Cycling in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n state of Victoria (including its capital

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

) is a popular pastime, sport and way of getting around since at least 1896, as indicated by the Banjo Paterson poem

Mulga Bill's Bicycle "Mulga Bill's Bicycle" is a poem written in 1896 by Banjo Paterson. It was originally published on the 25th of July 1896 edition of the ''Sydney Mail'', and later appeared in the poet's second poetry collection ''Rio Grande's Last Race and Other ...

. Cycling in Victoria has been encouraged by the development of bicycle networks in town and cities throughout the state, and many regional rail trails. The sports popularity has been encouraged by the success of racing clubs such as the St Kilda Cycling Club and Victorian racing riders such as

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along wi ...

, Simon Gerrans and Matthew Lloyd. Organised rides held annually including the

Great Victorian Bike Ride The Great Victorian Bike Ride, commonly known as The Great Vic, is a non-competitive fully supported eight- or nine-day annual bicycle touring event organised by Bicycle Network. The ride takes different routes around the countryside of the sta ...

, and races held in Victoria include the

Herald Sun Tour The Herald Sun Tour is an Australian professional bicycle race held in Melbourne and provincial Victoria, sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The first tour was held in October 1952 as a six-day event. It is now held annually ...

Regional rail trails

Victoria also has many developed rail trails suitable for cycling including: * Ballarat-Skipton Rail Trail,

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

* Bass Coast Rail Trail, South Gippsland *

Bellarine Rail Trail The Bellarine Rail Trail is a 32 km walking and cycling track on the Bellarine Peninsula, in Victoria, Australia, that follows the route of the former South Geelong to Queenscliff branch line. It runs from South Geelong to Queenscliff, pa ...

, Bellarine Peninsula *

Crater to Coast Rail Trail The Camperdown-Timboon Rail Trail is a rail trail running along the former route of the Timboon railway line, from Camperdown to Timboon in Victoria's southwest. The 22 km section from Camperdown to Timboon was completed in 2009, with the sectio ...

, Camperdown *

East Gippsland Rail Trail The East Gippsland Rail Trail is a rail trail located in East Gippsland in Victoria, Australia. The trail is a popular cycling route, beginning in Bairnsdale and extending to Orbost, following the route of the former Orbost railway line. The ...

, East Gippsland *

Great Southern Rail Trail The Great Southern Rail Trail is a 109-kilometre rail trail from Nyora to Welshpool in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. This mostly flat or gently undulating trail goes through lush dairy farmland, areas of remnant bush and lowland scrub. It ...

, South Gippsland *

High Country Rail Trail The High Country Rail Trail is a 35 kilometre, part-gravel part-sealed rail trail on the northern border of Victoria, Australia. It runs along the former Cudgewa railway line from Wodonga, along the edge of Lake Hume, to Shelley railway station i ...

, Lake Hume * Moe-Yallourn Rail Trail *

Murray to the Mountains The Murray to Mountains Rail Trail is a cycling and walking rail trail in northern Victoria, Australia. It extends from Wangaratta to Bright, with a side branch to Beechworth, following the route of the former Bright railway line. This side branch ...

, Wangaratta *

O'Keefe Rail Trail The O'Keefe Rail Trail is a rail trail connecting Bendigo with Heathcote. The sandy gravel trail runs along a former branch line on the Melbourne-Sydney rail line. It previously ran from Bendigo to Axedale but works completed in 2015 extended t ...

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

Old Beechy Rail Trail The Old Beechy Rail Trail is a 45–kilometre rail trail in Australia, running from Colac to Beech Forest. The trail includes approximately 30 kilometres of dedicated rail trail, with the rest being on-road. The historic "Beechy" train ran on t ...

, Colac * Tyers Valley Tramway, Gippsland * Warburton Trail, Warburton *

Drouin to Warragul Trail The Drouin to Warragul Trail or Two Towns Trail is a cycling and walking path between Drouin and Warragul. It is primarily for use by commuters between the two towns. It is 8 kilometres long. It was funded by VicRoads VicRoads is a government ...

, Drouin - Warragul, Gippsland * Linear Park Arts Discovery Trail, Warragul, Gippsland *

Rokeby to Neerim Trail Rokeby is the name of: People * Baron Rokeby, an Irish title * Rokeby baronets, a British title Places Australia * Rokeby, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Rokeby, Victoria, a town in West Gippsland Canada * Rokeby, Lambton County, Ontario, a ...

, Gippsland

Safety

According to

VicRoads VicRoads is a government joint venture in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the state, it is responsible for driver licensing and vehicle registration. It is owned and operated through a joint venture between the Victorian government and a c ...

hazards that cause cycling fatalities and injuries include "side impact at intersections", "manoeuvring", "lane change" as well as collisions between car doors and cyclists in the door zone, commonly referred to as "car dooring" in Australia. In Victoria it is illegal to "cause a hazard to any person or vehicle by opening a door of a vehicle, leaving a door of a vehicle open, or getting off, or out of, a vehicle" and it is also illegal to flee the scene of such an accident. While there were 1112 collisions caused by opening doors in the Australian state of Victoria between 2000 and 2010, the first fatality occurred in March 2010, when a car door opening caused university student James Cross to be propelled under the wheels of a passing truck. Eight percent of serious injuries to cyclists between 2006 and 2010 were cause by car doorings. In July 2012 Victoria increased the on-the-spot penalty for car dooring from $141 to $352, also increasing the maximum court imposed penalty from $432 to $1408. In March 2015 stickers were placed in taxis in the state, advising passengers to look for bicycles before leaving the vehicle; at the time 13% of car dooring incidents in the state involved taxis.

References

{{Rail_Trails_of_Victoria Cycling in Victoria (state)

Regional rail trails

Safety

See also

References