Another visitor coming

[mtkitchn]

Hi Aussie ladies,
My husband and I and another couple are coming to Australia in March. We haven't booked the actual trip yet but are leaning toward a qantas vacation which will give us four days each in Sydney, Melbourne, and Cairns.
I don't want my cycling fitness to go completely away during this time so I wondered if anyone had recommendations for bike rentals or tours while I'm in any of those three cities? Unfortunately, I'm the only one of the group who rides, so I have to fit something in while they're enjoying other activities.
Are there bike tours around wine country near Melbourne? Bike trails in Sydney?
I also hope to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge and snorkel near the Great Barrier Reef while in country.
Thanks all!
Sue

[Thistle]

so excited you're coming downunder! :D

I dont know about bike riding in Sydney or Melbourne or Cairns.... sorry!

I just hope you have a great trip and if you ever decide to put Canberra on your itinerary (no, not many people do :p ) we have great bike riding here... but no ocean, no great barrier reef, no sydney opera house or melbourne trams :p

[crazycanuck]

*sniff* wahhhh..noone ever comes to Perth..:(

c

[Trekhawk]

*sniff* wahhhh..noone ever comes to Perth..:(

c

LOL - but we know they are missing out on a great place. Ill come visit CC might not be for another year or two but I promise I will come (besides my mum will kill me if I dont).:D

[light_sabe_r]

mtkitchn

There are plenty of great places to ride in Melbourne. Victoria's roads are so WELL kept they have no idea what a pot hole is.

Victoria has the hightest percentage of the population that rides. NSW has the lowest. AND Sydney would be the reason why.

You DON'T want to hire a bike in sydney and ride. There's no infrastructure.

Victoria on the other hand is great. Correct me if I'm wrong but bikes can go on the tram lines under the provision that you must give way to the tram?

in any case every trip I make to Melbourne it's just BUSTLING with bikes commuting to work... and in the regional areas such as the great ocean road, there're bikeways (on road and off) which connect the city with the road... and Bike paths and lanes out there! If you're gonna ride do it in Melbourne!

There's a Yarra Valley Bike trail. (where all the wineries are) but I don't reccommend Riding and winetasting. the cops CAN pull you over and they CAN breath test you if you're riding on the road. If you're over the Australian limit (.05%) you will be fined. If you're riding on the footpath you can't be then that's different.

Oh yeah, Melbourne also has "four seasons in a day" so pack everything expecting summer or winter, sleet hail or fine. You could be walking down the street one minute and then get rained on the next but it's not really cloudy...


Meanwhile Cairns is probably a good place to ride (I was born there!) It's considered a big country town. It's gonna be HOT and HUMID no matter what time of the year you go there. So make sure you take SINGLETS and shorts and buy some tropical strength Aeroguard while you're here cause the mozzies and sandflies will annoy the hell outta you.

Umm yeah. Cairns is a tropical paradise! I love it up there. Just be careful of the box jelliefish and irukanji jellifish if you go swimming or snokeling. You can't see them but you will know if you've been stung by one. Also make sure if you're swimming at a beack to swim between the flags and this big floating black thing... (which is the jelliefish free zone)

Have fun!

[Thistle]

mtkitchn

Oh yeah, Melbourne also has "four seasons in a day" so pack everything expecting summer or winter, sleet hail or fine. You could be walking down the street one minute and then get rained on the next but it's not really cloudy...




ha ha ha.... so true :D

[mtkitchn]

Thanks for the advice, ladies! I'll definitely look for cycling in Melbourne when I'm NOT wine tasting!
I'm not looking to cycle every day on vacation, but it would be nice to get a couple rides in!
Any more advice is welcome!

[mimitabby]

mtkitchn

You DON'T want to hire a bike in sydney and ride. There's no infrastructure.


Meanwhile Cairns is probably a good place to ride (I was born there!) It's considered a big country town. It's gonna be HOT and HUMID no matter what time of the year you go there. So make sure you take SINGLETS and shorts and buy some tropical strength Aeroguard while you're here cause the mozzies and sandflies will annoy the hell outta you.


Have fun!

Questions!!
what do you mean, there's no infrastructure? as in the roads are not repaired or as there are vigilantees running around shooting people??

and what is a singlet??

[Thistle]

Questions!!

and what is a singlet??

he he he... didnt know that was an aussie word. it's like a t-shirt with no sleeves... men wear them under business shirts... or sometimes just with shorts cos it's so hot :D

i dunno whether you guys have them... you seem to wear a t-shirt under business shirts :D


this is a singlet http://www.rowbust.com/chicks-with-sticksFS.html

[light_sabe_r]

CHESTY BONDS!!! lol

Yeah. Mimtabby what I mean by "no infrastructure" is that Sydney has the worst traffic in the country AND there's no Bike lanes, no off road bike paths and the ones that do exist are not really helpful. And their roads are also full of potholes (as are brisbanes)

Melbourne and Victoria on the other hand have the BEST on road and off cycling in the country as voted by Australian Cyclist. They've got Rail Trails, bike lanes and on a recent trip BF and I did, we didn't see a single pot hole!!! THE ENTIRE TRIP and that was a 1 week driving holiday!
On the great ocean road there are "Bike detours" to avoid traffic from on and off ramps.

BF and I were very impressed. No wonder Vicotria has the highest percentage of Commuter and recreational cyclists!

I also can't believe Singlet is an Aussie word. "Sleevess" top might be the word you're looking for.

