Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

thomas1987
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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby thomas1987 » Thu Oct 15, 2015 7:57 pm

Thank you very much for typing the directions out! Whoah! You even took the time to draw out the route on google maps! Very nice of you :D

By the way, any update on the status of the cycleway? Still lots of glass?

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby thomashouseman » Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:04 pm

Wouldn't something like this along the Toongabbie bike path be easier/shorter?

https://goo.gl/maps/WKQxg5DTYZH2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

thomas1987
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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby thomas1987 » Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:44 pm

Don't know man. Crossing the Great Western Hwy and into Toongabbie Rd looks like an unpleasant experience.

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby g-boaf » Thu Oct 15, 2015 11:02 pm

I think the other route above might be shorter, but it's also on busier roads too in my experience.

The other way would be to ride along Butu Wargun Drive and cross Greystanes Road to get to Old Prospect Road, that'd be fairly short distance.

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby thomas1987 » Sat Oct 24, 2015 7:35 pm

Brown snake spotted on the bike path between the Horsley drive and Chandos road near Prospect Dam. Gave me a fright because I rode pass it less than a metre away. Turned back to look at it and the snake looked like it was about to strike! Anyone else seen snakes along that section?

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby Hergest » Sat Oct 24, 2015 7:45 pm

thomas1987 wrote:Brown snake spotted on the bike path between the Horsley drive and Chandos road near Prospect Dam. Gave me a fright because I rode pass it less than a metre away. Turned back to look at it and the snake looked like it was about to strike! Anyone else seen snakes along that section?

I've never seen a brown although others have. I've seen some enormous red belly blacks up there though, one by the old dunny one winter's afternoon was the full width of the path. I slowed down to stop and had no idea what I was going to do when it realised I was close and it slithered away into the long grass. With all the huge new development up by Horsley Drive in the last month there will have been a huge amount of snakes being impacted so I would expect to see a lot as they move across to the canal side and set up home there.
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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby thomas1987 » Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:17 pm

Image

I went down this hill at western sydney parklands and it was a bit scary with all the loose gravel and bumpy road. Next time I will ride up it...does anyone know the gradient? :D

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby Hergest » Sun Oct 25, 2015 10:30 am

thomas1987 wrote:Image

I went down this hill at western sydney parklands and it was a bit scary with all the loose gravel and bumpy road. Next time I will ride up it...does anyone know the gradient? :D

That looks like Border Road, one of the old roads that used to run through the farms that became the WSRP that have since been closed off. It runs from Moonlight Ridge at 90 degrees to a similarly steep hill on the old Cotswold Road that has speed bumps to slow you down. On Strava the Cotswold Road section uphill is a combination of 3 segments called Moonlight Hill, Heart Attack and Hill Of Death. Overall from bottom to top it is just 4% but from where it gets steeper it is 8% before topping out on the last 100 metres at 14% so is a great workout. The size and shape of the hill leads me to reckon that Border Road (which I believe is the one in your photo) would be a very similar grade.
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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby phil_ » Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:29 pm

Looks like a decent place to do some hill repeats :D

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby MoeJoe » Sun Oct 25, 2015 6:40 pm

Much more enjoyable to take the MTB and do the offroad climbs around there IMHO. The Hill Of Death is fun up and down.

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby Xplora » Mon Oct 26, 2015 1:05 am

I did a bunch of the climbs around there one day, REALLY sketchy on a road bike. Found myself gravel grinding a couple times at 40kmh. Biggest concern is the descents, you can't afford to be losing traction on a 10% decline. I don't think there was a safe descent on anything around there :lol:

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby Hergest » Mon Oct 26, 2015 3:33 pm

Xplora wrote:I did a bunch of the climbs around there one day, REALLY sketchy on a road bike. Found myself gravel grinding a couple times at 40kmh. Biggest concern is the descents, you can't afford to be losing traction on a 10% decline. I don't think there was a safe descent on anything around there :lol:
Cotswold Road is fine for descending as far as the road surface is concerned. But, and it's a big but, the speed hump is an enormous one with steep sides and no way to go around it and is at a point where you can just get to around 70 kmh when you have to hit the brakes hard. Someone light weight with a hell of a lot of bottle could bunny hop it I suppose but I'm not game to try it.
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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby Xplora » Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:30 pm

I have ruined bearings, and I think the bunny hop attempt might have been part of the reason they are gone. You have to try and bunny hop it, it's just huge. That's the best road for repeats, but that speed bump is truly insane (and unnecessary!!!)

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby Hergest » Mon Oct 26, 2015 8:55 pm

Ha! I well remember the first time I rode down there. I'd come across from the M7 up that climb on the ropey old road that turns to a path and goes around the radio tower(now that one has lots of loose gravel and is getting worse with each storm of rain). I rode up to the little carpark and saw the steep drop to the right that looked like it would go to the WSRP so down the hill I flew. Halfway down I saw there was a speed hump but thought nothing of it as usually you can fly over them. Of course as I got closer I saw how high and steep the face of it was so I slammed on the brakes but still hit it with a fair bit of force and had to cruise steadily for a while letting my racing heartbeat get back to something like normal.

