Summary of Bicycle Tours
This tour explores the valleys lying on the western boundary of the Wollemi wilderness. If you love rugged escarpments, then this trip is as close as you will get to paradise. With a night by the enchanting Dunn's swamp, the novelty of passing through the Glow Worm Tunnel, excellent campsites and outstanding scenery, this is probably the best tour I have done in New South Wales.
Distance: 442km
Days: 6 (there are also 4 and 5 day variations)
Road surface: 120km of unsealed road (suitable for a hybrid)
Difficulty: Moderate - one long steep climb, up to three days of self-sufficiency required
Accommodation: Official campsites, some with good amenities; pub/farmstays possible
Accessible from: Sydney, Newcastle
Passing through: Bell, Newnes, Capertee, Glen Davis, Dunn's Swamp, Rylstone, Bylong, Widden Valley, Muswellbrook
A cycle through the sparsely populated slopes, ranges and tablelands of New England and surrounding districts. Overnight camping at Timor's unspoiled limestone caves, by the historic dams of Hanging Rock, overlooking the spectacular Apsley River gorge and amidst magnificent stands of forest by Doyle's River are among the highlights.
Distance: 427km
Days: 5 or more
Road surface: Long sections of unsealed road (suitable for a hybrid)
Difficulty: Hard - some long climbs, isolated cycling, rough surfaces
Accommodation: Official campsites without full amenities
Accessible from: Sydney, Newcastle
Passing through: Muswellbrook, Timor, Nundle, Hanging Rock, Walcha, Mt Seaview, Elands, Wingham, Taree
Beaches, lakes, pelicans, cafés, parklands and bushland. With much of the route along off-road foreshore cycle paths and featuring very few hills, this is an ideal introduction to the pleasures of cycle touring.
Distance: 115km
Days: 2 to 6
Road surface: Sealed roads and bike paths
Difficulty: Easy - a great tour for beginners
Accommodation: Motels/hotels and/or caravan parks and official campsites
Accessible from: Sydney, Newcastle
Passing through: Tuggerah, The Entrance, Budgewoi, Swansea, Belmont, Warners Bay, Toronto, Fassifern
Possibly the best option for a long weekend cycle trip in the Sydney basin, this tour of the Hawkesbury River offers peaceful cycling with very few hills. And the scenery is superb!
Distance: 145km
Days: 1 to 4
Road surface: Mostly sealed
Difficulty: Easy to moderate - mostly flat with two climbs
Accommodation: Motels/hotels and/or caravan parks
Accessible from: Sydney
Passing through: Windsor, Wilberforce, Sackville Ferry, Wisemans Ferry, Spencer, Mangrove Mountain, Peats Ridge, Mount White, Brooklyn
A seven day tour along the highest roads in Australia, this beautiful route is for those who love mountains and don't mind cycling up them. There are plenty of attractive country towns to relax in after a hard cycle, and the tour ends by rolling along the peaceful Wangaratta-Bright Rail Trail.
Distance: 415km
Days: 6 to 9
Road surface: Unsealed for 30km along the Bogong High Plains Road (to be sealed in 2009)
Difficulty: Hard - expect several long climbs
Accommodation: Motels/hotels and/or caravan parks and camping - a tent is recommended
Accessible from: Sydney, Melbourne
Passing through: Albury, Lake Hume, Gundowring, Mt Beauty, Falls Creek, Bogong High Plains, Omeo, Mt Hotham, Bright, Myrtleford, Beechworth, Wangaratta
From Australia's most famous beach to Australia's highest mountain, this tour takes in some spectacular coastal scenery, views of rugged escarpments, rolling pastureland and some of the country's best alpine cycling.
Distance: 658km
Days: 6 to 9
Road surface: Sealed except for a 9km fire trail to Kosciuszko
Difficulty: Hard - expect several long climbs
Accommodation: Motels/hotels and/or caravan parks and wild camping
Accessible from: Sydney, Canberra, Wollongong
Passing through: Sydney (Bondi Beach), Royal National Park, Sublime Point (Wollongong), Bowral, Goulburn, Bungendore, Queanbeyan, Cooma, Jindabyne, Charlotte Pass, Mt Kosciuszko
Cycle from the central west to the central coast of New South Wales. This tour passes through peaceful grazing land, the Goulburn River Valley, wine country in the Hunter Valley, and historic villages along part of the old convict road. It takes the state's easiest cycling route over the Great Dividing Range.
Distance: 383km
Days: 4 or 5
Road surface: Only 2km unsealed
Difficulty: Moderate
Accommodation: Motels/hotels/B&B and/or caravan parks and wild camping
Accessible from: Sydney
Passing through: Wellington, Gulgong, Merriwa, Sandy Hollow, Broke, Wollembi, Wyong
© 2008 Robert Taggart. Last updated 20 November 2008.