This is a video to encourage university students to ride their bikes to uni.

Bike Accessories

Bike accessories are an important aspect of bike riding and vary from keeping you safe to keeping you fashionable while you ride. Below is a list of some different types of accessories you may need for your bike.

Helmet: probably the first one that would come to anybody's mind. There are a range of different styles and designs when it comes to helmets, and they can also be varied by the type of bike riding you do. It comes down to ones own personal preference, however they are an extremely essential part of bike riding safety. Furthermore it is a legal requirement to where a helmet, so this purchase is a must! It has been proven that helmets reduce head injuries by 60%.

Lights: these are vital for bike riding at night so you are visible on the roads. They are designed to enhance the rider's ability to see while riding at night or in poor light conditions, while also making them visible to other road users. In Australia, it is a legal requirement to have front and rear lights.

Locks: locks are a vital item for any bicycle owner. Important points to consider when purchasing a lock include how you wish to secure your bike, time expected away from your bike, the location it will be in and the amount of security you want. There are different types of locks including cable, chain link, folding and u-locks fitted with either keyed or combination locks.

Clothing: casual bike riders are fine to wear a simple shirt and shorts. However, longer or more serious bike riding requires cycling attire. Cycling shorts are padded and can therefore make a long ride much more comfortable. Cycling jerseys and jackets are also more comfortable and usually come in bright colours to help you be visible. Other important clothing items include riding gloves, shoes and sunglasses.

Racks and carriers: going away somewhere and want to take your bike with you? Then this is an item for you. They allow you to attach your bicycle to your own vehicle in a safe and secure manner. Rear racks for your bike are also designed to carry items such as cargo or pannier bags while you drive. Another alternative for a rear rack is a roof-mounted rack. While these may not be as popular, they do allow you the advantage of getting things in and out of your boot while your bikes are on your car, unlike rear racks.

Safety - The Old Road, an amateur drivers and an amateur cyclists opinion.

It is well known that cyclists and drivers have an uneasy relationship; drivers complain that cyclists take up too much of the lane, while cyclists complain that drivers are aggressive and resentful of cyclists.

This instagram photo illustrates drivers opinion of cyclists on the old road.

 

I live near a stretch of the Old Pacific Highway (Cowan – Brooklyn) that is a popular cycling route. The 10.8km stretch of windy road in my opinion is quite dangerous for both motor vehicle drivers and cyclists, as the road is located on the ridge of a national park the road is enclosed by cliffs northbound and rock walls southbound, the road also has extremely sharp corners.

Map of the Old Pacific Hwy (Cowan - Brooklyn)

I asked my sister, Tiffany her opinion on cyclists on the old road. Tiffany regularly uses the road she is on her P-plates. Tiffany says travelling uphill (southbound), the road isn’t that bad, because there are two lanes, which basically translates to the left lane dedicated to cyclists and the right lane for drivers to take over cyclists. North bound (downhill) however Tiffany explains due to the single laned windy road it is hard to see cyclists around corners and she has come close to having an accident before. Tiffany thinks there should be a bike lane on such a popular cycling route, she also thinks cyclists should be more considerate to drivers by not taking up so much of the lane.

Nathan by no means a professional cyclists has only ever ridden down the old road once, he says one time was enough for him. Nathan was initially really excited to ride down the old road and was enjoying his ride until cars started to pass him, especially around corners. Nathan explains that there isn’t much space on the road for both cars and bikes to drive on, as the cars drove past he felt unsure if he should veer off the road which would lead to him hitting the rock walls or to stay in the lane and get run over by a car. Nathans advice is do not ride down the road unless you are an experienced cyclists and willing to get very close to cars driving past.

So after talking to Tiffany and Nathan, I don’t really have any concrete advice to give to drivers and cyclists using the old road, except be careful! 

This is a youtube video, of a motorcyclist riding up the old road, the video shows you just how windy the old road is. 

Zoe  

Fridge to Fridge

This blog post was supposed to be about Bike Repairs Part II. However after the storyboard was created, I was invited to a facebook event which i thought would make a more interesting topic for the final post.  As the title of this posts subtly suggest, the event was a fridge to fridge. For those who don’t know what this is, it involves a group of people dressing up in funny costumes and riding bikes from house to house to drink alcohol.

