Tips for commuting between Lane Cove and Epping?

Enno Middelberg said:

Hi all,

I'm planning to commute by bike between Lane Cove and Epping (in
Sydney), once all my stuff is cleared through customs and I finally have
my bike. I'm planning to ride through Lane Cove National Park to avoid
Epping road and the steep slopes in Marsfield.

Any useful hints for cycling in Sydney? Any local particularities I
should know about? I know I have to wear a helmet and that motorists can
be sort of ... difficult.

Cheers,

Enno

If I was you I'd go down Epping Rd then get on the M2, then off again at
Epping. The main danger points are going up the hill past the Centennial
Ave lights, and where cars enter/exit the Shell servo just before
Mowbray Rd.

Enno Middelberg <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I'm planning to ride through Lane Cove National Park to avoid
Epping road and the steep slopes in Marsfield.

Doesn't sound too insane. Get to Fullers Rd at Chatswood (highway or
back streets), go down this and through the NP. There's a cycleway
under De Burgh's bridge which lets you avoid the lunatics on Ryde Rd
while you get to the M2. Note that you've still got a hill getting out
of the NP, but it's not that bad. That's about the middle third of my
commute home.

From the M2 it should be plain sailing. Coming home is the reverse,
but if you go straight ahead from Lady Game drive at the corner with
Fullers Rd, you can trade a steeper, shorter hill for avoiding
traffic. I've also heard that it's not too bad if you stay on the M2
the whole way, then bail off at Mowbray Rd. I doubt it's as pleasant
going to Epping, since Mowbray Rd is at the bottom of a hill.

Quoted message said:

Any useful hints for cycling in Sydney? Any local particularities I
should know about? I know I have to wear a helmet and that motorists can
be sort of ... difficult.

Sit in the middle of the lane. You get the odd bit of abuse hurled at
you, but that beats being run down by someone who "didn't see you,
sorry mate".

--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
"Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once ...
with negative results." -- Ben (float), ASR

Enno Middelberg <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi all,

I'm planning to commute by bike between Lane Cove and Epping (in
Sydney),

(snip)

Quoted message said:

Any useful hints for cycling in Sydney? Any local particularities I
should know about?
Enno

Enno,

I commute regularily there abouts.

The start and end points makes a big difference to the route. For
example the M2 is Six lanes and 80 km/h cars, with a mojor tunnel
construction going on so lots of HUGE trucks carrying out the dirt to
come soon.. Not my preffered route for the next year or so.

The M2 being basicly a freeay/tollway now bifurcates Lane Cove. Lane
Cove NP is on the North side of the M2 while Lane Cove centre is on
the south side. There is a track along the river most of the way that
is dirt basicly single track. There is about 6km of tarred rout up
the epping endo of the park.

I take a long detour in the mornings just to ride through the NP. Its
riverside, nice gradient and almost car free on a 3m wide tarred road.

Whats your start and end point and I will give you a nice suggested
route..
(I don't enjoy major roads ,like the M2, so tend to take lower traffic
flow areas.)

All said, if I was in a car I would drive straight down the M2, and if
you are really game you could ride that way too.

Just noted your CSIRO addy. So are you going to the CSIRO complex up
on Epping road/lane cove rd intersection? or to Epping suburb...
further west..

Tom

Hi,

thanks for your reply (also thanks to the others who replied).

Tom Nicholson said:

There is a track along the river most of the way that
is dirt basicly single track. There is about 6km of tarred rout up
the epping endo of the park.

I hiked along the Lane Cove river last weekend, and the track next to
the river is certainly not made for cyclists, but for hikers. Also, the
NP administration explicitly closed it for bikes.

Quoted message said:

I take a long detour in the mornings just to ride through the NP. Its
riverside, nice gradient and almost car free on a 3m wide tarred road.

I have been hiking a bit on that road, and my plans were to stay on that
whereever possible.

Quoted message said:

Whats your start and end point and I will give you a nice suggested
route..

I start at the Pacific Hwy / Epping rd intersection and have to go to
the CSIRO facilities at Marsfield (Cnr Vimiera & Pembroke rds). I
planned to follow Pacific Hwy to Fullers rd, run down to Lane Cove NP,
take the tarred roads through the NP, then follow Lane Cove rd until I
can turn on Talavera rd. Then it's another turn onto Vimiera and I'm there.

Any suggestions to this route are welcome :-)

Cheers,

Enno

Enno Middelberg <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I start at the Pacific Hwy / Epping rd intersection and have to go to
the CSIRO facilities at Marsfield (Cnr Vimiera & Pembroke rds). I
planned to follow Pacific Hwy to Fullers rd, run down to Lane Cove NP,
take the tarred roads through the NP, then follow Lane Cove rd until I
can turn on Talavera rd. Then it's another turn onto Vimiera and I'm there.

Too easy! The Highway isn't too bad, at least in that section, then
Fullers Rd is fun. With the station works at the bottom, you need to
turn on to Lady Game to get into the NP (North side of the river),
then left and over the causeway.

At the other end, go past the sentry box and you'll see a cycleway
parallel to the river. This takes you under Ryde Rd, up a steep little
pinch, then back to a shared footpath on the West side of Ryde Rd. Go
down and over the M2 bridge, then hard right onto the M2. The cycle
lane is nice and wide, and I've never had an issue. It's about 2km to
the tollgate, then after another km keep an eye out for a cycleway
gate on the left (just as you get near the top of the long gentle hill
from the tollgate). That drops out onto the North end of Vimiera Rd.

