becareful when riding at Night M2 Detour Kent St North Ryde

[purple]

I was riding alone last night 31/5/2012 at around 8:25pm from Epping to North Sydney. When I was riding on Kent St toward North Sydney Direction, an old white Holden car that travelling to Epping direction drove pass me. I believe there were at least 2 young guys on that car, they threw something like a stone at me, that was hurt and they ran off quick and I couldn't have a chance to get their number plate.

For those riding in that area, watch out a white Holden that may attack you.

I wasn't blocking their way, and I am travelling completely an opposite direction!!! This really piss me off. I believe those idoits may just want to do this for fun, but if the object they threw got stucked in my wheels, I could be badly injury!

[rogan]

Thanks for the tip purple. I'll keep an eye out. Get the numberplates...

The whole detour is pretty pathetic. The roundabouts at Kent/Herring, and crossing Balaclava and Vimiera are a joke. Far too busy at peak hour and motorists happily clog the roundabouts and have no clue about indicating or priority. You have to approach all those roundabouts with an attitude that motorists will run you down, even though they don't have right of way. Had a few hairy moments at the Essex - Chester St roundabout, where motorists heading north very often do not stop, and pedestrians walk around in a dazed stupor. It must be uncool to check in that part of town. The section along Plympton Rd is pitch black dark after sunset, with a dodgy road surface.

The only good thing is the challenge of a few strava sections - anyone game to take on my sometime riding buddy Jono's time 1'32" up Agincourt Rd's hill, at an impressive 34 km/h? I can only get 1'52", which is good enough for 9th...

I live and work about 2 km from the M2 at each end. If the M2 was open to cyclists, I could do the commute in about 23 minutes eastbound and 27 minutes westbound, and it'd be 3 km shorter. At the moment it takes me 40-45 minutes. I don't even bother with the detour eastbound, except for a few hundred metres at Epping (I use Beecroft or Sutherland Rd, Epping Rd, Vimiera, Talavera and LCNP).

The M2 when it is open, has its own challenges - dark after sunset, road grit and detritus, exit/entrance crossings, the unlikely but theoretical possibilty that some idjit SMS'er doing 120 will veer up the shoulder... But I know which route I will be taking. Ultimately, I am having one evasive action (brake or swerve when in theory I have priority) on average per trip on the detour, heading home in the dark. That 18 km is my most dangerous ride. Spring and summer improve matters only slightly.

[queequeg]

I'll keep an eye out purple, but I ride this section at 6am and 4:45pm every day, and the traffic is very different at those times. Basically, nobody in the morning and maybe a dozen cars in the afternoon. I do 45km/h along there most days. Some days you just get bogan hoons.
I am riding from Dural to Nth Sydney. I don't use the M2 detour between Epping and Carlingford unless it is raining and my usual route via Sutherland Rd is flooded. Plympton Rd is a disgrace.
The roundabout at Balaclava/Agincourt is scheduled to be replaced with traffic lights, and was supposed to have been done earlier this year. That should remove the most dangerous roundabout on the detour, but is still nothing compared to the two big roundabouts on New Line Rd at Cherrybrook!