Bite sized servings of mostly Brisbane cycling culture, news and related happenings.
Winter is finally here and yesterday I was fortunate enough to have been able to grab a mountain bike and take a few hours to enjoy the crisp, sunny weather at Bunyaville and Ironbark Gully joined up via the elusive Back Link Trail.
If you’re heading out, note that, yes, track 7 (Steps) is still out of action.
I don’t know if the Brisbane Story Bridge saga has now turned into a back and forth buck passing game or whether it’s actually, as several people including the PM have said, just a case of neglected maintenance over a long period of time.
In any case, this issue is going to linger for some time to come and I think it spells trouble for the current Brisbane City Council. On one side, they have us angry active transport users who have been completely locked out of the bridge and on the other side they have angry motorists who are bristling at the prospect of having to pay tolls that BCC have suggested to cross the bridge. Now (rightly or wrongly), they also face the prospect of receiving no support from the federal government. Being cornered from three sides can’t have a good ending.
In the meantime, from the standpoint of needing to move forward somehow, it just so happens that there’s a very nice, relatively new and probably under utilised road tunnel running exactly parallel to the Brisbane Story Bridge under the river.
Hmmm, I’m thinking very cheap or free tolls for the tunnel especially for heavy vehicles, maybe blockage of all but a small amount of light passenger vehicles on the bridge and then most if not all of the bridge’s lanes handed over to active transport users and pedestrians. Maybe the maintenance and repair cost of the bridge then goes down as we’re no longer catering to heavy vehicles or high volume, maybe we plop a few food and coffee vendors in the middle of the bridge. The surrounding neighbourhood gets a bit safer and more pleasant which also helps property prices that local residents really appreciate. We also get one step closer to a car-free CBD and maybe, just maybe BCC survives the next council election. This is all just spitballing and maybe I’m crazy, but it kinda sounds like something for everyone.
Some of my favourite quotes from this video.
“How fast can you move until discovery is lost? How much slower do we need to travel to really see?”
“The unpaved world is a closer sense of truth about where we are and where we came from.”
“There’s a misconception that nature is something different from us.”
A fantastic take on riding a great route in US but also about the state of the world and how we should consider reflecting on the way we’ve been looking at things.
Police make court bid to stop cycling protesters blocking Brisbane’s Story Bridge
I’ve been out for the count with some kind of lurgy for past few days so my bum hasn’t made contact with a bike saddle and nor have I caught up much on what’s been happening in the Brisbane cyclosphere in that time.
But I did catch the above story regarding developments in the Story Bridge saga and the picture ain’t pretty. In short, it seems BCC won’t budge on allowing one of the bridge’s lanes to be temporarily converted into a bike lane and are now seeking a magistrate’s ruling on disallowing any further protests to try and make the lane conversion happen. That and some pretty desperate sounding name-calling on BCC’s part.
As one of the earlier stories on this said, looks like car is unfortunately still king in this town. It’s just not good enough. Stay tuned.
I mentioned a little while ago that I don’t listen to many podcasts but that sometimes I dip my toes in The Cycling Independent Paceline podcast.
Well, that’s not 100% true. I actually also listen to The Cycling Independent Revolting podcast quite a bit and dang that thing is good.
Granted, it’s not gonna be for everyone but if you enjoy a little spicy language, some super cool insights on stuff you never even knew you needed to know about mixed with some boyish humour, you may really enjoy it.
It’s a cycling podcast with almost no mention of cycling but Stevil and Robot pull it off so well. That’s all I’m gonna say – just give it a spin.
Restore Safe Active Transport Access Across the Story Bridge
Well, looks like it’s time to giddyup and do something more about the ongoing problem of access to the Story Bridge paths.
Thanks to Cr Trina Massey who has put up this petition to let the people in power know that we’d like to get done what needs to be done which is to temporarily barricade off one of the lanes on the bridge so that bicycle, scooter and foot traffic can continue to flow while repairs are under way.
So, if you care about this, get clickin’, get tickin’ and let them know what we want.
Finally some great weather again and the bikeways are actually pretty dry. This is what the Enoggera Creek bikeway looked like this afternoon. It was part of a larger loop through St Lucia, Taringa and back to the northside through the city. I arrived home just on dusk with lights on but no jacket required because winter just doesn’t seem to be happening this year.
This is something a lot heavier than my normal music picks. UK pagan black metal band Wodensthrone put out their Loss album way back in 2009 featuring thundering drums, searing vocals and intricate multi-layering and stands the test of time as one of the highest quality albums of its kind.
Those unfamiliar may too quickly put this album into the “too noisy” box but it’s definitely worth the time to dig in and really listen. It’s both musically brilliant and lyrically significant with its deep, nostalgic adoration of the natural world.
