What is a GOOD place to LIVE in Aussie for ROAD CYCLING?



These are good people. I'm having a sift through a bit longer list too.

I've got to work through the teacher registration process (its just like ours thankfully) etc before sounding out jobs etc.

Bike importing....I see from ebay that sellers won't sell to Aussie's because it cost too much to get a bike in to Aus. How would I get on re cost getting my 4 bikes sent there? (may be I could sell one....or two....)

BBB:)





Thylacine said:
Let's see now......

Sydney - road chaos, most expensive place on earth to live, thinks they have less rain than Melbourne but don't.
Brisbane - More bogan country town than city, no relevant culture to speak of, too many retirees.
Adelade - Everyone is too stoned to be any good at anything, cops some seriously bad and hot weather, can't get a decent coffee no matter what you try.
Hobart - Too cold, too hilly, to hillbilly.
Darwin - Priced to suit mining company employees, too hot to do anything except drink beer.
Canberra - Full of bureaucrats, worst weather in the country, full of bureaucrats.
Melbourne - None.

Choice is clear ;)
 
Thylacine said:
Let's see now......

Sydney - road chaos, most expensive place on earth to live, thinks they have less rain than Melbourne but don't.
Brisbane - More bogan country town than city, no relevant culture to speak of, too many retirees.
Adelade - Everyone is too stoned to be any good at anything, cops some seriously bad and hot weather, can't get a decent coffee no matter what you try.
Hobart - Too cold, too hilly, to hillbilly.
Darwin - Priced to suit mining company employees, too hot to do anything except drink beer.
Canberra - Full of bureaucrats, worst weather in the country, full of bureaucrats.
Melbourne - None.

Choice is clear ;)
Sure is. The only one left. Perth has good weather, plenty of wide and quiet roads and cycle paths with no pedestrians, lots of other cyclists, drivers no worse than anywhere else in Aus, even has some hills, contrary to popular belief. You can even get ludicrously well-paid work to support your cycling habit if you need to, although finding somewhere to live is admittedly a bit tough at present. :)
 
Adelaide is superb


you can ride to the hills instead of driving and there are enough of them to do a different ride every week.
the flat rides are good and follow the coast north or south
cars are stupid everywhere although incidents seem to be happening less frequently
Coffee is great.
Stuart O'Grady was able to carve a nice carreer from his early years in Adelaide.
its not too cold or wet that you cant ride during most of winter.

one thing there is no mountains, only hills.
 
hoggy said:
Adelaide is superb

+1

Adelaide offers a variety of terrain & plenty of beautiful scenery. One of my regular rides begins with some hills, then valleys/undulating roads, goes down a great big hill with glorious views of the ocean & beaches, then a nice long flat ride along the esplanade roads & back to town. You can mix it up as much as you like because we've got all types of terrain and all close to town. It's just a great place for century rides.

There's a good network of bicycle paths if you want to take a break from traffic. One useful one runs alongside an expressway and takes you from the southern fringes of the city all the way to Mclaren Vale wine district.

There's cafe's galore & lots of places to have good coffee. We have good restaurants with cheaper prices than eastern states. We have wine districts both north & south of the city which are nice to ride around. There's a vibrant arts/cultural scene with regular festivals throughout the year.

We have the Tour Down Under & as a local you'll be able to follow it every year, ride to the stages each day, do the challenge tour etc.

You can ride all through winter with the right clothing. The summers do get hot but just get yourself into the hills and its typically 5-7c cooler up there or just head out early. I've been out at 7 and home by 10 even on a day when the mercury hit 46.
 
I'm joining in late but I'm another Canberra region local putting in my two bobs worth. I actually live in Queanbeyan which is in another state from Canberra but I'm only 16 km from the Canberra city centre so I'm actually closer to the city than many Canberrans.

Canberra has a really good road cycling scene and plenty of on road cycling lanes and off road cycling paths to take you wherever you want to go.

Yes it gets a bit cold in winter but honestly its not that bad. If you want to cycle commute then yes, its cold on those winter mornings but by midday its usually clear, sunny and not too cold to go out for a ride and its quite pleasant to go riding on a winter afternoon in Canberra. Wearing some warm gear of course. Winter isn't really that long here and we actually have an extended Autumn here which is the nicest time of year in Canberra.

Anthony
 
Shepparton, Victoria. A larger country town

Has a great winter climate, lots of connecting secondary roads, lots of schools, Strong cycling fraternity and with clubs in neighbouring towns. There is a velodrome. Mostly flat land, but terrain changes to hilly less than an hours drive away. Just get on your bike for interesting day and half day rides. Good freeway access to Melbourne (2 hours and a bit by car) Lots of seasonal work in the fruit / vege / farming industries

You could do a lot worse.
 
Bigbananabike said:
My wife and I are considering moving over the 'ditch' to live in Aussie.
We're doing it for work, and a change of life.

