cyclovia

this afternoon we headed down to cyclovia-- the first of its kind in australia (several european countries do these regularly apparently). basically sydney rd (one of the busiest--and probably most stressful for cyclists--roads in our neighbourhood; one of the main arteries from the cbd to nothern suburbs) was closed off from 6am-2pm today to all vehicles (excluding trams). it was great. people were riding up all across the road only having to stop at major intersections to let traffic thru. we even saw a dad and his daughter kicking a footy on the road (technically the rule was that pedestrians still had to stay to the footpath but the few that were on the road weren't getting in anyone's way anyway). anywhere there was a cafe or pub bikes were locked up to every pole and bike rack in the vacinity (we stopped for a beer and chips after we road up to the top and back). it was especially great that this event took place only a few minutes bike ride from our house (although i'm sure a lot of people we saw riding, made the effort to come out from many different suburbs). it was great seeing riders of all ages and abilities and all types of bikes being able to go along the road without fear of being doored, cutoff or run over and parents able to safely let their small kids ride along on their own bikes on a major road. it was so nice and quiet too. the only sounds were people talking and cars off in the distance crossing intersections.