Cycling in Melbourne
Cycling in Melbourne is an important mode of transport, fitness, sport and recreation in many parts of the city.
The craze for cycling in the 1890s is portrayed in the poem Mulga Bill's Bicycle by Australian poet Banjo Paterson, and many other ballads from the time.
For women at the time, cycling provided the opportunity of more freedom and being able to wear less restrictive clothing, or rational dress.
[12] Various notables of the era were members, such as University of Melbourne Professor of Engineering William Charles Kernot who was vice-president of the LVW for a time.
The first women's road race in Victoria occurred in Melbourne on Saturday 16 May 1896 on a hilly 11-mile (18 km) course through the northern suburbs of Northcote, Heidelberg, Ivanhoe, Alphington and Clifton Hill.
[13] Cycling provided an enduring activity for ordinary Melburnians until falling automobile prices and growing consumer affluence saw increasing numbers switch over to the car in the 1940s and 1950s.
Post war affluence saw a decline in cycle commuting, and the bicycle was largely relegated to a children's or teenager's activity or for sporting or recreational use.
From the 1970s onwards, cycling in Melbourne and the rest of Victoria was stimulated by a number of factors: In the 1980s, the first triple chainring, or granny gears, bicycles started being sold.
[19] Also in 1993, Melbourne's first dedicated on-street bike lanes were installed on St Kilda Road, a 6 km (3.7 mi) long tree-lined boulevard leading into the CBD.
[20] The St Kilda Rd bike lanes have routinely been the object of severe safety criticism, mainly for forcing cyclists to ride in the door zone of parked cars.
This has become a popular regular event with cyclists meeting in front of the State Library of Victoria at 5.30 pm on the last Friday of every month to ride around the city in safety as one mass.
Generally the police do not interfere in the event but act to facilitate its smooth movement to reduce any obstruction and to calm the antagonism of some car drivers.
In 2014, the Australian Cyclists Party ran candidates in the Victorian state election in several electorates of the Victorian Legislative Council (upper house); though unsuccessful in getting into office, this is believed to be the first election contested by a dedicated party for cycling issues in the world.
These mostly follow parkland, railways and watercourses in a radial pattern to and from the area around the Central Business District.
Since car-based transport planning commenced in Melbourne in the 20th century, bicycle infrastructure on roads has not been implemented or done sporadically.
He won the 1928 Bol D'or 24-hour race and the 1931 Paris–Brest–Paris 1,200 km (750 mi) marathon in record time of 49 hours 23 minutes.
In France and Australia he was feted as a sporting hero, with thousands attending a parade in his honour in Melbourne 1928.
Due to his upper class accent he was initially dubbed Little Lord Fauntleroy; however, his race wins soon earned him the nickname of The Geelong Flyer.
As of 2017[update], more than 25,000 cyclists, including triathletes and many elite riders, use Beach Road and the Nepean Highway from Black Rock to Mount Eliza on a typical weekend.
[44][45] Wearing of a helmet at all times, a working bell, and suitable lighting if riding at night are enforced by law.
The limited injury reductions recorded among Melbourne cyclists did not match the actual decline in cycling.
This has led some experts to the conclusion that the law has actually resulted in increased rates of injury among Melbourne's cyclists.
