Human Powered Cycles promote and foster sustainable transport with the skill, experience and tooling to repair not replace. As well as their commercial venture and its new shop in Thornbury, there is their community bike work organisation called Community Cycles (38 Harrison Street Brunswick East). Here they coordinate the Charity Bike Project where unloved bike and bike part donations go towards providing transport for Asylum Seekers, refugees, newly arrived migrants, unemployed and homeless persons, as well as low cost transport for struggling students and concession holders. On Mondays volunteers come and help refurbish donated bikes for this project. Community Cycles (as well as Human Powered Cycles) accepts these bike donations any day they are open, so if you have a bike not being used or in disrepair, this is a good place for it.

Help them celebrate the opening of their new shop at 562 High Street, Thornbury tonight from 6pm.

Opening today 4-8pm and running until Sunday (open 10-5 on Saturday and Sunday), the GO Bike expo is at the Alexandra Gardens and exhibits bicycle rides (events and destinations) and new bicycle products.

While you are there, you can complete a (free) entry form at the expo to go into the draw to win a TREK Madone 5.2 Pro road bike.

More information can be found at the Bicycle Victoria GO Bike expo page.

Want to join a club where you get fit, meet new people, and help the environment? Where you can spend time exploring Melbourne and enjoying the scenery? Where you will feel a part of a growing community? But this club is different: there are no membership fees, no forms to sign, no numbers to ring. The club I’m talking about is the growing number of people chosing to cycle to work at least one day a week, and those who already ride to work will know that its hard not to feel a part of something at peak times along the major routes, amongst the two wheel commuters.

If you are looking to give cycling to work a try, and just need an extra bit of motivation, tomorrow (Wednesday, October 15) is National Ride to Work Day. This day is all about encouraging new starters to give cycling to work a try, as well as a celebration of what it means to choose a human powered active form of transport, for everyone who cycles. If its your first go at it, you won’t be alone. There will be many others trying cycle commuting for the first time throughout Australia on the same day. It may be that you’ve tried it before and want to get back into it. Its the perfect day for that. There are many community breakfasts being held across Australia tomorrow morning to give you a nice tasty reward for your cycle in. The biggest community breakfast in Melbourne is held at Federation Square in the CBD. For other options, check out the list of Community breakfasts being held around Victoria.

So what else do you need to know to ride to work? There are a lot of resources around to answer this question.

Bicycle Victoria produces a brochure that answers the common questions about commuting to work on a bicycle.

Ask people at your workplace what bicycle facilities exist, such as a bike cage, bike racks, shower or change rooms.

Refer to a good refedex, VicRoads maps and interactive map, Bikely and google maps street view for good cycle routes.

Some people are lucky enough to be able to follow cycling routes through parks and waterways, which make the ride to and from work very special indeed.

My commute is through the CBD during peak time, which sounds like a terrible ride. However, for me its a chance to see Melbourne’s beautiful buildings, and I find something new every day. Cycling gives you the ability to slow down each day and see the beauty all around. You can look straight up to the top of the tall buildings to see the blue sky and whispy clouds (you can’t do this in a car or tram)… admire the light reflections… the trees changing colour during Autumn. You can steal moments of time like this whenever the light just turns red and you have stopped.

If you haven’t cycled to work before and you are trying out a route you are unfamiliar with, take along a refedex or map, and make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get there so you don’t have to rush and can find your way.

If you do have any troubles on the day (or any other day for that matter), such as a puncture or other bike woes, or you want directions, feel free to ask other cyclists for assistance. We are a friendly lot who don’t mind helping out.

The forecast for tomorrow so far predicts a shower or two in the morning, so bring your raincoat and waterproof pants if you have them, just in case (or a change of clothes if you don’t).

If you have any other tips, queries about cycling to work, or stories to share about Melbourne sans car, please add to the comments.

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This post is the sixth in a series of posts about Melbourne sans car.
1. Benefits of not owning a motor vehicle
2. Getting some wheels… Bicycle wheels
3. Bicycling Melbourne safely
4. Keeping your bicycle yours (anti-theft)
5. Shopping by bicycle
6. Commuting by bicycle
7. Maintaining your bicycle
8. Exploring Melbourne by bicycle

Back in July the Herald Sun included an article titled “Lazy shoppers fuelling environment woes by driving” which claims “Shoppers too lazy to walk to the supermarket add nearly 1.9m tonnes to our greenhouse gas emissions each year”.

