Courtside at SydneyBikePolo
It was that time of day, the golden time, late on a lazy autumn afternoon when the sun goes all liquid and everything it touches sparkles. A gentle breeze moved the orange-leafed trees and they blushed a deeper shade of red as the sun settled. In ones and twos and all by bike, people were [...]
Flood Recovery program
The wild wet weather that has struck at unseasonal times over the past 18 months has not only been a frustration for fine-weather cyclists, but has also impacted heavily on roads and trails in many of Victoria’s popular parks. It has required a massive recovery program and to bring people up to date with the [...]
Memories of a suburban bike shop
Joyce Currie recalls life growing up in a suburban bike shop, Duggan’s Cycles, in post-War Melbourne. These were the days when everyone aspired to ride a Malvern Star — even it was really an anonymous treadlie built from an assortment of spare parts, painted, and slapped with a Malvern Star sticker. My father, Jack Duggan, [...]
All hail the taxi driver who learns how to ride a bike
Melbourne based behaviour change expert, Jonathon Daly didn’t want people to just ‘imagine life in somebody else’s shoes’. He wanted people to actually undo their laces and swap their shoes as part of a program to improve the relationship between road users. In 2011, the New Zealand Transport Agency funded Cycling Advocate’s Network (CAN) with [...]
Light up your life
For anyone looking for good quality, super bright lights suitable for unlit roads and paths (but can be dimmed down with a low-medium-high beam, and flasher button), The Wheeler is happy to brag about a set of Gemini lights, bought last year. These have been excellent in all weather conditions, easy to slip on and [...]
Away from the madding crowd: Part one
Ross McLelland has a long history with forests, dirt roads and the outback. It used to be in a 4WD vehicle and in the 1980s he wrote Outback Touring and Going 4WD. Since then mountain biking has become his passion. Here he shares two of his favourites rides recently undertaken. If you haven’t been on [...]
Creature comforts
Twelve years ago, a crocodile farm on the Fremantle waterfront sold up to an enterprising group of brewers. With a new brewing concept (think teapot-style infusions) and a winery tasting room aesthetic, Little Creatures opened for business. Cue pizza oven, kitchens and a 2008 brewhouse upgrade. In a few short years, they’ve become part of [...]
From the Flinders Ranges to the darker side: a mountain bike stage race in Alice Springs
By Kerstin Oelckers In the mid 90s last century, the household needed an additional form of transport and I opted to get a hybrid bike. Soon after that I started riding recreationally on and off-road, including a multiple-day tour mountain biking in the Flinders Ranges with Bicycle SA (something like a mini version of the [...]
Vox Pop 6
Gerome Profession: Police officer, Senior Constable based at the Melbourne West Police Station. What are you riding? A Kona Coilair Gold, a cross country mountain bike with a hard tail. That’s the official bike of the police force is it? We don’t really have an official bike for the police force, but this is the [...]
Milan – San Remo – Gerrans
For the second year running an Aussie – Simon Gerrans – has triumphed in the great one-day European classic, the 298km Milan-San Remo. He out-sprinted superstars Fabian Cancellara and Vincenzo Nibali after the three opened up a short break atop the fabled final climb, the Poggio. Simon, the reigning Australian Road Champion and key rider [...]