Welcome to Social Cycling Sydney!
We're a private, non-profit cycling group based in Sydney. Since 2007 we've organized hundreds of fun, social rides.
We focus on weekend rides, typically a day trip in greater Sydney (ie somewhere between Gosford down to Wollongong and across to the far side of the Blue Mountains). We've done a few touring rides spanning two or three days and hope to do more. We do sometimes ride during the week after work (6pm starts).
You will probably be in the 20s to 40s age range. You will need a real name (first name is fine), a clear, recent, recognizable photo of yourself (not your bike) & intelligible answers to all the profile questions before being allowed to join. If you answer 'NO' to the indemnity question you certainly won't get in. A typical ride might be 5 hours long with stops. If you can't be bothered spending 5 minutes filling in your profile, we can't be bothered reading it and letting you join.
Types of Rides
Most rides will start and end near a train station. A typical ride might be 50kms but, with coffee & snack stops might take as long as 5 hours. There will sometimes be options for those who are still building up their cycling fitness to complete only part of a ride. Examples of past rides include:
CBD to Cronulla (and optional return): This trip is a favourite as it is on bike paths, pavements and quiet roads almost all the way. There are some fantastic cafes in Cronulla and a train station for those who don't have the time or legs to ride back.
Blue Mountains Easy Off-Road: There are a number of outstanding lookouts in the Blue Mountains accessible by dirt roads open to 2WD cars (and hence technically easy for anyone on a mountain bike). Hanging Rock (near Blackheath) is one example.
National Park Road Rides: Both the Royal National Park and the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park are accessible by train and have paved roads running through them.
The Oaks Blue Mountains MTB: This is a fun ride on both firetrails (roads for 4WD vehicles) and single-track (a path). It is mostly downhill and is a good introduction to MTB riding for beginners.
The Gong: This is an annual ride for a mere 10,000 people from Sydney to Wollongong. It is 90kms. This may sound like an incredibly long way for beginners, but our bunch usually take at least 6 hours with plenty of coffee, lunch and pub stops. We ride it as a group on road, hybrid and mountain bikes.
We're Not Fanatics!
It's just as easy to describe what we're not:
- We don't ride in pelotons, as our average speed is not that fast
- We don't do any hardcore downhill (MTB) rides
- Pre-dawn rides are non-existent. We will sometimes meet at Central (train station) for a 07:18 or 08:18 train to the Blue Mountains, but generally rides start between 9am and 11am on a weekend (and sometimes start with a coffee!)
- We don't (deliberately) drop slow riders from rides. We regroup at obvious places
- Most of us are not training for triathlons, but might well combine a ride with a swim at the beach or a short bushwalk
Other Activities
About 80% of the events in 2011 will be one-day road/off-road rides. There will also be:
- Two-day rides with camping/YHA/B&B accommodation options
- Social events such as watching the Tour de France on a giant screen at the casino
- Some hiking or swimming (only) events
In summary, Social Cycling Sydney is:
- Urban Rides
- Day-long trips in Greater Sydney
- 'Easy' Mountain Bike & Off-Road Rides
We have a companion group and site called:
The Mountain Bike & Touring Crew: Far From The Madding Crowd
The focus is:
- Weekend-long Touring Rides (inc. luxury camping or B&Bs)
- Interstate Rail Trail bike trips
- International Bike Touring (NZ for starters)
- Blue Mountains Mountain Bike Rides (and beyond)
Sign up for Far From The Madding Crowd here
We look forward to meeting you on a bike.
Tim
Copyright © 2011 Tim Deyzel. All rights reserved. Social Cycling Sydney's logo, ride descriptions, about pages, images and photos [collectively known as 'The Content'] are copyright and may only be downloaded and viewed for personal use, by members, in a browser. The Content may not be replicated or copied on the internet, in print or using any other medium under any circumstances.
