Creating a better future

Cycling to Work: Sustainable Travel or Russian Roulette?

I have just recently moved to Naremburn on Sydney’s Lower North Shore. The move was brought on by the immediate need to find a bigger place where we have some room for a new arrival currently known as “Critter”

As one of the many New Year’s resolution in trying to keep the fitness up and looking at ways to reduce my own personal environmental impact I have decided to try cycling to work and take advantage of the many cycle paths around Sydney. I thought I would share with you my experience of my first three days of cycling to work.

Day One:
Helmet, Bright Vest, Bike, Change of Clothes, all set to go. I leave at 7:30am and head down Willoughby Road. In no time I am travelling much faster than the 272 bus which crawls along the freeway. My happiness lasts only about 1km when I come to my first hurdle. I need to cross two lanes of traffic on the on ramp to the freeway leading to the bridge. Do the cars really care and stop and let you though? No chance. So I wait nervously as a few other cyclists pass and weave in and out of the slow moving traffic. So after a while, I take a deep breath and slowly move out and take my opening. Made it! I cycle up to West St which leads towards North Sydney on the narrow cycle path.

Cars overtake me as I look out for the bus behind me and every cyclist’s nightmare the opening car door from a parked car. I make it to North Sydney where I find that the cycle lane just stops. I wonder how many roads that are built in this country that just end without any warning?

Seeing as it is peak hour traffic and I am pretty nervous I get off and go up on to the curb and walk across the crossing with all the pedestrians. I navigate through North Sydney on foot and then I follow what looks like and experienced cyclist down the back streets towards the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Why does he look experienced? Well I can tell that he doesn’t have my white knuckles, look of panic and he has those clip on shoes and fancy cycling shirt.

I finally breathe a sigh of relief when I get to the bridge as it is a cycle lane all the way. This is the most pleasant part of the journey. No traffic, parked cars or pedestrians to look out for just cyclists coming the other way. It is really a great way to get across the bridge and I try and catch the eye of those commuters stuck on the bridge in their cars or crammed onto the train. Yes this is a great way to get to work.

My joy is unfortunately very short lived once I get over the bridge. The cycle path once again just ends and I find myself amongst peak hour traffic. I follow other more experienced cyclists down through Kent St and manage to hold my nerve as a bus pulls up behind me. The city is a much different place when on a bike. I follow my nose down Sussex and realise that I need to get across to Hyde Park. It’s all one way traffic, congested and confusing. I decide to get off and walk up four blocks to Hyde Park.

Once in Hyde Park I get that same relief feeling when I first got on to the bridge. There’s a wide pathway and only pedestrians to avoid. It takes me another five minutes to get to my office in Surry Hills. All up it took me 55 minutes. I think I can cut that down to at least 40 if I go the right way, keep my nerve and stay on the road.

My lesson of the day: Follow other cyclists and be prepared to hold your lane even when a bus is behind you.

Day Two:
Ok I’m determined to do this. Much easier trip, more confident. Only alarm was seeing a another cyclist having a close call with a car door. If the lady opened her door a second earlier she would have collected The cyclist. Totally oblivious to the shouting of the F word she puts her hand bag down on the ground and gets out the car. That was very close.

Time 52 minutes

Day Three:
I am getting the hang of this. I have added a flashing red light to the bike seat so hopefully there can be no excuse for not seeing me. I now stick out my arm, look for a gap in the traffic and hold my lane as I navigate through the various traffic lights. Still got to watch out for the motorists that don’t see you but all up it is a great way to get to work.

Time 45 minutes

In summary I will keep on riding to work as much as possible and I do think it is worth a go. I know the city of Sydney is adding more cycle lanes which will only make my commute easier. Given that it takes me about 45 minutes door to door when taking the bus, cycling time is about the same. I do however have to add time at work taking a shower but as I don’t shower in the morning at home this really does not add time to my commute, just changes the order I do things! I also keep 2 wardrobes which can take a bit of planning.

So, if you are thinking of ridding to work, give it time, after a while you’ll get your confidence up and it does not feel too much like Russian Roulette. If for whatever reason it gets bad you should hopefully be able to get off and walk. Also the City of Sydney is running a number of courses to help you. Check them out here. You may also find some useful informaiton for your city from local councils etc.

