the Court Decision the CBD BUG to further highlight the current failure in the law last Friday organised an awareness ride with the help of the Amy Gillett Foundation. It is my understanding the CBD BUG put a lot of effort into getting this to be the best it could be. While the official title was "A Metre Matters Awareness Ride" it was unofficially named the "Ride for Richard" after the poor bloke that was killed. Luckily the family of Richard for lack of a better term gave there blessing to the ride.

The ride to have relevance was held out in Kenmore in the mid west of Brisbane between the Kenmore Roundabout and the Western Freeway/Bikeway on Moggill Road. Moggill Road is sadly where he lost his life. Like many Brisbane arterials this corridor is not a friendly place to get to by bike, the last kilometre has no shoulder and is dangerously narrow. Disspit this there was over 65 bikes gathered in the shopping centre car park bikes to take part in the ride as well as MP Bruce Flegg before the start. While as you imagine there was the Lycra on road bikes, there was also folder bikes, Mountain Bikes, E-bikes, city bikes & even a velomobile. Naturally this meant as well as Lycra many people were wearing normal everyday cloths. This has to be said is an indicator of how important this change is desired. Even more riders apparently joined just as the ride began as they had been delayed getting to the meeting point. The ride went off without a hitch apart from the group breaking up a little. This was always going to happen with such a mix of riders. I have to say thank you to the Lady in the 4WD that held up traffic to allow the group to get off the Western Freeway onramp lane and back onto the Moggill Road traffic lane.

sourced from www.smh.com.au

With all this the event did get some much needed media attention including Brisbane Times, ABC  Local "squeaky wheel" and Channel 7. Sadly Channel 7 when with the "Us Verse Them" angle and asked some "Choice" motor vehicle drivers about the concept. Never the less they did add the like to the e-petition on there website.

Apart from that lets hope the laws are changed because they need to. Currently BQ is deafeningly silent on the issue but with this amount noise and surely they also will get behind the push. We need the law changed. While it is true very few cyclists are killed the way Richard died inadequate passing distance is a major source of intimidation and scares many off riding. If there was a true minimum passing distance it people would feel more reassured when riding & if something does happen there is more tangible outcomes.

Once again I feel for the family of Richard.

 

Cyclist run over and killed - Driver gets nothing

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/cement-truck-driver-luke-stevens-found-not-guilty-over-death-of-cyclist-richard-pollett/story-e6freoof-1226635894242

In what can only described as disgustingly disappointing a "professional" driver has got of scot free after running over and killing a cyclist. This has resulted in many that ride bikes in Brisbane to be very much angered and there are calls for a protest ride.

This accident can be partly based on the poor law regarding the overtaking of cyclist in the Queensland Road Rules. The fact is there is no minimum distance required under Queensland legislation for a motor vehicle to overtake a cyclist. It basically means a car can overtake you with a few centimetres to spare and it is completely fine because they did not hit you. For this reason the requirement for a minimum passing distance of 1metre is being called for. I wholly support this move. While 1m is not enough at certain speeds it at least means there is a minimum, which is far better then no minimum in my thinking.

I feel for the family of the killed cyclist. There is no way to say how upset they must be.

Riverwalk - Contract awarded

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/riverwalk-builders-announced-20130426-2ii6u.html

image sourced from www.couriermail.com.au

What can only be seen as a good thing, the contract for the replacement Riverwalk has now been awarded. This is a major development considering almost every government in Australia is trying to cut budgets. There was a big fear going around that Riverwalk may never see the light of day again.

The price tag comes in at a hefty $72 million but considering how many people used the former structure and the fact that the new one will have a capacity far in excess of the previous one it works out to have a pretty good return for investment. Just like Bicentennial before the upgrades started capacity was becoming an issue. At 3000 movements a day the former floating structure was already carrying 3/4s of what Bicentennial was carrying before it's upgrade and people had started complaining. This was due to it being a shared path but with the replacement being segregated this should be no longer a issue. Bicentennial is now carrying 5500 movements and the upgrade is not even complete yet. This will mean the replacement Riverwalk has a lot of excess capacity for when it opens again. It also means there should be very little complaint from users unless people act stupid of selfish.

It has been revised that the replacement should open is Mid 2014 now and not late 2014. While I look forward to it opening in mid 2014 I am still expecting it to open in Late 2014. That way if it does open early I will be pleasantly surprised.

Riding a bike is "NEAT"

I will have to start this Post with a with a somewhat strange statement. I hate exercise, there is nothing more pointless in my mind then to run, jog or ride for not other reason then to get the "exercise" from it. I just don't get it! Don't get me wrong being fit and active I value highly but doing an exercise that could be otherwise incorporated into ones everyday activities just seams so pointless. Exercising for exercises own sake is just plain stupid to me!

