Rides

I hope to build this page up with descriptions of on and off road rides, focusing initally on the Blacktown area of Western Sydney, then expanding out. Feel free to send in descriptions of new rides, or make comments on those already listed. More details will be added as time and enthusiasm permit.

Off Road Paths in the Blacktown Area:

Rooty Hill to Minchinbury:

Distance :	~ 3 km		Road Crossings :	4		Type :	Shared Pathway (Pedestrians and Cyclists)
Grade:	Easy		Underpasses :	1

Start: Outside the Rooty Hill School of Arts, Cnr Rooty Hill Road Sth & Barker St, Rooty Hill South
Finish: Near the corner of Barossa Drive & Rutherglen Pl, Minchinbury.

Description: The path goes through reserves for most of it's distance. It diverts through an underpass under Francis Rd (Just north of Willis St), goes around the back of May Cowpe Reserve then crosses John St and along beside Chandler St to the traffic lights on the corner of the Great Western Hwy and Minchin Drive. After crossing over both these roads, the path continues on the eastern side of Minchin Drive for a few hundred metres, then crosses Minchin Drive to continue south within the reserve corridor. At present it finishes at Barossa Dr, but there is a proposed extension to cross Barossa Drive and continue south through the park, and through an existing (but blocked off) underpass under the M4 Motorway. This would then link up with proposed paths through the new industrial site at what used-to-be Australia's Wonderland.

 

Breakfast Creek:

Distance :	Few kms		Road Crossings :	3		Type :	Shared Pathway (Pedestrians and Cyclists)
Grade:	Easy		Underpasses :	0

Start: Roy Place, Marayong
Finish: Corner of Dahlia St & Jasmine Ave, Quakers Hill

Description: There is marked on-road cycleway from Richmond Rd along Noel St, Percy St & Roy Pl to get to the start of the off-road pathway. Coming from the Marayong (Blacktown) end, soon after the first crossing at Davis Rd the pathway crosses over Breakfast Creek and follows along the northern side. After the third road crossing at Falmouth Rd, follow the footpath back across to the southern side of the creek where the shared pathway starts again.

 

Blacktown to Seven Hills/Toongabbie:

Distance :	??		Road Crossings :	1		Type :	Shared Pathway (Pedestrians and Cyclists)
Grade:	Easy		Underpasses :	0

Start: Corner of Devitt St & SunnyHolt Rd, Blacktown
Finish: Railway Ave, Seven Hills

Description: The shared path goes along the southern side of Devitt St, past the Blacktown Aquatic Centre, and then along the Northern edge of International Peace Park. In Seven Hills, cross over Terminus Rd and take the path along Terminus Rd to the left. This path turns into Seven Hills Rd, where you cross the Railway line to the Sth side. Keep following the path around to the left, where it goes back under the bridge alongside The Hills Crescent. At Seven Hills Station, Cross the road, and proceed through the Station Car Park. At the end of the carpark, the path continues until it comes to Railway Avenue.

Note: There is a quiet on-road cycleway which continues along Carter St and Portico Pde to the Giraween Ck Path (see below) and Toongabbie Railway Station.

Giraween Ck:

Distance :	2+ km		Road Crossings :	4		Type :	Shared Pathway (Pedestrians and Cyclists)
Grade:	Easy		Underpasses :	1

Start: Station Rd, Toongabbie, Opposite Woodlawn Drive
Finish: Oklahoma Ave, Toongabbie. Also another piece of cycleway between Oklahoma Ave and Buffalo Pl, Toongabbie.

Description: Coming Soon.

Off Road Paths in Other Areas:

Parramatta to Liverpool Rail Trail: See the RTA website, or Bike North's description

Old (Lower) Prospect Canal:

Distance :	4.6 km		Road Crossings :	0		Type :	Shared Pathway (Pedestrians and Cyclists)
Grade:	Easy		Underpasses :	3

Start: Tennyson Pde, Guildford West
Finish: Gipps Rd, Greystanes ( at present ), next stage to Hylands Rd is under construction.

Description: This is a high quality continuous shared pathway that follows the old Prospect Water supply canal from the old pipe head at Guildford to the Reservoir. The easement for the Canal was varied in width from 50 to 150 metres, and has been made into a wonderful bushland reserve. A magnificent 19th Century aqueduct to cross a small gully in Greystanes is a significant heritage engineering structure and is alone worth the ride to visit. Be careful at each end of the aqueduct as there are some nasty posts (bollards) in the middle of the squeeze points.
Experienced MTB’s can go down through the gully but it burns the legs.
All road crossings are underpasses, as the bridges already existed to span the canal. The path has significant bushland on both sides including some endangered species associated with the famous Cumberland Plain Woodland. See following section for a description of an on-road link to the Parramatta to Liverpool Rail-Trail. (Thanks to Mark Robson for the description).

