#sydneycycling — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #sydneycycling, aggregated by home.social.
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After the tune-up my ride to work this morning was noticeably quieter, at least. No rattling from the rear rack, and no ominous noises from the wheels. I did a personal best time up the only hill of note on my route, but I can't feel too pleased with myself because half way up another guy on an e-bike blasted past me like I was standing still!
https://strava.app.link/PpGHxaKOxYb
#BikeTooter #Cycling #CycleCommuting #UrbanCycling #SydneyCycling #Ebike
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I wasn't feeling great and didn't sleep well last night but I cycled to work anyway, and I'm glad I did because I spotted a couple of big water dragons basking in the morning sun on the Shrimpton's Creek Cycleway. I always like seeing lizards.
Previous experience has taught me that going for a ride even when I don't really feel like it is key to cementing the habit, and that I always enjoy it more than I think I'm going to do if I make myself ride regardless.
This is also another benefit of having an e-bike. If I am a bit tired and just don't have the legs one day I can just lean a bit more heavily on the e-assist, which is exactly what I did this morning.
https://strava.app.link/ZNThwBWzGXb
#BikeTooter #Cycling #CycleCommuting #Ebike #UrbanCycling #SydneyCycling #LizardPosting
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Back from Germany, back in the office, and back on the bike.
I'm really trying to make the cycle commuting into a habit.
#Cycling #UrbanCycling #SydneyCycling #CycleCommuting #Ebike
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Oh, and Crankbrothers Eggbeater pedals!
Nominally they are mountain bike pedals but after trying several different clipless systems for my commuting and recreational road cycling back in the day I decided they are the best for my usage too, and have put them on every bike I've owned since.
The key for me is the ease of clipping in and out, especially the clipping in. Because you can clip in from any of the four sides of the pedal there is no need to fiddle around making sure it's in the right orientation when setting off, you just push down and go. Bonus, they use two hole recessed cleats so you can use MTB or, better still, cycle trekking shoes and actually walk around when you get off the bike. Another bonus, the pedals need no adjustments and (almost) no maintenance.
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While I'm on the topic of things that are great...
The Orbea Vibe H10 EQ is, IMO, a great ebike for commuting. The integrated lighting, included mudguards and included pannier rack make it commute-ready out of the box, but it still looks good and not overly ebike-y.
Ortlieb Back-Roller Classic pannier bags are still the best. So quick and easy to get them on and off the bike, no movement or rattling once they're on the bike, and completely waterproof.
Finally something that most people wouldn't give a second thought, my bike bell. It's a Knog Oi Prima, and it's fantastic. Really loud so it doesn't go unnoticed, but it's still a pleasant sound so it doesn't come across as aggressive (unless you hammer away at it). Perfect if you do much cycling on shared used paths, and regularly need to give pedestrians a courtesy ding or two to warn of your approach.
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Some additional context, between about 19 and 12 years ago I was a keen cyclist in pretty good shape. I never got into any kind of racing, but I would cycle to and from work each day and then go for a hilly 80-90 km group ride on the weekend just for fun. Back then a moderately hilly 12 km each way suburban commute was no big deal. OK, I'd regularly have ute drivers almost kill me, but the physical effort required was no problem.
I remember at the time I was sceptical about the utility of ebikes. I accepted that they would be useful for elderly cyclists and other people with mobility issues, but reckoned that for most people the additional weight (and cost) of the e-assist system would outweigh the benefits of having it. To be fair e-assist systems were heavier back then, but I was still wrong.
Then, almost 12 years ago, my son was born, and with a newborn baby I had neither the time nor energy to keep up the cycling. I got out of the habit, and got out of shape and overweight. I have tried several times since then to get back in to the cycle commuting habit, but each time I bounced off it because the hills made the ride just too hard when I wasn't already fit.
If I lived somewhere totally flat and didn't have to mix with motor traffic at all then maybe I could do this by just going slower, but that simply doesn't work when there are unavoidable hills and places where you need to get amongst cars. When you're out of shape those will force you into excessive effort.
Hopefully the combination of the ebike and a somewhat easier commuting route will enable me to stick with it this time, and get back into shape. At which point I wouldn't really need the ebike any more...
#Cycling #UrbanCycling #SydneyCycling #Ebike #CycleCommuting
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Trying to make a habit out of riding to work! The commute in already felt a little easier today than it did on my first go on Thursday, and it took less time too. Melville Street in West Ryde is still a git, though. I made it up the climb but I did stop at the top for a few second to catch my breath, take a drink and undo my gilet.
I am going to rave about ebikes at this point. Without the electric assist there is very little chance that an out of shape, overweight person like me could just dive into a cycle commute like this. I know that because I tried it. Years ago I tried to get back into the habit of cycle commuting to the old office using a good quality but not electrically assisted urban/utility bike, but because I was out of shape and there were unavoidable hills it was just too hard. Each climb forced me into the red zone just to keep moving, and I'd end up arriving at work utterly exhausted. The crucial thing that the ebike allows me to do is moderate my effort. It's a proper ebike rather than a dodgy electric motorbike in disguise so the motor is limited to 250 W, and 25 kph, and is torque activated so it only engages when I'm doing at least some of the work myself. I still get a workout riding it, but using the electric assist controIs I can adjust the intensity of that workout to keep it within reasonable bounds for my current level of fitness. That way I can get to the other end having got some exercise but not completely wrecked, and that means, hopefully, that I'm going to be able to maintain motivation and keep doing it.
Neat animation: https://strava.app.link/8OqYfnNY2Wb
#Cycling #UrbanCycling #SydneyCycling #Ebike #CycleCommuting
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I'm continuing to think about resuming cycle commuting when the AAO moves to the Macquarie University campus in September.
Looking at the plans for the new building that we'll share with the Engineering Department I am pleased to see that we'll have decent End of Trip facilities, fairly similar to what we have in our current building. There's secure staff bicycle parking indoors on the lower ground floor, and next to that changing rooms with showers and lockers. Hopefully those 29 bicycle parking spaces, 6 showers and 64 lockers will be enough to meet demand.
I really need to do a stock take of my cycling gear, to make sure I have enough stuff that still fits and is not worn out.