On Monday SBS aired a very interesting doco titled "The Truth about Exercise". I have to say it said a lot of things that as an individual I already knew, never the less it was good. One of the things discussed but I had never heard named before was "NEAT". "NEAT" stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis which basically means using everyday movements to stay healthy, such as walking to a college to discuss some project instead of phoning, or riding and walking to do tasks. I have to say I was surprised that this had finally been studied, what it showed was little changes throughout the day made a big difference.

I have to say I have been banging on about this basic concept for years with people I know & work with. People never quite understand me when I say I'm lazy. The common reaction is but you ride to work and are fit. People don't quite understand that because riding to work is "exercise" I am being lazy because I am doing two things at once or as I now know "NEAT". This just seams so much common sense it is ridiculous.

A couple of years ago a workmate told me how he was doing "bootcamp" each morning before coming to work. Now to do this he was getting up at 4.30 in the morning, doing the bootcamp where he was getting yelled at to exercise going home to shower and coming to work by train. Me being the practical one asked
how are you getting to the station?
Car
why not walk?
it's 2 kms.
then why not ride you already have a mountain bike?
Oh I will get all hot an sweaty!
Now this bloke was already getting all hot and sweaty because due to his size (morbidly obese) he was getting hot and sweaty just getting from the train station to work. He was getting sweaty anyway! I knew I was banging my head against a brick wall that he had constructed. While being a nice bloke he could not see through the wall to the common sense or "NEAT" of incorporating small amounts of activity into everyday life.
There is no doubt in my mind that making this small change would have had a far more long term benefit then just doing "Bootcamp" for 2 months or so. Don't get me wrong doing group exercise gets things done in the short term but lets look at the long term eg years. Doing a short ten minute ride twice a day, five days a week to and from a train station adds up to an hour & 40 mins a week etc and is far cheaper. I am talking about behaviour change the thing that keeps you healthy!

Gyms & group training is all good but riding a Bike for utilitarian reasons of going to work, shops etc is "NEAT"

PS. I do attend a gym for weights training but never for cardio, that I get by doing everyday activities!

Citycycle - One helmet problem resolved

Last year the Brisbane Times ran an article about how 2/3s of the Citycycle Courtesy helmets that had been placed out had been stolen or lost. At the time I pointed out that is was partly due to two factors in my opinion

1. Helmets are not clearly & permanently Marked as Citycycle Helmets
2. Helmets are not always locked to the bikes.

To the second point for a short period after the Brisbane Times article ran I did note that helmets were being locked to bikes more often with less left in the baskets. However as time as pasted it seams that has slipped back the way it was (as shown by the photo) with one bike I pass having two helmets sitting in it's basket at the moment.

That said the first point seams to of now been resolved. As can be seen from the above photo Citycycle has decided to make the markings on there new helmets more prominent and almost permanent. The first thing is that it stands out now. I have not used Citycycle for months so was not looking at the bikes as such but caught my eye as I walked past a station. This is how it should of been from the get go even with the stickers, catchy!  What is far more important from the outset was that the labelling was permanent and for the most part now it is. The writing and the symbol are embossed in the helmet casing itself. The chances of someone nicking off with one of these helmets has to be greatly reduced.

While I welcome this improvement I have to say it is a little late, bad press from even a paper such as Brisbane Times has to be seen as a wake up call. While I understand doing it to the first 500 helmets put out would of been a waste due to it being a trail, every other helmet after that should of had it done to it, that was over 1000 extra helmets. It would of been plane common sense! Now all we need is for the helmets to be locked correctly, and the staff to enforce it, mind you I wont be holding my breath.

Women scared Riding, We Know That!

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/women-too-scared-to-cycle-survey-20130403-2h73g.html

Image sourced from www.brisbanetimes.com.au

The Brisbane Times this morning ran an article that to many stated the bleeding obvious, Women are scared from riding a bike because of the fear (real/perceived) of being injured. This has been a thorn in the side of making cycling an everyday activity again for so long that it is getting ridiculous.
We all know that corridors have to be not only safe but also perceived as safe yet facilities continue to be built that do not meet this simple requirement.

What was a disappointing fact out of the article was that women are lagging further behind men in Brisbane compared with the other state capitals. In Brisbane women only make up 18% of bike riders for commuting trips compared with 23% with the other capitals. While 5% does not sound like much when you change it to a ratio it is a big difference. It basically means in Brisbane only 1in5 are women compared with 1 in 4 down south. Now that is a big drop.

