Canberran cyclists are tackling winter’s chill

Every year, winter sees many Canberrans hanging up their helmets, despite the city being considered Australia's "cycling capital".

This year, though, cyclist numbers have remained relatively steady, even as the mercury drops.

Public servant Candice is among those who show no intention of slowing down.

"I'm an all-year-round cyclist," she said.

But even she admits that the winter months are tricky.

"If it's below -1C or -2C, I generally have no feeling in my hands," she said.

She says that with all the gear she wears to stay warm, she "probably looks a bit like a snowman".

Between a puffer jacket, gloves and a balaclava, she does what it takes to make it through winter.

For Candice, cycling is purely a method of transport. She says she is "definitely a commuter cyclist".

"I don't really cycle for leisure. I cycle as a means of getting from one place to another,"

she said.

She decided to start cycling to work when her workplace introduced paid parking.

Since then, she thinks she has cycled about 2,500 kilometres each year.

"You're not only saving money from parking, but there's also the wear and tear on your car," Candice said.

A 'positive way to get to school'

Candice is not the only person enjoying getting out on their bike this winter.

Every Wednesday, a group of children in Canberra's north form the Downer Bike Bus to cycle to Lyneham Primary together.

They started earlier this year after Downer local Haydn's daughter saw another bike bus arrive at Lyneham Primary and was disappointed it did not pass through her area.

Bike buses allow groups of children to ride to school together under adult supervision.

They ride a set route through a school's catchment area, picking up children as they go, like a bus.

With some help from the organisers of the existing Lyneham Bike Bus, Haydn got the Downer version up and running.

He sees the bike bus as a "really positive way to get to school".

"Kids are enthusiastic about getting out the door to go to school and that's not always the case,"

Haydn said.

This enthusiasm is helped by the large speaker Haydn has attached to the front of his bike. It plays a selection of all the children's favourite songs for the journey.

Haydn believes that the sustainability of cycling is "a flip-side benefit" to just getting kids outside and active, having fun.

"For us, it's really about establishing healthy habits in young people," he said.

And he hopes others are not daunted by the idea of starting a bike bus of their own, saying he hopes they realise "it's pretty easy."

Canberrans dusting off bikes from storage

But children and dedicated cyclists are not the only ones willingly hopping on their bikes in chilly temperatures.

Bike shops across Canberra have seen a smaller drop-off of cyclists than normal going into winter.

Chris Baylis, who owns a bike shop in Canberra's inner north, said there was" always a little bit of a dip in winter", but that "this year's dip has been much less than in previous years".

He has also seen a big increase in people looking for affordable riding options — particularly people wanting to get old bikes back into a rideable condition.

He said he had seen people "picking it [cycling] up again, with a bike that's been in storage for a long time".

Many of the bikes are easy fixes and "just need that massage", he said.

On top of his own shop, Mr Baylis also runs bicycle maintenance classes for Pedal Power, which he said had been growing in popularity.

"We've got a lot of people who want to keep their cost of maintenance down,"

he said.

And he said a lot of those showing up to the workshops could be described as "people who weren't traditional cyclists".

He partially attributes this rise in cycling popularity to concerns about fuel, saying he has "had some people scared about fuel availability into the future".

He also believes more people are just being cost-conscious due to a general increase in the cost of living.

Alongside older bikes, Mr Baylis has also seen an uptick in e-assisted bike purchases.

He said e-bikes could be more appealing for non-traditional cyclists, as some models were designed specifically for commuting.

"At about the $2,000 price mark, you can get something very reliable," he said.