Commuters

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Comment by Iain on April 17, 2012 at 12:25pm

She hasn't ridden that much (definitely not for several years or in Brisbane) but she is pretty fit so that part shouldn't be to bad. I think she is more 7:30/8 till 4. She is only planning to do it one or 2 days a week to start with.

It's not an easy route to plan if you don't want to mix with cars to much.  

Comment by Raymond on April 17, 2012 at 10:47am

Hi Iain, what's her level of experience and is work roughly 9-5? There aren't many direct paths in from Carindale and a full go on the weekend could still be quite the baptism of fire, especially with the Story Bridge leading straight to the middle of Fortitude Valley. I regularly ride down Ann St and Eagle St but Wickham St tends to have me avoiding it at all cost unless it's a very quiet weekend and I feel like a slight thrill (but it's not so bad on the footpath, obviously quite slow with lots of driveways and cars turning left).

Ride the City throws up this ("Maximise bikeways") and this ("Some bikeways"). There are some ways to avoid going through through the city (even the smaller streets will be rat run territory with lots of yielding to the main roads) - including the bikeway west of the city from Roma St Parklands up past Victoria Park Golf and the scenic detour around the riverbank in New Farm, or cutting through New Farm on Kent St. On the bright side other than being stress free, I suppose it's also a good way to clock up extra distance for "exercise".

Interestingly, the Google Maps car option might not be all that bad; instead you'd go through Bulimba Creek Bikeway (which does flood, just like Norman Creek Greenway which you could use to head to either the SE Bikeway or Wynnum Rd shared footpath), head over the eastern Gateway Bridge with the shared path and then avoiding most of Kingsford Smith Drive by finding Lamington Av and Lancaster Rd.

One last thing - ever consider starting with riding up to Murarrie train station and then get the train in, provided it's not too close to squeeze hours? Pretty convoluted, but it could still be a bus/car-free alternative every other day.

Hope that helps a little - let us know what you think.

Comment by Iain on April 17, 2012 at 9:19am

Hi all, I have managed to get a friend interested in riding to work. I'm going on a ride with her this weekend to give her some confidence and try out the route. 

Once again I was hoping for some advice on a good route to take. we are going from the corner of Winstanley St and Scrub Rd Carindale to 7 O'Connell Terrace, Bowen Hills. Google is suggesting this route: http://g.co/maps/qntng

Comment by Paul Martin on March 15, 2012 at 7:42am

Yes, excellent advice, Raymond. I use these techniques every day to stay safe... but I wish I didn't have to.

The teachings of 'Forester' and the 'Vehicular Cycling' techniques are important. The problem is that many think this is the way to help promote cycling and get more people cycling - that's complete nonsense.

They ARE however an excellent way to cycle safely in a hostile, car dominated world...

Comment by Raymond on March 15, 2012 at 12:10am

I can't emphasise enough how good this animation is: http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/animations/lane-control/

After viewing that, do also check out a video comparison comparing two methods of "taking the lane" - one of them is generally always better than the other (but only if you do it correctly):

http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2010/11/29/helping-motorists-wi...

There are of course exceptions - usually though, if I can find a gap in the traffic wave it's not hard to do (a good mirror helps, plus practise on quieter areas first). If I feel I can't hold the lane safely, I'll reconsider being on that road and look for other "options" as I don't like to push it when I know I'm in over my head.

For plenty of more great detail, Ken Kifer is fantastic, but the animation and video above should give most people a good idea of the complexities of "sharing the road".

Comment by John Pitts on March 14, 2012 at 12:07pm

Iain, you'll find that if you position yourself out from the gutter the passing traffic will give you more room, not less. The gutter is the most dangerous place to ride, for the reasons you list, and also because it encourages drivers to squeeze past you.

Don't take my word for it, google "vehicular cycling" and you'll find lots of references.

Comment by Iain on March 14, 2012 at 11:40am

Morning all. A fine commute this morning! I kept hoping the rain would let up, but no, it was a very moist cycle, though nicely cool. 

This morning I felt the need for my lights (around 9am) and had a few sketchy moments on the storm drain covers, and detritus on edge of the road. I find it a hard call to make: either sit out more in the traffic and have cars pass increasingly close or cycle in the gutter and risk a fall... 

I know that I'm not going to cycle over the storm drains again if I can possibly help it!

Comment by Paul Martin on November 14, 2011 at 8:42am

I know of someone who had their lock cut and bike confiscated by security for locking it to the fence there. They claimed it was 'for safety reasons'... This is second hand information a year ago but he's a reliable person and I don't believe he made it up.

 

There is space for 50 bikes if you stack them! There are a few loops at different spots but I don't think you'd quite get 50 bikes there... not without it being an inaccessible mess!

Comment by Ian Lister on November 14, 2011 at 8:37am

There's a very convenient fence the whole way along the Hale Street edge of the concourse…

But yes. FWIW here's the response we got when CBD BUG wrote to the responsible Minister about it. Supposedly there are racks with space for 50 bikes there somewhere.

Comment by Lyn Stern on November 14, 2011 at 8:29am

16000 at suncorp and 6 sort of obvious bike spaces...don't make it easy

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