While some of this can be put down to climatic conditions of Brisbane a lot has to be levelled at the poor infrastructure. We need better bicycle infrastructure that on arterial corridors is separated so everyone is safe but is also wide enough to allow one to overtake or be overtaken in complete safety. It is has to be considered a complete joke that the elected Council members such as Peter Matic claim that council is doing all they can. The fact is the Council is not. Council currently does not have the Political "testicles" to even extend the George St Separated Bikelanes a few blocks up to Anne St, or to have provided Separated bikelanes along Sylvan Rd even though the cost would of been minor and the safety increase would of been high.

We know what needs to be done to encourage more women to ride a bike we just need the politicians to have the Political Testicles.

Brisbane spends more then London on cycling

Alot of media coverage has been paid to London recently and rightly so. What has been announced sounds massive, but it is only when you break down the figures is it that the gloss comes off. Looking closely it dawns that "HAY" Brissy is spending more on cycling then London is per person.

So lets start with London
1 BILLION Pounds or roughly 1.5 Billion Australian Dollars But
this is a ten year program so per year that brings it down to $150 million all great until you factor in population!
Current Population (according to Google/wikipeda) is 8.1 million. Once you Factor that in it means per person, London is spending roughly $18.

Now to Brisbane
$120 Million But
This time it is only a 4 year Program so per year that brings it down to $30 million but Brisbane has a far smaller population
Current Population is a touch over 1 million so that means Per Person Brisbane is spending roughly $30.

I have to say this gives a little warm feeling when I worked that out. I know that London's density it far higher then Brisbane but the key factor is funding per person. While it may not seam like it alot of the time, it seams the elected officials of Brisbane are more committed to cycling then London's elected officials. Astounding, considering more people use Public Transport in London then in Brisbane. Strange very strange

N.B. Brisbane Cities Population is the correct figure here as each council controls it's own budget and they do not cross over funding. Brisbane City is controlled by the Brisbane City Council

Some sad truths & it hurts some!

http://www.watoday.com.au/opinion/the-art-of-a-cycle-path-psychopath-20130130-2dkoi.html

The above opinion piece was published in Fairfax Last week and it has been interesting to see the result. From the outset I realised that it was meant to be humorous but sadly I only found one line that made me smile. For some cyclists they labelled it a "bike hate article" for others they just see it as poking fun and the stupidity that occurs on our bikeways. I have to say I see it as the latter.

The main thrust of the article to me is that riding a bike even as a way to get to work can be seen as a contest by some. I have to say I see this quite often and sometimes I fall into the trap myself. Countless times I have had someone overtake me on a narrow or blind part of the path because I travel at a slower speed, for me to only to catch back up to them on a nice clear fast & safe section. This need by some to have to overtake intimidates some new riders because it can be down right dangerous. Overtaking needs to be done where it is safe and reasonable not because one infront is traveling a fraction slower then you would like.

I have to say I see the authors point about appearance as well. I ride in normal clothes (thongs* are normal footwear in Brisbane) yes this may result in me riding without a shirt, (it is the sub tropics after all) and I get some very strange looks. I can appreciate why the author is questioning why he has to where Lycra. I say wear what ever you feel is practical and comfortable. On the way to work I wear business pants, casual outings jeans or shorts. Personally the concept of Lycra has always creeped the bejesus out of me when the person riding the bike is bearly breaking jogging pace. hummmm. Clip in shoes goes along a similar line

Oh to the bunch rides. Like the author points out these can be dangerous if they ride to fast and do not keep to the left. These need to be conducted sensibly but some don't and they can leave to you with your heart beating a little to fast and questioning whether you might of rung your bell a little earlier on that blind corner.

These are the main points I could find in it that seamed to upset some. Of course as an opinion piece it was a little over baked but it did hold some truth, hence the reaction the truth can hurt.
For this they are of course valid,

• why can one not ride at the speed they are comfortable at
• why can one not ride in normal clothes without being questioned
• why does one have to anticipate some twit will come roaring around a blind corner on your side of the path.

These are points that everyone that rides a bike can and should answer!


*thongs are not G-strings and G strings are not thongs in the Australian dialect

Bikeways closed - minor Brisbane flooding

http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDQ65389/IDQ65389.540198.plt.shtml

Many of Brisbanes Bikeways are currently closed due to Minor flooding of the Brisbane River. The most notable of the bikeways is the Bicentennial which always goes down even during king tides.

That said the real concern is north of Brisbane, in the cities of Bundaberg, Gladstone & Rockhapton & the towns of Gympie & Maryborough. Some of the these locations are receiving there worst flooding ever!

