MASSBUGGING to the city

Fiona - leader of the pack bike buses the group into work

If the world was like local cycle group Marrickville South Sydney Bicycle Group (MASSBUG) it would be a fabulous place to live.

I’ve always wanted to cycle to work but only just feeling confident to take on the road, I never had the courage to meander through heavy, cranky traffic.

Today I did it! My friend Sam suggested I join the cycle group so at 6:50am we met outside the Henson Park Hotel. I was already exhausted from the ride up from home. I immediately thought crikey as I saw the four other cyclists and their groovy bikes.

I need not have worried, Fiona, the leader of the group immediately took my side as we made the trip to work. At one stage she did have to drag me as I puffed like a silly billy cart. She offered subtle tips such as watching for people in parked cars (so that they don’t open the bloody door on you) and smiling at bus drivers (so they get your immediate support) and waving at abusive drivers (to deflate their anger). This chick really knew her stuff. While at times she would ride ahead, a more experienced rider would instinctively take my side. Another experienced rider would ride behind the group warning us of any approaching cars.

Once on Elizabeth street Fiona literally forced cars aside with her gloved hand as the cycle group took the lane. People power at its best.

I loved every minute of my trip to work and felt more confident on the ride home. Unfortunately the 5:15pm departure time is just too optimistic for this deadline chained journalist. But I don’t think I have to wait too long, Caroline my fellow cyclists has offered to ride back with me at the realistic time of 6pm, one day a week.

PS My mate Sam loves the experience so much, within a week she dumped her K-mart bike for a sexy number at cheeky money.

The Good Guys

This is Charlie Corbett. He rang the Marrickville Police with a query about public bike sales

From The Glebe this week…

Glebe Police are seeking the owner of two bikes found at Rozelle on April 11.

“They are distinctive, they are not the usual run of the mill bikes around here. We are hoping that if someone sees them they will come forward,” Crime Prevention Officer Senior-Constable Jim Riganias said.

The story reminded me of the time my English editor Charlie Corbett rang Marrickville Police to find out if they on-sold bikes that were ‘impounded’ to the general public.

Apparently in London, this is what the local police stations actually do. Just by going to their local police station, Londoners can get microwave ovens, bikes, horses, televisions, at cheap prices.

Just like at a Good Guys store.

When I was looking to buy my bike, I was advised by a Bicycle enthusiast that I would need to spend about $1,000!! When I told Charlie this, he promptly rang the Marrickville Police station with his enquiry.

According to Charlie the officer who answered his query was very friendly and helpful. “A nice chap”.

While our local police do ‘impound bikes from time to time that look suspicious” they don’t sell them directly the public. He instead gave Charlie a number to call.

Perhaps Glebe police may be able to sell these ‘distinctive’ bikes to me if a member of the public does not claim them?

Copenhagen in Melbourne

The sign on Ray’s window says it all. It seems Melbourne is embracing the cyclist culture of Copenhagen – with the addition of safety helmets.

When visiting Melbourne last week, I certainly noticed many cyclists on the road. And it seemed there were even dedicated cycle paths put in place. Glancing through the Melbourne magazine from the comfort of my hotel room at The Windsor, I read that there were plans to trial a “Copenhagen Lane” at the end of Swanston Street but the idea was thwarted by the car lobby and Minister Tim Pallas.

Some years ago, I had the pleasure of cycling through the city of Copenhagen. I had just flown in from Paris and my friend had met me at the airport. When we arrived home, she simply lent me a bike and off we sped off to meet her husband in the city. I had not been on a bike for well over five years so was quite nervous. Because Copenhagen is a city that was built around bikes, the trip into the city was relatively easy. It was easy not because of the dedicated cycle paths but simply because Danish drivers have a ‘cyclist sensibility’. This meant that they are not aggressive and are conscious of cycles around them. Which is probably why I was successfully prevented from causing an intersection collision.

Danish cyclists don’t wear helmets though, unlike Melbournian cyclists. Unlike their Sydney counterparts, Melbourne cyclists choose not to wear Lyra. Not that’s style and safety.

Bikes parked just off Flinders Lane as Melbournians go out for coffee

Taking on the Road

Vic takes some lessons

To ride on-road or off-road that is the question.

