#56 Riding my bike between work and home
I am riding my bicycle to work most week days, from North Bondi to Surry Hills. It is the best way to go to work as it is way faster than the bus!
I also feel a lot more awake when I arrive at work and I am getting heaps of exercise at the same time, which is great as I am sitting behind my desk all day.
Riding home gives me headspace arriving at home without the working day still in my head.
There is lots to see on the bike, you are way more engaged with your environment, you see funny things besides the road, have nice interactions with people and sometimes less nice interactions with drivers who do not like cyclists.
I am starting to document my rides to work to show everyone how nice it can be.
On the other hand, I want the councils to improve the cycling conditions in the city and would like to show them through this footage where urgent improvement to secure safety for bikeriders is highly requested. The city is a horrible place with too many cars, with far too litte human interaction and no comfortable public spaces to gather and to socialise. Sydney is dominated by cars, even on a famous beach like Bondi, cars occupy the 'prime' spots, how bizar...
I am curious at more stories and also please give me your favourite bike lanes, routes and paths as to share our experiences benefit from each others findings.
Last but not least, I think the more people jump on a bike, the more chance we have of changing the current attitude against bicycles...the more people are confronted with bikes on the road, the more people know a friend riding a bike, the more people getting engaged with riding, the higher our chances of turning Sydney into a bicycle city.
cheers
Fieke
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Comments (10)
oooh this is great....as you'll see on my experiment 'carless whisper', i have moved from car travel to public transport regularly b/w surry hills and bondi beach...looking fwd to getting detail from you regarding this route....as cycling is stage two of my grand plan!
I've been riding between Concord West and Ultimo / Surry Hills for about 6 months now, and I gotta say, the ease of cycling in Sydney seriously depends... some routes are much better than others.
I used to live on the North Shore, and bike paths or bike-friendly roads up there are almost non-existent (although I hear that the new F1 / Epping Rd bike path has changed this). Pacific Highway is a death trap, and the token "bike lane" signs along the way are a joke. Riding through the inner-west, on the other hand, is a pleasure, thanks to the "bike superhighway" across the Anzac Br and through Lilyfield and Haberfield (along with many smaller paths and routes). The Eastern Suburbs are also quite bike-friendly (by Sydney standards), especially around Randwick and Kensington.
For a good directory of bike routes around Sydney (and cities the world over), check out Bikely, a Google Maps community mashup site.
This is great! I've wanted to do this too, but hadn't thought of sending the footage to the council. I often wonder if the planners of the current sparse bike lanes have ever even ridden one - they're insane, dangerous and we'd often be better off on the roads. e.g. going up Moore Park Road in Paddington, the bike lane suddenly emerges from the pavement to the road and cars are understandably startled - even though technically the lines might look ok on a map. And whoever said sharing bikes and pedestrians was a good idea?! Don't get me started.... :)
Was it hard having a camera strapped to your head?
I've started riding my bike between work and home again after a Christmas lapse.
It's great to get some exercise and it gives me more energy during the day.
The glass on the footpaths are a bit of a hazard though.
Fieke, I would love to do my own video if you can show me how.
Another great resource for working out routes is a book of maps called "Bike It Sydney". It shows good back-street routes to a variety of places. Although some of the map detail is a little out of date at times (and some cross-streets aren't marked) I've found it immensely useful.
When I was at WWF I also wrote a piece for the Futuremakers blog on cycling to work that folks may find useful...
enjoyed the footage, but the description still sounds scary to me! i think there are 2 things that are needed in order for me to cycle the route (plus a third - get a bike):
1.fitness! could i cycle up birriga rd? hmmmm...are there any 'fit to bike' classes around - anyone know? (a la 'fit to ski' etc) - that'd be a good idea for any trainers reading this! a class that builds the necessary muscular and cardio fitness specifically for cycling, alongside practical tips for driving in traffic...
2.dedicated and separated bike lanes...like the ones i saw in berlin - i'd start in a flash if sydney had those! apparently they are being planned... http://www.clovermoore.com/main/?id=992
@vaike With regards to fitness I just get off and walk up nasty hills. Eventually the fitness will build up.
You can also post comments and ideas on - http://councilgripe.com/
Some councils appear to be monitoring the council gripe site closely, but some of the traffic issues you identify might fall in the jurisdiction of RTA rather than a local council.
I bike from North Bondi to Bondi Junction (I know, not much!) sometimes during the week and often into the city - and agree with many of your comments.
Keep the ideas and the discussion going and let's get more bikes on the road!
@Vaike, as long as you have good gears on your bike, you can take it pretty slow up the hills and not get too puffed.
I also ride this area around Rose Bay / Bondi. It's pretty evident that council & the RTA don't care enough about bicycle routes to get good design work done. It feels like they gave some kid a paintbrush and a bucket of green paint. Even Birriga Rd, which has one of the best bicycle lanes in the area, doesn't give enough space when being passed by busses.
@Fieke - you might be able to reduce jumpiness in the footage if you attach your camera to your handlebars rather than your helmet (I assume your head bobs up and down when you ride?)
Full marks for riding in from the East - are you still riding?
I was wondering where Fitzroy street was, then realised I used to ride it most mornings when coming from Centennial / Driver Ave to the city. Fun stretch but a bugger if you miss the lights at Bourke.
Hint - Riley St is a good alternative to Crown. I used to turn down Reservoir (to SIngle Origin cafe - highly recommended, especially in middle of winter at 6am)
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