Bowral NSW is one of best road riding areas in Australia. 80 minutes on the M2 motorway south of Sydney airport. Bowral and the Southern Highlands are picturesque with rolling hills, village atmosphere and plenty of schools. You can ride in any direction from Bowral for 30-80km circuits and encounter very little traffic especially when most of us ride at 0530-0630. Gets a bit cold in winter but still lots of riders. Active road cycling club, good bike shops including one owned by Brad McGee's brother. Friendly and lots of training rides including the 40km circuit cheesecske rides ever yMon, Wedsand Friday at 0540.
check out the cycling clubs's website, weekly races and inter club meets.

http://www.southernhighlandscc.com.au/

Good luck Richard
 
I would suggest large country towns such as Albury/Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, Wangaratta, Shepparton, Bendigo.
 
Actually, if you're thinking country town, I would suggest Tamworth in northern NSW. (I am currently here in the 9th month of a 12 month posting)

It is large enough to have most (but not all) of the advantages of a city but still retains that friendly rural feel. There is an active cycling club and even a triathlon club! The roads out here are quite good and the terrain is quite varied with some decent steep climbs not far out of town.

There are several schools in the area - public and private, so you shouldn't have trouble finding work.

The only downside is that it is the home of the Australian Country Music Festival, which takes place in late January and renders the place hideous for about 10 days - but that would be the ideal time to head back over the ditch to visit the family, I reckon. Unless you're a country music fan in which case you will be in seventh heaven.
 
xbgs351 said:
I would suggest large country towns such as Albury/Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, Wangaratta, Shepparton, Bendigo.
Don't come to bendigo.. it's a HOLE!! *ahem* I mean.. well it's ok, it's fecken cold in winter, streets are good for riding but loads of flats the hills heading south to ye olde melb. are HUGE! :eek: Other wise it reminds me a lot of Toowoomba in QLD, = HOLE!
 
Bendigo is fine for a big country town. As a bonus you do have some nice places to daytrip like Hepburn Springs/Daylesford, Maldon and Castlemaine.

No idea what it's like to work anywhere but the big cities, so I can't really comment there.
 
Yeah, jee, I've never lived there, but there are plenty of worse places in Vic than Bendigo, like..I dunno.....Yarrawongo? :)
 
Merida is full of it. Bendigo is ace. Why?

a/ it has a strong cycling culture
b/ it has one of the strongest cycling clubs in Australia
c/ it has probably the biggest track cycling carnival in the country
d/ plenty of back country roads to ride on with a mix of terrain
e/ there are several excellent bikeshops in Bendigo
f/ (most important) Bendigo has approx 45 pubs for a population of 76,000 people
 
classic1 said:
Merida is full of it. Bendigo is ace. Why?

a/ it has a strong cycling culture
b/ it has one of the strongest cycling clubs in Australia
c/ it has probably the biggest track cycling carnival in the country
d/ plenty of back country roads to ride on with a mix of terrain
e/ there are several excellent bikeshops in Bendigo
f/ (most important) Bendigo has approx 45 pubs for a population of 76,000 people
Coming from QLD and seen most of NSW.. Bendigo is a hole.
I agree the country roads are grouse, however i prefer to be on/in four wheels and doing about 150kmp/h on those.. the pubs however, although there's a surplus, i'm not sure you'd wana set foot in most of them.
I guess from a cycling perspective, almost anywhere in VIC that has more than one pub is worth giving a go considering VIC is the cycling hub of Aus.. so i've heard. There's a few cyclists back home who are envious of my location due to the cycling per head ratio.
However Bendigo is very clicky.. and i still think it's a hole.
Castlemaine is pretty, cruisy and full of out of work muso's and artists.. it's a very funky place with lots of hippies. Which suits me just fine, but work wise there's not much going anywhere around here.. darn tough to get work, except for the corner of the Black Swan or Star Bar at about 3am.. so i hear :D
 
Ms_Merida said:
Coming from QLD and seen most of NSW.. Bendigo is a hole.
I agree the country roads are grouse, however i prefer to be on/in four wheels and doing about 150kmp/h on those.. the pubs however, although there's a surplus, i'm not sure you'd wana set foot in most of them.
I guess from a cycling perspective, almost anywhere in VIC that has more than one pub is worth giving a go considering VIC is the cycling hub of Aus.. so i've heard. There's a few cyclists back home who are envious of my location due to the cycling per head ratio.
However Bendigo is very clicky.. and i still think it's a hole.
Castlemaine is pretty, cruisy and full of out of work muso's and artists.. it's a very funky place with lots of hippies. Which suits me just fine, but work wise there's not much going anywhere around here.. darn tough to get work, except for the corner of the Black Swan or Star Bar at about 3am.. so i hear :D

Coming form Vic and seen most of NSW.. QLD is a hole. :D

Funny when I lived in Benders, Castlemaine was considered a hole.
 
xbgs351 said:
Coming form Vic and seen most of NSW.. QLD is a hole. :D

Funny when I lived in Benders, Castlemaine was considered a hole.
Not Melbourne.

TOO FVCKEN COLD!

I still dont get what is so liveable about a city where the sun never shines.
 
I'm moving from US to Adelaide with a road, mtb, and lowracer recumbent.(if my visa ever gets approved. Also trying not to get shafted on shipping. It seems some days the posties charge on weight(good thing) and others based on size(bad)
 
Jono L said:
Like a massive housing estate inside a freezer.

TOO COLD!!!
Too cold?

we get a couple of days in winter that get below 0C, but for the most part you can get out and about in longsleve jersey and leg warmers