Those who live within a few kilometres of their local shopping areas can quite easily forego these short trip emissions by leaving the car at home and cycling to the shops instead. Typically this will mean you also leave the aggrivation of finding a park behind, as many shopping centres provide bicycle racks closer to the doors than even the closest car park (or failing that have suitable things to lock to near the doors). One of the other benefits of shopping by bike is you get to squeeze exercise time into your week at the same time, and if you happen to have a bike path along the way, it can be a great way to enjoy a bit of time out.

Getting your shopping home by bike, if you haven’t tried it before, can be a little different and means you need to think a little more about how you can transport things home, but once you’ve done it once or twice it becomes second nature. How you go about it depends on how big your shop is and whether you are shopping by yourself or with others in your household to help.

If your trip to the shops is small, or if you make different trips for different things (such as heading one direction to the market for fruit and vegetables, and heading in another direction to get the rest), you might be able to get away with a rear basket. I do a weekly shop for myself a couple of kilometres from home and get away with two rear panniers and a 30 litre backpack. This is basically three to four calico bags worth of groceries. I also buy mostly fresh things with little packaging rather than heavy cans, so what you can safely put on your back and into panniers will be different if your load is heavier. Perhaps a bit of a guide is that if you can’t carry it in your arms to your bike fairly comfortably, you probably would like to break your trips into a few each week (if that’s handy for you – for some its simply a stop off on the way home to top up on fresh bread and grab a few fresh vegetables) or getting a trailer. For trips requiring larger shops you’ll definately do well to get a trailer, (or maybe a specially designed “work bike” that are starting to become sold in some bike shops in Melbourne) to comfortably get the goods home.

No matter your technique of shopping by bike, the common rule is to pack heavy items at the bottom, and lighter, fragile items on top. This makes your bike the most stable and keeps your squishable goods unsquished. Make sure your load can’t move around as this can damage items or make your bike less stable. Also make sure that if you’ve bought something sharp or pointy, that you’ve packed it in a way hurt or damage you, your gear or anyone or anything you’re riding near.

Rear baskets tend to attach to a rack. Front baskets should only be used for light items as anything heavy tends to affect steering.

Panniers are like saddlebags for your bike. You attach a rack to your bike and the pannier bags clip on. As well as for the rear, you can add ones on the front as well. Balance the weight as much as possible between panniers, but if you have front ones as well, put 60% of the weight in the rear pair. I’ve read that “A bicycle fitted with panniers can usually carry a week’s grocery shopping (up to 10 kg in the front bags and 15 kg in the rear bags) without making it overly difficult to pedal.”

Make sure anything you attach to your bike isn’t obscuring your lights and reflectors, and doesn’t affect your brake cables. And make sure you don’t go over the recommended weight restrictions for your accessories.

If you don’t already have water proof gear, you can buy waterproof covers or line backs and panniers with thick garbage bags to ensure things stay dry in a downpour.

In terms of trailers, there are a few to chose from. Good ones include those made for touring as they are sturdy and handy general purpose trailers for most conditions. Look around the web, in different bike shops and talk to staff to find one that will suit your needs and your bike. I have seen some cyclists using the kid trailer bikes as part time shopping carts. Bike shops can also give you advice on choosing other accessories, and if you have little shoppers with you too young to ride their own bike in front, ask about ‘tag along bikes’ and baby seats.

Further reading:

http://www.bikesatwork.com/carfree/shopping-by-bike.html
http://www.dpi.wa.gov.au/cycling/1979.asp
http://www.cyclingpromotion.com.au/get-more-from-cycling/commuting/shopping-by-bike.html
http://www.mysmarttrolley.com.au/
http://www.greenspeed.com.au/burley_products.html

If you have any other tips, or stories to share about Melbourne sans car, please add to the comments.

———————

This post is the fifth in a series of posts about Melbourne sans car.
1. Benefits of not owning a motor vehicle
2. Getting some wheels… Bicycle wheels
3. Bicycling Melbourne safely
4. Keeping your bicycle yours (anti-theft)
5. Shopping by bicycle
6. Commuting by bicycle
7. Maintaining your bicycle
8. Exploring Melbourne by bicycle

Most bicycles stolen in Victoria have been left unlocked. Half of bicycles stolen from the owner’s home, because most people don’t lock their bicycles at home. When a bicycle is stolen it is usually very difficult to recover.

