Pushie

One of the first things we noticed when we got to Melbourne [actually, I feel like we noticed it in Sydney, too] was the number of bicyclists on the streets.  While we were poking around the Melbourne CBD in our first few weeks, the argument could be made that using a bicycle in/around a major city is quite common in the US.  However, the noticeable difference was the number of cyclists that continued even away from the CBD.  I have no kinds of actual data, but it feels like if you put up a radius of 30km around the CBD, you’d still find a pretty high frequency of people using a bicycle as their primary means of transportation.  Don’t get me wrong there are still lots of cars.  And to/from and around the CBD, there is mass transit. 

Realising just how common it was to use a bicycle around Melbourne was the primary reason we bought me one before we’d even found a place to leave.  We’d decided that Ruthie would try and find us a place close to my work and I would do my best to ride the bicycle to work every day [leaving Ruthie the car].  Ruthie did her part and found us a place that’s 4km away from my work.  So I’ve been holding up my end of the bargain and riding to work just about every day.  True, once the motorcycle arrived and the weather was still lovely, I would ride that into work occasionally.  But for my part, I would say that I’ve ridden into work 9/10 days since I’ve started. 

Due to the fact that I am only riding 4km one way every day, I would struggle to call myself a bicyclist.  I certainly didn’t look the part for a long time, as I had a hard time finding my preferred clothing.  I often wore my dress pants or jeans with a leg rolled up in the first couple months.  But then I took a page out of a co-worker’s book and began leaving my dress pants at my desk and changing in and out of athletic clothes every morning/afternoon.  As it’s currently winter, I’ve adopted the style of wearing a set of cold-weather leggings underneath some athletic shorts and whatever shirt I feel like underneath my jacket or parka depending on the weather.  I’d like to claim that’s as close to the fully-clad lyrca appearance that I’ll ever get.  Well … in the summer, it’ll be athletic shorts and probably a quick-dry shirt, but still nothing skin tight.  I prefer leaving plenty to the imagination. 

While I attempt to remain firm on my anti-lycra attire, I have to say I’ve embraced the bicycle lifestyle a bit more than I’d originally expected.  I’ve now gone to see an indoor track race at a velodrome [where I saw bicycle legends such as Sir Chris Hoy and Anna Meares].  I passed on the opportunity to watch my co-worker compete in a cyclo-cross event, though.  But, at the suggestion of the same co-worker, I did participate in the Melburn Roobaix, which is a 40-kilometer “fun event” styled after the Paris-Roubaix.  And, also at the encouragement of the same cyclist co-worker, I’ve been reading The Enlightened Cyclist by BikeSnobNYC.  [Really, without said co-worker, I’d probably be much less … involved? interested? engaged? in cycling.]

Sadly, the part of the bicycle lifestyle I have not been able to escape embracing is the frustration with pedestrians. 

On my massive 4 kilometre commute to work, I ride on the whole range of available surfaces to bicycles: a dedicated bicycle lane separate from the road, a shared bicycle / pedestrian lane, a dedicated bicycle lane that’s on the road, the street, and if I so choose, the sidewalk [that should be pedestrian only].  I start my commute along a stretch of beach that gets a fair bit of pedestrian traffic – and due to it being a port which docks cruise ships, it’s safe to say a chunk of it is likely foreign.  I finish my commute in an industrial section, where there’s no room for me other than on the street – fortunately, it’s pretty a low level of traffic, and it’s often slower moving trucks, and everyone seems to be used to bicycles in that area.

You can probably guess that my gripe primarily focuses on the section of my commute that deals with stretch along the beach.  I get so worked up about people being in the bicycle lane that aren’t bicycles [or at least have wheels – there’s a few inline skaters].  So worked up, in fact, that if I know a cruise ship is in town, I’ll take the route home that requires me to ride on the road the whole way.  When the Queen Mary II came in and docked at our little harbour, it actually drew in spectators.  Spectators who then loitered, meandered, or simply stood in the bicycle lane.  Mind you, this is a bicycle lane that’s separate from the pedestrian sidewalk.  Mind you, this is a bicycle lane that has bicycle symbols painted on it every 100 meters or so.  And side lines.  And a dash line down the middle.   HOW DO YOU NOT REALISE!? 

It all came to a head one day [and this is now the reason why I ride on the road when I know there’s a higher chance for people to be around, like when the cruise ship is in] not too long ago.  Two guys in suits were walking along the bicycle lane [on my side], with their backs to me.  I rang my bell once, and while I’ve had to ring my bell multiple times before, this time I didn’t need to because they looked over their shoulders and looked at me.  AND KEPT WALKING.  They didn’t move over, they didn’t yield, nothing.  So, intending to harass them a little, I cut them off.  Except I cut them off a bit too close and shoulder checked the guy closest to me, causing him to drop his umbrella [I stayed upright on my two wheels, thanks for asking.] 

Since then, I’ve tried to do my best to remain calm, and simply go around people.  I still get irritated about joggers who are in the dedicated bicycle lane [there’s plenty of room for them on the pedestrian walk], but I just go around.  For the record, though, I also get annoyed by bicyclists, even the casual ones, who are in the pedestrian walk.  I would much rather pass a slow moving bicyclist than I would a fast runner – in the bicycle lanes. 

To that end, Ruthie’s pointed out that our section tends to be a tough mix.  There are bicycle rentals right out front of our apartment.  And there’s a dedicated off-street bicycle lane that runs the entire length of the beach.  There is also this whole slew of serious/regular bicyclists that also like to ride along the beach.  But the bicycle lane is a bit narrow, and it’s not so easy to ride along side your friend at a leisurely pace without taking up the whole lane [or even both sides].  It’s supposed to be safer to take the bicycle lane than it is the road, but I think it’s just a danger of a different form.  The slow moving bicycle goes unstable, and swerves into your path as you’re passing versus the car that cuts you off on the road; the kid that isn’t watching and runs out into the bicycle lane [and the parents who weren’t paying attention because it’s not a “real road”] versus the dude who throws his car door open into the on-street bicycle lane. 

So this has turned out to be quite a bit longer of a post than I’d expected, but suffice to say that bicycling in Melbourne is an interesting experience.  My goal is to continue cycling [as a form of commuting – not as a hobby] when I get home, despite Bel Air and Edgewood being less acclimated to bicyclists.  Hopefully by then, I’ll have accumulated enough brightly coloured garments and flashy lights that I’ll be easily visible and hard to miss.  Which will a good thing especially for that overly aggressive road rage driver who decides to target me when I ride down 40 one spring afternoon.

-EP