New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

V-meister
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New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

Postby V-meister » Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:26 pm

Hi all

I'm new to the forums and new to commuting in Sydney. I've commuted on scooters and motorcycles in Sydney for years and also rode a single speed in London for about a year. Prior to that, I did some very basic recreational road riding for solo exercise but that was 7 years ago now.

I've just decided to get back on a bike and see if I can commute to work for some exercise a couple of times a week. As such, I picked up a Cannondale Quick 1 Disc.

I'm going to be commuting from Lane Cove North to the CBD and I'm wondering if anyone has route tips and also any specific gear tips (i.e. recommend a rain/wind jacket etc).

I've not done the ride yet, but once I have a good idea of the route, I'll do a trial run on the weekend.

Thanks in advance for your responses and I look forward to being part of the forums!

Cheers
V

jubaeg
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Re: New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

Postby jubaeg » Thu Apr 06, 2017 5:36 pm

Its a pretty decent cycleway from Lane Cove to the CBD, and sometimes I mix it up a bit by taking the Pacific Hwy (early morning though) from Lane Cove to the CBD.

V-meister
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Re: New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

Postby V-meister » Thu Apr 06, 2017 7:42 pm

jubaeg wrote:Its a pretty decent cycleway from Lane Cove to the CBD, and sometimes I mix it up a bit by taking the Pacific Hwy (early morning though) from Lane Cove to the CBD.
Thanks Jubaeg. What do you consider to be "early morning?".

Also, I need to try out the various ways of getting to the bridge after the cycle way - If you have any specific insider tips let me know.

Finally, any advice on what gear to wear on a commute like this? Considering it's getting cooler...

Cheers!

jubaeg
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Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2015 7:51 am

Re: New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

Postby jubaeg » Thu Apr 06, 2017 7:51 pm

Probably on the Pacific Hwy about 6:30 or 6:40. Pretty good at that time, with light traffic and just a few points where cars are turning left (St Leonards and Falcon st Crows Nest then North Sydney).

Otherwise you simply follow the cycleway through to Cammeray and then turn right at the roundabout to go via West st, or instead straight through roundabout then right at the lights and straight down Miller (I think).

If you look around on Strava you'll see there are numerous routes.

Clothing - can't say I have a magic formula, this winter I'm going to experiment with a sleeveless rain-jacket, once you get a few hills and warmed up then its not too bad.

V-meister
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Re: New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

Postby V-meister » Thu Apr 06, 2017 8:07 pm

jubaeg wrote:Probably on the Pacific Hwy about 6:30 or 6:40. Pretty good at that time, with light traffic and just a few points where cars are turning left (St Leonards and Falcon st Crows Nest then North Sydney).

Otherwise you simply follow the cycleway through to Cammeray and then turn right at the roundabout to go via West st, or instead straight through roundabout then right at the lights and straight down Miller (I think).

If you look around on Strava you'll see there are numerous routes.

Clothing - can't say I have a magic formula, this winter I'm going to experiment with a sleeveless rain-jacket, once you get a few hills and warmed up then its not too bad.
Very helpful, thank you!

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CXCommuter
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Re: New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

Postby CXCommuter » Tue Apr 11, 2017 2:48 pm

jubaeg wrote:Probably on the Pacific Hwy about 6:30 or 6:40. Pretty good at that time, with light traffic and just a few points where cars are turning left (St Leonards and Falcon st Crows Nest then North Sydney).

Otherwise you simply follow the cycleway through to Cammeray and then turn right at the roundabout to go via West st, or instead straight through roundabout then right at the lights and straight down Miller (I think).

If you look around on Strava you'll see there are numerous routes.

Clothing - can't say I have a magic formula, this winter I'm going to experiment with a sleeveless rain-jacket, once you get a few hills and warmed up then its not too bad.
Once you get to Cammeray you can go straight through to Miller Street then use the shoulder of the expressway down into North Sydney which is actually better than it sounds. Once there turn right at the roundabout then left at the next set of lights (onto the footpath), under the train line then straight down Middlemiss/Alfred Streets to the Bridge.

In the afternoon you have to go up Pacific Highway/Miller Street/Ridge and West Streets to get to the Shared Path. This can be fun with traffic but there is usually other cyclists around to shoal up with.

