Riding in Brisbane

DJ said:

I'm looking at relocating to Brisbane later this year working in the
Public Transport industry and I'm wanting to live relatively close
(within 10 kms) to my workplace possibly around Virginia area, so what i
would like to know is, what is Brisbane like to commute by bicycle in
comparison to say...Sydney?

I've only been taxied through Brisbane, but I reckon it'd be a lot nicer
than Sydney. It's quieter and less hilly. The downside is that although
there are fewer cars overall the number of crappy Falcons and Commodores
(with matching driver) remains the same.

Tam, Lotte, Abby, any comments?

--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
Realize that the game of English is the
Calvin Ball of languages - mysticgoat

"DJ" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

I consider myself to be more a touring, commuting,recreational cyclist
rather than the racing type and own a Diamondback MTB and Fuji
Touring bike.
Do they have BUGs in Brissy and /or Cycle touring clubs?

http://www.mtbdirt.com.au/modules.php?name=Forums&file=index

--
Trevor S

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
-Albert Einstein

DJ wrote:

<freely snipped>

Quoted message said:

to my workplace possibly around Virginia area, so what i would like to know
is, what is Brisbane like to commute by bicycle in comparison to
say...Sydney? Hope this isn't a dumb question but I really would like to be

Never commuted in Sydney but I ride my bike across Brisbane pretty much
every day and it's very doable.

Quoted message said:

I don't know Brisbane at all, so is it hilly or relatively
flat.....dangerous roads.....too many rednek drivers (yeah i know they are
everywhere but I had to ask)?

Some areas have a lot of hills but there's nothing really big.

Quoted message said:

Any good bike shops in the Northern suburbs say between Kedron to Strathpine
that are worth a mention?

I haven't bought anything from Strathpine Cycles, but when I was
looking for a really good deal vs buying a Learsport, the guys I spoke
to there basically said they couldn't go that low, and I was getting an
excellent deal and should take it. I appreciate that kind of honesty
and recommended a friend go there for his road bike, and he got an
amazing deal.

I think that may be the shop at which Big Kev works, he's cool. Also
Tony at Triathlete's World, Albion, is a great mechanic.

Quoted message said:

Do they have BUGs in Brissy and /or Cycle touring clubs?

We have lard [censored] rides, there are also rides organised by Bicycle
Queensland and the Brisbane Bicycle Touring Association. I'm too lazy
to find links, sorry, I've been up late watching le Tour...

Tam

Come to Brisbane. Commute. Lard [censored]. Be Happy.

😄

Abby

Try Ridgway's Cycles 609 Stafford Rd, Stafford West QLD 4053 ph: (07)
3355 9653. Great range of stuff including the hard-to-find at the
lower-mid end at good prices. In that area you have a range of shops
from the low to high end including Tom Wallace, Velo, Ennogera Bikes
and a yellow one on Gympie Road. Unfortunately AstroBike closed up
recently (sniff, bye Steve).

I reckon you will find Brissie vastly better than Sydney for cycling.
The traffic volume is much lower and there seems to be more space for
bikes. On balance it is not as hilly. There are lots of good long rides
from the suburbs, without having to get on a freeway to get in some
steady riding. The winter weather is brilliant and the summer is OK
once you get used to sweating.

There is some great riding from that side of town, going north to the
coast or west to the hills.

See ya round the ridges. You won't regret the move.

Donga

DJ said:

I'm looking at relocating to Brisbane later this year working in the Public Transport industry and I'm wanting to live relatively close (within 10 kms) to my workplace possibly around Virginia area, so what i would like to know is, what is Brisbane like to commute by bicycle in comparison to
say...Sydney?

Having previously lived in Sydney, I am of the opinion that Sydney drivers sh!t all over Brisbane drivers and tend to know the points of their car really well as a result of having to reverse park a lot (ie. less likely to hit you). You really will be blown away by the awful standard of driving up here.

That said, there are definitely fewer cars and there tends to be a reasonable shoulder on most roads for cyclists to use. I'm not entirely sure about the northside, but I'm fairly sure there's plenty of bikeways up that way (I know because I devised a route for a girlfriend of mine to travel by bike from Stafford to the city).

Another thing you will definitely notice is that Brisbane is a tad more laid back. This can be extremely annoying at times (only about 30% of the Brisbane population keep left on escalators), but I do find that as much as we have to deal with bogans, there are also drivers who are extremely patient.

Big Kev's a dude. Never been to his bikeshop (he's north, I'm south), but I've known him for a very long time now.

Lotte

DJ said:

Hi folks,

I'm looking at relocating to Brisbane later this year working in the Public
Transport industry and I'm wanting to live relatively close (within 10 kms)
to my workplace possibly around Virginia area, so what i would like to know
is, what is Brisbane like to commute by bicycle in comparison to
say...Sydney? Hope this isn't a dumb question but I really would like to be
able to leave the car in the garage and commute by bicycle where possible.

I don't know Brisbane at all, so is it hilly or relatively
flat.....dangerous roads.....too many rednek drivers (yeah i know they are
everywhere but I had to ask)?

Any good bike shops in the Northern suburbs say between Kedron to Strathpine
that are worth a mention?

I consider myself to be more a touring, commuting,recreational cyclist
rather than the racing type and own a Diamondback MTB and Fuji Touring
bike.
Do they have BUGs in Brissy and /or Cycle touring clubs?

Thanks in advance to anyone who is helpfull.

Cheers

DJ

Brisbane is a pretty good place for cycling really. I haven't ridden in Sydney though so I can't compare. The northside isn't too bad and commuting from Virginia would be fine, there is a decent shoulder on Sangate Rd until Toombul, from here you can take backstreets and cyclepaths that get you right into the city. That avoids the unpleasant part of Sangate Rd. There are a growing number of brisbane bike maps on www.bikely.com and we can always add more if you can't find what you're after.

From around Virginia there's a nice ride out through Sangate and Redcliffe along the waterfront. On weekends you'll see hundreds of bikes heading out that way.

From Strathpine you can head west towards Samford, Mt Mee and Mt Nebo/Glorious so there is plenty of good riding.

Some other links
Guvmint stuff http://www.transport.qld.gov.au/qt/PubTrans.nsf/index/travelsmartbrisbanenorth

Bicycle QLD http://www.bq.org.au/ (see the links page for more)

Brisbane Bicycle Touring association http://www.bbta.org/

Bike Qld Mailing list http://www.bikeqld.org.au/wiki/Bikeqld

Adam

"Absent Husband" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Come to Brisbane. Commute. Lard [censored]. Be Happy.

😄

Abby

hehehe thanks Abby you've convinced me by that one little
sentence..great stuff!

Thanks also to Tam, Donga, Lotte, Adam85, Trevor & Random for all the info
that you've given me and now I can't wait to get up there.Probably Oct or
Nov just in time for some great spring cycling.
Yeah I was kinda wondering about that Sandgate road and how busy it might be
cause it looks like a major artery on the UBD and there doesn't seem to be
any little bikey figures alongside that road either.
Oh well, I'm heading up that way this coming weekend for a looksee and to
get an idea of some locations so I'll definately be checking out biking
conditions.
I found that Brisbane Council website as well as a few others and it seems
the Brissy has really gone ahead as far as cycling...Sydney has a long way
to go but it is getting better....sort-of!!

cheers

DJ