View From The Ferry

Last week, i wrote about the convenient citycycle bikes for people catching the ferry from the Toowong terminal. For the benefit of my long-distance readers, here's a video of the ferry ride into the city / southbank.



Brisbane City Council website has a collection of these videos. They're obviously sped up for our viewing convenience, but they show how enjoyable a public transport can be.

Ferry Merry Christmas

Another Christmas present to the cycling and public transport community is the new CityCycle stop. Locals will recognise the background as the walkway to the Toowong ferry terminal.


This means a city cycle membership now also gives Toowong residents easy access to and from the ferry - one of the more scenic forms of public transport.

2011 Top 5(-ish)

As the train pulls out of station 2011, and we ride into 2012, let's quickly look back at the most read posts of the year.

5(+6). It was a tie for 5th place between my attempted arty photo 5 O'Clock Shadow and the Tour de France inspired Tour De Hometown - some scenic bike journeys in my local area.

4/3. It was another dead heat between the safety promotion A Metre Matters and the picture from Part 5 of my commute. (I have no idea what made it more popular than pics 1-4 ;)

2. The Really Aggresive Driver video showed the negative effect of driving on people's mental state.

1. The top post of the year was the t-shirt Burn Fat - Save Money. A piece of clothing that brilliantly summed up some of the main benefits of going car free.

Bike Riders Xmas Present

Was pleasantly surprised by this sign on my morning ride to work.


The Bicentennial Bikeway (from the GBB bridge to the city) has been under redevelopment and wasn't due to be finished until early next year.

I have mixed feelings. I'll miss seeing this view each morning, but i'll enjoy the more direct path, with this view and no bridge climbs.

Hello Goodbye

Saw this clever remark from a facebook friend.


Car registration is something i tend to forget about, now that i have none to pay. The comment made me stop to appreciate that particular benefit of being car free that i sometimes gloss over. And it's a pretty big benefit - avoiding an annual bill approaching a thousand dollars. :)

9 Bikes In A Pink Car

One of the great conveniences of going car free is parking. Either there's no parking to do, or parking your bike is so convenient - mostly because it is so space efficient.


This cleverly designed bike rack illustrates how many bikes can be parked in the same area as one car. By my count, the lady is about to add the 9th bike.

Mr Expert

I'm not sure why, but for some reason being on a bicycle seems to give a person a huge amount of credibility regarding local area knowledge.

I've written before about being approached by people not familiar to the local area. But the other day a European-sounding guy walked straight past 3 other people to ask me for directions - while i was standing with my bike waiting to cross an intersection.

Don't get me wrong, helping people out during my journey is a buzz (especially when a stranger picks me out as the most likely to be of help). But i still wonder why owning a bicycle brings with it such an amount of street-cred. Any thoughts?

Maintenance: 16 cents

Often i talk about the budgetary benefits of being car free. Maintenance costs are one of these - especially compared to car maintenance.


Recently i decided to get a new air tube - that bit that connects the bike pump and the tyre. The old one had started to leak - i think it had a crack in the rubber. I'm not sure when i got that pump, but i think i've had it since at least '97.

Anyway, the new connector cost me a grand total of $2.25. I figure that to be about 16 cents per year, which i reckon is a fair bargain - particularly considering i had a gift voucher for the store. :)

5 O'Clock Shadow

Ok, technically it was closer to 6pm, but i love the look of bicycle shadow on the bike lane wall as the sun sets.


The vertical lines, the colour, the shape - i just had to capture it.

In Emergency, Take Bike

Had an interesting situation at work today. We had a function across the river at the state library. As people were arriving, a crucial item was suddenly needed from the city office. No time for walking, or for mucking about with a taxi nudging its way through inner city streets.


Fortunately, someone (me) had a bicycle. From our centre-city block to the river, across it, and round to the state library ... all in 5 minutes.

I was suitably proud, but i'm not about to become a bicycle courier ;)