Prospect Creek: Description coming soon

Cooks River: Description coming soon

On Road Routes:

Parramatta - Liverpool Rail Trail link to the Lower Prospect Shared Path:

Distance :	2.4 km		Road Crossings :	5		Type :	Mostly quiet roads
Grade:	Medium		Underpasses :	0

Start: Guilford Railway Station
Finish: Lower Prospect Canal Shared Path at Guilford West

Description: A preferable route to get from the Parramatta to Liverpool Rail Trail (at Guilford Railway Station) to the beginning of the Lower Prospect Canal path along quiet back-streets, using a pedestrian crossing to traverse the main traffic flow.

From the Guildford Railway Station, head towards Liverpool along the rail trail to the railway crossing with the pipeline. Cross the railway line & Military Rd, and follow the pipes along Trenton Rd. At the end of Trenton Rd, turn left then immediately right into Mera St. Turn left into Guildford Rd and immediately right into Harris St. (If inexperienced, you may wish to use the footpath on Guildford Rd then cross to Harris St on foot). Turn immediately left into Lucas St. When faced with Fowler Rd, jump off the bike and walk across the pedestrian crossing, and head straight into Wisdom St. At the end turn right into Palmer St and brace yourself for the short climb over th e pipes. At the Albert St stop sign you may wish to hop off again and walk across. Continue across the road into Tennyson Pde, where the Canal Shared path begins on your right. (Thanks to Mark Robson for the description).

Rooty Hill to Windsor: Description coming soon

Windsor to Wisemans Ferry & St Albans:

There are a number of possible variations to the route described here. Some of them are mentioned at the end.

Distance from Windsor to Wisemans Ferry (Via Sackville Ferry and River Rd): Approx 51 km.
Distance from Windosr to St Albans (Via Sackville Ferry, River Rd & Webbs Ck Ferry): Approx 71 km.

Description: From Windsor, cross over the river and head out Singleton Rd (The Putty Rd) for about 6 km to Wilberforce. This road carries a fair amount of traffic, but there are marked cycling lanes on the shoulders of the road, which are adequate for the most part.
At Wilberforce, turn right along Sackville Rd and follow it for its11 km to the Sackville Ferry. This road carries less traffic than Singleton Rd, but road shoulders are virtually non-existent.
Cross over the river on the ferry. 2.3 km up the steady ascent on the other side is the Sackville Memorial Park (just after Mitchells Rd), where there are toilets, drinking water & under-cover picnic tables.
Continue another 2.6 km up the road, then turn left onto River Rd. Note: There are some great views from the road, but it is narrow in parts, particularly after Lower Portland - Take Care! After a nice bit of downhill back down close to river level, the road becomes undulating as it winds its way along beside the river.
Continue past the Lower Portland Ferry turn-off. There are two short sections of gravel road around Leets Vale - The first for 200 metres, and the second for 1.8 km. Apparently these are supposed to be bitumen by March 2004.
There are a number of caravan/water ski parks along River Rd. We stopped at a kiosk at the Cliftonville Caravan Park, which is on the corner of Cliftonville Rd and River Rd. They have a pleasant verandah overlooking the river, and very friendly proprietors - A great place for a break.
From here it's another 15 km or so to the Wisemans Ferry township, including the 2km of unsealed road around Leets Vale.
There are two ferry crossings at Wisemans Ferry - The main Wisemans Ferry crossing, and the Webbs Ck Ferry Crossing.
Continuing on to St Albans: I think the better way to St Albans is to take the Webbs Ck Ferry crossing, which is the first one you come to as you're approaching the township of Wisemans Ferry along River Rd. This will take you up St Albans Rd on the western side of the Macdonald River. If you go across the main Wisemans Ferry crossing and turn left, you go up Settlers Rd on the Eastern side of the river. Both are about the same distance, but St Albans Rd has more bitumen - 14 km of bitumen, and only 7 km (in two sections) of unsealed road. There are limited options for food & accomodation in St Albans: The Settlers Arms Hotel (ph 4568 2111) has both, while the Fickle Wombat (ph 4568 2055/2078) serves meals. For a couple of other ideas, see these links: St Albans 1, or St Albans 2.
Stopping at Wisemans Ferry: Wisemans Ferry township is about 1 km further on from the Webbs Ck ferry. There are a number of caravan parks around the area. We've stayed in an on-site van at the Rosevale Farm Resort (ph 4566 4207), which is about 3km towards Gosford (ie turn right) after you cross the main Wisemans Ferry. Apparently the Bowling Club serves good meals.