Your best chances of keeping your bicycle is to lock it whenever you have to leave it, even if its only to duck into the shops, and most definitely when its at home or work.

In this post I’ll talk about:

1. How to lock it?
2. Where to lock it?
3. How tempting is your bike to thieves?
4. How identifiable is your bike?
5. Insuring your bike

How to lock it?

The most anti-theft way to lock your bike is with a combination of D-lock (U-lock) AND a cable lock. Lock your back wheel inside the rear triangle of the frame to the solid object (such as bike rack) and a cable lock to secure the front wheel to the frame (or to the frame and a solid object if possible). Locking this way means you can buy the a smaller D-lock, and the combination of D-lock and cable means its harder to steal as thieves usually only carry tools to target one of these. See Sheldon Brown’s lock strategy for more information and an illustration of how to use a D-lock.

If you are in a situation where you can’t get a D-lock around something secure, with the above D-lock and cable combination you at least still have the chain to reach around, and you can lock your back wheel to the frame which would slow down a thief.

If you find yourself in a situation of having to leave your bike for a short period without something suitable to lock to, you can still use the D-lock to lock your back wheel to the frame, and front wheel to frame with the cable lock, as it can’t be ridden until unlocked, and in that state most thieves will leave it alone.

Locking your wheels, instead of just your frame, is especially important if you have quick release wheels. Quick release seats may also be targeted by thieves. Hose clamps with a screw/band can be used on some quick release items to make it less tempting for thieves, and these can be picked up rather cheaply from discount stores and hardware stores.

Also, when you leave your bike it’s important to take items with you – your lights, cycle computer, pumps, panniers and bags – unless they are secured somehow so they can’t be nicked. You may even like to take your bike seat with you, unless you have a cable lock on that.

Where to lock it?

The best place to park a bike and lock it is places visible to people walking past and well lit at night. If you can find a bike rack, that’s best, but otherwise find something that can’t be lifted out of the ground (such as those ’sucker poles’ that aren’t cemented in) and make sure it is tall enough that you’re bike can’t simply be lifted over it. If you have to lock it on the street every day and own a fancy bike, try to find different ‘good’ spots to lock it up in your area, so a thief doesn’t walk past your bike same place everyday and it gets tempting. If you don’t have secure parking at home or work, you need to spend a bit on a decent D-lock, such as a Kryptonite. Typically the more you spend, the better the lock. Some prefer to leave the lock at work or uni instead of carrying it around (as they can be heavy things), and just using a light cable lock for times when you need to stop in somewhere quickly. Again, its best to use a combination of D-lock and cable lock at work, uni or home.

How tempting is your bike to thieves?

If you have an expensive brand name bike you should try to disguise this as much as possible. Peeling off stickers that advertise what your bike is worth, painting over logos, and decorating your bike with your own stickers will make your bike look less like something that can easily be resold. Some also employ techniques like using duct tape on the bike, cutting the seat and taping that to make it less appealing, applying stickers that make your bike look like it has rust or damage.

If you want a flashy bike for weekend rides but don’t need it for the bicycle commute, you might like to find a good second hand bike that is less appealing to thieves and keep your good bike locked up at home in a room or shed.

How identifiable is your bicycle?

There are a few things to do to ensure your bike can be identified more easily if it is stolen.

Engrave ‘V’ (for Victoria) followed by your drivers license number on your bike. I believe you can borrow an engraver from police stations overnight. Ride to Work day (October 15 this year) often includes a bike engraving service. If you don’t have a drivers license, ask a friend or family member if you can use their license number instead and make a note of the number yourself. It makes it easier for the police to track a recovered bicycle back to you.

Record your bicycle’s serial number. This is often found on your bike frame near the pedals. Also record the bikes make and model. Keep this information in a safe place where you can find it.

Take photos of your bike, including its unique characteristics (like scratches it has or modifications you made) which would make it easier to identify.

With all these things, you are able to provide a lot more information to police if your bike is stolen, than simply knowing its colour, make and model, and this will assist in recovering the bike.

