Wonderful World of Biking in Melbourne
The second trip Sung and I ever took together was to Austin, Texas. And we went in the month of August because apparently, we are idiots. Most days, the temperature was well over 100 degrees. With only a year of dating behind us though, we were in that honeymoon phase where impractically sharing meat sweats in Texas heat was still romantic. One afternoon, drenched in sweat and 40 minutes walking distance from the hotel, Sung suggested we hop on bikes to get back to the city center. The only bike I had been on in the past year was a stationary bike at Crunch, seeing as my love affair with Peloton was still 6 months in the future.
When people say something is “just like getting back on a bicycle,” I don’t feel confident that the individual has ever actually gotten back on a bicycle. If you learned to ride a bike, you don’t forget how, but it definitely takes some getting used to when you ride again! Austin was my playground to get used to biking again. When I landed back in NY, I signed up for Citibike, took a rules of the roads class, and the rest is history. Sung and I have been exploring New York and several cities we’ve visited via bicycle since 2015. Our bike tour of Brussels was such a great way to see a city that we vowed to find similar tours on future trips. Enter Melbourne by Bike, our 5-hour bike tour of a great Australian city, led by guide Leanne
Leanne took us all over Melbourne, 15 miles to be exact. We visited all of the stadiums, which I never would have thought I was even allowed to bike through. She showed us amazing street art. She went deep on the history of Melbourne. And she even took pictures for us all day!
If you like to bike, I highly encourage you to seek out a bike tour on your next trip. To see the city above ground, like a local, and reach corners and pockets that are difficult to access on foot or public transit, is a true gift. And be a good tourist - learn the rules of the road and pull over when you are lost!
