Where To Ride
WORDS BY: Nat Bromhead
Sydney doesn’t exactly have a glowing reputation as a cycling-centric city. The day-to-day reality is modern multi-lane highways through to old narrow lanes clogged with cars. ‘Peak hour’ typically stretches to 6 hours daily, and Saturdays are officially Sydney’s busiest traffic days. Make no mistake, Australia’s first city is a risky place to ride. Even former Tour de France winner Cadel Evans famously told Sydney Morning Herald journalist Garry Maddox that he finds the city an intimidating place to ride. ‘While the narrowness of the streets, volume of traffic, poor cycling infrastructure and distance from the CBD to good riding areas were factors, Evans said there was just too little respect on the roads.’ wrote Maddox. But what if I told you that despite the maniacal motoring madness of Sydney, there are two standout multi-day bike rides – routes that pass through some of the nation’s most iconic sites – rides of 150 and 230km on safe, quiet and car-free paths? The Greater Sydney Bike Trail is the brainchild of keen bike rider Garry Robinson. After 25 years off the bike, he went to New Zealand to ride rail trails. Returning home, and having thoroughly enjoyed the trip, he thought, ‘Why can’t we have this in Sydney?’. Garry realised that Sydney does indeed feature a large number of bike paths, cycleways, and trails. The problem was that they’re here, there, and everywhere, not connected, typically not signposted, and tend to abruptly start and stop. With extensive computer mapping and surveying experience, Garry plotted many of the better-known bike paths over an online map. It was a time-intensive and painstaking process, but working with various other riders and spending a lot of ‘research’ time out on the bike, it all started to come together. “I initially saw some bike lanes in the form of green lines at Salt Pan Creek on Google Maps and started exploring,” he said. “I used Street View to check if roads were different and safe for cycling. One of my skills is managing bulk GPS files—up to 700 at a time—and then using layers to trace potential routes online. I’d ride sections, then look for suitable railway stations to get back home,” he told Ride On. “Once I’m onto something, I tend to really get into it,” he enthusiastically continued. “I’d often ride for three or four hours, then come home and edit for an hour or so, working on and refining the map. My trails cross other trails, so I figure out the best, most obvious routes.” The result of this tedious and long-winded passion project is two large loops – the 150km and 230km – that are quickly gaining a reputation as the Harbour city’s ‘must ride’ routes. “One of the factors I enjoy is discovering new areas on just about every ride,” he continued. “Just yesterday, I was riding past market gardens near the airport—most people don’t know there are market gardens so close to the city,” Garry said. “One thing, I want to encourage road riders not to be too concerned about going a little off-piste. Some sections can be tough on a road bike, but more people seem to be enjoying it.” Getting Lost & Government Support One negative of the loop is the fact it would be very difficult to ride without a GPS Computer loaded with a .gpx file. It’s not signposted, and there are a lot of left and right turns. There has been chatter online about potential local or state government support, the most helpful addition being signposts or spray-painted guidance around the route. Garry is obviously very keen on this and hopeful it may indeed happen. “If the government supports and funds the route, ideally, the idea would grab a minister’s attention,” he told us. “Maybe a cyclist on one of the councils could help with a campaign to signpost a section. Signposting would be great, or even something so simple as adding a barcode – ‘Here’s a barcode, go ride around Sydney!’. “It would certainly attract visitors, and already is … we’ve had riders from the Central Coast come down, stay in hotels and ride the route on e-bikes over three days,” Garry told us. “There’s even a ladies’ group that does the circuit once a month!” “My best advice? Do your due diligence—study the route and get to know it,” he said. “Commit to it, learn the trains, and do smaller sections first unless you want to try the whole loop. Going in groups is great, and the Greater Sydney Facebook page is a good place to connect with other enthusiasts.” Favorite Stops “As for favourite stops, Canley Vale is fantastic for Vietnamese bánh mì and steamed buns,” he told us, almost salivating. “I usually stop at the bakery in Revesby, and there’s a new café at Wolli Creek that’s getting rave reviews. And, of course, the café at Centennial Park—around 7 a.m., it’s packed with bike riders and has such good energy.” Riding The 150 Having recently completed the Greater Sydney 150, an abridged version of the big one – the 230km loop – I found the ride to be the best day I’ve ever had on a bike in Sydney. Up there with many of Europe’s great bike rides, the Greater Sydney Bike Trail covers an enormous variety of vistas and terrain and shows enormous potential as a drawcard for locals, visitors and tourists alike. What struck me on the cool October morning was the surprising number of bike paths and cycleways scattered around the city. I started at Cammeray, a small suburb just five or so kilometres from the CBD, for an anticlockwise loop. With the Greater Sydney 150 route programmed into a Hammerhead Karoo 2 GPS, a summary of highlights include – Yes, that’s more than 15 standout highlights in a 150km ride, it truly was a memorable outing and really did open my eyes to Sydney cycling. Sure, the 150 and 230km loops include some roadways, 22km to be precise. But these are quieter, less trafficked routes, mainly around the eastern suburbs. There were a few other short sections of road riding through the ride, but not once did I feel at all vulnerable. How Many Verticle Meters? Elevation-wise, we’re talking 1500m for the 150 and around 2000m in the big one, the 230 km loop. Clockwise or anti-clockwise? The choice is entirely yours, with many saying anticlockwise is the slightly easier direction. So far as rules for the ride go, Garry says riders should pass these five points – Taking The One-Day Challenge For those attempting the full loop in a single day, a road bike with at least 30mm tyres will do, but I’d say a gravel bike with, say, 35mm rubber, as mentioned above, would be the safest bet. Pack spares such as a tube, a pump, two water bottles and some nutrition. Keen to start but not 100% sure you’ll complete the challenge? It’s wise to look over maps and identify potential train stations as suitable bail-out points. After all, you can also return and take up where you left off. Garry’s Final Tip “Don’t be daunted by the distance … you can always use the trains,” he told Ride On. “You could even catch the train out to a start point first, then ride back. If you leave from home, you’ll use a lot of headspace just getting to the route, so get out early and enjoy it.” GPX Routes To ride the Greater Sydney 150, you can download the routes via
The Greater Sydney Bike Trail
The highlights
Pros:
Cons:
How It Came About
Advice For Riders
The Highlights
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