Bike About Town - Newcastle

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About us

Find ride recaps and photos on facebook: https://facebook.com/BikeAboutTownNewcastleNSW

Free social bike rides every weekend, at a slow relaxed pace, showcasing easy bicycle-friendly routes around Newcastle! New people always welcome!

Hello! I’m Pip and I run the group. We'd love to have you join us! Any questions, shoot me a message :)

Come along to learn safe cycling principles, find quiet cycling routes, enjoy the outdoors, build cycling confidence and meet others.
The primary aim of this group is to give people the knowledge and skills to enjoy using their bike as a quick, enjoyable and convenient transport option for short everyday trips, eg. to work, school, shops, the beach.

Who is this group for?

This group is suited for those new to cycling, through to those who are experienced.
Whether you feel uneasy riding on roads and want to build skills and confidence, or whether you want to discover quiet routes, or just enjoy going on a ride, these rides are for everyone
All you need is a helmet, a bike in good-working order, and good bike-handling skills.
No prior experience cycling on roads necessary.
Rides are graded from Very Easy through to Very Hard.
Most rides though are easy, and suited to most skill and fitness levels.

How fast do you ride?
We go at a very slow pace. Around 15km/hr on the flat.

What’s the distance of the rides?
Most rides are 10km to 20km return. Sometimes there is a longer ride up to about 30km.

When are the rides?
There is one ride per weekend. A month's worth of rides is posted at a time.
Turn notifications on to receive an alert whenever a ride is published.

How much cycling experience do I need?
It is not necessary to have any previous experience cycling on roads or shared paths.

However, you must be able to effectively: stop and start, brake, pedal, steer, signal left and right, and check for what's behind you by turning your head or using wing mirrors, and anticipate the behaviour of pedestrians and motorists.

Where do the rides start and finish?
The rides start and finish at various locations throughout Newcastle, mostly in the city or in the inner city suburbs; occasionally further afield. Common starting points are Gregson Park Hamilton, Tree of Knowledge Park Wickham, Islington Park, Adamstown Station, Lambton Library, the Wallsend Rotunda. Rides almost always finish where they started.

Do you ride on main roads?
No. Shared paths and cycleways are used whenever possible. We almost always avoid sharing space with cars on main roads or at high-pressure traffic lights and crossings. I design the route to be low-pressure, which means avoiding wherever possible roads that are rat-runs; roads whose design leads to close-overtaking behaviour; roads where we share space with drivers going above 40km/hr for more than 100-200m due to the road design (eg long, wide and straight roads); and roads that have dangerous pinch points.

What types of wheels can come on the rides?
Leg-powered and legal electric bikes are very welcome. Handcycles are very welcome. If you have a wider bike like a cargo bike or a tricycle or a trailer, it is best to send me a message to check whether the route has any points through which your bike may not fit. It's great to have these types of bikes along so please do contact me so that we can avoid any tricky spots.

Where do you ride?
We do many different routes, to give people an idea of how to cycle around the city. Common routes include:

Wickham to Merewether Beach (10km return)
Islington Park to Newcastle Beach (14km return)
Loop of Stockton (13km return)
Adamstown Station to Redhead Beach on the Fernleigh Track (22km return)
Adamstown Station to Merewether Beach
Hamilton to Nobbys Beach (14km return)
Wallsend to Warners Bay via The Tramway Track (26km return)
Wickham to Kotara
Lambton Library to Dixon Park Beach (19km return)
Hamilton to Whitebridge via The Fernleigh Track
Wickham to Whitebridge Loop via The Fernleigh Track

How many people are allowed on each ride?
Rides are usually capped at between 8 and 15, depending on the route.

What level of fitness do I need?
Rides are graded into five cycling fitness levels based on distance and topography. All rides are at a slow pace of 15km/hr.
Almost all rides are Very Easy, Easy or Medium.

Very Easy: mostly flat, may have some short slight or medium inclines, usually less than 15km
Easy: mostly flat, may have some short slight or medium inclines, may have a long gradual incline, may have some short steep inclines, usually 15-20km
Medium: may have more frequent or long medium inclines and steep inclines, can be up to 30km
Hard: can have steep or very steep inclines, can 15km to 30km
Very Hard: will have multiple very steep hills, may have long medium hills, can be up to 30km

We ride slowly and the most rides are pretty flat. I breakdown the topography in each ride's description.

What might I learn on the ride?

where the shared paths and separated cycleways are in Newcastle
how to ride predictably and visibly
where the quiet, low-speed, low-traffic, low-pressure streets are
how to zig-zag along the quiet backstreets to create your own routes
key cycling skills for everyday city transport: signaling, headchecks, road positioning
how to claim the lane, when and why
what hazards people cycling need to avoid: parked car doors, potholes, car bonnets popping out of side streets
how to read the upcoming street to determine hazards
how street design influences driver behaviour, and use that knowledge for a better ride
how to use road positioning, and eye contact to deter drivers from overtaking too closely/quickly
how to use eye contact to communicate with drivers
how to stay out of driver blind spots, and within their field of vision

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Are children allowed on the rides?
Children who are a passenger on an adult's bike are very welcome. For safety reasons, children riding their own bike are not allowed on the rides. However, there may be some rides where I allow children on their bikes to attend. For example, flat, easy rides, which are entirely on shared paths. In the ride description, look for the words "family-friendly" and "children 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult at all times."