In the afternoon, there's a tunnel under the M2 for the cycleway, and
it's basically just the reverse - except for the bottom of Fullers Rd,
which I mentioned yesterday. Depending on how you feel about traffic,
it might be worth trying going to the end of the M2 and up Marsden Rd
on your way home, which would probably save you 10-20 minutes.

If you ride a mountain bike, consider having a look in at the trails
in the upper Lane Cove Valley as a before/after work or lunchtime
diversion. There are several ways in, the easiest of which is the M2
cycleway (continue down the hill, turn left after crossing the river).

Dave - who had a taxi let him into traffic yesterday!

--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
"Remember - if all you have is an axe, every problem looks like hours
of fun." -- Frossie, ASR

Enno Middelberg <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I start at the Pacific Hwy / Epping rd intersection and have to go to
the CSIRO facilities at Marsfield (Cnr Vimiera & Pembroke rds). I
planned to follow Pacific Hwy to Fullers rd, run down to Lane Cove NP,
take the tarred roads through the NP, then follow Lane Cove rd until I
can turn on Talavera rd. Then it's another turn onto Vimiera and I'm there.

Any suggestions to this route are welcome :-)

I commute each day between Helen Street, Lane Cove (near the Great
Northern Pub), and the Radiophysics Labs at Marsfield. I have a bunch
of different ways to get to work, but two fairly direct ones:

The quickest is simply to ride down Mowbray road to the end, then turn
right onto Epping road to cross the river. Then I wait for a gap in
the traffic (not too long on account of the Mowbray road lights) and
cross to the M2 entrance. Once on the M2, just ride straight up past
the tolls (bikes don't pay), then leave the road at the top of the
hill (there's a mobile phone tower there). There's a gate you go
through which gets you to the end of Vimiera road. Finally just ride
straight down Vimeira road, cross Epping road, and you're at the
radiophysics labs. I usually do this one in about 25 minutes.

The scenic route is to cross Mowbray road, down Bowen street (behind
the pub), and take the back roads behind the high school to Fullers
road, then right at the lights at Lady Game Drive, left into the LC
park, across the river, and along the road (riverside drive) to the
other end of the park at De-Burghs bridge. Under the bridge, then a
short steep up-hill bit to the path alongside lane cove road. Right
at Fontenoy road, left at Khartoum (under the M2) then right at
Talavera, which takes you up the back of Macquarie uni. After you've
passed the uni you go left onto Colluden, right on Waterloo, and left
onto Vimiera. This ride takes probably 35 minutes, but is a lot more
pleasant, as you get to take in the Lane Cove park on the way.

Cheers,

Suzy

Well, I can't reall improve on that...,

but you could ride up the Pacific Highway, down Mowbray Rd, take the
evil Epping Rd up the hill from the river to the M2 then follow Random
Data's (Dave) M2 directions - cuts out many Km's and is
topographically easier.

This would certainly be my preffered route home - the dash down the
Epping Rd hill to the river and quick left turn up onto Mowbray Rd is
OK, and up Mowbray there is generally enough room for cars to pass
you.

Tom

[email hidden] (Random Data) wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Too easy! The Highway isn't too bad, at least in that section, then
Fullers Rd is fun. With the station works at the bottom, you need to
turn on to Lady Game to get into the NP (North side of the river),
then left and over the causeway.

I rode down Fullers Road to get to M2 on the way back to my
sister's place earlier in the year. I found that just before the
causeway it is awfully narrow. But then I am more used to
Brisbane's roads :-). I am sure this station wagon came
within cm of me! And that was on the weekend! As for
the work near the new train station, I wish they give
some room for cyclists!

I found the M2 reasonable but it is a bit a problem on windy days.
I get of where Kissing Point Road hit the M2 at
Turramurra.

Another question though, after riding up Fullers Road onto
the Pacific Highway, do people here ride much on the Pacific
Hwy heading the Freeway's bikeway or is there a better way
to get to Freeway's bikeway (I mean the strip on the
side that has bike logo on it :-()

Quoted message said:

At the other end, go past the sentry box and you'll see a cycleway
parallel to the river. This takes you under Ryde Rd, up a steep little
pinch, then back to a shared footpath on the West side of Ryde Rd. Go
down and over the M2 bridge, then hard right onto the M2. The cycle
lane is nice and wide, and I've never had an issue. It's about 2km to
the tollgate, then after another km keep an eye out for a cycleway
gate on the left (just as you get near the top of the long gentle hill
from the tollgate). That drops out onto the North end of Vimiera Rd.

In the afternoon, there's a tunnel under the M2 for the cycleway, and
it's basically just the reverse - except for the bottom of Fullers Rd,
which I mentioned yesterday. Depending on how you feel about traffic,
it might be worth trying going to the end of the M2 and up Marsden Rd
on your way home, which would probably save you 10-20 minutes.

If you ride a mountain bike, consider having a look in at the trails
in the upper Lane Cove Valley as a before/after work or lunchtime
diversion. There are several ways in, the easiest of which is the M2
cycleway (continue down the hill, turn left after crossing the river).

Dave - who had a taxi let him into traffic yesterday!