Tag: Australia

A beginners guide to picking the right bicycle

Many recent graduates of our adult bike classes have a number of burning questions all around the same topic: what type of bike should I buy? What’s the best bicycle for me? And, most importantly, how much should I spend?

Whilst all good questions, we thought we should provide you with a checklist that will help you make the right decision. Firstly, whilst it’s tempting to just ask for any bicycle as a Christmas gift and leave the decision-making process to someone else, be aware that this will result in two things: 1) You will have a bike (yay). 2) You will most likely have a bike that, at least in some respects, you may not actually like. So, make the choice of picking a bicycle yours, then, with a specific list of criteria defined by you, hand the list to Santa (or go shopping yourself).

A lot of budget conscious beginners wonder whether purchasing a second-hand bicycle would do the trick. With any bicycle the question is, do you know what you want? If you do and you find the right bicycle on gumtree, of course that’s an option. With any new purchase that’s not from a reputable retailer, do budget money for a decent service before you embark on your first ride. Be aware that a very cheap bike may turn into a costly steed if many vital parts need replacing. If you’re not sure how to check whether a bike is roadworthy, do yourself a favour and go with a purchase that comes with a warranty.

Start your contemplation by pinning down what type of riding you think you’ll be doing most. Think about the lengths of rides, are they short strolls around your neighbourhood? Are you planning to go riding in the hills? Do you want to commute to work? How fit are you and what skill level do you have? The distance you’re planning to travel, the type of surface you’ll be riding on and the potential to carry bags with you are all determining factors of what will be most suitable bicycle for you. For someone who is just getting back into riding these questions may not be easily answered, but they are incredibly worthwhile to think about.

Find a quality retailer who is helping you with customising your bicycle to suit your needs.

As long as you’re not sure what type of riding you may enjoy, the best option could be to simply hire a range of different bikes over a few weekends and trial them for comfort and fit. Try a bicycle with a step through frame that will see you sit-up straight and will allow you to move your leg onto the bicycle easily. The advantages of step-through bicycles are they are easy to ride for beginners as their tires are usually wider, allowing you to ride with ease on asphalt as well as gravel surfaces. Step-throughs are also forgiving when you bumble over curbs and they handle storing of little cargo like shopping, or handbags in baskets or on penny racks easily.

Disadvantages? Step-throughs are usually heavier and slower. If you plan to put your bicycle onto, or inside your car to get to the start of your riding trip this type of bicycle will require some serious elbow-grease. Another down-side is the number of gears. Usually step-throughs come with a smaller number of them (three to seven). This makes getting the hang of them easier, but it also means the longer and more hilly your ride, the more effort is required on your behalf.

Mountain bicycles are perfect for gravel roads and off-road adventures. They can be even fun to ride in city environments and make handling curbs and bumps easy. Plenty of gears will get you up those hills in no time and their thick, wide tires provide plenty of grip on gravel, although they will slow you down on asphalt. The flat, straight handlebar of mountain bikes can be challenging for beginners as the seating position feels a lot more forward, which can be daunting.

If you like the flat handle bar of a mountain bike, but are planning to ride more on sealed ground a combination of the step-through and mountain bike could be the right vehicle. City bicycles or commuter bicycles can usually accommodate a little bit of both worlds and still give you a some level of comfort. City bicycles come usually with thinner tires – remember, the thinner the tires the speedier the ride! While enjoyed by regular riders, a quick, sleek ride can be slightly terrifying for beginners.

You should know that any part of your bicycle can be customised. For example, if a standard flat handle-bars is annoying you, it can be replaced with a differently shaped one. If you love the colour and frame of your pick, but don’t like its seat, it can be fitted with another one. The key is to find someone who listens to your wishes and is assisting you with adjusting your bike. if you are told that replacing pedals or putting on a penny rack or basket isn’t possible then you may not be talking to the right person. It definitely pays to shop around.

After you’ve tested a few bicycles go with the one that you’re comfortable with right now, not the one you’re told will be the right match in a year’s time. Plenty of bicycles end up unused, stacked in garages because they just weren’t the right purchase. Things like position of the seat, handlebar, ease of reaching and using your brakes are crucial – if it doesn’t feel right now you will very likely be dreading to get on the bicycle instead of using your new vehicle regularly. The advantage of going on a test ride is that you can see whether after twenty minutes your opinion of the bicycle is still the same or whether it is uncomfortable. Always listen to your butt as well as your gut!

