bikes

This year I cycled over ten thousand kilometres in eleven countries. I'm very lucky to have a job that allows me to spend so much time in the saddle rather than behind a wheel or gazing at a computer.  Here's my Top Ten rides of 2014, in no particular order. Number Ten - Adelaide beach ride I spent two weeks working in the South Australian capital early in the year. Every afternoon, I'd leave our rented accommodation in Semaphore and head south along the beach road to Glenelg. To my right was the Gulf of St Vincent and endless miles of beaches, to my left an assortment of Adelaide beach houses, including some bluestone marvels. On return, I couldn't resist cycling on to Boat Harbour. Although it's almost all on-road cycling, there are bike lanes most of the way. Number Nine: Lake Burley Griffin Loop, Canberra. Mostly on dedicated cycle paths, this forty kilometre loop is one of the gems of the nation's capital. From the parks and open fields of Yarralumla to cyc...

I'm in the middle of my third cycling trip to Europe in the past four years. Over the years, I've ridden thousands of kilometres in France, Germany and Austria and also spent time in Belgium and The Netherlands. I don't claim to be an expert in all matters of cycling safety, but my experience in Europe is starkly different to my every day ride in Australia. While there's no doubt cycling infrastructure in Europe is light years ahead of what the majority of us experience in Australia, I don't believe it's necessarily the only contributing factor as to why I feel so much safer here in Europe than back home in Australia. While it's vital that we all continue to lobby for infrastructure that separates cyclists from cars, I think there's one simple law that could dramatically change the culture of road use in Australia. Unfortunately, it's not the 'a-metre-matters' trials that are currently being conducted in Qld and soon to begin in the ACT.  It...