Many cyclists make their bike unique through stickers, paint jobs and other decoration. Not only will this make your bike less tempting to thieves, but may also help make your bicycle more identifiable.

Insuring your bicycle

Insurance is not for everyone, but if you already have home contents insurance, you may be able to insure your bicycle as part of that. Bicycles can also be insured against theft and damage through other policies, so ask your insurance company about this.

Further reading

• http://urbanbicyclist.org/cityriderguide.pdf
• http://www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/Page/Page.asp?Page_Id=2713&h=1
• http://www.bv.com.au/bikes-and-riding/10755/
• http://www.bv.com.au/bikes-and-riding/30598/

If you have any other tips, or stories to share about Melbourne sans car, please add to the comments.

———————

This post is the forth of a series of posts about Melbourne sans car.
1. Benefits of not owning a motor vehicle
2. Getting some wheels… Bicycle wheels
3. Bicycling Melbourne safely
4. Keeping your bicycle yours (anti-theft)
5. Shopping by bicycle
6. Commuting by bicycle
7. Maintaining your bicycle
8. Exploring Melbourne by bicycle

This Sunday, Melbourne’s first Bike Polo Tournament will be held at Carlton (next to the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Gardens, Corner Rathdowne St and Queensbury St) from 12 noon.

If you’d like to enter, teams of three is $15, and individuals can enter for $5 (to be placed into a team). To register send an email to melbourne.bicycle.polo.club [at] gmail.com.

Spectators entry is free (of course), so even if you’re not up for a game its sure to be entertaining to watch.

For more details see the official site and there are some photos here.

Cycling in a safe way (no, not the supermarket) will ensure that any risks you take getting around on two wheels are dramatically reduced, and this blog entry aims to cover the ways to do this.

Road rules

The most important thing to ensure safety of yourself and others is to know and follow the road rules. The road rules have been written to ensure the road is shared between all users in a way that prevents the accidents.

The sub-set of road rules that apply specifically to cyclists can be found here (PDF).

This is just a subset specifically for cyclists, so if you haven’t read the full set of road rules recently, make sure you do that as well.

Some road rules that get broken a lot by cyclists include riding without lights at night, talking on your mobile when riding, and not indicating.

Your phones ringing while you’re out riding? Easy. Indicate you are stopping with a hand signal. Move off the the left as much as possible. Get out of the bike lane or off the path if possible. Get off your bike. Now, answer your phone. Don’t answer it until you are off your bike, out of the way of others, and are aware of your surroundings. Weigh up missing a call against causing injury to yourself or others. Don’t ride while holding your phone up to your ear. This is dangerous to you and those around you, and against the road rules.

Always indicate, even if you think no one is around to see it. If you’re in a bike lane and you need to stop unexpectedly, always indicate you need to pull over to the left with a hand signal or yell ‘Stopping’ if you aren’t able to take both hands off the bars. This way you give someone behind you a chance to slow down or overtake, and no crash into the back of you. Whenever you need to stop move off to the left as much as possible or off the path / on the footpath as a courtesey to other road or path users.

Obviously, wearing a helmet is a must. Head injuries aren’t nice, so make sure you’re well protected up top in case of falls. Read Bicycle Victoria’s article on helmets for more information on the right fit.

Defensive Cycling

The next most important thing to be safe out there is to ride in a defensive way. This means you ride as if everyone else out there is unpredictable, can’t see you, and that you don’t presume others follow road rules. This technique isn’t just good practice for cyclists, but but to all road users (pedestrians, motorcyclists, car drivers). Basically, its about being alert of what is going on around you as much as possible, and as much as you can putting yourself in a position (whether it be your road position or how easy it is for you to jump on the brakes) where if someone does something unexpected or silly out there, you can prevent an accident or save yourself from injury.

Some examples of defensive cycling:-

• Always check both sides of an intersection for red light runners when you take off on a green light.
• Do a quickly check of the car beside you when you are about to pass a side street, if there’s a possibility they might try to turn right onto you.
• If a driver appears wreckless, dangerous, or ‘dodgy’, trust your instincts and give them a wide berth – don’t put yourself in harms way when something seems fishy.
• Watch for pedestrians stepping out without looking, pedestrians stepping out behind buses or large vehicles, small kids near schools or playgrounds…
• Don’t ride with tunnel vision. Make the best use of your peripheral vision by always scanning across side to side as your ride. This allows you to see things earlier, giving you more time to take evasive action.