Nothing is killing us…

Grunting while lifting heavy objects, running upstairs, wiping off sweat – part of your daily life? Probably not. We successfully eradicated physical activity from our life, as much as possible. Instead we reserve a sweet spot for exercise in our diaries. When we feel like it. Or have spare time. Truth is we all prefer to take the lift, drive the car. Or even better: do nothing. Unless people are motivated to look and feel better or their doctor’s prognosis of impending diabetes or heart disease have provided sufficient fear.

This isn’t really news. In 2012 10% of the population of Australia aged 15 years and over said they were on a diet trying to either lose weight or other health reasons. We know that our screen time, which means sitting in front of work computers and TV’s at home, is taking up 58 hours per week of an adult life. Only one in ten Australians takes the recommended 10.000 steps per day. Hands on your heart, are you “moderately active” for 30 minutes most days of the week as the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare suggests?

Profoundly baffling health advise has been rare: we know that our diet and exercise affects our health, our heart, organ and brain functions, mood. Everything we do, from the foods and drinks we choose (or not) to ingest to the amount of time we move, influences who we are, how we feel and how productive we are. Also no news is that these daily choices aren’t great: 63% of all Australians are overweight and obese. The prognosis isn’t rosy: most of us will develop type 2 diabetes and heart disease in the future. If these are too abstract a term think amputated limbs, clogged arteries, lost eyesight. Lost quality of life.

Yet, what are we doing about this? Nothing.

Occasionally swapping a muffin with an apple just won’t cut the mustard. Taking a walk on the beach on the weekend doesn’t mean our sedentary lifestyle has just been turned around. Signing up to Jenny Craig or buying a gym membership may be fueled by motivation. But statistics don’t lie and they tell us that neither diets nor gyms are the solution to our current conundrum.

Creating lasting change in our diet and lifestyle requires a basic understanding of two driving forces: motivation and habit. Motivation means a person has a reason for acting or behaving in a particular way. This reason could be to feel happier, look slimmer or it could be an upcoming test at our GP. We consciously remind us of the reason for our behaviour and this conscious process doesn’t last for a long time. Habits come into play. Habits are a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. Habits don’t need reminders. We just do.

If contemporary diet and lifestyle are causing diseases, the only solution is to create a culture that fosters healthy habits.

There is no easy quick-fix. Our current culture favours all of the habits that make us sick: from city designs that put cars first instead of active transport like the use of buses, trains, walking or cycling. Poor quality food that is cheaper, faster and sweeter on the pallet. Think of any celebration whether it is Christmas, Birthdays, ANZAC Day or Easter, each one comes with its own set of sweet treats that are part of the tradition. Think of how we treat each other: You’re sad? Here, have a piece of chocolate. You did great in an exam? Congratulations, have an ice cream.

If we want to change a situation caused by a multitude of factors then there is no one solution and neither policy changes nor sole individual champions can be the answer. One thing is clear though if we do want to change anything we can’t start with nothing. We’ll have to tackle everything. From consumer driven demands, fairer access to better infrastructure all of it must be on the table.

 

 

Sian’s discovery of joy, health and happiness

How many new skills have you been acquiring lately? If you’ve grown out of your twenties, maybe even thirties, answering this question may be not so easy, particularly when it comes to skills that can be physically challenging. if not mastered as a child, Learning how to ride a bicycle as an adult is definitely a task left unaccomplished by many. Not so for Sian, who is telling her story of how she fell in love with a new hobby.

 

“I’m a middle-aged woman of questionable social standing, often talkative, who prefers dogs to cats, reads science-fiction, and thinks the TV program Justified was significantly under-rated.”

“Two years ago I decided to get “a bit” serious about losing some weight and getting fitter. Swimming isn’t always easy to organise. I’d grown bored with walking (so slow!), and the cost of attending a gym was getting a little prohibitive. I had friends who cycled, so I thought ‘why not?’ and stumbling upon a cycle course organised through the City of Stirling. Having never been on a bicycle before, the prospect of learning to ride was certainly daunting, however, I opted for taking the ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ perspective.”

