Bike Bendigo

01/09/2026

Spring has sprung! We’re celebrating with a bunch of rides and events in September:
🚲 🍿🎬 Fri 11 Sep - Ride to the The Big Bike Film Night 🚲 🌳🌸 Sun 13 Sep - monthly community ride from 9.30am (3 rides to choose from - see link 👇 )
🚲 🌭☕️ Sun 13 Sep 11.30am Bicycle Network Roadshow + free BBQ at Lake Weeroona - hear about the Gimme 5 campaign for safe cycling routes and hear what election candidates will do to support this. All welcome! 🤗

🔗 Ride to the BBFN: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BtwsCdexk/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🔗 Community ride & BN Roadshow: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/community-ride-bicycle-network-roadshow-tickets-1998954619076

27/08/2026

Yesterday morning Nicola and Chris from the Bike Bendigo committee joined Keith and Brett from Phoenix FM on their weekly program the Phatt and talked about lots of things everyday riding and the barriers to much greater adoption.

Check out the program and discussion at the link below.

Spring is around the corner and in a topical Community Conversation, Brett and Keith welcomed Nicola and Chris from Bike Bendigo on to the show for a chat about who Bike Bendigo is and what they do in terms of advocacy for cycling in and across Greater Bendigo. Bike Bendigo is a not for profit organ...

24/08/2026

The City of Greater Bendigo is inviting the community to suggest locations where street improvements could be potentially undertaken to help make walking and cycling safer, and more convenient across Greater Bendigo.

This process will help develop a shortlist of priority locations for further investigation and design.

Please submit your suggested locations and needs throughout Bendigo. You can also "upvote" other people's suggestions as well. Let's prioritise a comprehensive safe and comfortable walking and cycling network separated from motor vehicle traffic. We want and need as many comments, suggestions and upvotes as possible to demonstrate community need and desires.

Community feedback closes Monday September 21.

Help us prioritise walking and cycling improvements across Greater Bendigo

24/08/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/14mhou7EemW/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🚨 The Dutch aren't fitter because they train harder. They're fitter because they ride more.

The average person in the Netherlands cycles about 1,065 km per year. That's not Tour de France riders or dedicated athletes - that's the entire population, including pensioners riding to the bakery and kids going to school.

And the science behind what this does to a human body is remarkable.

A landmark study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that the Dutch cycling habit prevents approximately 6,500 deaths per year in the Netherlands. Not from sport. Not from structured training. Just from moving on a bike as part of daily life. The same research found that Dutch people live roughly half a year longer - directly attributable to cycling.

The Dutch cycle an average of 74 minutes per week. That's it. Not 74 minutes a day. Per week. Yet that modest, consistent movement is enough to reduce all-cause mortality risk by around 7%.

Here's what most cyclists get wrong: they think fitness only counts when it hurts. If it's not intervals, it doesn't count. If it's not Strava-worthy, it didn't happen.

But the Dutch prove that accumulated, low-intensity riding is one of the most powerful health habits a human can build.

• Consistency beats intensity - 74 minutes spread across a week delivers measurable life extension. You don't need to go hard to go long.
• Short rides count - 80% of Dutch bike trips are under 5 km. Those "too short to matter" rides are doing serious work.
• Daily movement is training - Commuting, errands, and casual rides all build aerobic base and metabolic health.
• You don't need a plan - The Dutch don't follow periodisation. They just ride. And it works.

The best ride is the one you actually do - even if it's just to the shops.

19/08/2026

Bendigo deserves a better bus system so people have real transport options 🚌🚴‍♂️🚶‍♂️🚗. The consultation period for the Bendigo Bus Review finishes this Sunday. Please take the opportunity to contribute your experience, record your frustration or share why you don’t use the service.
Have your say by Sun 23 Aug: https://engage.vic.gov.au/bendigo-bus

07/08/2026

02/08/2026

Come along on our August community ride to explore Bendigo’s inner loop trail - a 22km circuit that’s mostly on trails but includes some on-road sections. Meet 10am Lake Weeroona near the Nolan Street tram stop.
Discover the Bendigo you’ll never see by car! 🚴‍♀️🚴☕️😍

01/08/2026

⁉️ Did you know many planned bike routes aren't built because there's no dedicated funding? 🤔😡 If it’s not safe for you (or your kids) to go by bike, please add your name to the Gimme 5 campaign
📣Our local MPs need to know people want to be able to ride safely. Please add your voice and share! 👍👏

31/07/2026

It’s official. The bicycle remains the most energy efficient mode of travel on earth!

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EJ8DCFpAe/?mibextid=wwXIfr

It’s official (again)! 🚲

Scientific American has revisited one of its most iconic findings and reached the same conclusion: the bicycle remains the most energy-efficient mode of travel on Earth, more than 50 years on.

The 1973 data was striking then and remains striking now: cycling requires just a fifth of the energy that walking does, putting it first in efficiency above all animals and all machines.

The simple genius lies in coasting - unlike walking, you don't need constant energy expenditure. This very idea inspired Steve Jobs to famously call computers "bicycles for our minds."

Fast forward to today, and the science still holds up. The updated 2025 analysis calls a human on a bike a "hyperefficient terrestrial locomotor," noting that cycling makes being on land almost as effortless as swimming is in water.

But perhaps the most powerful takeaway is how relevant the original conclusion remains. As the 1973 essay stated, the bicycle "can be regarded as the most benevolent of machines" as it demands few resources, reduces pollution, and improves health.

For a better world, the prescription is simple: "Cycle and recycle."

When was the last time you enjoyed a bike ride?