Picture this: a sunny Saturday morning in Canberra; birds tweeting, clean air and relatively relaxed traffic. And then…
‘Gahhhhh yaaa loserrrrrrrrr!’ Such was the garble of a yobbo hanging out the passenger window of a car weaving across the bike lane in the city. I just kept on peddling, but my mind nagged at me ‘That wouldn’t have happened in Europe.’
Maybe hindsight has shone warm on my memories of European bike tours: quaint villages and stopping for gelato outside a monastery—but is cycling in Europe any better to Australia?
Roads and facilities
For a country that’s only just over 200 years old, Australia’s more-up-to-date logical design of roads should mean that cycling would be easier, right? Actually, because Europe is older, the roads are perfect for cyclists because the regional areas were built when multiple transports shared the same space, eg horses, cyclists, pedestrians. There is allowance for bikes on any road, with space for the bike alongside a white line.
Australia is also a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to welcoming bicycles into overall transport infrastructure. Canberra thankfully is a cyclist’s heaven, with a network of shared paths and cycle lanes on roads. As for Sydney city though, the words ‘death wish’ spring to mind; to go riding anywhere safe means driving there first.
This is opposed to Paris, where cyclists weave around scooters, cars and buses as if they were just like any other vehicle. European public transport has bike racks on regional trains, ferries and some buses. This is also possible on some of Australia’s public transport, but it is not as common, nor as accepted by fellow travellers.
Overall, the quality of the cycling paths, common roads and facilities are better in Europe, particularly Western Europe.
Safety
A bit of common sense is required by cyclists on any continent in any conditions, and it’s certainly not advisable or allowed to peddle along on an autobahn with 200kph Alfa Romeo’s whooshing alongside.
Not that you need to ride on a highway when urban roads are safe enough. In France and Germany, there’s a rule of 1.5 metres width gap when overtaking a cyclist, and to go slow until a safe overtaking position is possible. Trucks slow down so their vacuum doesn’t pull you in when passing.
Cyclists in Australia instead face the prospect of riding in the broken glass of a roadside gutter, apparently still taking up car space—no wonder helmets are needed.
Stranger than seeing a Parisian chap in a suit smoking a cigarette while riding, was that he—and others—didn’t wear a helmet. I asked our cycle tour guide whether this was the European flair for flouting the law, or was it to save the coiffed hair? Incredibly, some European governments allow cyclists to ride without a helmet, and that cyclists would rather have their hair floating in the wind than their brain encased in a protective shell. In fact, the attitude is that helmets are unsafe. I almost choked on my Chandon when the tour guide said that—rather like the Pope saying condoms were dangerous. But the guide’s explanation actually made sense; if you don’t wear a helmet, people are more careful—the cyclist, and the motorists. I was about to tell him that was bullsh**, but then I remembered that cycling is respected in Europe.
Attitude
Unlike Australia.
Can you imagine if people started hacking potholes into cricket pitches for giggles, or pushing goalposts over because they ruined the view? Oh the outrage at such disrespect! If only cycling were an ‘Aussie’ sport.
Remember that yobbo hanging out the window like a drooling bulldog? To him, if a person doesn’t wear a helmet, they’re a ‘bloody idiot’. People like that view cyclists with disdain for riding a ‘poof-bike’, wearing all that tight stuff and shaving their legs.
Whereas, any comment from motorists in Europe would be the opposite: ‘Vite vite Bella !’ And general smiles as you conquered the alp.
Cyclists
While Australia has a range of cyclist types, it is a rare sight to see eccentric bike behaviour. In Europe, weird is normal. Why not have a baguette stashed under the arm that holds a cigarette, while the other hand holds a mobile phone. Businessmen in Gucci. Bohemian arts students with long flowing skirts.
Then there are the training types. These blokes whoosh past at car speeds wearing their team jerseys, barely cracking a sweat even after 70ks before 9am—overtaking with a smile the retired people who spend hours a day cycling along the lakeshore. What a life.
Bikes
If Australia is about all things big and shiny, then Europe is about chic and shabby. The more gaffer tape, twisted rusted spokes and half rubbed-off obsolete brand stickers, then the more ‘cred’ you have. Lots of squeaks, near-flat tyres, seat-stuffing leakage. It’s all an in-built theft deterrent. No one in the right mind would chain up a shiny racing bike.
Australia’s bikes don’t have as good a cycling vintage to pool from—these days it’s either the Huffy from K-mart that snaps as soon as you go over a footpath crack, or something more sturdy that’ll set you back at least $500.
So, which region is better for cycling? Overall, I think Europe is better—for serious cyclists and for the everyday person. But with Tour de France just finished, recent years have had the hope of an Australian win—this would be a complete boon to the attitude to cycling in this country. And maybe yobbos would tolerate blokes who shave their legs.