[Thistle]

we're spending a week in march doing the rail trails round wangaratta ... i cant wait! might clock up some serious kms then :D

[beetle]

In Sydney how about getting off the road and trying the cycle paths at the Bicentennial Park (at the Sydney Olympic Park where the Olymipcs were held) I haven't done this yet but it look ok

http://www.sydneyolympicpark.com.au/Visiting/recreational_activities/cycling/cycling_circuits

you can hire bikes out there too, I think the website shows how to get there, you can even catch a ferry.

http://www.sydneyolympicpark.com.au/Visiting/recreational_activities/cycling/bike_hire_@_sop

Centennial Park (different and closer to the city) is the home of cycling in Sydney and many clubs ride there - I'm sure you would find serious cyclist doing sessions every morning and night of the week and more so on the weekends.

http://www.cp.nsw.gov.au/visitor_information/recreation_facilities/sub_page_3

Light_sabre is right, the roads (and drivers) in Sydney are pretty cyclist unfriendly. There are good spots to ride but you really have to know where to go and be familiar with the place. There is a good book that was produced for Sydney cyclists and commuters though called "Bike It" which was produced by a guy (Bruce Ashley) that must have ridden every street in sydney.

[Wahine]

he he he... didnt know that was an aussie word. it's like a t-shirt with no sleeves... men wear them under business shirts... or sometimes just with shorts cos it's so hot :D

i dunno whether you guys have them... you seem to wear a t-shirt under business shirts :D


this is a singlet http://www.rowbust.com/chicks-with-sticksFS.html

I don't know if singlet is an Aussie word. We use it in Canada but usually only to refer to a sleevless top that is used for athletics, especially running. Maybe it's more of a proper English word as opposed to an American English word. sort of like colour verses color, behaviour/behavior.

Oh, in the US, they call a sleeveless cotton Tee, like the kind you wear under a dress shirt, a "wife-beater" :eek: :eek: :eek: , because that's what lower class men will sometimes wear when it's hot, (without anything over it), usually while dirnking beer outside of a shack of some sort.

I know, it's a nasty term but somehow it brings the right picture to mind.

[light_sabe_r]

lol Wahine I only just read your response.

The blue singlet is associated with the tradies of old, and beer drinkers, Yobbos, bogans etc. So yeah... The WIFE beater may even fit into that category. But only the navy blue singlet.

CHESTY BOND on the other hand had a resurgence and a touch of class added to it when Paul MacCurrio danced up a storm in the add for it, and Sarah Murdoch has since modelled the women's version on TV. (In fact my indoor soccer team's jersey is an orange chesty bond. It's too hot to play in anything else)

I like them because they're LONG and thin, so during summer they're great night clothes.

PS: Sorry for the thread hijack mtkitchn

[jotjepoes]

Melbourne is great for cycling!

You need to be careful on the roads as drivers can be ruthless on the busy ones. However, there are a whole network of bike paths. If you're a serious road rider, hire a road bike on Saturday for riding down beach road early on a Sunday morning. I've heard there are more bikes than cars (but I'm not sure if this is urban myth).

Probaby the best thing to do in terms of hiring bikes is to check out the bicycle victoria website. This link in particular maybe useful:

http://www.bv.com.au/find/4/6/

But a word of warning - you probably need to e-mail the bike shops to check out what sort of bikes they hire, as they may only be heavy tourist bikes.

If you are in the CBD maybe go into Bicycle Victoria itself and get some maps, they will show you the bike paths and useful roads to ride on.

Good luck. Drop me an e-mail if you have any specific queries.

Have fun and check out the great food and cafes in Melbourne!:)

[jotjepoes]

Hi!

I posted a reply yesterday, but for some reason it didn't come up.

Anyway, here is the substance of it again:

Melbourne is a great place for cycling! But beware of going on main roads as drivers are not always tolerant nor vigilent of cyclists.

My best tip is to check out the Bicycle Victoria Website, especially this link which has stuff on places to hire bikes:

http://www.bv.com.au/find/4/6/

I suggest you e-mail each of the shops to find out what sort of bikes they hire out, as some may only hire out clunky bikes for tourists intending to have a short peddle around. Also be careful, Melbourne is a very spread out city, so don't hire a bike which is 20 km from where you are staying.

You could also go into Bicycle Victoria (Level 10 / 446 Collins Street, Melbourne) and ask for the free maps showing bike paths and popular bike routes. Although some bike shops have these maps as well.

If you want to get into the bike scene, hire a road bike and join everyone else early Sunday morning riding up and down beach road. Starting from Port Melbourne you can go all the way down to Sorrento, which is over 100 km one way.

After your bike ride, have fun eating the great Melbourne food in our fantastic restaurants and cafes!

If you have any specific queries, PM or e-mail me.

Have fun!:)

[midlife]

If you are staying in the CBD in Melbourne you could head down to the Yarra River (just cross it at St. Kilda Road) and they hire bikes there to ride along the Yarra Trail. It's pretty busy, especially weekends, but would give you a good gander at the city and surrounds. Bit hard if your other companions dont cycle though! You could always send them off to the art gallery or the museum! Not sure where you'd hire bikes out of the city though, except some bike shops, but if you only have 4 days you won't have much time for riding.

Maybe some of the hotels you stay in have gyms and you do a session on an exercise bike. I'm sure you will be doing lots of walking anyway, so that should keep you fit.

Hope you enjoy Australia.

[mimitabby]

I would love to visit you guys some day as well. thanks for the singlet explanation. I knew it was a british word for some kind of clothing,but now I know what it means.

[jotjepoes]

Ride down beach road early on a Sunday morning - now there's the biking community!

There's a website which I've been trying to put on, but I thing it keeps getting vetted, but I've PM'd it to you.

[mtkitchn]

Thanks for the tips, jotjepoes! Less than two weeks and I'll be on my way to OZ...can't wait!!!
I hope to find some cycling somewhere!