FEATURE STORY
 
Features
 Hard hats take a beating
By Gavin Wright
 Australia was the first country in the world to introduce mandatory helmet laws, which it did 20 years ago. It was a raging controversy at the time and some cyclists still object.
Their protests generally tumble on rather deaf ears, but with the start of the bike hire scheme in Melbourne (Melbourne Bike Share, MBS) - and a similar scheme due to start very shortly in Brisbane (CityCycle) - the whole issue has been rolled back into the velodrome.
Having a bike hire scheme in which you just trot along, unlock a bicycle, and ride away doesn't work very well when the bicyclist is breaking the law if he or she isn't wearing a helmet and the bikes don't come with them (which they don't). That's a very difficult system for visitors to the city, including tourists. The problems are that helmets have
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FEATURE STORIES
Features
The Rainbow Jersey comes Down Under
Rowan Dever
 The world's best cyclists will soon descend of Melbourne and Geelong for the Road World Championships. What can we expect?
Alongside the Tour de France, the UCI Road World Championships are the most important event in any professional cyclist's career. Like the Tour, the opportunity to merely participate is considered a monumental achievement in itself.
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Ride Guide
Bobbin Bop: Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
Australian Cyclist
 Beyond the oh-so-English lanes of Turramurra and Wahroonga lie wild forested sandstone ridges, apparently untouched by human hand, bisected by broad tidal creeks.
One challenging climb awaits the adventurer in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park but here the views and serenity are priceless. Much of the route is training terrain of the racing fraternities, so there'll be plenty of two-wheeled moral support.
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Ride Guide
On the right canal
Paul Lamarra
 The Mayenne canal cycle route runs for 85 blissful kilometres through North-West France. It's just right for a weekend in the saddle.
If I ever get to live this life again, it would be as a lock keeper on the river Mayenne in north-western France.
Just out of reach of the wake of life, it strikes me as the ideal existence: a charming two-bedroom house rent-free on a peaceful riverbank, a modest wage of about 600 euros ($864) a month and no boss, which seems to add up to a whole lot of priceless contentment.
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OTHER STORIES
News
CPF Awards recognise record investment in pedal power
Australian Cyclist
In a landmark year for cycling, bicycle infrastructure funding has exceeded all previous investments by the three levels of government. The 8th Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards recently celebrated this investment and the most significant contributions by individuals, businesses and governments to making Australia more bicycle friendly.
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Ride Guide
Adelaide Mount Lofty Loop
Rosemary Purcell
What is it that first comes to mind when you think of Adelaide? Riding a bike? Perhaps not, but maybe it should be. Adelaide is a fantastic place to explore by bike, and one of my favourite rides is the 50km loop from the CBD to Mount Lofty. Moderate climbing, exhilarating downhill, fantastic scenery, not much traffic - what more could a dedicated roadie ask for.
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Women
Girl Power
Richard Monfries
Despite the surge in cycling, Australian women have been slow to saddle up, they make up only 20 per cent of commuters.
On a cool midwinter morning, I'm getting a caffeine boost at my local café. Hand on the door, I'm about to go inside, when I see a bike out of the corner of my eye, hesitate, stop, and go over to have a closer look. It's a Colnago, probably built in the early '80s. In the filtered winter sun, the chrome glints, and the rear changer - Campagnolo, of course - has a well-used burnish to it. In the ‘old-fashioned' way there are toe-clips, not cleats. A flower-stickered stack-hat is attached, via a D-lock.
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