Canberra, simply the best

Many cities will argue that they have the best weather
for cycling, or the best bike paths, or the best cycle
clubs. Well Canberra has it all, for locals and visitors.

The weather	Darwin is hot, wet and sticky in summer; hot, dry and sticky in winter. Perth is hot and windy in summer; wet and windy in winter. And anyway - its just sooo far away. Melbourne is like cycling in England - wet, cloudy, drizzle, chilly - real mudguard and waterproof stuff. Ok I guess if you like that sort of thing. Brisbane is not as bad as Darwin but pretty sticky most of the time. Hobart is - well - just too close to the Antarctic. Sydney isn't too bad - but it's still not like Canberra - crisp, dry and sunny in winter; warm, dry and sunny in summer. Never rains for long, rarely humid, not windy. If you don't believe me check out the Canberra Tourism and About-Australia sites
The terrain	Some cities like Melbourne are just too flat and boring; others like Sydney and Brisbane are all hills. Canberra just rolls gently - not too much effort for commuter cyclists on the roads, enough curves for the weekend riders on the bike paths, and some great hills in the local bushland to give the MTBers a good workout.
The roads	Every Australian knows that their taxes went to give Canberra the smoothest, widest roads that money could buy. While not being entirely true, Canberra's roads are still the envy of many. Most residential streets are quiet, have little through traffic and are wide enough to be pretty safe for all ages and levels of experience. The arterial roads are generally smooth, don't have drainage grids to catch the front wheel in, and have lanes which are, in the main, wider than many other city's arterials, having been built usually to 3.7m wide. Many urban arterials have shoulders, and divided carriageways are often linemarked with the kerbside lane wider than the median lane. There is usually less traffic on the roads than other cities, and little truck traffic. Compared with major roads in most other Australian cities, this is a low stress network.
Commuter cycling	Commuter cyclists can get to work via a combination of extensive bike paths and high quality roads . The system is designed so that transition between paths and road can be achieved easily and smoothly. An extensive program of improved road shoulders, on-road bike lanes and widened kerbside lane is being implemented on the arterial road network. The planning authority is encouraging office developers to provide bike parking, by allowing less car parking to be provided if more bike parking is built. The ACTION bus company provides bike lockers for commuters who don't want to ride long distances by bike. Bike racks are also being trialled on buses (an Australian first!) to help long distance bike commuting.
Tourists and visitors	Canberra is a mecca for tourists who cycle. Not only are there over 300 km of bike paths covering the whole urban area, but paths lead to many of the major tourist attractions - Parliament House, the National Gallery of Australia, the National Science and Technology Centre, the National Aquarium and Wildlife Centre. A bike path will soon be completed to the tourist village at Gold Creek on the Barton Highway and to Exhibition Park on Flemington Road. A bike path goes right past the Australian Institute of Sport and almost to the door of the Canberra Youth Hostel, recently voted the second best in the world. There is plenty of bushland for off-road cycling within 30 minutes ride of the city centre, and visitors can easily hire normal or mountain bikes if they haven't brough their own.
Weekend cycling	A recent survey found that over one third of Canberra's 300,000 residents were regular cyclists. Many of these ride for fitness and recreation on the extensive bike path network, which stretches from one end of Canberra to the other, and past some of the most scenic parts of the city. The bike paths, combined with legal footpath cycling, help to encourage beginners and the less confident to ride in a low stress environment.
Mountain biking	Canberra has a network of 24 urban bushland areas, called Canberra Nature Park, where mountain bikers can ride a wide range of gravel tracks and trails to great lookouts and through unique natural eucalypt bushland. Many hectares of pine forest are also close by, with Majura Pines being regularly used for competitions, including the 1997 National Mountain Bike Championships. Further afield in the southern two thirds of the Australian Capital Territory, challenging tracks and trails can be explored in the rugged Namadgi National Park.
Triathlons	In the last few years Canberra has become a hugely popular place for triathlon competitions, owing to the proximity of a warm (in summer) and calm Lake Burley Griffin, adjacent bike paths and quiet roads for the running leg, and some smooth and relatively quiet roads for the bike leg. Triathlons are now held on almost every summer weekend, and many midweek days, with the famous Sri Chinmoy triathlons being held in Canberra each February.
BMX	Facilities for BMXers are excellent with clubs and two great BMX courses in Belconnen and Tuggeranong. There are also some great skateboard parks in Belconnen and City to practice bike stunts.
Cycling for kids	Still the only place in Australia where footpath cycling is not only legal but encouraged for young people who have not yet reached the age where road cycling skills have developed. So kids can mostly ride to school and the shops without having to ride on roads. As most schools are located in quiet suburban streets, connected by the footpath and bike path network, the streets are also pretty safe to ride along.