Who am I?
I'm Philippa, a Newcastle local, who loves using my bike to get from A to B and wants to help others to do the same. Inspired by how easy it is to cycle around the inner city, and inspired by similar groups in Sydney and Canberra, I started Bike About Town in August 2022 as a facebook page/group. I added the group to Meetup in late November 2022.

Need a bike?
In addition to the mnay bike shops around, there is also:

The Newcastle Pushbike Library - 106 Robert St, Islington. Buy/borrow/swap/sell/repairs. Secondhand bikes. Usually open Mon-Sat 9-5 and some Sunday mornings. Check the website as opening times can vary slightly each month. Run by Daniel. No appointment needed - just turn up. Or message him on Facebook messenger. It's the house with all the bikes out the front. You can borrow a secondhand bike just for the day or for up to two years. Pay a cash deposit. Deposits are around $50, some more, some less. Get the deposit back when you return the bike, or lose the deposit keep the bike for good. It can be a great way to test out different styles of bikes. https://newcastlepushbikelibrary.wordpress.com/ https://www.facebook.com/NewcastlePushBikeLibrary/

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Cycling maps

Newcastle's bicycle user group: https://www.newcastlecycleways.org.au/way-finding
Bike About Town - Newcastle's Komoot account: https://www.komoot.com/user/4040550065485
Lake Macquarie Council cycleway maps: https://www.lakemac.com.au/For-residents/Recreation/Walking-and-cycling
Fernleigh Track map: https://newcastle.nsw.gov.au/explore/things-to-do/walking-and-cycling/fernleigh-track

Why use a bike for everyday short trips?
Using a bike instead a car for just one short trip per week has enormous benefits for you and your community. Add a quick, cheap, mood-boosting transport option to your repertoire.

great for your physical and mental health
can be quicker than driving
reduces air and noise pollution.
reduces tyre particulate pollution
reduces traffic congestion
parking is easy
it can save you money
you are nimble on a bike - you can stop and duck into a shop whenever it takes your fancy
cycling provides connection - you can easily stop and say hi to a friend.
some shared paths and bike routes are completely immune to peak hour traffic jams - the route you cycle is usually completely different to the route you'd drive
riding a bike frees up car parking spaces for those who have no alternative but to drive
independence for children and teens
transport for those who don't drive, whether due to the cost, a medical condition, or by choice
Riding a bike is an act of advocacy in and of itself: the more people on bikes, the more normal it will become, the more smoothly bikes and motorists will interact, and hopefully the state government's active transport budget will be increased.

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How We Ride Policy
i) Riding safely and graciously are priorities. At the start of the ride I give a safety briefing. As we ride, I give instruction as needed. It is crucial that as a group we ride cooperatively, predictably and graciously around motorists and pedestrians.

ii) The four principles of safe cycling that we follow. These principles allow you to avoid hazards and to communicate with drivers. Be assertive and discover how to deter unsafe driving.

1. See and Be Seen - ride in a position so that people can easily see you and you can see them; make sure you are in the driver's field of vision; position yourself so that you have good sight lines waiting at junctions and going around corners; be aware at all times of what's behind, in front, and to the sides of you; ride 1m to 1.5m away from parked cars (the doorzone) so that you don't get hit by a door opening; do frequent head checks so you know what's coming up behind you; before turning left or right do a head check/s.

2. Predict and Be Predictable - signal left and right; anticipate what a motorist's or pedestrian's next move is likely to be; don't merge in and out of the traffic lane by weaving in and out of parked cars; maintain a trajectory that is predictable; decrease and increase speed gradually.

3. Communicate - make eye contact with drivers in front of you and behind - this is very effective: it humanises you and results in friendlier driving behaviour, and it is confirmation you are both aware of each other's presence; smile and be friendly; wave drivers through when it's safe for them to overtake; give plenty of advance warning before overtaking pedestrians and be friendly when you do so ("passing", "morning", "thankyou").

4. Be Gracious - ride as though you expect everyone to make mistakes (including yourself!); give people on foot plenty of time and space when overtaking and overtake at a slow speed - the faster you're going, the greater the passing distance required.
(Credit for the principles goes to Bikewise, a Sydney-based bike education company)

iii) Secondary and primary road positioning
When sharing space with motorists, we ride in either:

Secondary position - clear of the doorzone of parked cars while deliberately leaving enough space for motorists to overtake, or
Primary position - clear of the doorzone while positioning ourselves so that motorists have one option: to stay behind and not overtake because attempting to do so would be unsafe.

Riding in primary position is a key skill in order to signal to the driver that now is not a safe time to overtake.

At first, it can feel strange and nerve-wracking to ride in primary position but with the right skills and technique, it becomes easier and gives you far more control.
A head check to make eye contact with the driver behind will reassure the driver that you've taken them into consideration.
The person on the bike usually knows the road in great detail because they have many things to look out for, such as little bumps, pinch points, car doors, and road narrowings.

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I highly recommend that you check out the two resources below, regardless of your cycling experience:

A great fact sheet on road positioning from Cycling UK: https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/road-positioning-cycling-explained
A great video showing primary and secondary positions at junctions: https://www.cyclinguk.org/road-position

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RSVP Policy
i) If you can no longer attend an event change your RSVP to Not Going, otherwise you will be counted as a no-show. Changing your RSVP allows your place to be taken by someone else, and we won't end up waiting unnecessarily for you at the start of a ride.

ii) Multiple no-shows, with no explanation, may result in being banned.

iii) If you ride in a way that puts the group at risk, or makes people feel unsafe, and you do not change your behaviour after being spoken to about it, you will be permanently banned.