Bicentennial - Stage 3 begins

Image sourced from biking brisbane

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/plan-to-satisfy-hungry-thirsty-cyclists-20130121-2d23a.html

Construction on Stage 3 of the Bicentennial Bikeway upgrade has finally begun and it is to be welcomed. While it will mean 6 months of construction and slight inconvenience the results will be worth it.

Stage 3 is no doubt the trickiest part of the upgrade so far. At this point the bikeway runs between Coronation drive and the former Drift Restaurant on the river. This makes what is already a very narrow corridor to upgrade at the narrowest point into a contemporary Active Transport arterial even more challenging. To make it possible part of the bank supporting Coronation Drive is going to be partly dug into and the pedestrian path will go hard up against the former restaurant. As well as this the notorious bridge just before the restaurant is going to be duplicated so that each mode has it's own bridge. Then there is the ground which is terribly unstable, so much so that is to be stabilised with piling work so it doesn't fall into the river. All in all it is alot of very tricky work for a mear 520meters of upgrade but I can honestly see where the $8 million is going.

Stage 3 is sandwiched in between stage 1 & stage 2. This has currently resulted in the confusing situation of the path going from segregated to shared and back to segregated. At the moment it is the bottle neck on the corridor with the notorious bridge being the pinch point. After the works are completed Brisbane will finally have a Active Transport arterial that will extend from Land St Toowong into the CBD. While this will mean only 3 kms has been built to contemporary standards it is an important 3kms. It will mean the thousand plus bicycle movements coming from the Western Freeway Bikeway will be catered for with no need for mixing it up with pedestrian movements.

Since the upgrades to the Bicentennial Bikeway began back in 2009 use has jumped from over 4000 bicycle/pedestrian movements to now over 5500 movements a day. This is indeed an impressive figure as it shows that there has been a 30% jump in just 3 years. This has to be put down to the upgrades, as figures I have sighted showed before the upgrades begun Bicentennial had reached a plato where use had dropped in 2005 only to bounce back in 2006 with the opening of the Western Freeway path to Jindalee. Once Stage 3 is completed further increases in usage will surly occur due to the removal on the main pinch point. It will be interesting what the patronage of  Bicentennial will be this time Next Year.

Once Stage 3 is finished bring on the final Stage, Stage 4.

Sexism? Bicycle Infrastructure

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/sexism-behind-overinvestment-in-cycling-infrastructure-report-20130111-2cl7q.html
According to a article that was published on the weekend on Brisbane Times cycling infrastructure can be seen as sexist. The validation of this claim is due to the fact that the majority 75-80% of all cyclists are male just like the majority of elected officials. I have to say while I do not agree with the statement I can understand the premise of the argument.

There is no doubt that men out number women on bikes but I like many believe this is due to the type infrastructure that is being provided not cycling itself. Naturally this relies on some assumptions based on the behaviour of the different sexes. The (generalised) fact is men are more risk taking and have less of concern of personal safety. Then there is the (generalised) fact that men see many activities as a competition, women may not have this opinion. While this is a generalisation the two sexes behaviours do differ and as such women are more likely to ride flat bar bikes designed more for comfort on there commutes then drop bar bikes (see upcoming bikeways count post). This means what some male policy makers may see as good will be scene in more of a discerning image by a female.

A good example of good and moderate to bad on the same corridor (western) is the Bicentennial Bikeway and the Sylvan Rd Bike lanes. These two pieces of infrastraure link the Western Freeway Bikeway to the Brisbane CBD and form the Western Cycling Corridor.

The Bicentennial Bikeway is separated segregated Bicycle Arterial that allows anyone riding along it to ride at there own pace in complete safety without fear of a oncoming car or random car door carelessly slung open in front of you.

This is in contrast with Sylvan Rd (that is still part of the main corridor) which has bikelanes that sometimes are hard up against cars and have cars turning across the bikelanes at the lighted intersection. On this Bikelane you can not ride at your own pace you feel like you have to go flat out as there is not space for another bike rider to overtake you without them having it to mix it up with motor vehicle traffic. This need naturally leads people desiring to ride a faster type of bike, not the kind of bike (flat bar) that is favoured by females.

The fact is cycling is not sexist but the infrastructure does needs to be more designed around people being able to ride at the speed they wish to travel at. This means on major corridors segregation is the key to getting more females in the saddle. The former Floating walkway was an excellent example of separated (from cars), encouraging females on to bikes. Basic observations would guess that women made up far more than 20% of people riding along it. This is because it allowed anyone to ride at a speed that they felt was comfortable. It also meant that the bike shop serving the area has next to no drop bar bikes in the store but is populated by flat bar and city bikes.

