Bicycling home

Something I never knew two years ago is that Melbourne has an amazing network of bicycle paths. The city has put a lot of money into connecting trails to avoid roads so that lots of people can ride their bikes to and from work more safely.

I shipped my bike from the US, expecting to live on the edge of one of these trails. But we moved closer into the city centre than I expected. Even so, I stared at the bicycle maps of the city for hours. Google predicted it would take me 96 minutes to ride to work. That seemed like too much. Until a colleague helped me figure out a better way. It would take 96 minutes to ride to work, because that was the uphill direction. It would only take 75 minutes to ride home from work! And bikes could be taken on trains. She explained that she would take her bike on the train to work in the morning, and then ride downhill at a more leisurely pace in the evenings.

And so I tried it. Three times so far. And I'm a believer.

The hardest part of the ride is connecting from the university to the bike paths. There are some suggested neighborhood roads, but I haven't managed to follow those yet. So far, I have ended up on the side of a busy six lane road, trying to find that secret quiet way to the path.

Once on the bike path, however, it's just a straight hour's ride along bike and pedestrian paths basically to my door.

It's so amazing to have that infrastructure! I feel so lucky to live in a place with these trails.

Of course, there are also a gazillion bicycles on the trail, but most of them are going the opposite direction: from the city to the suburbs at the end of the day. I go from the suburbs into the city.

For me, the trail starts along Scotchman's Creek, in a reserve full of tall gum trees. You bike along a busy road, under the freeway, turn left, and suddenly you're alone on your bike in the bush.

Photo credit: Glen Pringle, via Wikipedia

Follow the Scotchman's Creek trail to the west along the creek, into the parks and past the Oakleigh swimming pool, over the bridge over the Warrigal road, along the path lined with trees and grass on one side, huge concrete barriers on the other. The freeway is just on the other side.

Cross the bridge over the freeway at the East Malvern train station. Now you have joined up with the Gardiner's Creek trail.

The Gardiner's Creek trail is even more amazing than the Scotchman's Creek trail. There are several bridges over the creek, and nearly all of the ride is through a string of urban parks. School children play in the grass, families walk their dogs, and thousands of commuters bike along the trail.

Photo credit: Glen Pringle again.

And then, just before the turnoff for Jonathan's school, the trees open up, and you find yourself riding high above the creek.

Photo credit: bicyclenetwork.com.au

A few minutes later, the trail swings to the left, over a bridge, which I just found out was only completed in 2014. And then the trail turns right again, but instead of crossing under the freeway, it hangs, suspended, from the freeway up above! Creek below, toll freeway above, and bicycles, cruising along for free unknown to the traffic above.

Photo credit: ajft.org

At the end of the suspended trail, the path meets the Yarra river. Now it's the Yarra River Trail. This travels along the river banks from the western side of the city all the way north and east to the edges of my knowledge of Melbourne. I only cycle along a short bit between the Gardiner's creek trail and the botanic gardens. Most of the time, the trail is up on the river banks. But at times, when it seems there is not quite enough space for a bike trail and a river and the roads, the trail runs onto pontoons on the river itself!

After going down and up, down and up, onto the river and back, a few times, passing several bridges for cars, and one for trains, the trail meets a bridge just for bicycles and pedestrians. I cross the bridge, ending up just on the far side of the Botanic Gardens, now only a 15 minute walk from home.

Unfortunately, this is a very steep uphill 15-minute walk, and by this time I have been on the bicycle for about an hour. Shift into low gear. Head up the hill. Keep shifting lower and lower and lower.... To the top! And then cruise around the round about, down Park Street, and into the park. Zoom down the park paths to our back gate, and home.

The first time, it took me 90 minutes, even downhill. The second time, only 75 minutes. The third time, only 70 minutes. 70 minutes! That's good enough. We'll stop there.