The week’s top bike news from around the world, brought to you every Wednesday.
Local news
Light up!
Daylight saving saw those in New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria enjoy an extra hour’s sleep in on Sunday. However, it also heralded the start of the dark commute. At night and in low light conditions, bike riders are legally required to run a white front and red rear light visible to a minimum 200 metres. If you’re in the market for a new set, check out the results from Ride On‘s 2015 lights test in our April–May issue.
Get active in April!
Victorians are being encouraged to get 30 minutes of exercise every day this month as part of the Premier’s Active April program. Participants log their daily activity via the Active April app and receive a range of benefits and support to help them achieve their activity goals, including free gym sessions, tips and certificates.
Proposed cycle corridor to ease congestion in Adelaide
Unley Councillor Michael Hewitson has proposed a new bike corridor for the inner-Adelaide suburb in a bid to ease congestion on key arterial routes into the city. The new bike corridor would include separated bike tracks, improved visibility at intersections and increased lighting at night. Cr Hewitson believes his plan could see car traffic reduced by 10% in the area and relieve pressure on Unley Road, an arterial route into the CBD.
International news
LA street takes first step towards separation
The City of Angels has installed the first section of its first ‘parking protected’ bike lane, separating bikes from motorised traffic and keeping riders out of the ‘dooring zone’ with an additional buffer. The separated bikeway on Reseda Boulevard is currently one-quarter complete and will eventually cover a one-mile stretch.
Bike paths to nowhere
Bike infrastructure is key to encouraging more people to get around by bike, and it’s important that this infrastructure forms a comprehensive network that ensures riders don’t find themselves unexpectedly stranded. To demonstrate the need for such networks, The Washington Post has remapped four US cities using only the existing bike infrastructure, and there’s a lot of blank spaces.
Paris pedals towards pollution solution
In an effort to reduce its traffic pollution problem, the City of Paris is proposing to spend €150 million on more than 80km of new bike infrastructure and establish itself as the world’s leading bike city. Currently 5% of all trips are made by bike in the French capital, and City Hall officials aim to see this figure raised to 15% by 2020.
Health
Ride into shape
Find out how a mindful approach to what you eat can help you reach your riding goals.
Video
Can you out-ride a zombie attack?
A new virtual reality indoor bike trainer has found a fun way to make the kilometres fly by, by offering riders a range of fantasy landscapes to explore from Middle Earth to a zombie apocalypse.
Upcoming events
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9–12 April | Jayco Adelaide Tour | Adelaide, SA |
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12 April | Wombat 100 MTB Marathon | Woodend, VIC |
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12 April | Paris – Roubaix | France |
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