Canberra By Bike

If you can, dress up as as one of your favourite Queen of Pop incarnations. (For an idea about what to expect, here’s one we prepared earlier during Halloween).

We'll meet outside the Belco Arts Centre on Emu Bank, and ride a 7km loop around Lake Ginninderra, staying on the shared paths.

We welcome all people on all cycles and scooters. This is a mostly flat ride, expect for the incline to the Ginninderra Drive bridge.

How to get here: If coming from outside Belconnen, take your bike on the front of any Transport Canberra bus, if you're able to lift your bike. Otherwise there will be plenty of car parking in the Westfield car park across the road. Emu Bank's restaurants do have parking spaces, also.

A 2025 Cyclonats Festival of Cycling Culture event, presented by Canberra by Bike Design Company and Smith's Alternative

Make new friends and connect with old ones as we gather for the communal experience of storytelling, and music. This is an uplifting event celebrating the positive differences cycling has made to people's lives.

Our August speakers will include local scientist turned artist, Sophie Baker, who recently held her second solo exhibition, Circumnavigating Bush Capital from a (Bike) Saddle, at the Belconnen Arts Centre. Sophie carries her canvases on her back, and paints from wherever her mountain bike takes her.

You'll also hear from people who use cargo bikes for daily transportation, such as taking children to soccer games, or getting groceries.
Here's a review of the June edition of our storytelling night, thanks to Pedal Power, the ACT's main cycling advocacy organisation.

Our event is inspired by Bike Story Night, started in Texas USA by Valerie Ruiz.

It was Australian music fans who in late 1975 demanded that 'Mamma Mia' be released as a single, thanks to falling in love with ABBA's promotional music video which Molly Meldrum added to Countdown on ABC TV.

The band's record label initially said no, to keep the focus on the album, 'ABBA'. But after learning about Australians' strong reactions, released it as a single on 22/09/1975, according to the Kent Music Report, which tracked local music charts. It spent 10 weeks at number one, and was ABBA's second Australian number one after 'I do, I do, I do, I do, I do'. It was then released in other countries, and became a top five hit in at least 10 countries, ABBAsite says.

As ABBA's Benny Andersson, who co-wrote songs with Bjorn Ulvaeus, sums it up, “We have always been grateful to the Australian audience, because that’s when things started to happen.”

Bring anyone you know who loves ABBA or has yet to experience them, and join us for a joyful, slow, social ride from the Street Theatre to see the National Triangle differently.

We head clockwise around the Central Basin of Lake Burley Griffin, stopping at the Jetty on the south bank for refreshments, before returning at the Street. Give us your song requests and we'll blast them from our Partybox speaker we carry on our cargo bike. Here's an example of what our bike parties are like.

We welcome all people on all cycles and scooters. The route is about 7km, is mostly flat (save for the Commonwealth Ave and Kings Ave bridge approaches), and there are toilets at multiple locations along the way.

Photo: ABBA live on stage in Edmonton, Canada, 1979, photographed by Anders Hanser.

Got a song request? Let us know and we'll add it to our playlist.
It can get cool beside Canberra's lakes, so bring a jacket.

SAFETY - while we will be riding on separated paths for as much as possible, some of this route involves riding beside traffic. You are riding at your own risk, and we will not be responsible for any injuries or crashes during the ride. We strongly encourage you to join Pedal Power for personal injury insurance protection. Membership starts at $7/month for students, $12/month for individuals.