Brisbane to Sydney

[Kiwicycletourer]

I am a 65 year old kiwi looking at flying to Brisbane next week and cycling over three weeks to Sydney.
Think should only take two weeks. Past touting has shown 80 km (at 16km an hour average) a good day which equates to 500 km a week. So an extra week to have a good look around

Plan is to stay in hostels, mainly yha where available and maybe warmshowers.
I could take a tent as a backup but enjoy the companionship in hostels.
Thought is to go down the coast, but looking at other blogs roads sound dangerous and magpies really concern me. But would like to see the beaches.

Maybe better to look at Sydney to melbourne, again along the coast.
Last year did Canberra to Jindabyne. Then knocked off bike and driver who hit me was great and drove me to Albury which was great as do not think I would have enjoyed ride though the Kosciusko national park. Very hilly and no services.
From Albury south went with the great vic bike ride.

Interested in comments. Important things are for a good holiday, and see somewhere different. Have only been to Aussie to do t he great vic three times and cycle queensland twice.

[elantra]

Riding from Brisbane to Sydney has the potential to be a really good cycle tour.

Here are a few thoughts....

1. Better to fly to Gold Coast airport than to Brisbane airport, if possible.
2. It is said to be legal to ride on the edge of the Motorways in NSW but it would be scary and i fail to see how that would be enjoyable.
3. There are some lovely roads for cycling in Northern NSW but the roads are very hit and miss (excuse the pun), because northern NSW is a high rainfall area the roads sometimes deteriorate and get big potholes and harsh edges.
4. Nice places to visit in northern NSW include Tumbulgum, Murwillumbah and Burringbar (the "old" highway through these towns is a "relatively" good cycling route)
5. Byron Bay is an interesting place, but overly busy and accomodation is very expensive. Probably best avoided.
6. Further on, Ballina and Lismore are large and busy also. Evan's Heads is a nice place on the coast but a bit of a detour
7. Yamba and Illuka are really nice, you can catch a ferry boat from Illuka to Yamba, and there are back roads from there along the mighty Clarence river to Grafton.
8. There is a rather nice "back road" from Grafton to Coffs Harbour, via Glenreagh and Coramba.
9. Past there is getting out of my territory, but much further south it is worth noting an incredibly useful ferry boat ride between Hawks Nest and Nelson Bay that might save a lot of grief for a touring cyclist.

Have a good trip and be prepared to be flexible with your route as determined by local conditions etc.

[RonK]

PM me with your email address. I have some information I can send you about the route.

[Kiwicycletourer]

kiwicycletourer@gmail.com

[RonK]

OK, I've emailed some information about the route.

As previously posted, the ride from Brisbane to the Gold Coast is on service roads along the motorway and is probably not the most pleasant cycling experience.

If you can't fly in to the Gold Coast airport you can get the train from Brisbane airport to Robina on the Gold Coast, so unless you particularly want to visit Brisbane City that is probably the best choice.

You should find plenty of hostels and backpackers along the way. Caravan parks may also have affordable cabins. If you have a smartphone the WikiCamps app is handy for finding campsites.

Three weeks should be plenty of time for a relaxed ride with time for a few idle days. Enjoy!

[Kiwicycletourer]

Two years ago I was looking at doing the ride from gold coast to Sydney but it never happened.
Am keen to do it in a few days time (plenty of flights auckland to Brisbane or gold coast and reasonably priced) but am solo and company would be good.
Could do on my own but talking to someone who has done this in reverse said on their whole trip only passed one cycle tourist.
Plan would be to stay in hostels but would carry a tent
Anyone keen to join me

[Uncle Just]

Kiwitourer I've done it Sydney to Qld and would do it again. We also saw very few cycle tourers, all from o/s. I used the trip notes in Lonely Planet's Cycling Australia 1st Edition, but it is quite a bit out of date now (April 2001) but still a good basis on which to plan.

Next time I would avoid the sections that take in the very busy Pacific Hwy and ride more of the road less travelled. Few things worse on tour than noisy traffic metres away doing 110km/hr! If you study the maps there are roads/tracks that can take you away from the busier roads and will make for far more enjoyable touring. For example we rode the hilly, narrow Lakes Way from Bulahdelah to Forster but you can take the coastal track through the Myall Lakes at Mungo Brush to Seal Rocks. The highlight for me, as we also left about this time of the year, was the beautiful deserted beaches along the NSW coast. Enjoy.

[RonK]

Kiwicycletourer already has a copy of the Lonely Planet route.

However up-to-date route information is now available from the new NSW Coastal Cycle Trail website

[bagelonabike]

Fascinated to hear how you go...do you have a blog? I have thought about doing this...put off by the roads!

Good luck!