“My first cycling lesson was in early 2013 on a Saturday morning in the Stirling Council car park. I was terrified. And very intrigued when virtually the first thing the instructor did was to take the pedals off all the bikes. This turned out to be one of the most practical and safe ways to assist complete novices with the process of learning how to balance on the bike. I also have a distinct memory of suffering the most excruciatingly sore bottom and hamstrings for two days afterwards. By the end of the three week course I had earned both pedals back, could hop on and off, ride in a straight-ish line and turn very, very, very wide corners. Oh, and stop. Stopping by choice is a critical skill.”

“If support had ceased there, I doubt I’d be riding today. Thankfully, the City of Stirling ran a 10 week social ride which basically helped the small group of recent ‘intense course’ graduates to continue practicing those raw, new skills in the safety of understanding company and under the ever patient guidance of an instructor. These 10 weeks were pivotal for so many reasons, but let me list four: ongoing contact with other women who were at a similar point on their learning-to-cycle journey, regular time to meet just for the purpose of practicing newly acquired skill, an enthusiast yet empathetic mentor to guide the group and keep us distracted from our fears, and repetition of the basics, including safety considerations, without pressure to improve or compete. I simply cannot thank each of the women who participated enough, just for being there. We began the course with some of us wondering if we would ever be able to cycle 10 kilometers. We finished the course knowing that 15 kilometers was totally within our grasp, though we might need a coffee at the end.”

“At the conclusion of the 10 week course I purchased my first ever bike. Her name is Rosie, and she is a supremely sturdy beast of the hybrid variety, with wide tyres and straight handlebars. Rosie and I attached ourselves to a regular Saturday riding group, the Wheelie Wonderful Women, a truly great bunch of women, and occasionally would sneak in a mid-week ride on our own.”

“The amazing thing was how little I knew of Perth. This city has beautiful secrets one may never discover without a bicycle.”

“Time passed. My rides were getting longer and more frequent. I  joined another fabulous Sunday riding group. I was having fun. Then a small number of group members announced plans for a trip to New Zealand to ride the Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail, which is eight days of riding some of the most scenic places on the New Zealand South Island. We trooped over in early December of 2014 and had the most spectacular time. There were several instances where I judiciously chose to dismount and walk and there were many, many more instances where I needed to stop and catch my breath (they have real hills over there). Nonetheless, it was glorious. I was having even more fun. Who knew cycling could be all that?”

“Back in Perth, Rosie was no longer everything I wanted in a bicycle. I had reached the point where the optimal number of bikes to own is N+1 (where N is the number of bikes you have right now). Besides, the sales were on. So, in 2015, I purchased my second bicycle; her name is Maxine. She is a carbon composite, flat-bar road bike with disc brakes and together we have yet more fun.”

“I still ride Rosie as she is safe in the wet, can trundle off-road and haul luggage, but there is something very pleasing about a bike like Maxine whose sole purpose is to just go.”

“An average week for me right now would involve 2–5 separate rides. At least one of those will be a social ride with social group, at least one will be over 30 kilometers and the extras often arise from commuting between home and work, which is ‘only’ 11.6 kilometers one way. If I can’t make a social ride I just pick a route and trundle off alone – there is no better stress relief than a decent bicycle ride.”

“Joining the social riding group and learning to cycle has changed my life in so many good ways. I’m certainly fitter, healthier and a little lighter. I’ve met amazing, inspiring women who are a delight to spend time with. I’ve explored places that would otherwise have remained unknown or inaccessible to me. Friends who used to cycle have ventured back on their bikes, and they are most impressed to discover that there is always a good coffee at the end of a ride.”

“One of the more curious run-on effects of becoming a fun-oriented cyclist was chatting with a friend who has been a cycling commuter for more than a decade. She realised that she hadn’t cycled for fun in years, it was simply a means to get from place to place. Now she has re-discovered riding for pleasure by taking a trip once a week along the coast or river and wonders why she deprived herself all this time.”

“There’s always something new to try once you have a bike. And in my experience, people interested in cycling are, for the most part, incredibly supportive and helpful. Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?”

If Sian’s story has inspired you to learn how to ride, get back on your bike or join a social ride, check out our upcoming classes.

Launch of bicycle classes

Have you never learned how to ride a bicycle? Or has it been a very, very long time since you’ve been on a bike and it all seems a little too scary?

Learning how to handle a bicycle safely can be extremely daunting – particularly when you’re not a little child anymore and the thought of falling seems less than appealing. Finding adult classes that have no prerequisites and cater for the absolute novice can be equally frustrating.

