“I see faces. I think when you’re driving, you don’t see people’s faces,” says John, pictured below, on what he notices while riding his bike.
John has lived car-free for a year now in the western suburbs of Melbourne, where he owns and operates a gym. “When you’re riding your bike, you see pedestrians, you see that lady that’s walking her dog every day. I see her every day and I smile, and she sees my face and she smiles back,” he elaborates.
Similarly, Emily, a mother in the Sunshine Coast who takes her kids to and from school on e-bike, describes her experience as, “saying hello to everyone on your way, and being more connected with the neighbourhood… You know we’ve made friends with the crossing ladies at school? It’s just a lot more personal.”
Even for a moment, riding a bike is an opportunity to connect with those around you in a time when Australians are feeling increasingly disconnected from each other and from our surroundings. Taking on the world at a human scale also means an opportunity to really pay attention to what your local council has (or hasn’t) been doing. “I’ve lived in Melbourne my whole life and I’m like, wait, I didn’t even know these paths existed… and I just wouldn’t have known that they existed!”, says John, on only discovering the infrastructure in his area after making the switch to bike-riding.
Bicycle networks across Australia and the number of people riding along them are only continuing to expand and grow. But many simply haven’t noticed. Since becoming car-free, John has become proactive in encouraging others in his life to take up riding, noting that more and more people have begun making the trip to his gym by bike after he replaced one of the car parking bays with bike parking. He also states, “every time I walk into an office or into a supermarket or into a birthday party with my helmet, it’s a small message of… this is an option.”
On how she started her journey of bike-riding, Melanie, a Sydneysider, recalls telling her younger brother, “I don’t even know who uses them”, in reference to the growing number of e-bikes in her area. After learning that he, in fact, uses them, she recalls having the thought, “someone I know is using these bikes, maybe I should try them”.
These accounts show that just being aware that other people ride and that it is an option can be the simplest and greatest form of encouragement. This is similar to the well-researched phenomenon known as induced demand; when more cycling infrastructure is built, more people ride bikes. Furthermore, when more people ride bikes, governments are encouraged to invest in more infrastructure, and so on.
So, if you ride a bike, you can make a difference by simply continuing to make your presence known, including through collective initiatives such as group rides and bike buses which are hosted throughout the nation. Throughout Victoria, Bicycle Network have also been campaigning with local community groups for their Gimme 5! Roadshow ahead of the state election on 28th November, open to all who are interested in supporting active transport infrastructure.
If you’re interested in organising your own local campaign, Better Streets also offers helpful resources to get started.
