Editing Melbourne (section)

=== '''Cycling''' ===

Melbourne has a good system of bike paths. This, if the weather is good, is the ideal way (I think) to travel. The city also has a strong bike culture - so that bikes are not so much freedom machines but political statements ridden with ‘attitude’ in approved gear (lycra or t-shirts with political slogans). There is a reasonable network of bike paths [http://www.bv.com.au/ Bicycle Victoria]is a useful source for cycling related information, and for bike paths and cycling routes. [https://maps.google.com/maps?hq=http://maps.google.com/help/maps/directions/biking/mapleft.kml&ie=UTF8&ll=37.687624,-122.319717&spn=0.346132,0.727158&z=11&lci=bike&dirflg=b&f=d Google Maps] now has a very good outline of Melbourne's bike tracks too.

Bikes can be hired from [http://www.melbournebikeshare.com.au/ Melbourne Bike Share]. The bike share helmets can be purchased at 7-11s for a low $10 price tag - and the label easily scratched off & replaced with a CS sticker!

Helmets, and front and rear lights are compulsory (fines are $320 in total), passing a stationary tram with its light flashing ($360). For ABC Radio Background Briefing on Helmets - http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/ Under Victorian cycling laws there are jail terms for cyclists and fines of more than $68,000 as cyclists face the same road rules as motorists should they fail to stop after an accident or are guilty of careless or dangerous riding.

    * Hit or run resulting in serious injury or death: 5 years jail or up to a $68,052 fine or both
    * Dangerous riding: 12 months jail, or up to a $13,160 fine or both
    * Careless riding: $681 for first offense, $1361 for subsequent offenses
    * Riding through a RED light: $224 (law now operative)
    * $284 or seven days' prison if property is damaged by a cyclist and the rider does not
      immediately stop and offer assistance  

An experience of one CouchSurfer (Sept 2010): ''"After just 4 days in Australia; Melbourne, my room mate lent me his bike and his helmet. I didn't want the helmet... Honestly, I lived and ridden my bike in several places around the world without a helmet, I'm simply not used to it and felt weird. I happily left home and (literally) 75 meters after, was stopped by 2 policemen on bike. Tried to explain that I just arrived, that I didn't know that wearing it was "by law", that I was a foreigner... My fine was $150. I've been here 2 months now... Didn't catch the bike anymore. I miss it...But yeah, they do actually fine you for it."''

Melbourne has many bike lanes and bike paths and is an excellent city in which to cycle for work or pleasure. However, be warned, drivers may be a hazard as they sometime do not check for bikes before merging or opening car doors. Main roads, such as Sydney Rd. are not for the faint-hearted. There is also a lot of driver-cyclist road rage as drivers are not fond of cyclists, which is made worse when cyclists do not follow road rules and dodge traffic. 

Play is safe, and follow the road laws!

'''The Bike Shed at CERES'''

[http://www.thebikeshed.org.au/default.aspx The Bike Shed at Ceres] is an iconic Melbourne organisation, providing reliable and affordable bikes for over twenty years. It is run by unpaid volunteers, and famous as being somewhat eccentric; bargain, and the price goes up. Be rude or demanding and you will be ignored or even abused (all complaints to the CERES office 100m up the hill). That said, The Bike Shed is also [http://www.ceres.org.au/ CERES] (the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies) most popular site group, assisting about a thousand people each month. The volunteers may also give one another 'man hugs' for no apparent reason, yell at each other or even possibly invite you for a beer once the Shed closes. People may turn up and play music. They can also be very helpful and are a nexus of the Melbourne bike culture.

The Bike Shed's purpose is to skill you to fix your own bike - not fix it for you. If you need help that is fine, if you want your bike fixed you will just be left to stand there, not matter how cute you think you are. This is probably the source of much confusion and conflict. Also the volunteers don't wear uniforms or identification and usually help several people at once. So, at first, the place appears totally anarchistic when it is (usually) quite structured. Most people come away with good bikes and enjoy the experience as, in its own way, uniquely Australian. Bike Shed Volunteers have a range of skills and training from ultra-expert to novice. Some even work in bike shops, some are university academics and some are just quite ''odd''.

The Bike Shed [http://www.thebikeshed.org.au/OurLocation.aspx location]can be a site to see with its much photographed bike wheel dome.