Don’t cycle in a cars blindspot for long periods of time, wherever possible. Riding in the blindspot is when you ride beside a car, behind the front window, so that a careless driver who only checks their mirror and doesn’t do a shoulder check, might assume no one is there beside them.

Riding through the CBD and other areas where there is a lot of parked cars makes cycling more challenging because drivers sometimes open car doors without looking first. Cycle one metre out from parked cars wherever possible and look for heads in cars and for faces in rear-vision mirrors to predict car-doors opening. When you see a car door crack, get right on the brakes straight away, don’t swerve out into traffic (that is more dangerous) and yell out “DOOR”.

If you have a close call, you might like to move off the road, take a few deep breathes to calm yourself down and introduce yourself to the driver with your first name (don’t go right up to them. Keep a bit of the car between you and them if possible, but close enough to talk in a normal voice) before saying “Just wanting to remind you that the road rules say you must not open your door to cause a hazard, so you need to check your mirror and do a shoulder check anytime you open you car door. Otherwise you could really hurt someone”. Do not speak to the driver if you are still visibly angry or shaking or they look dangerous. Your aim is to convince the driver you are a friendly person who is giving them a reminder so they don’t open there door on a cyclist in future. You don’t want to appear as an angry person who wants to hurt them out of revenge. If you yell or appear angry they won’t be receptive to what you say at all; they’ll be too busy yelling back to think about what just happened and not do it next time. You only need to say that one line. Hopefully they’ll understand, and even apologise. If you are being friendly and they have a go at you, leave it be (say no more and be on your way) but jot down their number plate (or store it in your mobile) to report them for dangerous driving (don’t make it obvious or confrontational).

If you do have a close call and get shaky, make sure you get off the road and have a sit down or walk your bike for a while to calm your nerves. You don’t want to let someones neglect ruin your whole ride.

As a last point on defensive cycling, I recommend you refresh your defensive riding knowledge by reading this article.

Courtesy

Being aware of other road users needs can lead to a safer and more enjoyable trip for everyone. Letting someone in, and not blocking intersections, as well as friendly waves and thank-yous when other road users show courtesy your way, are all small things to do but can have a positive impact on how other road users see you and other cyclists in the scheme of things. Unfortunately many drivers see a bad cyclist doing something wrong or being discourteous and small-mindedly place all cyclists in the same category. The more of us doing the right thing out there and having manners will show road users the majority of cyclists act the right way, and this will impact on how courteous and patient they are in return.

Knowing that car drivers need to know what you are doing (use hand signals), they need you to ride in a predictable way (following road rules) and they need to be able to see you in poor light (wearing bright clothing and having lights fitted to your bike) are all ways you can show courtesy to drivers, so they may do so in return.

On the topic of courtesy: something I see often on the way to work is the push-in-line cyclist. That’s when you stop at a red light and a slower cyclist you just overtook rides past you in the line to push-in. There is no reason to push in front of another bike waiting at a red light unless they are turning and you are going straight, or you KNOW you ride faster and will overtake them in a few metres anyway. Often you’ll see people you just overtook 500 metres back in the bike lane, push in front of you at a set of lights. When they do this you shake your head because you know you’ll just have to overtake them again. This is stupid, and the unnecessary overtaking is a risk – a risk they shouldn’t need to take if slower riders just used their brain. Don’t be one of these people who ‘pushes in’. I don’t know what they are thinking when they push in like this… it is kind of primitive. Why not just wait in your place in the line unless you are certain you are going to be faster off at the lights?

Bike Lights

Buy the best set of lights you can afford, and invest in some rechargable batteries and charger so you can have a ready supply of fresh batteries (carry charged spares with you). Take lights with you when you leave your bike so they don’t get stolen, or superglue the lights on if you prefer, but only if you can still replace the batteries easily.

You can’t just rely on reflectors to be visible. You need lights at night as not everything that needs to see you will shine a light on your reflectors!