I would be interested to find out how others have gone and if you are thinking of cycling to work what’s stopping you?

Tags: Cycling, Lee Stewart, Sustainable Travel, Sydney

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Comment by Roger Swinbourne on July 14, 2010 at 6:24pm: I have just moved to Naremburn for the same reasons and have also been doing the cycle commute. I am hoping the new works on the freeway will include improved cycle facilities as the West St, BerrySt, Miller Street, North Sydney run is wearing thin.
And thanks Kim for the pointers on Merrenburn Brook St connection.

Comment by Kim Ryan on April 15, 2010 at 6:16pm: Hi Lee, great that you are improving so rapidly. I remember how nervous I was when I started commuting back in 2006. Now I have ridden over 12000km and travelled all over Sydney and many country areas.I am sure you will become a lot more confident in traffic with a bit more time. You may bre interested in another Ning based sute, www.sydneycyclist.com, you can get great advice there.

I often travel along your route. You may have found this out already, but if you take Merrenburn Avenue in Willoughby and then right to Brook St, it becomes a cycleway at the bottom of the hill (part of a diversion for the bus layover construction). So you can avoid crossing the on ramp where cars block you leading up to West street. Also, coming off the bridge going south, you can go right in Watson Rd, past the Lord Nelson pub and down to Hickson road which has a dedicated cycleway. This is much easier than Kent street.

Anyway, happy riding.

Comment by Lee Stewart on January 27, 2010 at 1:24pm: Thanks for all your comments and encouragement. I managed to get home in 35 minutes last week which is about 10 minutes faster than the bus. Cheers Lee

Comment by Matt Salier on January 20, 2010 at 5:12pm: As someone who has been cycling in nearly everyday for 3 years I share all your pain!
Wait to you start to build up a bank of those near miss stories - hopefully they'll stay just that. Touch wood only been run into badly once by a car (no surprises it was a taxi) with a few stitches and a cracked helmet.
Good on you for making the change
Lots of blogs elsewhere about Bicycle User Groups (BUG's), Bicycle buses and all manner of great advice on commuting cycling. Check out Sydney Cyclist and Bikely for some great tips and routes thorugh Sydney's crazy bike unfriendly infrastructure.

Comment by Beth Sherlock on January 20, 2010 at 2:08pm: So what is stopping me eh? Breathing in large quantities of toxic fumes but most of all I am terrified of getting squished!
I have a long stretch down Parramatta Rd which is hell during peak hour and there is a high volume of commuter transporters whizzing along every 2 minutes in the bus lane. I can't bear the pressure of tens of tonnes of metal and rubber pulling up behind me while it rushes to make a timetable deadline.
I could ride on the very nice, super wide, largely unpeopled path but would risk a fine.
Then there is the sweat. Ick.

What would make it appealing??
Bike paths, and umm oh.. bike paths with a few bike paths thrown in for good measure. Maybe a little fan on my handle bars.

Comment by Alexandra Graham on January 20, 2010 at 1:54pm: Well done Lee!

I also have recently started riding to work (Camperdown to York Street, City) and it certainly is daunting at first. I have completed a cycling confidence course with City of Sydney (free course) which was excellent. They teach you basics like signaling and knowing your rights on the road. Very eye opening indeed! In fact, riding in the middle of the lane is the safest place to be as cars can see you better.

Another tip is to get your hands on the City of Sydney cycleways map. It highlights the safest roads to ride on as well as where the dedicated cycleways are. It's important to stay off main roads where possible. The safest route is often a little longer, but your life is more valuable than any minutes saved!

From one cyclist to another, thanks for being part of the active transport movement! Sydney needs more of us to enhance our culture for sustainability. Safety in numbers!!

Alex.

Comment by Steve Fanale on January 20, 2010 at 1:12pm: Safer to hunt in a pack. Try and round up some friends who live on your side of the bridge and work in the city.

Comment by Andrew Barson on January 20, 2010 at 1:11pm: Nice one Lee! Keep it up.
I cycle to work from Bondi to St Leonards 4 days a week, and I manage but i have been riding in cities for a long time now. For me cycling is always quicker than public transport.

A resource worth looking into for people considering cycling is bikely

Bikely is a database of cycle routes that have been uploaded by other cyclists and although there may not be your exact route you may be able to find what backstreets people are taking around your area.