Biking Down Under Part 3: Transit Hub in Australia

My brother and partner, Nadine, recently spent some time completing research for their individual PhDs in Australia. While they were down under, I asked them to take a few photos of bike-relate things to share with me. I always love to see how things are done somewhere else. My brother was at a university in Melbourne, and Nadine was an hour away at Deakin University in Geelong.

 At two of the Deakin University campuses, Nadine snapped a few photos of some great bike amenities. At the Waurn Ponds Deakin Campus, amenities near the campus are bike friendly. Nadine shared that are bike lanes on the roads leading to campus. A bike-friendly bike shuttle is another way bicyclist can get home if they are in need of a ride.

There's also a transit hub on campus. A transit hub is where folks can transfer from one transportation mode to another. Think a bus stop near a parking garage, or subway stops at an airport. This makes it easier for folks to make connections between a car and a bus, or a bike and a bus, for example. Here's a photo of the Tranit Lounge at the Transit Hub at the Waurn Ponds Deakin campus.

At the Waurn Ponds Deakin Campus transit hub, there is a special area for bicyclist commuters. Inside the Hub, there’s a changing room, showers, lockers, bike racks and other amenities for bicyclists. 

The indoor room can house 22 bikes and has 38 lockers. There's also some bike parking inside, adding additional security and protection from the weather.

The showers are behind doors which provide privacy and space for changing. 

There is also a bike repair station where folks can do minor repair or tune-ups on site. 

The cabinet by the sink even has an iron and ironing board to get at those minor wrinkles that may have settled in during your commute. 

There’s a vending machine nearby that has snacks, shower kits, shaving kits, bike tube repair kits, water bottles and other related accessories. This is probably my favorite thing. Someone was really thinking when they stocked this baby! Water bottles, snacks, extra tubes! Going on an impromptu ride and getting back to work or class is much easier with these kind of things at your fingertips.

Space is a hot commodity on a college campus. In a small area, the Transit Lounge packed it all:  lockers, showers and other amenities that bike commuters want and use. A transit hub and facilities like this are great examples of strong, explicit institutional support for faculty, students and staff who are interested in getting to campus by bike. Just think how your life would have been impacted if these things were at your alma mater. Would you have considered commuting? Would you have been more inclined to take a break to ride in the middle of your work or research? What if there were a few transit hubs in your community? What kind of impact would that make?

While you ponder those thoughts, I'll share some more about Australia in an upcoming post. Stay tuned!

Flat Tire Tip of the Day

It happened again recently. I was on my commute to work on a perfect early June summer morning. Sunny skies. Low traffic. On my bike....when I heard the sound of a tire losing air.

When I pulled over, I looked down and saw I had a flat. I took a closer look and found that I had run over a piece of glass that slashed into my tire. No chance of fixing the tube on the fly. Bummer.

I eventually got to work, and then later in the day I made it over to the great folks at the South Paw Cycle bike shop to get some input on my tire. I wanted to know if the tire was still usable or if I needed a new one. The folks at South Paw are really good at customer service, and I have found their expertise, advice and help indispensable.

I brought it in, and they gave me a quick, honest assessment. I my tire was still usable, but I'd have to a bit of repair work. Their suggestion? For tube, I could repatch and be on my way. For the tire, use duct tape. Yep. That's your Flat Tire Tip of the Day. If the hole in the tire is minor and on the tread (meaning the middle of the tire, and not the sidewalls), duct tape will do the trick. Duct tape is hard to penetrate, which makes it a good patching material for using on the inside of bike tires. It's also sticky, so it stays in place well. Double bonus.

Thanks to the assessment of the guys at the local bike shop, I fixed my flat, and was back on my bike in no time. And with their honest advice, I look forward to the next time I can patron their shop and continue to keep them a part of the local bike community.