As you probably noticed from the pictures below, the sun has finally re-emerged. Yesterday was incredibly windy - far too windy to be riding road bikes any distance - and the trails would have been sopping wet - far too wet to ride mountain bikes, especially those that need to be 100% clean for impending international travel - so we were forced to celebrate the good weather with a social beer ride.
The idea is that they're to be used for short trips around the city, so rental prices are pretty cheap - the first half an hour is free, then there's a sliding scale. And once you've dropped a bike off at a station you can simply wait for a couple of minutes and check out another one. And if you need to find a bike station and you have an iPhone there's an apple app out there to assist.
I hope that this catches on as it's a fantastic idea. The main problem is the nanny state helmet laws over here (mandatory for all bikes) which means that you need to carry a helmet round with you before you can take advantage of it. But from the reactions we got yesterday with just one city bike, people seem interested. Check it out at http://www.citycycle.com.au/ .
The bikes are pretty heavy, but that does mean they make good anchors to tuck regular bikes behind on a windy day
whilst you're relaxing and enjoying a brew or two
Lipton Ice Tea of course.
One of our number decided to take advantage of Brisbanes new 'city cycle' scheme, an excellent bike-rental system that has recently been introduced. There are now hundreds of bikes scattered round the city at various rental stations, and once you've joined up you just wave your card in front of a reader, select your bike and you're off!
The idea is that they're to be used for short trips around the city, so rental prices are pretty cheap - the first half an hour is free, then there's a sliding scale. And once you've dropped a bike off at a station you can simply wait for a couple of minutes and check out another one. And if you need to find a bike station and you have an iPhone there's an apple app out there to assist.I hope that this catches on as it's a fantastic idea. The main problem is the nanny state helmet laws over here (mandatory for all bikes) which means that you need to carry a helmet round with you before you can take advantage of it. But from the reactions we got yesterday with just one city bike, people seem interested. Check it out at http://www.citycycle.com.au/ .
The bikes are pretty heavy, but that does mean they make good anchors to tuck regular bikes behind on a windy day
whilst you're relaxing and enjoying a brew or twoLipton Ice Tea of course.
Very cool day, as per usual. Ride, beer, flat, repair, ride , beer, flat, train. I don't think the city cycle bikes have air in the tyres. Gordy
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