Hi Adelaide Cyclists - I've been off-line from this site for most of the summer but thought that I would share this piece that I wrote for The Bicycle Institutes newsletter, Pedal Update.

The madness that is March in Adelaide is fast receding into memory. The warm nights and hot days are flowing into the autumnal cool that promises winter soon. For us more hardened transport cyclists, the arrival of the cooler…

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Nite Flux are an Adelaide based company and manufacturer of high performance bicycle lighting. Their latest offerings are the Red Zone 4 and White Zone 5. I have been fortunate to have a pair of these lights for a long-term test and evaluation. Here are some initial thoughts.



It is hard to put these impressive little lights into a category, probably the best description I could give them is daylight visible safety…

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Just over a month ago I participated in an electric bicycle trial that I thoroughly enjoyed.  My good intentions were to write a series of blog posts during the trial, I got two out, one here and the other here – but other pressing concerns got in the way of writing any more –…

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The first part of this electric bike trial blog can be found here

 

Been dodging rain clouds today - in the morning I went over to Plympton to drop off some tools and equipment with for the soon to be opened Bicycle Workshop - we took Mikes ancient Mercedes with a trailer - one of the few things that…

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Electric bicycles have the potential to revolutionise the way many people relate to their ability to use a bicycle for general transport and utility. These machines “cross the gap” between driving a car and non power-assist cycling, and provide a great gateway experience for those looking to get into cycling for daily transport.

 

By giving a degree of assistance - distance, hills and loads seem less intense. The ability to ride quickly to a destination without getting overly…

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Having recently moved house I am now taking a slightly different route to drop my daughter at school and continue to work. With not too many options, we now have to cross The Parade at the Sydeneham Road intersection. I have noticed that this intersection is quite badly designed - leaving the cyclist to cross in two steps (as it is next to impossible to cross in one movement in heavy traffic) waiting in the middle of The Parade where there is no sheltered island between two lanes of…

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Ah, print copy cycling magazines, so many to choose from - if you buy them, what do you like and why??

 

Back in the 1980's I was a little transfixed by a magazine called "Winning - Bicycle Racing Illustrated" - I even bought a t-shirt (which I still have in less than perfect condition!)

I also subscribed to an Australian magazine called Freewheeling - most of the copies I still have - a really interesting record of Australian cycling from the 1980s and 1990s. Funny that…

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I originally posted this as a reply to a discussion on this site - but as it is quite long and has a few other ideas that I have been developing further I thought that it would be quite good as a 'stand-alone' post

Ah, the compulsory helmet debate again - probably the most vexed issue with cycling policy development and certainly the "elephant in the room" with law makers and transport advocates who want to get more people cycling more often.

We all know someone,…

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This blog post originally published in Pedal Update, the newsletter of the Bicycle Institute of SA



Greetings to one and all as we head into the winter months of the year. For some, this time of year means less cycling, sometimes it is too dark, cold or wet to really want to hop on the bike and ride, for others (my self included I have to admit) winter is a time of challenges, getting over the physical and mental objections, cajoling children onto… Continue

I am a careful and courteous cyclist. I ride a lot, everyday. I ride within the law, signal, don’t run red lights, ride defensively, and most of the time wear highly visible clothing.



So there I was, heading home this afternoon, travelling north down East Terrace heading towards Forestville. I am heading towards the right hand bend in the road here

and I can hear that the tram crossing boom gates are down. Ding, Ding,… Continue

I use to ride Linear Park a lot. At one time I lived in Brompton and worked in Glenelg, so it was part of my daily commute. Another time, I had a close friend in Fulham and I was in Magill, so the route was my cross-town ride. These days I use the route to ride from the eastern side of town into the University or the city.



Recently I rode on Linear Park a number of times in one day, both during the daylight hours, and at night, and was struck with several observations.



While… Continue

I have had one too many close calls at pedestrian crossings. Every time, driver behaviour is at fault. Whether intentionally speeding up to ‘get through’, and running a light that’s just turned red, to not noticing the red (or the pedestrians using the crossing), and driving straight through. Obviously, it is not the majority of drivers who engage in this sort of behaviour, but it only takes one crash between a fast moving metal box and the vulnerable flesh of a pedestrian to turn that… Continue

What an amazing ride this morning.



Yesterday I rebuilt my Xtracycle, giving the frame a degrease and polish, adjusting the brakes, setting up the hub again. Of course, when you do this, it has to rain the next day, and rain it did!



Woke to lightening and thunder and a leaking roof. Backyard flooded, wet dogs and was contemplating (ever so briefly) not even heading out into it. But instead pulled on my winter water proofs, over booties… Continue

Ok folks, up for grabs is one of the original Adelaide Long Bike frames. This is a rare opportunity to own a bit of cycling history



For those of you who don't know, back in the late 80's about 20 - 30 of these bikes were made in a backyard workshop in Adelaide, many of them are still on the road today (I have one that I was riding before I got my Xtracycle). They were so far ahead of their time that we are only now seeing mass market manufactures bringing similar bikes to market.… Continue

Happy new cycling year to you all! January again has seen Adelaide host the Australian Cycling Conference. BISA was one of the conference sponsors, and two of our members attended both days. The Tour Down Under was in full swing, and I was again struck by what a great cycling destination South Australia is. As we enter the Adelaide festival season, many people will choose to ride a bicycle to various venues instead of driving a car. Adelaide’s summer nights become alive with bicycles, a measure… Continue

Rode my Specialized P1 AM to work today and what an excellent ride it was!



I don’t often to get to ride a responsive and light bike, mostly riding (through practical necessity) my Xtracycle. While I love this bike, the ride and the handling, the Xtracycle is quite heavy, is built to haul things over long distances, and it is not particularly fast.



The P1 AM on the other hand, is fast and comfortable over long distances while still offering a really fun and responsive ride.… Continue

What sort of city do we want Adelaide to be and how do we get there?



Adelaide needs a bicycle culture; Adelaide needs infrastructure that will encourage a bicycle culture. Unfortunately some infrastructure planers will only base infrastructure on past trends and current usage patterns. There is little or no crystal ball gazing, or designing to create a future, not just in terms of infrastructure, but more importantly, the culture that infrastructure would create.



Let us… Continue