According to the Victorian road rules (PART 15—ADDITIONAL RULES FOR BICYCLE RIDERS):

The rider of a bicycle must not ride at night, or in hazardous weather conditions causing reduced visibility, unless the bicycle, or the rider,
displays—
(a) a flashing or steady white light that is clearly visible for at least 200 metres from the front of the bicycle; and
(b) a flashing or steady red light that is clearly visible for at least 200 metres from the rear of the bicycle; and
(c) a red reflector that is clearly visible for at least 50 metres from the rear of the bicycle when light is projected onto it by a vehicle’s headlight on low-beam.

Speaking personally, I think the flashing light settings are better that steady as they tend to be more visible to drivers and the batteries last longer on this setting. But when you are riding in dark spots you might need to switch to steady to see better.

If you regularly ride in very dark spots you might like to get yourself another light with a powerful beam for those areas, so you can see where you are going.

You can also have more than one set of lights on your bike, or wear one set on your helmet or bag and the other set on your bike. This increases your visibility and ensures you have spare lights if one stops working.

See Bicycle Victoria’s Which Bike Lights? for more information.

Reflective / visibility gear

One option here is to just wear clothes that are light or bright colours – such as yellows and whites, and buy some reflective stickers for your bike and helmet. This makes you a lot more visible than those wearing black.

A better option that isn’t expensive is to buy a hi-viz (aka construction worker) vest, which can be bought for around $10. They are usually either yellow or orange and have thick 3M reflective tape on them, and velcro instead of buttons to keep the vest on you. The benefit of a vest is you can put it on over the top of your normal clothes (and even your raincoat) when riding, its small enough to chuck in a bag (or lock to your bike) when you get to your destination, they’re quick to put on and take off, they don’t get too hot in summer months, and the reflective tape makes you a lot more visible to cars at night. Some cyclists get large or XL size vests to wear over their backpack as well.

If you have more money to spend, most bike shops have a good range of jackets, vests, reflective stickers, and there are even wearable devices that glow. Other reflective things like tags for your bag and anklets and arm bands also contribute to your visibility on the road.

It’s best to be ‘360 degrees visible’ (not just on your back). Get some plastic yellow reflectors on your wheels (or get reflective tyres such as the Schwalbe Marathon Plus which are also very puncture resistant) so cars can see you from the side. Make sure your bright and reflective clothing can be seen well enough front the front and when you have a bag on (or put reflective stickers on your bag).

Carrying tools and spares

Carrying a small set of tools for fixing likely problems is a good thing to do. It will mean you can fix a problem and get on with riding, instead of being stuck somewhere, or worse, trying to ride on with the broken bike. Generally, a little puncture repair kit, tire levers, a small adjustable wrench, a flathead screwdriver, a phillips head screwdriver, a couple of the common-size allen keys, and maybe a spare tube… will cover most fixes. Learn how to fix a puncture and how to fix other common problems that might be encountered.

Brakes

If you feel like your brakes aren’t working as well as you’d like, make sure you fix them or get them fixed as soon as you can. The last thing you want is for them to fail when you need them.

Bell

The road rules in Victoria state you need a bell or another similar device on your bike. You can’t just use your voice, so make sure you have a functioning bell fitted where you can ring it easily. Bells are useful for letting people know you are there, or letting them know you are passing. When passing someone (always on the right) its a good idea to also say “passing” so the know what the bell was for. Whenever you hear a bell for passing, move as left as possible on the path or lane.

Safe Routes

Some roads in Melbourne are safer for cyclists than others. Wherever possible, find routes where there are marked bike lanes or dedicated bike lanes, regular lightpoles (less dark roads), and roads which have space for cyclists (even around parked cars).

Refer to resources such as VicRoads interactive map and VicRoads downloadable maps, Bikely, Google Maps street view and Bicycle Victoria’s page on Metro Routes. Also, you can ask other cyclists what they recommend and look for where there are lots of cyclists riding.

Mirrors, and looking behind

Mirrors can be useful to increase your awareness of what is going on behind you without looking around so much, but all mirrors have blind spots so make sure you do a shoulder check to ensure no one is driving or riding beside you before you make a move.

Bicycle victoria has a video clip on how to look behind you safely here.

