Sydney to Melbourne in October 2009 - route suggestions?!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Neil Alexander on August 6, 2009 at 1:36pm

Princes Hwy: Busy, often narrow, scenic but hilly (not mountainous).

Hard to know whether it would be worth you riding it without more detail of your experience, interests, comfort in traffic, time available. I would recommend allowing at least two weeks for the full trip which is nearly 1000km.

There are inland options which can be alternately scenic and dull but can be quieter traffic-wise. If you can find a copy of Lonely Planet's 2001 Cycling Australia, it has a good Melbourne--Sydney route (but you would be reading/riding it backwards).

Train part of the way is also possible. E.g. Syd to Bomaderry (Nowra) on south coast, or Syd to Canberra, inland. Trains which run between Syd & Melb carry bikes but the rail authority makes it as difficult as possible to get them on -- max 2 or 3 per train, booking required, must be in box, blah, blah, blah.

Feel free to ask further questions. I travel vicariously these days!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dabba on August 6, 2009 at 1:45pm

Don't even entertain the Princes Highway - it is dangerous.

More info on your interests and available time would help to advise you.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Duncan on August 6, 2009 at 1:56pm

get in contact with www.fyxomatosis.com

they did a group Sydney Melbourne run earlier in the year.. on fixies.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Joel on August 6, 2009 at 2:08pm

The Sydney-Melbourne 1200km Audax Australia event is being held later this year. I know parts of the route, and it's all over fairly friendly roads. Highways in Australia are not suitable for cyclists, in my opinion. The route maps for the four days are available here:

http://audax.org.au/public/index.php?option=com_content&task=vi...

- Joel

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by baa baa on August 6, 2009 at 8:43pm

Oct is a nice time to ride. No holiday traffic and cool to warm longish days.

I think both the bush and the coast are nice rides, if you wish to camp and have time, the coast is the way to go as it has plenty of places to tent up and sleep (State Forests border “most of” the NSW parts of the highway . I suggest you wash you bike down often with strong smelly soap as the bush rats at night will chew thru any nice sweaty/ salty saddle or worse still, the rubber ends of your baa end shifters).

The sights get better and the hills smaller the further south you go. The roads in Victoria are also better.

Re the bush run, you will be crisscrossing the major highways (and truck ways). You will see plenty of the same sorts of sights but maybe best to go for a faster run pack light, forget the tent and go pub to pub for a place to eat and sleep.

Neil and Darrell are right, catch the train first and get out of Sydney quick.
If you give us some more info I am sure we can help with the finer point.

Do you know about Drop Bears? You will need to be careful.....

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Adrian on August 6, 2009 at 9:01pm

Hi Charlie,
I'd rode from Sydney to Melbourne via the inland (and hume hwy) a few months ago. It was fun but probably not the best touring. I was in a hurry and did it in 4.5 days. You can avoid the Hume hwy for 2/3rds of the ride but its really not that scenic.

I'd recommend going via the coast (following the Cycling Australia book) where you follow the coast then head inland at Tathra and on up to Jindabyn, then across the snowy mtns to Bairnsdale. You'll need to camp and pack heaps of food heading over the mtns as there'snot much there. A friend of mine went a slightly different way earlier in the year. Here is the route she took.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by baa baa on August 6, 2009 at 9:48pm

That would work but the if you miss the road from Pambula , DO NOT go up over the hills from Eden to Bombala.
This way is a killer and you seem to go up, always up.
You are really on your own out that way and while the views are great, this is still one of hardest rides I have ever done. What is worse is the logging truck drivers just laugh at you and you have to laugh back.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by RobK on August 6, 2009 at 9:22pm

Here is the route and description of a 4 day tour from Sydney to Canberra, using mainly back roads (some unsealed) which I did in April. I've also got some ideas for traveling further south if interested. In Victoria, bikes can just be wheeled onto trains (eg From Bairnsdale or Albury to Melbourne).
There are large stretches of the Princes Hwy which I wouldn't cycle on, although some stretches are OK. In Victoria, from memory most sections west of Orbost should be reasonable, although there are often better alternatives (East Gippsland Rail Trail for one!) Sections of the Princes Hwy between Cann River and Orbost have no shoulder.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kylie on August 7, 2009 at 10:40am

Yeahhhh :-) This is on my list too, thanks for starting the thread!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dabba on August 7, 2009 at 10:56am

You could have a squiz at a couple of tours on my website that are quite good for the general direction of Sydney-Melbourne.

Melbourne/Bairnsdale to Newcastle was a great ride, but you would need to do it in reverse. Jamberoo Pass near Shellharbour is a bit of a slog but the country is beautiful.

Lithgow to Orbost was a lovely ride in late September. It details how to get to Melbourne from Orbost.

I plan to do Kosciuszko & Caves in April next year. It starts on Sydney's outskirts and goes to Melbourne via the highest parts of our country. Don't know what it would be like in October though. I've travelled lots of this route before, but I'm now going to string it all together, and I've been looking forward to doing it for some time.

• ▶ Reply