I get around the municipality mostly by bike.
As a non-car owner, it is my lifeline to my community – my neighbouring suburbs, local events and outings.
I ride it to the shops, to the cinema, book group, visiting friends, to cafes, the library; to wherever I want to go locally.
I get to nearly all my duties as a councillor on my bike, and it means I get to see the local environment up close and personal.
So, you can imagine my devastation when my bike was stolen recently.
We’d been together for more than 10 very good years.
I’d recently given her a full service and replaced the seat and hand grips.
Losing her was like losing a long lost friend.
Riding my bike brings me a great deal of joy.
It’s also a great way to keep fit, reduce carbon emissions, congestion on the road and take short trips quickly and easily.
I get a thrill whenever I see others out on their bikes too and want others to share my experience of riding, but I know not everyone feels our roads are safe enough for them to ride regularly.
While riding a bike may be an old technology, as it becomes more popular, it’s also disrupting the way we have come to think of our roads – for vehicle traffic only.
A lot of people are choosing to swap their car for a bike or not buy one in the first place.
It makes perfect sense to me to ride to places that are less than five kilometres away from where you are, but if the road isn’t safe or there’s no path for you to ride along, you’ll be tempted to get into the car.
I know our communities are talking about bikes in online forums and in person, and we need to do more talking and listening.
Bike riders, we’re interested in finding out what your experience of riding in Maribyrnong is – the good, bad, and the ugly.
For those who don’t ride, tell us what’s holding you back and what can we do to encourage you to get on your bikes.
Go to www.yourcityyourvoice.com.au/cycling to leave your thoughts.