From experience we know that people capable of riding a bicycle have forgotten how challenging learning these set of skills can be. And really, is hoping to remember how to ride a bike really the only thing you want to count on when it’s been a while?

For a few years we have been teaching – particularly women – how to master the skill of safely riding a bicycle. The classes have helped hundreds of participants to rediscover the joy of riding a bicycle.

We teach without judgement, just facts, useful tips and a whole heap of fun. No question is too little and the speed of how you learn is up to you – metaphorically and literally.

Sounds like the right thing for you? Check out our upcoming courses to find out where and when we’ll be running the next set of classes.

The Observer of Perth Cycle Culture

Back in 2011, after being exposed to renowned Copenhagen based, Dutch architect Gehl, a visionary of Urban pedestrian and cycle friendly design, Amanda launched her own project observing and documenting Perth’s changing pace and style of riding bicycles.

“The cycle culture, which Gehl’s work helped flourish in Europe fascinated me and I was, and still am, envious of this lifestyle. It seems so civilised and simple because it is”, said Amanda, the mastermind of belles, pedals & chains. Her blog, a photo diary of bicycles she comes across in Perth, or anywhere else she and her co-blogger Sascha travel to, features the beautiful, bespoke treadlies people are floundering in urban spaces. It is an ode to the loved, well-made and elegant way of riding a bicycle.

Having been exposed to the European way of all things bike, Amanda noticed the change of culture in Perth, a move from total Lycra dominance to a more diverse look of the cycling landscape.  “I suddenly noticed other bikes on the street: fixies, vintage style, people wearing normal clothes, some without helmets.  I was like, ‘hang on something is happening here! Could there really be a change in the culture of movement here in Perth where car has always been king?’  I wanted to document that change so that other people could see what was happening on the streets of Perth.  I’m a very visual person and Sascha would often comment that I have eyes like a hawk. Maybe that makes me perfect for this project.  I would argue that she has become the same as me though.”

The photos of belles, pedals & chains are spontaneous anecdotes of pedal-by bike lovers on their way around town. The posts’ headlines are a testimony to the bloggers eye for detail, highlightling and naming the pictures most defining feature and leaving space for readers appreciation of the art of saving candid moments of everyday life.

The need to capture Perth’s “Europefication” was fuelled by Amanda’s desire to bring a bit of cycle friendliness home. “I really, really, really want to live in a city where riding a bike is normal, like Copenhagen and Amsterdam. I have a Danish bike myself.”

“The blog started out being about Perth but as we travel a lot we introduced photos of other cities.  It was a natural progression.  I was lucky to have been relocated to Melbourne for nearly six months in 2012 so the blog became very Melbourne centric then.  Such an inspiring city.”

“As Perth is so isolated, it’s a great way for people to check in with what’s happening in other cities. That’s really important.  I sometimes think we need to be constantly reminded of other places. The blog has become about cities and civilisation in this point in time.”

“The culture has definitely changed and there’s real momentum out there.  It was all Lycra and now you see handmade bikes, vintage, fixies and most importantly, a lot more women riding bikes.”

“We need to be doing more work though to encourage the after hours, weekend and short trips by bikes.  In Victoria, there’s been lots of work on providing infrastructure in suburbs so that people can get the shift from cars to bikes 24/7.  I think we also need to normalise riding a bike so it becomes more mainstream and for all ages. There’s still so much work to do.”

Work which Amanda and her blog are supporting and her commitment doesn’t go unnoticed. “We’ve had lots of messages via our Facebook page or through Instagram that people love the blog and can’t believe it’s based in Perth.  I just hope it might help to inspire people to dust off their bike.  I also hope we can show that riding a bike can be normal and doesn’t require special clothes, as it’s no big deal and age nor gender should be a barrier. The City of Sydney often use our photos in there bike promotion so maybe we are making a small difference somewhere.”

 

Although Amanda has been running her blog for four years now those looking for the repeat selfie on her Dutch bike will be disappointed. “Our privacy is pretty important because we want the blog to be about documenting what we see, not what WE do”, said Amanda.  “A bit of mystery is also really important.  There’s not enough mystery in our lives these days.”