I commute from Mowbray Road West each day but generally leave early (before 6), the afternoon run home is generally more "exciting" than the morning run
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V-meister
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Re: New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

Postby V-meister » Wed Apr 12, 2017 1:33 pm

CXCommuter wrote:
Once you get to Cammeray you can go straight through to Miller Street then use the shoulder of the expressway down into North Sydney which is actually better than it sounds. Once there turn right at the roundabout then left at the next set of lights (onto the footpath), under the train line then straight down Middlemiss/Alfred Streets to the Bridge.

In the afternoon you have to go up Pacific Highway/Miller Street/Ridge and West Streets to get to the Shared Path. This can be fun with traffic but there is usually other cyclists around to shoal up with.

I commute from Mowbray Road West each day but generally leave early (before 6), the afternoon run home is generally more "exciting" than the morning run
I saw a bunch of guys yesterday using the freeway all the way from the Gore Hill "crossing". Previously, I crossed over and rode up the cycle lane (up hill!) to get to West St etc but these guys crossed the freeway and then just continued all the way along using the shoulder of the Gore Hill and down into North Sydney. Wonder how safe/legit that is...

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CXCommuter
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Re: New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

Postby CXCommuter » Wed Apr 12, 2017 2:25 pm

That is what I do- nothing legit telling us not to, I call it less dangerous (possibly significantly) than the more trafficked route I mentioned above as most of it is through the old Bus stop/holding area, the crossing further down is fine, plenty of safe area to stop if cars are there and I think it is safer than turning right at the lights on the other route
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V-meister
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Re: New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

Postby V-meister » Wed Apr 19, 2017 11:05 am

CXCommuter wrote:That is what I do- nothing legit telling us not to, I call it less dangerous (possibly significantly) than the more trafficked route I mentioned above as most of it is through the old Bus stop/holding area, the crossing further down is fine, plenty of safe area to stop if cars are there and I think it is safer than turning right at the lights on the other route
Gave this a go on the weekend and it is much simpler! Where the on ramp merges again is a little sketchy, but like you said, space to stop there and wait until cars have cleared. Haven't done it during the week yet so adding traffic into the mix (particularly once you go down (and up) into North Sydney will make it interesting but I'm confident this is the best route. Thanks for the tips.

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CXCommuter
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Re: New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

Postby CXCommuter » Wed Apr 19, 2017 4:32 pm

All good V-meister

The traffic in the morning is fine weekdays for me but I head through there before 7.
The afternoon trip back through North Sydney is a PITA though
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jubaeg
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Re: New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

Postby jubaeg » Wed Apr 19, 2017 7:06 pm

Glad you're exploring and its a great time during school holidays as well to work out the routes. On the return back through North Sydney, I either go up Walker to North Sydney Park and then kind of diagonally through the park on the paths to Falcon/Miller lights and then continue through Miller then left into Amherst st.

Its a bit of a steep climb up Walker however in the steep bit there are very few cars.

If I get the green at Walker then I simply continue straight up the Pacific hwy and then turn right at St Leonards at Herbert st. I find the traffic on Pacific hwy pretty good through this section.

Of course these are all risky, and I think the official route is through West st, however I've found that there is a lot of aggro in the cars there as there is always cars turning right and so cars keep getting in the left lane to avoid being stationary.

Ride safe.

V-meister
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Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2017 4:09 pm

Re: New Commuter in Sydney (Lane Cove)

Postby V-meister » Fri Apr 21, 2017 12:16 pm

jubaeg wrote:Glad you're exploring and its a great time during school holidays as well to work out the routes. On the return back through North Sydney, I either go up Walker to North Sydney Park and then kind of diagonally through the park on the paths to Falcon/Miller lights and then continue through Miller then left into Amherst st.

Its a bit of a steep climb up Walker however in the steep bit there are very few cars.

If I get the green at Walker then I simply continue straight up the Pacific hwy and then turn right at St Leonards at Herbert st. I find the traffic on Pacific hwy pretty good through this section.

Of course these are all risky, and I think the official route is through West st, however I've found that there is a lot of aggro in the cars there as there is always cars turning right and so cars keep getting in the left lane to avoid being stationary.

Ride safe.
Thanks jubaeg, appreciate the tips! My next step is to get some pedals, shoes and maybe a rack to make my commute more efficient and practical but I'll start a new post for some advice. This forum is a great resource!

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