First off, let me introduce myself. Emily, from Texas. Been riding bikes for what seems like forever, road for about 6 years, track bikes on said roads for the last 4 of them.
I’ve been considering long term vacation/possible move to your beautiful country for some time now, but considering I know absolutely no one there, I was hoping some of you fine folks might be able to help me out!
I’ve been trying to research cities with a good, diverse cycling culture. I am definitely a big city kind of girl (currently residing in Austin). I would also love somewhere coastal and warm, because I hate hate hate riding in the cold. Seems to me that Brisbane and Sydney are good candidates. Any residents care to weigh in?
I have been working at a LBS here in Austin for a couple years now, and would be stoked to get a shop job there as well. Are there plenty of bike shops in the bigger cities, or are good shops few and far between?
melbourne is warm, read: hot.
sydney is warm.
melbourne is warm in summer, cool in winter - but a cold morning is 39° F and you won’t get too many mornings that are that cold.
As far as bike culture Melbourne would probably be the pick, but Brisbane and Sydney have better weather. Sydney’s still good for cycling generally, and getting better, but really doesn’t have as much stuff going on as Melbourne. Can’t really vouch for Brisbane.
I’m in Sydney, and I like it. I’m sure other will weigh in with pros and cons.
Perth is also coastal and warm, but a long way from the rest of Australia. Brisbane is hot and humid in summer.
I’ve lived in Brisbane & Melbourne for extended periods and Melbourne is far better in my opinion, even with the schizophrenic weather. As Mckenny says, “cold” here isn’t freezing, no sleet, no snow.
User “rearviewmirror” here is also from ATX and now living in Melbourne, he can provide the best climate comparison.
(Unrelated: I’m coming to ATX for a month next year, so any info you can provide me on the weather in Feb/Mar, good LBS’, rides, things to do would be greatly appreciated. I arrive in town a few days before NAHBS11 starts.)
i’m from perth. it’s lovely but only if you’re after a very outdoorsy/beachy/park kind of existence. it is very spread out and i never rode a bike when i lived there, i was too reliant on my car to get everywhere. i know lots of people that live closer into town that do/did ride everywhere but my personal experience was that it wasn’t worth it.
i moved to melbourne in feb 2008 and will never live in perth again. i fucking love melbourne!
rolly
ps - there’s a shitload of perth people in melbourne if that means anything…
I am so so so stoked about NAHBS, it’s ridiculous. The show is actually gonna be right by my shop (we are one of the sponsors), and we are going to host a bunch of parties and stuff for it. Should be fun!
Weather is usually perfect for riding around then, and there is at least one good group ride a day around here. You will have a hard time getting bored, that’s for sure.
Melbourne - Coffee shops, trams, trendy art/music stuff all over the place, and more cyclists than you can poke an allen key at.
Sydney - Less of all of the above. But those things exist, you just have to find them in between all the crap. Then there’s the beaches/natural wonders/sunshine etc.