Riding a bicycle in style

There is “riding a bicycle” and there is “racing on a bicycle”. the two are fundamentally different: from the attitude of the person, the vehicle between their legs down to the shoes on their feet. one requires lightweight, expensive sports gear, the other is only limited by people’s imagination.

People racing bicycles will find a market saturated with gadgets, primarily targeting male riders. There is very little wrong with catering for a majority, however, people riding bicycles for transport or recreation will find very few pieces of equipment that actually do make a difference to their way of getting around. While there is not much special gear they may have to have, those items that do, like panniers, bells or rain coats, will only suit the look and feel of the more sporty crowd.

Caz Nicklin, author and director of online retailer Cyclechic, made the same discovery in 2008. “I started my business Cyclechic because I loved cycling but felt so let down by the lack of stylish accessories on the market. My first mission was to find a helmet that was safe but didn’t make me look like a dork. When I found the Bern helmets, I started to blog about them. I bought 12 helmets to sell from my flat and they sold really fast so I knew a business selling stylish accessories for the growing female market had potential. Cyclechic was born.

Caz’ business has grown from providing access to stylish helmets and now features a large range of products including all kinds of accessories such as bags, baskets, panniers and clothing. “My inspiration for my business is people expressing their personal style on their bikes and looking great. I am a woman who likes fashion and cycling – and that is who we cater for – which definitely helps choosing a product range that women want to buy. Our products have to look good, be affordable, safe and practical to make it into our shop.”

Offering products that cater for females on bicycles, who don’t want to don the Lycra, certainly satisfy a need that’s currently not being met elsewhere and continuously growing sales, not only in the UK but also overseas including Australia, prove Caz’ point. However, the entrepreneur is aware of the biggest hurdle yet that prevents women from hopping onto their treadlie.

This is why Caz wrote The Girls’ Bicycle Handbook

, which provides useful tips and tricks from choosing the right bicycle, what to wear and how to get to your destination safely. “Hopefully the book will help more women overcome these barriers and get on their bikes.”

The handbook caters for absolute beginners and may instil a similar passion for bicycles in the reader. “Although I use my bike for transport, it means more to me than just getting from A to B. Yes, I enjoy getting exercise through cycling, but I don’t think of it as a sport. I feel proud that I have chosen a more economically and environmentally sound way to get around and on top of that it makes me feel happy and part of a community. This is why I refer to cycling as an ‘accessible lifestyle choice’ rather than cycling. It is the best way to explain how integral it is to my life.”

Making riding a bike safer: what can we do?

Safety, or lack of perceived and actual safety, is one of the main reasons people don’t choose to ride a bicycle. how can we make riding a bicycle safer?

Building better infrastructure, one in which bicycles, cars and pedestrians are completely separated from each other, may be a quick reply, but not a quick solution. Planning, design, development and implementation takes decades and that’s if only if those involved in infrastructure projects are favouring a separation approach. Our car-centric philosophy is only slowly changing; a painstaking process.

Creating a more harmonious culture on the road may be another approach. Changing people’s behaviour on the road – regardless of how they travel – is a terrific idea and one badly needing implementation. In theory, few people disagree with a statement that “we all have to share and care for each other”. But then there is reality. On our daily commute home we’re sorely reminded that it seems everybody elses mission to get home QUICKLY counts more than safety.

Encouraging road-harmony requires advertising and educational campaigns to change actual road behaviour. Reports looking at behaviour changes as a result of Queensland’s passing distance laws suggest the media blitz around the introduction of the new laws had an instantly positive effect on people’s behaviour.

Admittedly, this can be a costly approach, not as pricy as building a more cohesive network, but still worth a couple of millions, no doubt.

While we might be waiting for both advertising and infrastructure a little while longer is there something we can do to increase our own safety (apart from flatly refusing to ride a bicycle)? Without people on bicycles already riding “out there”, proving and promoting that riding a bicycle is a smart transport solution, there’d be little point in tackling any long term solutions.

What we can look at is the most common factors for accidents. Particularly useful is the Monash Alfred Cycle Crash Study (MACCS), completed in July 2012, which collected data from 158 patients who were presenting at two emergency departments in Melbourne.

Reading a comprehensive crash report may not be everyone’s cup of tea. It is fascinating, completely worthwhile and I encourage you to give it a go though.