Buggered if I know why it's such a savage one either as hardly anybody uses that road and with the gate at the top you can't get any vehicle down there anymore. perhaps it's just something left over from when the roads were being closed and the park was being planted up and made into the regional park 15 years or so ago.
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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby MoeJoe » Thu Oct 29, 2015 5:42 pm

Hergest wrote: Buggered if I know why it's such a savage one either as hardly anybody uses that road and with the gate at the top you can't get any vehicle down there anymore. perhaps it's just something left over from when the roads were being closed and the park was being planted up and made into the regional park 15 years or so ago.
An open downhill road is too tempting for many people with wheels underneath them. A speed hump at the bottom keeps it honest and interesting. Agreed it is a killer speed hump right at the wrong spot.

I love the road bike and all but I can tell you what is more fun around there.
You can be forgiven if you are transiting through to the M7 for some skinny tyred faffing around.

Image

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby Chuck » Fri Oct 30, 2015 10:47 am

MoeJoe wrote:
Hergest wrote: Buggered if I know why it's such a savage one either as hardly anybody uses that road and with the gate at the top you can't get any vehicle down there anymore. perhaps it's just something left over from when the roads were being closed and the park was being planted up and made into the regional park 15 years or so ago.
An open downhill road is too tempting for many people with wheels underneath them. A speed hump at the bottom keeps it honest and interesting. Agreed it is a killer speed hump right at the wrong spot.

I love the road bike and all but I can tell you what is more fun around there.
You can be forgiven if you are transiting through to the M7 for some skinny tyred faffing around.

Image
Mate you're going to have to take me on a guided tour through there on the MTB real soon :) We could probably include Wylde if time permits.
Last edited by Chuck on Fri Oct 30, 2015 11:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby Chuck » Fri Oct 30, 2015 11:01 am

thomas1987 wrote:Image

I went down this hill at western sydney parklands and it was a bit scary with all the loose gravel and bumpy road. Next time I will ride up it...does anyone know the gradient? :D
I think there's a couple of hundred metres that average 11% topping out at around 18%. The road surface does make it tricky going up or down it, constantly looking for the best line. One day, when descending there, I was greeted by a nice big red belly sun baking in the middle of the road.
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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby MoeJoe » Fri Oct 30, 2015 6:16 pm

Chuck wrote: Mate you're going to have to take me on a guided tour through there on the MTB real soon :) We could probably include Wylde if time permits.
Sold... It is good for a quick blat and not too 3xt33m3 d00d to get all beaten up.
Wylde is a better overall and longer but there are a few trails tucked away there.

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby MoeJoe » Fri Oct 30, 2015 6:18 pm

Chuck wrote: I think there's a couple of hundred metres that average 11% topping out at around 18%. The road surface does make it tricky going up or down it, constantly looking for the best line. One day, when descending there, I was greeted by a nice big red belly sun baking in the middle of the road.
I haven't run into any slithery ones for a long time up there despite the signs and knowing that they are watching, waiting, planning, scheming............ :twisted: The road is a bit chundery.

To the left of the photo there is an old driveway that goes towards dirtland.

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby Hergest » Fri Oct 30, 2015 7:56 pm

I rode along Moonlight Ridge today after climbing up from the M7 and then went down Cotswold Road. Up on the ridge a bloody big and very dark kangaroo went bounding across the road at great speed. It was nice to see.
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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby MoeJoe » Fri Oct 30, 2015 9:34 pm

Ah... I saw two of them on Monday morning.

They were on the road near Moonrise. Good to know that they are still living there.

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby Xplora » Fri Oct 30, 2015 10:14 pm

Rode past a dozen small/medium roos on the way to Moonrise one day.... had Zombie Roo written all over that scene :shock:

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby li2099 » Mon Nov 02, 2015 8:21 pm

Xplora wrote:Rode past a dozen small/medium roos on the way to Moonrise one day.... had Zombie Roo written all over that scene :shock:
Wow kangaroos, I normally see at least half a dozen rabbits here and there while I do 1 lap of moonlight hill.

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby g-boaf » Mon Nov 09, 2015 8:23 am

li2099 wrote:
Xplora wrote:Rode past a dozen small/medium roos on the way to Moonrise one day.... had Zombie Roo written all over that scene :shock:
Wow kangaroos, I normally see at least half a dozen rabbits here and there while I do 1 lap of moonlight hill.
Pretty normal. Also see them near the top of the Prospect Dam path as well (near those crumbling old sheds off to the left of the path). Most I've seen was about 10 of them.

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Re: Greystanes canal / western sydney regional park hazards

Postby g-boaf » Sun Dec 20, 2015 8:36 pm

Watch out on the old viaduct on the canal cycleway, they've put bollards in place at either end of it. Just thought it was worth a mention given they are rarely there and you might not be expecting them.

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