Aggressive riders frighten others off the roads and paths, and some riders have had enough. Simon Vincett investigates. Helen Smart has just about had enough. Although she’s ridden for transport for decades, she finds herself gritting her teeth for the daily commute, which she finds regularly punctuated with conflict with other riders. After many incidents of
Read More…
Aggressive driving behaviour puts all road users at risk. Anthea Hargreaves looks at the causes of road rage, and best approaches to deal with it. The toot of a horn, an aggressive swerve, a deliberate too-close pass or abusive obscenity yelled from a window – for too many riders, road rage is seen as an
Read More…
Australian academics have established that the built environment significantly impacts wellbeing. How do we create urban centres that maximise health? Simon Vincett investigates. Sprawling is a descriptor rarely employed in a positive sense, and it certainly hasn’t got a good connotation when applied to cities. A series of papers published in September 2016
Read More…
The Dutch spend five to six times as much on a new bike compared to Australians reported Bicycling Trade magazine in November. Ride On spoke to shops selling Dutch-style bikes in Australia for comparison. The average Dutch outlay for a new bike is now €1,200 (AU$1,846) the Australian industry publication Bicycling Trade reported in November.
Read More…
With multi-party interest at the federal level in making our cities more liveable and productive, will governments embrace bike riding for all it can offer? Simon Vincett investigates. Advocates of active transport in Australia could heave a sigh of relief when Malcolm Turnbull replaced Tony Abbott as Prime Minister in September 2015. Gone was a head of government ideologically committed to more roads for cars as the sole solution to transport
Read More…
Across the country, land managers are building bike trails to increase the use of parks and public land. Simon Vincett reports. More and more people are choosing mountain biking for their active recreation and their regular dose of nature, and parks authorities are more and more happy to accommodate them. It hasn’t always been this
Read More…
Bart Sbeghen reports on the growing phenomenon of premium end-of-trip facilities in some of the nation’s most progressive commercial buildings and offices. Photos: Karl Hilzinger, Hormuzd Khodaiji. The phenomenon may not be obvious to most people, probably because of the movement’s quite literally underground nature. That was until a front page article in The Financial
Read More…
Is brighter better when it comes to lighting up at night or in low light? And what effect does your light have on other road users? Simon Vincett investigates. “Thanks for highlighting the need to point lights at the road!” reads one comment on a recent Ride On Lights test. “I live in the CBD
Read More…
There are many confident riders who have the knack of identifying the risks on the roads, and who have developed good riding practices to manage the uncertainty that shadows every vulnerable road user. But are riders totally responsible for their welfare, or do other road users, and roads management authorities, also have an obligation
Read More…
Is there a better measure of something’s value than the smiles it brings? Cargo bikes carry cartloads of smiles for a wide variety of people, as well as smile-value for businesses. Simon Vincett investigates. Abby started using a wheelchair when she was about four years old. Before then she had specialised strollers. Abby doesn’t walk
Read More…