Firstly, there are a few parameters of the study that slightly skew the image: the study surveyed people on bicycles who had been involved in an accident – excluding fatalities. The majority of interviewees were male, between the age of 35 and 54. Almost all possessed a drivers licence. More than half were riding more than 50 kilometres weekly and almost all of the other half were riding even further – more than 100 kilometres per week. If your guess is they were mainly riding road bikes you’d be spot on. And yes, most wore a helmet, also no surprise given Australia’s helmet laws.

In other words, according to this study, if you’re male, middle-aged, riding long distances you’re more likely to have an accident. Well, the majority of people on bicycles tick those boxes, it doesn’t mean young female riders are safe.

Elements of the study that were useful (keeping in mind above bias and the small sample number) are the following: 60% of the accidents occurred as a single road user crash, meaning only the rider was involved. The other 40% of crashes involved moving cars, other bicycles, parked cars and stationary cars (in exactly this hierarchy of occurence).

More specifically, of the 21 cases which involved moving cars the cars had been turning (either parallel left turn, same direction or across an intersection).

Particularly interesting was the fact that more than half of the riders involved in an accident were travelling at or over 20 kilometres an hour. Given that more than half of the accidents only involved the bicycle speed is a crucial factor. People travelling on fast road bikes have little time to respond to obstacles. Unfortunately, being conducted in Melbourne, tram tracks are a big problem.

So, advice to take with you when riding out and about: slow down, pay attention to objects in front of you and watch out for turning cars. On that note, happy pedalling.

 

Fixies, Poverty, Your Chance to Help!

Companies promising to do something worthwhile with the hard earned dough you’ve handed to them should pique more people’s attention. Atma Cycles, who will be launching a their first drop-dead gorgeous fixie, are a companies with their finger on the pulse of current consumer demands, who’re not only asking for a good product, but a socio-economic benefit to the rest of the world.

For what you buy when procuring an Atma fixie is, firstly, your new treadlie and, secondly, another bicycle which is donated to a young teenage woman in Northern India for whom this donation is essential to ride to secondary school and complete her education. I know, goosebumps story, right?

Currently, there is a big IF attached to this premise. Alex Carpenter, the owner of Atma Cycles, is gnawling at the starting budget, which will enable the first shipment of fixies to Perth. His crowdfunding campaign launched a few weeks ago and is about to expire in a few days time.

Alex is seeking support from those who have fallen in love with his product and can’t wait to pre-order, those who share his vision of a “buy one, donate one” philosophy that does good, those who feel compelled to support women’s education and escape from poverty or those who just can’t help but donate to something good.

Let’s backtrack a minute. How do women escape poverty through your fixie? Alex is working with a well-established non-profit organisation based in Northern India, which provides microloans. Through their community work they realised that transportation is a major factor in enabling young girls’ secondary education. No low-cost transportation meant girls discontinued school as they were unable to reach their secondary school. Owning their own bicycle, however, meant the could travel to school.

If this is still clear as mud have a listen to Alex at his crowdfunding launch, but most importantly, head to his fundraising page and help out!

 

Cycling: Creating a Culture of Positivity

News about accidents and fatalities on our roads – regardless of people’s mode of transport – is always terribly sad. If the incident involved a person on bicycles it can be particularly intimidating for other people on bicycles.

Unfortunately bad news is always a great angle. Media outlets thrive on it like mushrooms on manure. We love to focus on problems. Accident between two people – one in a car the other on a bike – makes great headlines and it solicits opinions. We love problems and love our opinions about the problems even more!

If there’s any doubt about that have a read of any random news article and scroll to  the ensuing comments. The follow a reoccurring pattern: blame, shame, entitlement (I pay tax and you don’t), introduction of licensing for bicycles, further escalation. This is terribly good click bait (read: money).

What it also inadvertently does is creating an aura of threat, humiliation, negativity and fear. Riding a bicycle becomes dangerous undertaking were the perceived risk is disproportionate to its actual risk. For those who could hop on their treadlie for a short commute the mere thought of swapping to a bicycle becomes absurd. Why would you put yourself into harms way if you can drive and it’s much safer?

It’s very easy to get caught up in focusing on the dangers of riding a bicycle. With any activity there’s no denying that it involves some risks. However, the truth is, you can also slip in your shower, chop your vegies mistake your index finger for a carrot. Would you a) consider giving up showering and eating vegetables? and b) continuously talk about the perils of personal hygiene or food preparation? And c) would they actually stop you from doing either? No, I didn’t think so.

