Cycling to work in the suburbs

Couple of posts relevent to Australian cycling on this site. This one argues
that commuting by bicycle in the suburbs has more potential than commuting
to the CBD

http://melbourneurbanist.wordpress.c...-in-melbourne/

In aus.bicycle on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:51:59 GMT
Claude wrote:
Couple of posts relevent to Australian cycling on this site. This one argues
that commuting by bicycle in the suburbs has more potential than commuting
to the CBD

http://melbourneurbanist.wordpress.c...-in-melbourne/

I commute suburb to suburb although I doubt my commute is one most
people who drive would consider reasonable.

(My boss rides about 10km, he thinks my 20 is horrible, I think his 10
has way more hills and is therefore worse...)

I have wondered about shopping trips.

There are flattish suburbs around Sydney where a bicycle trailer that
doubles as a shopping trolley would be a useful item. If the
car-centric roads were altered to make them more bike friendly and the
shopping centres had bike lockers or decent bike stands and gear
lockers for hire, and maybe hire these trailers as well, then people
could cycle in, do the shopping for the family and cycle back.

Other leisure trips might be possible too.

Alas the idea of cycling on most SYdney roads with suburban Sydney
drivers is probably so terrifying to most people they'd never do it.
I'd do it but I'm also a motorcyclist so therefore suicidal in most
people's minds...

Zebee

In article ,
"Claude" wrote:

Couple of posts relevent to Australian cycling on this site. This one argues
that commuting by bicycle in the suburbs has more potential than commuting
to the CBD

http://melbourneurbanist.wordpress.c...-in-melbourne/

The next day's article (URL is
http://melbourneurbanist.wordpress.c...crease-commuti
ng-by-bicycle/
) had a paragraph that struck a chord with me.

The key to network design is directness. Unlike recreational cyclists,
commuters want to get from A to B the value of the journey itself is
secondary. Hence the network must rely on using roads rather than trails, as
the latter are often too circuitous (for example, my route from home to the
CBD is 25 km via the Yarra Trail but only 8 km via road).

my commute is on road. There is a cycle-path, but it is windier,
hillier, and I have to give way more.

--
K.A. Moylan
Canberra, Australia
Ski Club: http://www.cccsc.asn.au
kamoylan at ozemail dot com dot au

In aus.bicycle on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:50:47 +1100
K.A. Moylan wrote:

my commute is on road. There is a cycle-path, but it is windier,
hillier, and I have to give way more.

My commute is mostly by cycle path these days as the direct route is
much hillier! I do 20km instead of 17, but the extra are through
pleasant riverside greenery so I cope.

On the other hand, my previous commute only used the Harbour Bridge
path, and about 300 metres of the Cooks River path because the cycle
path route added from 5 to 10km and the 5km extra didn't help much
with hills.

That route into the CBD is "High traffic, experienced cyclists only" but
I have no stories about horrible car behaviour.

(I have few if any such stories, I dunno if I just don't notice or
there's something about how I ride or the 'bent not being classed
as bicycle by car drivers who treat it differently. But then I
don't have death defying experiences on the motorcycle either, and
it's a fairly standard version so I suspect it's that I ride the
'bent as traffic and are treated as same.)

Zebee

"K.A. Moylan" wrote in message
...

The next day's article (URL is
http://melbourneurbanist.wordpress.c...crease-commuti
ng-by-bicycle/
) had a paragraph that struck a chord with me.

The key to network design is directness. Unlike recreational cyclists,
commuters want to get from A to B the value of the journey itself is
secondary. Hence the network must rely on using roads rather than trails,
as
the latter are often too circuitous (for example, my route from home to
the
CBD is 25 km via the Yarra Trail but only 8 km via road).

my commute is on road. There is a cycle-path, but it is windier,
hillier, and I have to give way more.


Yes, I think that is right. We cyclists rely on human effort so we are more
sensitive to circuitous routes than drivers. I haven't ridden on a cycle
path for years. Apart from taking me too far out of my way, cycle paths are
also too narrow and busy to cycle quickly on.