WITH world-class cycling infrastructure, from bike paths and cycle lanes, mountain bike tracks and a stunning circuit around Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra is a great place to ride a bike.

It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that more than 87,000 Canberrans cycle in a typical week. In fact, with more than 15 per cent of us cycling regularly, we have almost double the number of cyclists than the national average.

The introduction of paid parking into the parliamentary triangle has encouraged more Canberrans to embrace pedal power as a fast and cheap commuting option.

While most networking events tend to be centred around food and alcohol, the Property Council’s recent Pedal Pursuit encourages fitness and everyone from the amateur to the ardent pedal pusher, individuals and teams, signed up for the 20 and 40-kilometre challenges.

But fitness is just one of the many benefits of riding a bike. Pedal Pursuit participant Jonathan DePuit, national process and innovation manager with Hindmarsh, loves the sense of camaraderie and community that comes with cycling.

“There are many cycling events around town to get people involved, as well as cycle clubs, cycle-friendly coffee shops and connection with other riders,” he says.

For Fiona Doherty, director of Rider Levett Bucknall, there’s no better way to admire Canberra’s built environment than from the seat of her bike. “Doing the cycle run around Lake Burley Griffin is always fabulous – it’s safe, off-road and perfect in every season.”

Caroline Whitelum, national marketing manager for CIC Australia, loves the “breathtakingly beautiful scenery” and the way “our suburbs butt up to bushland, which means that a mountain bike ride can commence within a few hundred metres of home.”

Catherine Carter is ACT executive director of the Property Council of Australia