Many aspects of our daily life contain high levels of risk. In fact, you’re probably sitting comfortably in front of your computer or mobile phone reading this and completely disregarding the fact that sitting for prolonged times will cause serious diseases, shorten your life and eventually kill you. Will you stop you from sitting? Nah, didn’t think so.

Tragedies and accidents, unfortunately, are newsworthy and paint a stark picture of an activity that brings joy, ease and exhilarating happiness to many. The mundane daily ride may not a story that makes the front page. The routine is not news, but it doesn’t mean it’s completely boring.

Just it’s not a page turner it doesn’t diminish the impact of this daily dose of happiness which people experience when they swap their bicycle.

So, how do we find a balance between acknowledging the perils and sharing the good stuff? How can we make positivity part of how we talk about riding a bicycle? Exploring the many facets of the culture of riding a bicycle in Australia is certainly a way to do it.

Helmet or no Helmet?

Helmet laws have been in place in Australia for the last two decades. Avid cycling advocates and active transport promoters continuously argue that having to wear a helmet is not helping getting more people on bicycles.

The point: making people purchase a helmet and wearing it discourages them from regarding a bike as an easy means of getting around. It adds more hassle than it should. Also, it makes cycling look more dangerous than it really is.

Australia is one of the few countries with compulsory helmet laws. Has the introduction of these laws lead to the demise of cycling participation?

Participation rates in cycling had been declining long before cycling helmet laws were introduced in Australia. In fact, the decline grew as rapid as car ownership increased. Cars have always been marketed and perceived as desirable goods that showed-off people’s status in society. Walking, cycling or, God forbid, using public transport became synonymous with low income. Nobody wanted to be associated with that.

More cars required better car infrastructure. Not only did car suitable infrastructure increase it became the primary traffic to focus of planning and building. Think of streets, car parks, shopping centre, schools, workplaces, even your own house – what do you access first, the garage/car park or the front door? Our key infrastructure pieces in life are designed and built for easy access and use: BY CAR.

Getting around any other way became less important, if not forgotten. When infrastructure and people’s behaviour wasn’t conducive to riding a bicycle anymore it made sense to try and protect those (crazy, few) people who were still riding through the easiest possible way: make them wear a helmet.

There is very little doubt about the actual effectiveness of helmets. A helmet will protect a cyclist’s head perfectly – given it is worn correctly and doesn’t dangle from the handlebar. It won’t protect the wearer from any other injuries that can occur, but it will do a fine job IF it the cyclist is involved in the worst possible scenario, a full impact car collision…eeeek!

Surely no one, neither a driver, cyclist nor pedestrian wants to imagine such a situation, let alone be involved in it. But let’s think it through theoretically. How likely is it that a vulnerable road user is involved in a car collision? Depending on location, style and speed of riders it’s a moderate to low likelihood. How severe could the outcome be in a collision between a car and cyclist? Super severe!

We do these risk assessments in all areas of work life. We go through the potential dangers, their likelihood and potential impact. A scenario with a severe outcome requires minimisation of its likelihood and severity wherever we can. We do the same for bicycles. A helmet can save lives in a worst case scenario, but a whole range of much more likely outcomes won’t be addressed with a helmet.

As a person on a bicycle we can influence are where we ride (shared paths, low traffic and high traffic environments) and how we ride (predictability, attention, speed and skills). People contemplating hopping on their bicycles often lack the knowledge of good cycling routes and solid cycling skills – that can make riding a bike a dangerous activity.

Safety remains one of the key issues amongst those contemplating to ride and those who already do. Surveys show the same results again and again. People want to feel safer, they want better infrastructure, ideally separated from cars – and these are all valid asks.

The demand is certainly increasing (Perth’s cycling population has grown by 12% only in the last year), which is terrific. Now is the best time to join the calls for more and better infrastructure and rethink our transport culture (this includes defensive riding, which we will talk about later). There is great value in safety in numbers – the more people ride the more people pay attention to vulnerable road users and EXPECT them out and about.

The more people are out and demand improved infrastructure, the better paths will get and focus will diversify on more than just one mode of transport. If history is anything to go by helmet laws will then be again a consequence of people’s choice of transport rather than the cause for more people joining in (or not).

Helmets – what are your thoughts. Love them or loath them?