Cyclists make their mark in both wars

Battle bike: this example of a military bicycle is on display at the Bendigo War Museum

Met a local war historian also riding who has an interest in Bendigo Military Museum and in particular locals who fought and served in the armed forces who inspired the following research.

The AIF Cyclists constituted one of the smallest and at the same time least known sections of the AIF. Approximately 1,600 officers and men served with the cyclist units between March 1916 and April 1919. Eleven cyclists were killed in action, or died of wounds as a result of an accident whilst on war service. A further 17 men died of disease.

Have folding bike, will travel

Unfold and ride: John takes the Brommie on an early morning ride along “their beaut coastal cycle path” at Cottesloe Beach in Perth.

John Martin’s long-held desire to own a Brompton was justified earlier this year when bikes were banned from peak hour trains for a short while.

In the midst of all the recent protests about bikes on trains the Minister for Transport called a meeting of interested parties at Parliament House. One delegate rode his Brompton to the meeting.

He unstrapped his briefcase, folded the bike, sent it through security and carried it up to the meeting room. There it sat through the meeting silently offering a partial solution.

A visitor’s view of Bendigo

The heart of the matter: Alan and friends came a long way to check out what Bendigo offers cyclists. Photo: Marjie Courtis

Bendigo gets many cycling visitors. Here’s a wrap-up from Marjie who visited over Easter.

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When ten cycling friends from Melbourne pitched their tents at Golden Square Caravan Park on Good Friday, they had Easter Ease on their minds.

With a rear bike path linking us to the O’Keefe trail, we could easily set out on tours to vineyards, Axedale and other local destinations and vantage points.

With a number of tours under our pedals, we now have a well-oiled set of rating criteria.

The right seat height makes for powerful pedalling

Power to the pedals: you’ll be most efficient if your seat is the right height and your knees and balls of your feet are in line. Photo: Allison Hanger.

Cycling is all about bio-mechanics. The “bio” part is you. The “mechanical” is how efficiently your muscle power is transferred to your bike.

Efficiency depends on where your legs are in relation to the pedals. And the nicest part about bio-mechanics is that the most efficient set-up is generally the most comfortable.

The most critical part is your saddle because that determines your relationship to the pedals. So you need to check the height, fore and aft position and make sure it’s level.

One of the most common problems you see among recreational cyclists is saddles set too low. It’s possibly because they fear not being able to reach the ground quickly. Trouble is it doesn’t allow the powerful muscles in your thighs to extend far enough so they can’t work efficiently.