Learn how to do your own bike maintenance

You can save money and help ensure your bike stays road-worthy by learning to do your own bike maintenance. There are several options to do this:

• Get a bike maintenance book out of your local library.
• Visit SheldonBrown.com
• Invest in a good bike maintenance book. One with steps and illustrations, with a focus on your type of bike (style of bike and its age) so it covers what you need to know.
• Join CERES Bike Shed for access to tools and so you can ask volunteers advice.
• Do a bike maintenance course, such as those run by human powered cycles.

Other resources

• Crossing tram tracks
• Swooping birds
• VicRoads – Cyclist Safety
• VicRoads – Where To Ride
• Bicycle Victoria “What are the Rules?”
• Bicycle Victoria “Commuter Powers Activate”
• Bicycle Victoria “Riding in Traffic”
• Bicycle Victoria “Skill Up Video Clips”

If you have any other tips, or stories to share about Melbourne sans car, please add to the comments.

———————

This post is the third of a series of posts about Melbourne sans car.
1. Benefits of not owning a motor vehicle
2. Getting some wheels… Bicycle wheels
3. Bicycling Melbourne safely
4. Keeping your bicycle yours (anti-theft)
5. Shopping by bicycle
6. Commuting by bicycle
7. Maintaining your bicycle
8. Exploring Melbourne by bicycle

Melbourne’s ever growing bicycle culture means there are lots of people out there to help you get on a bike. What are some of the things you want to keep in mind before you find a bicycle just right for you?

The first thing to think about is what you plan to use the bike for? Commuting to work? Quick rides down to the shops, the movies, the pub or to your friends place? Weekend recreational rides? Off-road mountain assaults? Going everywhere and doing everything?

It’s fairly important to buy a bicycle that matches what the majority of your rides are likely to be, rather than what you think you want to use it for every now and again. If you’re heavy into off-road assaults, jumping things and muddy slippery rides, you will appreciate a mountain style bike with nobbly tires. But if you’re unlikely to need the fancy suspension and grippy tires in your urban travels, you’ll be glad to have a lighter bicycle with thinner, smoother tires, giving less rolling resistance.

Bicycles come in a variety of types, and I’ll just name a few here:

• Road bikes – made for speed, typically thin tyres
• Mountain bikes – flat bar, suspension, disc brakes, tyres made for gripping soft surfaces
• Hybrid or comfort bikes – sacrifice slick a little for general urban use. Smooth but ‘fat’ tyres, flat bar, upright sitting position.
• BMX – single speed tricksters for all ages. Usually 20″ and 24″ wheels.
• Folding bikes – for public-transport-and-ride combination trips, easy storage, and take-it-with-you security.
• Town bikes – ‘European style’ bikes designed especially for urban use – often with fender over wheels to keep the rain away and racks and baskets for trips to the shop. A more upright ride.
• Choppers - pimp-my-bicycle style rides, more for show than ease of riding necessarily
• Trikes – three wheelers, especially great for those who have balance or mobility problems. Often these come with great baskets or carriers as standard.

Another decision is whether you want to shell out for a shiny new bike or look for a pre-loved one?. Bicycle Victoria has a list of bicycle shops if you’re wanting to look to buy a new bike. Don’t feel pressured into buying something the first shop you visit. Its a good idea to have a good look around at your options, and you can do some of this online.

But new isn’t everything, and there are many options for finding a pre-loved bike. Your friends or family might have a bike lying around they don’t use, e-bay auctions can be good for finding bargain pre-loved bikes available for pickup in your local area, and if you have a few hours spare the CERES bike shed in Brunswick has donated/recycled bikes and parts and tools to build up a bike where you might pay somewhere between $50 and $100 to build a bike, including the small membership fee that gives you onsite use the quality tools anytime the shed is open and advice you need on bike maintenance from the bike shed volunteers. Make sure you check the website for when the CERES bike shed is open. Other groups that can help you find a bike or keep it in shape are Human Powered Cycles in Brunswick (soon to be Northcote) and the Free Bike Fix at Carlton Gardens most Sundays. Bicycle Victoria has an article on second hand bikes here.

