Posted by: BikingMarco
Re: Worlds Cycling Situation - 04/17/09 05:03 AM
Hi there,
let's just bring this old blog back to life!
I can only compare cycling in Australia to cycling in Germany. And it's quite different here in OZ. Cycling has more the reputation of 'sports' and 'fitness' as opposed to being a medium to get from one place to another. The great majority of cyclists you see in the city accordingly has an expensive road bike and super thight lycra cloth. However, the mentality is about to shift and Sydney has a plan to increase the share of cycling to about 25% of all transportation methods for commuting to work. And many people start commuting by bike to avoid the long qeues of cars on the road. Same as in other major cities a network of bikepaths is developing to make cycling in the cities safe. So I guess in 20 years time we will have a similarly good bike infrastructure as Germany has now.
Many people travel Australia by bike which is a great thing to do and a great experience. However, most travellers are actually visitors from Europe, Aussis can't be bothered. Good things for riding in a tour is that Australia is mostly flat and you can legally ride your bike even on the Highways. You will normally find a 1.5m wide shoulder which keeps you separate to traffic. Everybody know the down sides though which are huge distances and boiling temperatures.
Australian use of bicycles would now be something around 40% road-/racing bikes, 40% mountain biking, 15% commuting and 5% touring...
let's just bring this old blog back to life!
I can only compare cycling in Australia to cycling in Germany. And it's quite different here in OZ. Cycling has more the reputation of 'sports' and 'fitness' as opposed to being a medium to get from one place to another. The great majority of cyclists you see in the city accordingly has an expensive road bike and super thight lycra cloth. However, the mentality is about to shift and Sydney has a plan to increase the share of cycling to about 25% of all transportation methods for commuting to work. And many people start commuting by bike to avoid the long qeues of cars on the road. Same as in other major cities a network of bikepaths is developing to make cycling in the cities safe. So I guess in 20 years time we will have a similarly good bike infrastructure as Germany has now.
Many people travel Australia by bike which is a great thing to do and a great experience. However, most travellers are actually visitors from Europe, Aussis can't be bothered. Good things for riding in a tour is that Australia is mostly flat and you can legally ride your bike even on the Highways. You will normally find a 1.5m wide shoulder which keeps you separate to traffic. Everybody know the down sides though which are huge distances and boiling temperatures.
Australian use of bicycles would now be something around 40% road-/racing bikes, 40% mountain biking, 15% commuting and 5% touring...