Gearing up for a car-free day

In a nation as big as Australia, it's difficult for many of us to imagine getting around without a car but that's precisely what we're being urged to do today as part of World Carfree Day.

The event has been held worldwide since 1997 in an effort to encourage citizens to find "alternatives to car dependence and automobile-based planning".

Fewer cars on our roads would certainly lessen pollution and the stress borne out of time spent on grid-locked roads and there'd doubtless be health benefits as a result of the physical activity involved with walking or catching the bus.

The people of the Georgian capital Tbilisi are jumping on the bandwagon (as it were) with Mayor David Narmania and his deputy Lasha Abashidze leading the way by walking to work. Other City Hall staff have vowed to catch public transport.

And Intrepid Travel has announced a range of "Real Cycling Adventures" combining leisure and sightseeing on two wheels with the chance to visit areas often bypassed by main roads.

There will be adventures in 17 countries and all will be carbon offset when they begin in 2017 - the UN Year of Sustainable Tourism. 

Intrepid participants will be among the first to cycle in Tanzania’s Arusha National Park and there'll be rides on a new bike route on Japan’s Noto Peninsula. 

Other options include rides in Sri Lanka, Spain, Vietnam, southern India, Tuscany and along the Danube and most trips will have a support vehicle available to allow travellers to take a break.