What size bike do you need? Well some bikes you don’t really have to buy a particular size as it might be one size or they are designed to be adjustable, but your majority of bikes will come in different sizes. If you’re not familiar with how to size yourself for a bike, there are plenty of online resources to guide you including Sheldon Brown or Bicycle Victoria’s bike fit guide for women. Dropping into a bicycle store and talking to staff as well as standing over any potential bikes to ensure you have a couple of inches over the top tube are both ways I would recommend to get a good idea of what bikes fit you. You can also get bikes custom made for your particular needs – called ‘custom frames’, and bike shops like Cecil Walker in the city can do this kind of custom fitting.

You should always try to give the bike a spin or at least hop on it with it adjusted to your size to ensure you like the riding style and feel of the bike before you decide to take it home with you. It’s a good idea to not rush yourself, and have some time up your sleeve to pick up accessories for the bike. Make sure you get yourself a good helmet and a bright set of front and rear lights very close to the time when you get your bicycle so you won’t be tempted to ride around in an unsafe way. If you are buying a new bike, you can look to buy other accessories (such as a lock for security and a basket or rack for carrying items) at the same time to see if you can get the whole package at a cheaper price. You can look to customize your bike with a seat just right for you and fenders for keeping the rain off.

If you have any other tips, or stories to share about Melbourne sans car, please add to the comments.

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This post is the second of a series of posts about Melbourne sans car.
1. Benefits of not owning a motor vehicle
2. Getting some wheels… Bicycle wheels
3. Bicycling Melbourne safely
4. Keeping your bicycle yours (anti-theft)
5. Shopping by bicycle
6. Commuting by bicycle
7. Maintaining your bicycle
8. Exploring Melbourne by bicycle

Bicycle culture fans will enjoy this free exhibition being held this month…

From the Australian Danish Embassy website:

The Dreams on Wheels exhibition will in the Atrium at Federation Square in Melbourne from 12 to 19 August. The exhibition is a showcase of Danish culture of cycling and innovative Danish bicycle design. This exhibition has been brought to Australia as part of celebrations marking the re-opening of the Royal Danish Embassy in Canberra.

Dreams on Wheels is curated by Thomas Ermacora, founder of Etikstudio, and has previously been shown at the Danish House in Paris, Danish Design Center in Copenhagen and Harbourfront Centre of Toronto.

Motivated by how a ‘cyclocentric’ approach to urban development can stimulate sustainable civic behaviour, the exhibition promotes cycling in a broader cultural context, displaying Danish urban cityscapes alongside urban visions for Australia by Danish architect Jan Gehl.

Ranging from family friendly to high tech, the bicycles exhibited include the Christiania bike, the LeitraVelomobile, Biomega designer bikes, the unique Mountain Goat, and ultimate classics from Velorbis.

Also on display are Copenhagen City Bikes, bicycles that are identical to those used in the Danish free bicycle program currently being adopted in Paris and considered for introduction in Australia.

Filmmaker and photographer Mikael Colville-Andersen contributes to the exhibition with a number of photographs documenting Copenhagen’s bicycle culture from his ongoing series.

Exhibition opening hours:
12 to 19 August 2008
Open all hours
Admission is free

The Atrium, Federation Square
Melbourne

More on Danish cycle culture can be found at:

• Copenhagenize [the planet]
• Copenhagen Cycle Chic

A friend of mine acquired an impressive $220 fine for turning left on red the other day. She was turning from a bike lane into another bike lane. An undercover cop pulled her over – complete with sirens – and gave her a stern talking to.

He said he noticed that she had looked for cars and pedestrians before making the left, but slapped her with the fine anyway.

He asked to see her license (she’s from Alberta, Canada). To add insult to injury, he wrote “American” at the top of her ticket. She was not impressed.

Seems as though her fine was a bit punitive. She said his demeanour completely changed once she started talking, and reckons if she was Australian she would have gotten off with a warning.

But keep your wits about you lawbreaking bikers, the Man is watching.

Hey, so what do you guys think? Should bikers have to follow the exact same rules as drivers? Or are they given some leeway by virtue of the fact that they (generally) cause less accidents and less damage should they be involved in a collision?

And if we want to count bikes as vehicles just like cars, what about vehicles and pedestrians in bike lanes – should they get tickets for impeding other vehicles?

I ask this having spent most of my ride home last night clearing groups of drunk people from my bike lane. (Confidential to the guy who shouted inexpicably, ‘Only a fa**ot would drive that bike’ – your hair was unbelievably atrocious.)