Our total route was approximately 15km (says GoogleMap directions).  We started in Erskineville to Glebe, then Lewisham, Summer Hill, back to Lewisham then to Burwood. Without bikes this event would not have been able to work. As all the participants were drinking, nobody could legally drive. To walk would have taken much too long between destinations. This event is indicative of how bikes can bring friends together and let them have a great time. 

BMX Racing

BMX racing is a type of off road bike racing, similar to motorbike super cross racing and mountain bike 4X racing. BMX racing was introduced as a full medal Olympic sport in the Beijing Olympics in 2008. United States dominated the men’s event, winning gold, silver and bronze. In the women’s event, France took gold and silver, with bronze going to the US. 

BMX racing tracks are approximately 45 seconds long, with usually around 20 jumps. 8 riders race on the track which is less than 5 meters wide. The tracks have sharp corners with large banks to help the riders maintain speed through the course.  These courses reward riders who have strength, speed and courage.

In BMX racing, bikes with 20inch wheels are used.  There are no gears on a BMX racing bike and pad brakes are used. The frame of a racing BMX is longer than that of a trick BMX, this allows for more aggressive pedalling and easier cornering. Most high quality racing bikes are made of 4130 chromoly or sometimes aluminium. These metals have a high strength to weight ratio, making them ideal for bikes which need to be strong and lightweight.  The gearing ratio on race BMX bikes is also quite high as riders are travelling at high speed.

Bike riding and children

Bike riding enthusiasts don't have to stop bike riding once they have children, there are a wide variety of attachments and bikes that allow children to join in on bike riding. Here are a couple of options for parents:

Child bike seat:

A child bike seat is probably the most common way for children to travel on bikes with parents. The positives of bike seats are; they are inexpensive, compact and they don't require parents to endure too much extra weight like with bike trailers or cargobikes. 

Bike trailer:

You have probably seen parents using bike trailers and have thought they look very dangerous, I thought the same thing until I spoke to a parent who uses one and she reassured me they are quite safe. The bike trailer is attached to an existing bike, and has a number of advantages to a bike seat; more than one child can ride in the trailer, trailers are weather proof, they are highly visible therefore cars are more careful when driving near the trailer also a bike trailer has its own set of wheels so in the case of the bike failing over the trailer is likely to stay standing upright.

Cargobikes:

In Holland where nearly all of the population rides bikes, parents use cargobikes. Children ride at the front of the bike in a utility style tray. As the children are sitting at the front of the bike, they can easily communicate with parents and enjoy a better view of the journey than children who ride in trailers and bike seats. Cargobikes have an 80kg load capacity, the utility tray comes with one bench and two seatbelts, and there is also an added option of installing another bench which seats one extra child.   

 Zoe

Mountain Bikes

Mountain Bikes are bikes that are built to go off-road. They are generally stronger but heavier than most other types of bikes allowing them to withstand the demands of off-road cycling and jumps. 

Cross Country is a type of racing in which cyclists are timed as they complete a course. The courses consist of both uphill and downhill section with an emphasis on endurance, with times varying from 30minutes to many hours. Cross country is the only discipline of mountain biking in the Olympics. Cross country bikes are usually light weight, some being as low as 10kg, with full suspension and disc brakes.

Downhill racing involves participants racing on a fast downhill course, hence the name. This is the most technical and fastest form of mountain biking. Courses range from 3-10 minutes. The courses often consist of large jumps and drops, as well as extremely steep ‘rock gardens’. Because of the dangerous and fast-paced nature of the sport, downhill has quite a large fan base compared to other forms of mountain biking. The bikes used usually have an emphasis on strength and suspension because of the pressure put on the bike.

Four Cross (4X) is a style of riding where four cyclists race over a short track, no longer than one minute, which consists of jumps and sharp turns. This type of racing is very similar to super-cross motorbike riding and BMX racing. The bikes used in this type of racing are a cross between Downhill and Cross country bikes, with longer suspension that cross country but lighter than downhill.