It’s never been easier to explore Sydney by bike.
Riding to school, the shops or your local library is one of the best ways to experience our local neighbourhoods.
It’s what inspired the Bike2Books competition during the Sydney Rides Festival in October.
Local kids coloured a bike symbol, then joined their family on a ride to the library to drop off their entry.
The 3 winning entries have been selected to help brighten cycleways in Sydney this summer.
3 year old Anna from Surry Hills won the 3 to 5 year category with her painting Rainbow.
“Anna just loves to ride,” said her mum, Amy. “She’s been a passenger on our bikes since a very young age and now rides her balance bike to and from day care.”
Samuel, aged 9, from Redfern won the 6 to 11 year category with The Bike of Colours.
He loves riding around the park with his sister.
“I thought that any type of person, age, nationality could ride a bike. The colours represent this,” said Samuel.
13 year old Nathanial from Haymarket won the 12 to 18 age category with his artwork Row Row Row of Books.
“Books fascinate me. They entertain, teach and challenge, taking me to another world beyond imagination.”
Nathaniel’s impressive entry (below) contains a hidden message in the letters – welcome 2 library.
“That’s exactly how I feel whenever I peruse through the shelves in the library, a warm welcome by the books to take them out and devour the pages.”
Nathaniel loves to ride at every opportunity with his parents, using city cycleways to get to his favourite places – Barangaroo Reserve and Pirrama Park playground.
“There is something relaxing about riding a bike with the water next to you,” he said.
“Riding gives me the freedom to explore further, it’s much better than being in a car because the breeze on my face is refreshing”.
Use our Sydney Cycling map to plan your next ride and discover the artworks.
Bike2Books first began in Portland, to promote riding, cycling infrastructure and encourage people of all ages to explore their local area by bike.