Originally Posted by womble
Heya- I've got another random question for the Aussies.
Just how populuar road biking in Oz? I used to live in Sydney, and only really noticed small numbers of cyclists in Centennial Park and obvious posers in coffee shops around my flat in Pyrmont. Driving into the Blue Mountians, I never noticed many climbing roadies along the lines that one would find in the French or Italian alps.
Yet from the existence of this permanent Aussie Thread and the fact that Australians care about cycling in the Olympics, are there a lot more cyclists out there than I've been led to suspect?
Centennial Park is now patrolled by speed nazi's, so hard-core riders avoid it like the plague. And most riders would probably prefer to MTB the Blue Mtns (eg. Wentworth Falls-Woodford-Glenbrook) rather than fight for roadspace with cars on those narrow goat-tracks.
I rode Manly to Newport (flat) one weekend and it was chockers with cyclists. Never seen so many groups on one stretch of road except for Akuna Bay and Bobbin Head (both for climbing-freaks).
Cycling NSW only has 3500 registered members, which goes to show that most cyclists don't necessarily wanna compete. Social cycling/fitness/latte dominate at the moment.
Another thing that I have noticed is that the number of bike commuters is increasing all the time, and as a result most peak hour drivers are becoming more tolerant than say 5-10 years ago. It's the Sunday drivers who provide the scary moments!