Consultant Dan
07 June 2010
Bicycle joys of Melbourne
One of the joys of moving back to Melbourne is getting back onto a bicycle. Sydney roads felt too fast, crowded and dangerous. In the several years since I last lived here, bike culture has become a pillar of the City’s identity.
I have been excited recently to see bike share stations appearing around the CBD. There are 10 stations and 100 bikes in service so far. By way of comparison, the Parisian Vélib' scheme, which is the world’s largest, apparently has 16 stations for every bike we have! (According to Wikipedia; 20,000 bikes and 1,639 stations, or 1 every 300 metres through the centre of Paris).
Whether in Paris or Melbourne, biking connects people to each other. In the long run it will save energy and other resources but it immediately humanizes an urban landscape. It makes me part of the City. It demonstrates how a sustainable life can be better than the energy-bloated lifestyles that fossil fuels generate.
For my new vehicle, I chose an Onya 8 by Allegro Bikes, because it is a local company. I bought it from Human Powered Cycles, in Northcote. The Humans are a friendly, knowledgeable bunch. There is a good workshop out the back where you can get anything serviced, from the most dilapidated to the most chic thing on two wheels. They also run a cafe on the premises, of course.
Funky reuse is valued by many cyclists in Melbourne. The bikes I see around include a variety of DIY, punky, el cheapo contraptions. Friends buy vintage frames and lovingly restore them, resisting the tyranny of rust and obsolescence.
When my niece wanted a bike this Autumn we built two at the Bike Shed co-op, at Melbourne’s venerable eco-education park, CERES. It cost us $50 dollars in parts. We spent about 12 hours at CERES over three weekends being guided in the repairs by the Shed’s volunteers. We met great people and had a lovely time of it.
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