With just a couple of months of riding under my belt, I still didn’t’ feel confident enough to take my bike on the road. Instead I would stick to the Cook’s River or sheepishly ride my bike on the pavement. A copper dog once told me that if any cop was to book a cyclist for riding on the pavement, “they’d need to get a life’. In any case riding on the road was something I knew I had to master if I was to be a fully fledged inner west cyclist.

And so I decided to attend a three-hour free course with the Greenway group.

The course began at Johnson Park, Dulwich Hill. Getting there was a bit like an episode from Race Around the World. My work buddy Vic and her partner Jason drove from the Eastern Suburbs and after 15 minutes of getting lost along Warren Rd/Illawarra Rd they had finally made it to my home in Ewart St. Jason jumped out and wacked my bike on the back of his ute. With the three of us in the front street, (I have to say being in a ute for me was a thrill), we made it to Constitution St. The riders were still there so we needn’t have worried about missing the course. After a brief introduction from each person in the group we were ready to tackle our fist lessons – on the basketball court.

We were taught emergency braking, tight ways to manoeuvre our bike, gear changes, signalling and looking over our shoulder to check on traffic. It was quite intense but very helpful as we learnt simple tips that made such a difference to our riding.

While consuming our ‘packed lunch’ we were given a brief but very helpful overview of road rules. Our teacher Tanya recommended we take alternative quieter streets to ride on and where possible and ride through parks. I also didn’t realise that drink riding was a no no.

Learning rules over lunch

Then we were ready for our cycle to the Cook’s River. It was the first time for me. Riding on the road that is and I have to say it made such a difference riding with a group of people. The car drivers were indeed very respectful and I thought very patient too but then I guess that’s what safety in numbers is all about.

Tanya was fabulous and very encouraging. She did talk about a mate of hers who smashed his leg muscle and that the “only injury” she had was a broken collar bone.

By the end of the course, the only injury I sustained was some chipped nail polish on my left thumb.

For me, hand signalling and looking over my shoulder is something I still need to master. I think I will take up her suggestion and join my local bicycle user group (BUG), MASSBUG.0

And I will definitely take up her suggestion to join Bicycle NSW. An $85 membership gives you comprehensive insurance.

Hopefully soon, I’ll be able to whiz about Marrickville’s Streets.

I do recommend this course. Try it. You’ll enjoy it I am sure, just remember to bring the packed lunch. www.greenway.org.au

Jason packs the bikes back into his ute

Onya bike!

Since moving to Marrickville six years ago, I have always wanted to ride a bike. The Cooks River cycle paths always seemed tempting to me, as I would go for my daily runs.

One Sunday morning in December I was brunching with my mate Lou and her neighbour Fifi when a group of muscled blokes walked past. Stretched across one shoulder blade to another, The Dulwich Hill Inner West Cycle Group was written across their extremely taut backs. Perked up by our sexual excitement – I certainly had had no sex for ages – Lou tapped one bloke on the back and asked if women were allowed to join their seemingly ‘blokes only’ group.

Geoff, a friendly chap, gave me details about the group, telling me it was the club’s New Year resolution to sign up more women. He advised me to contact the group’s president Lindsay Munks – a bloke I was to soon realise as the doyen of Sydney cycle enthusiasts.

The next day I shot off an email to Lindsay and received a warm reply. He recommended a WSD bikes (that would be Womens' Specific Design) quoting me a price of about $1000

Shocked by the possibility of having to fork out that amount of money for a new bike, my English editor Charlie Bubbles suggested I contact my local police. Apparently in London, police have sales where they sell off stolen bikes, computers, cars and even police horses. Sort of like what we have with the ‘Good Guys’ here. To prove this possibility, he made a call to Marrickville Police Station. After a good 20 minutes on the phone, the police gave Charlie a number to call. Apparently Marrickville Police do take in bikes “that look suspicious” but do not sell directly to the public.

In the end I purchased a $275 ‘on-the-road’ bike from Mick Mazza which, also came with a box of roses.

My friend Sam’s fellow public service colleague said Lindsay Munks would laugh at my bike when he sees it.

We shall see.