Another Crazy German

[Petua W.]

Hi Cycling Freaks,

here is another crazy German............

I'm planning a trip to Australia next Feb/March.
And for the last five years I spend this time of the year in Mallorca. The Mediterranean Island is perfect to get the basic kilometer on my racebike.
But when I'm in Australia, I would like to do at least two weeks of cycling there.
Where is a good place to go? Should I take my racebike or MTB? Or should I rent a bike?
I will visit some friends in Sydney - they are no Cyclists - they live between Double bay and Bondi Beach. Is it possible to start from there to do a 80 - 150 km tour with the Racebike?
May be I want to do the Tre-X off road triathlon in Brisbane on the 9th of March. How is the cycling around there? On and Off road? May be I want to stay there for a while.............

Loads of greetings from good old Germany

Petua

[mikesbytes]

Hi Petua,

In that general area of Sydney there are about 5 bike clubs and a number of triathlon clubs that ride south on Sunday to Royal National Park and back. One of these club rides would suit you well.

The triathlon clubs also train at Centennial Park during the week and on Saturdays.

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[europa]

The Sydney boys will have to check me on this, but my tip would be to hire a bike when you get here. Seeing you are in Sydney, base your rides from there - Oz is too big a place to try to see all of it so just try to see one bit of it properly.

Road or mtb? You'll have the choice of both, which is where hiring is good - do a week of each perhaps. There are a lot of fire trails and old roads in the mountains outside of Sydney that are great for long day trips on an mtb (have a dig through the forum, there have been a few reports of such trips).

Richard

[sogood]

Forget about renting a bike. You pretty much can't find road bike rental nor will they be nice quality bikes. Bring your own will be a far more reliable and comfortable bet, let alone the possibility of participating in some racing.

For MTB rides based on your friend's location, you pretty much have to go 40-50km for the closest national park. So it's not likely to be a daily affair.

Apart from riding with local clubs and other bike groups, there are plenty of options for the 80-150km you are comfortable with. These can be to the north, west or south (east is into the Pacific Ocean). There'll be some designated bike routes/paths, but plan for busier streets than Mallorca. Early morning and weekends are the best/safest times to take those longer rides.

You can check of Bikely.com and see the numerous routes Sydney cyclist have uploaded for some ideas.

[AUbicycles]

Hi,

Maybe the smartest thing is borrowing a bike. Can your contacts in Sydney help you organise one? As sogood mentioned, hiring a bike is not an easy option as bike hire is usually limited to 'tourists' meaning that the bikes are often simple bikes, not suitable for longer distances and comfort. Good MTB's may can be hired, but often directly from MTB touring companies... and these are usually outside of Sydney.

If you are happy riding around Sydney I would suggest a MTB / Touring bike so that you can take day trips. A MTB is better adapted to different types of terrain, Sydney offers nice long routes for racing bikes as well as recreational cycling routes and some great MTB trails. Australian is less cycling-friendly that Germany (be aware of cars) and also, a helmet must be worn by law.

There are also a lot of great trails further away from the city such as in the Blue Mountains, down south towards Wollongong and upnorth. It is not allowed to ride through national parks so it makes sense to plain in advance and check the area you wish to ride.

On a racer, from the city east (double bay / bondi beach) the usual riding route is part the Sydney airport (stinky air) and along botany bay. There is are groups that ride everyday, they are shorter training rides.

A nice day ride is from Sydney to Gosford (north) using the 'old' Pacific Hwy (83)... for a half day you could catch the train back from Gosford to Sydney.

schöne Grüße
Christopher

[rhys117]

in Brisbane there are mtb tracks at mt. cootha\gap creek. Love them myself