Alternative routes and detours:

• Instead of crossing the Sackville Ferry, you can continue up the western side of the Hawkesbury River and cross the river at the Lower Porland Ferry.
• An alternative way of getting from Windsor to the Sackville Ferry along quieter roads (but about 10km longer), is to go out along Freemans Reach Rd, Hibberts Lane, Kurmond Rd, Creek Ridge Rd, Old East Kurrajong Rd (which is unsealed for a few km), East Kurrajong Rd, The Putty Rd and Bull Ridge Rd. At the end of Bull Ridge Rd, you can either turn right and go to the Sackville Ferry, or left and up to the Lower Portland Ferry.
• Both the Tizzana Winery and Ebenezer Church are only a few km off the described route.

For descriptions of other towns, services and attractions in the Hawkesbury area see http://www.hawkesbury.net.au/regional/index.html

Rooty Hill to the City

Distance: ~ 49 km. Riding Conditions: Mostly On reasonably quiet residential streets and shared paths.

Note: This is a very brief description. There are a number of alternatives to the route described. Pleas email me if you'd like further clarification. I'll break this ride up into several stages

Rooty Hill to Blacktown:

From the Skate Park (beside the Council Depot) on Station St, take the track that follows on the northern side of the railway line, under the Phillip Parkway/M7 , and into Nurragingy Reserve. (Note: The gates into Nurragingy are only open during daylight hours. If the main gates are closed, there's a pedestrian gate just beside them which should be open). Find your way through Narragingy back to the main entrance on Knox Rd.
Turn right into Knox Rd, then left into Cross St. As it passes Doonside Railway Station, it becomes Doonside Crescent. Stay on this road. Go through the pedestrian underpass at Lyton St. Keep following Doonside Crescent. There is a pedestrain bridge off to the left at the end of this road. Cross here into Kent St. Turn right into the Blacktown Showground, and out the main entrance. Turn right onto Richmond Rd, and follow this into the Bus interchange area at Blacktown Railway Station. Go over the bridge (reserved for buses!!), which leads into George St. At the end of George St, cross Sunnyholt Rd and join the Cycle Path along Devitt St.

Blacktown to Toongabbie:

The shared path goes along the southern side of Devitt St, past the Blacktown Aquatic Centre, and then along the Northern edge of International Peace Park. In Seven Hills, cross over Terminus Rd and take the path along Terminus Rd to the left. This path turns into Seven Hills Rd, where you cross the Railway line to the Sth side. Keep following the path around to the left, where it goes back under the bridge alongside The Hills Crescent. At Seven Hills Station, cross the road, and proceed through the Station Car Park. At the end of the carpark, the path continues until it comes to Railway Avenue. Go along Railway Ave, then on-road along Carter St and Portico Pde to Toongabbie Station.

Toongabbie to Parramatta:

From Toongabbie Station, follow Portico Pde around to the right where it becomes Toongabbie Rd, then turn left into Targo Rd. Follow this along untilyou get to Civic Park on the left, which is just after Miamia St. Cut through the park, and across the pedestrain bridge over Pendle Hill Ck. This leads onto Civic Ave. Turn left into Pendle Way then follow the road around to the right where it becomes Joyce St. At Goodall St, turn left and then right into Wentworth Ave. Follow this down to the Cumberland Hwy. At the Hwy, go straight across onto a short pedestrian path which brings you onto Wentworth Ave. Follow this through to Bridge Rd. Turn right into Bridge Rd and cross back to the Southern side of the railway line. Turn left into Alexandra Ave, and keep following this past Westmead Station as it becomes Park Pde then Argyle St. After a few sets of traffic lights you'll pass Parramatta Station on the left.

Parramatta to Sydney Olympic Park

From the south side of Parramatta Station, continue along Argyle St and follow it around to the right. At the next intersection, head down Wentworth St, which is one-way. Cross Parkes St, then go through Jubille Pk and Jubilee Lane, cross over Marion St and continue along High St. When it reaches Junction St, cross over Junction St onto the Shared Path. This joins onto the main M4 Viaduct Shared Path. Turn left onto this path, and keep following it. There's a bridge across James Ruse Drive and the Carlingford Railway line. The path comes out on to Martha St, alongside the RTA Motorcycle Training Centre. Turn left onto the shared path along the northern side of Martha St. When Martha St turns to the left, cross over to the other side where the cycleway continues. This will bring you out onto Adderley St West, at the intersection with Junction St. Continue along Adderly St West to Silverwarer Rd. Cross Silverwater Rd, up a short stretch of footpath to Adderley St East. At the end of Adderley St East, there's a shared path which swings around to the left, under the M4, and continues along between Newington & Haslems Ck.

Description to be continued....

Last Updated: 02/06/04