Nothing is original...

Having done The Tan and The City Circle at 30min each, I decided to take on a bigger challenge, something that would stretch me. Many pundits are saying that the biggest competitor to BikeSharing is Public Transport, why ride when tram or bus could do. Well, I showed that BikeShare is twice as fast as the Melbourne City Circle Tram, so I thought I would take on the Melbourne Shuttle Bus. For those who don’t know it, here is the route, which the website says take and hour and a half to complete the circuit.

While the Shuttle bus has 7 drop-off/pick-up point, there are 20 BikeShare stations along the route, that almost three times as many stops points. Combined with the potential for absolute freedom, Bikeshare is very attractive. If I am able to do the route under an hour, it will be 33% quicker than the Shuttle Bus.

Well, unfortunately my first attempt of this route my GPS failed me, stopping 2/3rd of the way through. But it was still in 40 minutes, so it looks like I could complete the course in the time. Here’s is the results. http://runkeeper.com/user/ChristophHewett/activity/13652500

Based on what I experienced, it is a beautiful ride, giving the rider four different views of the city (MCG, Parkville, Docklands & St.Kilda Rd) and many points to stop for photos. But this is a challenging ride and not recommended for inexperienced riders or tourists. The routs uses a combination of road, on and off-road bike paths and foot-paths, has roughly equal number of left and right hand turns (including spill-lanes and hook turns). The rider must know Melbourne roads well, including CBD, St.Kilda & Footscray Rds and the treacherous Elizabeth St roundabout.

One of the perks this trip was to be able to stop and observe a double rainbow over Docklands and make this short video. http://christophhewett.tumblr.com/post/876931343/awesome-double-rainbow-in-melbourne which is a parody of the short lived internet meme, “Yosemitebear Mountain Giant Double Rainbow” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI)

Round two will happen soon, and I’ll keep you informed.

There has been some negative press about #Melbourne #bikeshare this week, leading up to a rally on Sunday. Opposition to Victoria’s Helmet law, originally voiced by Sydney filmmaker and bicycle blogger, Mike Ruddo (http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/helmet-law-makes-nonsense-of-bike-hire-scheme-20100722-10my2.html) was countered well in an Editorial today which says, “In the end, it comes down to adapting. The scheme is, after all, still in its fledgling stages, and it is hoped the take-up rate will increase. As for the helmet - the rider will just have to wear it.”

For this reason I grabbed my helmet (not as hard as you would think) and embarked on my second Melbourne Bikeshare Test Ride. Now, I must confess that this isn’t so much a test ride any more. I have purchased the $50 annual subscription and have used it semi-regularly (four times in the last month).

The challenge was provided by @funkineering, “@ChristophHewett #melbourne #bikeshare next challenge, race the city circle tram for 1 loop in under 30 minutes!”

Now with my annual subscription tag, getting a bike is easier than ever. Not touch screen, credit card or code is required. I just insert my tag into the bike dock and with a green light I can take my bike and leave.

Here is the map of my trip using my GPS tracker, traveling clockwise, the route was 7.2km. Traveling at 15km/h and burned 447 calories. Follow the link and use the interactive graph here to observe the details of my trip (http://runkeeper.com/user/ChristophHewett/activity/13315987)

Time-wise, the trip took 27m 10s, meaning no excess usage fees. Whilst I didn’t go head-to-head with a City Circle Tram, the Metlink timetable states that a full circuit takes 1 hour. Means that Bikes sharing (at $2.50 for fulll day access) is twice as quick as the free City Circle tram. Something worth considering the next time you’re going cross-town.

Team Htc - Columbia,

Adam HANSEN,

Mark RENSHAW,

Michael ROGERS

Katusha Team,

Robbie MC EWEN

Team Saxo Bank,

Stuart O’GRADY

Bmc Racing Team,

Cadel EVANS

Cervelo Test Team,

Brett Daniel LANCASTER

Fdj,

Wesley SULZBERGER

Garmin - Transitions,

Julian DEAN

Sky Pro Cycling,

Simon GERRANS

Team Milram,

Luke ROBERTS

I am sure that there are no shortage of bad urban design stories. I know in Melbourne it is a public pastime to criticise the decisions made about what goes where. The latest one seem to be about Lonsdale House, a beautiful, but derelict and over run part of Myer-Lonsdale St which is due to be re-developed. It was an Art Deco beauty but frankly, it needs to go.

Photo courtesy of www.melbourneinphotos.com

My campaign is a different one, it is advocating for a beautiful piece of Public Art that has been squandered by bad Public Planning. The “Blow hole” and surrounding playground was one of the first developments of the Dockland precinct. It is include on the recorded announcement of the city circle tram as one of the landmarks of the area, and an icon for environmentally friendly design. Here is the location and a panorama (from panedia). But only video does it justice, I found these on YouTube (circa 2006)

All of these were taken prior to the construction of a number of new office towers. Here is the current map provided by VicUrban. You can see the amount of construction that has taken place on the bay side of the “Blowhole”. Corporate giants ANZ, Myer, and Fujitsu have moved into the area, without regard for the local environment and public amenities. These massive glass and steel blocks (al biet curvy) are directly upwind of the blowhole, which relies on the stiff wind off the bay for it’s motion (hence, blow hole). This majestic piece of kinesthetic art is now reduced to a dead and flaccid apparatus.
On the 24 January 2010 I went to the same location as the panorama to  show the change. On this day the Bureau of Meterology report wind at  15km/h gusting to 17km/h, you can see the tree moving in the wind. Not the way the building overlook the art and the playground, compared to the panorama, and the way the blowhole, sit there immobile.

According to an article on Invest Victoria, the ANZ building is “One of the largest  office developments in Victoria’s history and the largest  single-tenanted commercial building in the Southern Hemisphere, the new ANZ flagship building is recognised as  one of the most environmentally friendly in the world and accredited  with a Six Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.” Invest Victoria

In the same article, “Victorian Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Ian Lenders said, “The Docklands offers  the financial services industry excellent property at an affordable  price, easily accessible public transport, is close to the rest of the  city, and is in Victoria – a state with a resilient economy and a highly  skilled workforce,” Invest  Victoria

Anyone who goes to the location will be in so doubt that public interest has been moved aside in favor of the corporate image. The Blowhole is now redundant, the playground not used. What was once a lovely city park has been so impinged upon that, the tuff of grass remaining simply isn’t big enough. In essence it has become a corporate BBQ area for the nearby tenants, nothing else.

Help our campaign to move the “blowhole” to a more wind friendly location (Of which there are many at Docklands). I will escalate my efforts according to interest. As a start, if I can get 20 comments to this blog I will start a facebook page, and so forth. Go to the location and check it out, if there is enough interest I will approach the City of Melbourne and the Dockland authority for a statement on the future of the blowhole, as well as the surrounding playgrounds (a wondrous creation in and of itself).

Find out for yourself and let me know how you feel about this wasted gem.