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| The beach at St Kilda is only a short ride from the centre of town |
It's
not often I get the chance to ride in January. It's not often I get the
opportunity to ride beside a long, sandy beach. It's not often I ride a bike in
Australia. So when the chance arises and the snow and ice back home in Austria
make cycling impossible, I find a bike and go for a ride.
A
free day in Melbourne. The forecast is for sun all day. A rented hack from
Rentabike will do fine. Riding in a big city and through the suburbs isn't
everyone's pint of lager. But here there is a good network of bike paths. Some
are for bikes and pedestrians together and others painted tracks along the
roads. The signposting is a work in progress: some are really good and others
seem to be invisible.
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| About 50km (including backtracking!) |
Though
riding through a rural landscape is the best, pedalling from the centre towards
the city's fringes at least gives a broader impression of the place than being
stuck in it's commercial heart.
However,
navigating with a map from Rentabike occasionally proved tricky and finding the right road out of town
involved backtracking a number of times.
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| Iron roofs and iron lace decoration in the suburbs |
Not
far from the shimmering towers of the CBD are tiny terraced, single storey
"settler" houses. Lining broad avenues, they feature the iron roofs
and iron lace decorations so characteristic of these former colonies.
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| On the trail to Williamstown there are great views of the distant city and container port |
A
50km ride took in a long sandy beach, the gritty container port, historic
Williamstown at the mouth of the river, and the bustling riverside, crowded
with restaurants, bars and buskers. It's a bit of a challenge threading a line
through the strolling crowd. At least cyclists are allowed to mingle with
pedestrians - and it seems to work. More frustrating are the frequent
stops required at the many lights-controlled junctions all over the city and
suburbs.
But
that is the nature of city cycling and any ride is better than no ride.
Links:
Rentabike: www.rentabike.net.au
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| Cycling under palms in January - what a treat! |
