Fahrradsozialismus

Civic to Conder via Weston. Good commuter route for those living in Weston to Tuggeranong. Also a good alternative route to the City going passed the scenic Molonglo River instead of via Woden.

Tour de Aldis! If you must have weird & wonderful German candies from all of the ACT Aldi stores in one day (or other equally legitimate reasons), knock yourself out.

Melba to Civic via Jamison. Obviously not the best commuting route if you live in Melba, but a great way for getting into Civic if you live on the Southern side of Lake Ginninderra. The route is quite scenic once outside of Cook, and convenient for shopping in Jamison.

Civic to Tuggeranong and Woden. The route takes you right pass Woden Plaza & Tuggeranong Hyperdome, and the cycle paths are quite good for either commuting or exercise. Lake Tuggeranong is small but quite beautiful. Taking the path along Erindale Drive instead of Lake Tuggeranong gives you some variation.

There are already many ways showing you how to fix a camera to your bike when you riding, and it couldn’t hurt to have another. The parts are simple enough:

1 x Manfrotto quick release plate
1 x Bicycle light mount with padding

I initially thought about getting a small ball-head and clamping that to the bar, which would allow more control of angles, but decided that it was probably overkill for my purposes, as I doubt that I’d be shooting from the bike that often, and just wanted something small and not too obtrusive. A slight complication rose with the original camera mount screw on the plate which was too wide at the base, and thus could not be moved once the clamp is fastened, so I replaced it with one from an old flash clamp which had a smaller diameter. Haven’t taken the rig out for a extended ride yet, but it seems sturdy enough, at least for little compacts like this one. I’d advise against having the camera mounted for any extended period of time anyway, as I doubt most are designed to withstand shocks for such durations.

From Melba to Civic via Gungahlin, probably not the best commuter route to Civic if you live in Belconnen unless you feel like a bit of exercise, but it is a very pleasant ride with a gradient resembling the one through Bruce, though the distance is longer making the climbs easier. The cycle paths in these newer suburbs are wider & in better condition, and the ride along Gungahlin Drive is very scenic, with a long strech of well paved cyclepath for sprinting on. The route is also very good for commuting if you live in the Gungahlin area and want to get to either Belconnen or Civic on bike paths alone.

A short ride around Lake Ginninderra, not quite as scenic as Lake Burley Griffin, but a good start for some light exercise if you live in Belconnen. Also there are a few nice restaurants & cafés next to the lake.

These are mainly shots from my commutes & leisure rides around Canberra, hoping to show just how beautiful (though perhaps a little monotonous for the aesthetically fatigued) a city can be to someone, and for a cyclist how great it is to have such good cycling facilities.

Most of these shots are taken within a 20km radius from the city centre unless specified, and are either taken directly on the bike paths, or very close to them. For motorists, it can be difficult (not to mention dangerous) to appreciate the vista without one’s immediate surroundings too attentively, but it is taken for granted on a bike that you can enjoy the view as leisurely as you like. After all, it is much easier to stop impulsively on a bike than most other modes of transportation.

Photos from China:

Something actually useful for the first post, none of that self-indulgent, introspective, wise-cracking tripe you’d usually find in an initial post - there’ll be plenty of time for that later.

A few routes for getting around on a bike in Canberra, so far all the routes start in Belconnen, but I’ll be gradually adding more for the whole region. As these are mainly commuting routes, most are on shared cycle/walk paths, and are therefore suitable even for those just starting to commute without having to deal with traffic, especially during peak hour.

Routes from Melba to the City via Bruce, passing UC & AIS and directly under the new Gungahlin drive extension. This is one of the shorter routes into the City from Belconnen, but there is a bit of a climb coming back from O’Connor to Bruce, and segments of the path through O’Connor are really sidewalks. Kangaroos & bunny rabbits are common sights going passed the AIS.

Another way is going through Kaleen, again under the Gungahlin drive extension (though of course at a different point). The paths are much wider with fair streches of flats where you can get considerable speed. The gradient is also a bit smoother. It is however a bit longer.

Melba to Kippax. Smaller alternative (in the literal sense, they don’t have specialised goth/emo grocery) shopping centre to Belconnen Mall if you live in Northern Belconnen. The scenery is rather pleasant as the route goes along Ginninderra creek.

Melba to Belconnen Mall. Good for starter commuters, especially if you were catching buses from the suburbs.

The loop around Lake Burley Griffin from Civic, possibly the best scenic & leisure route in Canberra. Most of the touristy spots are either on the route or within a short distance from the path. A must for any cyclist visiting Canberra.