Biking around Sydney is a great way to see the sights and get a decent workout–and if you sightsee by bike, you don’t have to worry about parking or bus schedules. Facilitating this green way to experience the city and its magnificent surroundings are a handful of guides offering a nice selection of tours based on your interests and exactly how much of a workout you’d like.
Sydney’s Centennial Park has dedicated cycle paths. Photo © Tim Lucas, licensed Creative Commons Attribution.
Taking in Sydney’s historic sights and cycle across the Sydney Harbour Bridge with an experienced guide cuts down on your planning time. There are several tours available with Viator, ranging from a four-hour classic tour around all the main sights to a briefer highlight tour for 2.5 hours, as well as a Sydney Harbour Bridge ride (5 hours) and the Manly Beach sunset tour, which includes a ferry ride (4 hours, from $99 pp).
This is a fantastic guided mountain biking ride to Narrow Neck near Katoomba in the Blue Mountains.Life’s an Adventure (tel. 02/9913-8939) also offers tour options. Bike around Garigal National Park (meet at P’Neenies Cafe, 6/5 Yulong Ave., Terrey Hills, hotel pickup $18, half day $145 pp, 10am-3:30pm), exploring the great trails. Or take a day trip to the Blue Mountains (hotel pickup from 7am or meet in Katoomba at 9:30am, finish 3:30pm, $185 pp, save $20 on Tues.). This is a fantastic guided mountain biking ride to Narrow Neck near Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, a plateau that stretches out into the wilderness dividing the Jamison and Megalong Valleys. The track provides a well-maintained undulating ride with four steep climbs and a couple of short, steep gullies, and breathtaking views throughout.If you want to go it alone and just get some exercise in for a couple of hours, why not hire a bike in Centennial Park? You can go along the paths shared with pedestrians or the dedicated cycle paths, such as the Grand Drive, a 3.8-kilometer dedicated cycle lane. Rent bicycles from Centennial Park Cycles (50 Clovelly Rd., Randwick, tel. 02/9398-5027, daily 8:30am-5:30pm, children’s bike from $10/hour, adult road bike from $20/hour).
Excerpted from the First Edition of Moon Sydney & the Great Barrier Reef.