Story Bridge restoration project – Kangaroo Point
Well, this is gonna get very interesting. Looks like the paths on either side of the bridge will remain closed to cyclists and other active transport users until at least the end of 2025 though the way the way things tend to blow out, my guess is that it will be way longer. There’s so many questions about this.
In the meantime, what we need is an alternative route that takes active transport users seriously which, to me and many others, means taking one of the road lanes on the bridge and barricading it off so pedestrians, scooter riders, cyclists and other active transport uses can continue to include the Story Bridge as part of their normal route.
Let’s face it, if these bridge repairs required car traffic to be excluded from the bridge, those in power would be falling over themselves to provide the most convenient alternative possible no matter the cost. The thing to remember is that active transport is as important as car transport and anything but the highest effort to prevent its disruption is unacceptable.
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Soon this feed will be filled with variations of my night ride images. Yes, tonight was another night ride. There was rain, there was darkness but there was also much fun had. A bike with fenders seemed best.
I packed a rain jacket but ended up not using it because of the unnaturally mild winter we’re having (don’t get me started). A shortish ride on bikeways and back streets. The Jinker Track bikeway, parts of the Cabbage Tree bikeway, Arana Hills, Mitchelton, Everton Park.
If you’re keen, you might get one more chance for the week tomorrow night before the rain really comes down on Thursday. Maybe.
Another one of my longer write-ups has dropped in the main blog. This time I’m trying to get creative and find a new life for unused cycling equipment and accessories that I have laying around my house. What bike stuff do you have that’s unused and could be made into something useful? Check it out.
It’s amazing that after all these years I’m finding a trail today that I’ve never ridden before in my local area. On a drizzly, overcast, winter day like today, the mossy, creek side Back Link Trail was a bit like being in Lord Of The Rings. A great alternative link up between Bunyaville and Ironbark Gully as part of a larger loop this morning.
Apologies for the image quality. I was too busy riding to take proper photos so this one is just from my rear mounted Fly6 cam.
And now for something a little less bikey. If you enjoy atmospheric, downtempo sounds, moody guitars with a little electronic backing and poetic, emotive lyrics, check out the latest offering from Melbourne two piece outfit HTRK. Sample the rest of their catalogue while you’re there.
This tall bike video is one of the best things I’ve seen for a while. It captures what I said a few days ago about bikes being artistically expressive and probably defiant of established norms. These sort of shenanigans are what it should be all about. Now, if only I could weld…
Happy Labour Day long weekend!! Or is it the Labor Day long weekend? I don’t know anymore. Either way, I have to say, I’m absolutely sparkling today and what better morning to ride my cargo bike to the local shops to get some chocolate chip muffins for morning tea. Of course, I’ll be washing those down with one or two Bundaberg Ginger Beers. Delicious 🙂 .
It seems to have become a week of night rides for me this week. I snuck out for another one tonight on a mountain bike to the Bunyaville Conservation Park this time (again just in the clothes I had on all day). It was mostly fire trails for me though I did discover once again that the trails around the dam are still closed as I mentioned a few days ago.
Night time is still the right time. Great evening weather makes for a great after work night ride around town. Impromptu is fine – I did this one in the t-shirt and shorts I wore all day. Remember your lights.
Whilst this website is about riding bicycles and not (usually) about politics, there is currently a federal election running and it’s only a few days from conclusion. Furthermore, getting much needed funding for cycling infrastructure and fighting for cyclists’ safety and rights to road space have always been political issues.
Having said that, I would be remiss not to urge those who care about riding bikes, scooters or any other type of active transport to have a think about who in the political spectrum is more likely to want to do the right thing by active transport users and who is more likely to preference doing only what the big end of town wants. Sure, it’s not a perfect political system but some contenders will definitely be better for active transport than others.
Personally, I’m going to crack open a lot more Bundaberg Ginger Beers before the election is over, as I have been since it started, and try to squeeze in as many rides as possible.
Another afternoon too good to let slip by. Headed out through Bald Hills, Brendale, Petrie, Lawnton and the bikeway along the North Pine River, into Old Petrie Town and on to the dam wall at McGavin View, Lake Samsonvale.
I often mention the concept of rambling on this website.
Loosely, to me, it’s a philosophy or attitude about riding bikes that is decidedly low performance, ad hoc, focused on immersion in one’s surroundings and allowing whatever bike you’re riding at the time to help you see the world through new eyes. To wander and explore. To escape. Done with equipment that’s mostly functional, perhaps artistically expressive and probably defiant of established norms. If that isn’t freedom, I don’t know what is.
This video resonated with me because it captures a lot of the qualities of rambling.