So why is the existing separated infrastructure not performing better. For this just look to the example I gave, an arterial is as only as good as the feeder/link. Without this link/feed relationship it stands out and the potential effect is limited. This does not mean each feeder route needs to be to the same standard as the arterial but it does mean treatments such as traffic calming that make the feeders safer and more comfortable to on ride be installed. Arterial and feeder system is how motor vehicle artierals work and so it should be for bicycle infrastructure.

Stereotypes, Thanks Courier Mail

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/theres-a-definite-pecking-order-among-bicycle-riders-around-brisbane/story-e6freon6-1226549812826

Why oh why is it when you ride a bike you have to be stereotyped. I have previously written about how I hate being stereotyped just because I ride a bicycle and the Courier (trash) Mail did it again this morning. It is written by a so called "Michael Scammell is a bike-riding freelance writer". The way he has written his opinion piece as left some in the Brisbane cycling community questioning that fact.

According to this so called "bike riding freelance writer" there are four types of people that ride bikes.

• Lycra wearing aspirationalists with $1000 bikes that do the Sunday morning thing
• Beer drinking "McBikes" with $2000 bike that want a McMansion that don't ride it
• Utilitarian masses that get a $200 supermarket special bike as a toy to use with the kids in a park
• and then the "Car hating" "Mobile Vegetarianism" "Political Statement Making" "Cycling True believers" who don't even seam to ride because they enjoy it.

Oh great so I am one of four types of people. Mind you I find these grouping kind of weird and confused. First off the first two seam rather muddled up. From my casual observations I would say it is the "aspirationals" that have the $2000 bike out on the morning ride more than the people out in McMansions. Honestly I watch bikes when they go by and most group riders have a bike worth over $2000. So that means his first two groupings are in my opinion are wrong & confused!

Lets try the next grouping "utilitarian". Well according to the Australian Macquarie Dictionary the dictionary of Australia, definition point two and I quote

having regard to utility or usefulness rather than beauty, ornamentality
 

and the definition of "utility"

the state of character of being useful
 

Some how I do not see how having a bike as a toy can really be described as utilitarian as I have never hear of a toy as a utilitarian object before. The fact is $200 supermarket bikes are mostly ridden for recreational purposes as that is what riding around a park with the kids is, it is recreation. While in dead these bikes can be used for useful purposes the majority are recreational devices that in most cases are lucky if they get ridden twice a year. That makes his third group description invalid.

Then there is the final group which I guess I must fit under.  Mind you I am NOT a vegetarian, I am not Car Hating nor Political Statement Making. Well on that last one maybe just a little well ok alot. But I don't ride because I want to make a Political Statement, I ride because I want to go somewhere. I ride because I enjoy being out in the open and being active. I ride because I like being independent of having to worry about public transport fares or fuel costs. I ride because it is fun.
I RIDE BECAUSE I CAN.
and that when it come down to it is why people ride, because we can. It is not about being part of a stereotype, it is about getting somewhere or doing something because we can.

The fact is this was piece of mindless dribble that could not even correctly describe the stereotypes that do exist and when he tried to describe people that ride in normal clothes, because they can he basically called them all hippies because riding "because you can" seams foreign to him. For someone that claims to be a "bike-riding freelance writer" he knows very little. I would say someone is a bit insecure about there social status!

oh and here is the stereotyped bikes he described

 

Citycycle & Christmas Shopping

Time to look back on how I did the Christmas Shop his year.
So it is that time again. I have to say I hate being in crowds, It is never pleasant thing for me. I will flat out make the male stereotype comment and say I HATE shopping and Christmas shopping is no different.

Just like last year I did it with the help of CityCycle. While I could of done it with my own bike the idea of lunging around a great big backpack around the CBD was not appealing. You also get strange looks when a twenty something walks into a store with a massive bag. Nor is it comfortable with the constant worry that the said backpack may knock over some expensive item in a shop. CityCycle it was.

Summer has hit Brisbane and I can safely say riding without a backpack was very much needed if you intend on walking about in crowds in the heat & humidity. After the slow trundle into the city the bike was docked & the pain began. After shopping for an hour I was done and thankfully that was all I could do. Looking at my fabric shopping bag everything only barely fitted in. This load would of been very uncomfortable if it had been in a backpack memories of TAFE come flooding back. Getting back to the bike it only barely fitted in the basket (see attached photo). Trundling home all I could think was "It's good I don't have a backpack on" The heat of the day was going no where.

As usual my otherhalf was surprised at how much I got home, with the why not use the BUZ. "I like to ride"
While this post is a bit of a rant the point is I did most of my Christmas shopping on a bike. Now if only more people could learn the same thing!

OH photo will be loaded when blog services works properly again!