has anyone here done a cycling trip to Australia? or maybe if you live there you have an idea of how easy that would be. i thought about a tour, i am not a big fan of group rides but it is probably the best way to see a lot in a new area. also open to just having a base on the outskirts of a city…as long as the trains are reasonable.
i may have some time off in the next few months and don’t want to waste it all in the north east of the US as we go through our winter.
thank you for any advice
Im in Melbourne. What you could do is get in touch with a few local cycling shops, that also do big day rides. They could even rent you out a decent roadie.
PM me, and I can point you to a couple of decent shops that do group rides in Melbourne itself. Drop them an email, and see what they can do for you in terms of rental, and what big rides they have planned in the coming months.
I rented (hired) a bike for a day in Melbourne a few years back at the end of a work trip. I took a train from the place I was staying down to the shop, hired the bike, and rode around for a few hours down the coast and back to the shop. It doesn’t sound quite what you are referring to in terms of a tour or trip dedicated to cycling, but on a one day basis it worked pretty well.
A little internet trolling found me the bike shop to rent from and then Strava heat maps found me the best target for a ride.
Don’t forget the sunscreen. I went in late October and came back from my ride fried to a crisp ready to get on the plane the next morning.
Looks like I rented from bikeNOW on Kings Way and then rode the Bay Trail south and east along the shore.
I keep telling everyone, go to Adelaide.
Bike lanes in the city. Incredible variety of routes: flat, big climbs, rolling, gravel, etc…
Plan it so you are there for the Tour Down Under.
And as someone else has said… LOTS of sunscreen. Leave the arm warmers and vest at home.
If you mean a “tour” like from point to point, remember that Australia is BIG. Places are far apart. For example Sydney to Melbourne (i.e. the two biggest cities) are both pretty much in the south east corner, and they are still ~1000km apart.
Our highways are not really set up for bicycles unfortunately.
A tour of Tasmania would be do-able though. Start in Hobart and finish in Launceston, either along the coast or inland past Dove Lave/Cradle Mountain. Nicer climate too during the Southern Hemisphere summer.
If you wanted to do a “based in Sydney” tour, you could do day trips to the most popular riding areas - West Head, Royal National Park, Blue Mountains. All three are spectacular, and popular with cyclists.
has anyone here done a cycling trip to Australia? or maybe if you live there you have an idea of how easy that would be. i thought about a tour, i am not a big fan of group rides but it is probably the best way to see a lot in a new area. also open to just having a base on the outskirts of a city…as long as the trains are reasonable.
i may have some time off in the next few months and don’t want to waste it all in the north east of the US as we go through our winter.
thank you for any advice
If you’re coming here in our summer, I’d avoid riding up north too far (i.e. Queensland). I mean, it’s nice, but it bloody humid! Fun for a cruiser along the beachfront boulevards, but probably not fun for touring. Though on the flipside, it can be a beautiful place, so weather be damned.
Best places are probably Melbourne or Adelaide - an available mix of hills or flats, coastal or inland. Can get hot (40°C+), but it usually doesn’t last more than a day or two.
Cycling Nationals are on in early January near Ballarat in Victoria.
As someone else said, if you’re touring between cities, Australia is BIG. With not much in between places. But maybe Adelaide to Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road would be good.
Oh, and bring a helmet. And Getoffthebloodyroadyadickhead!!!
Good news, Maggie season has ended. Phew, with that out of the mind, here are the best options in my opinion:
Tassie (Tasmania): best for cycling, with probably less animosity towards cyclists than other more busy places (Melbourne, Sydney). Less hot (but still plenty warm in Summer), great roads with varied terrain, either from Hobart (great small city) or Launceston/Devonport.
If you’re going in late January when the Tour down Under is underway, then this is a great option, as someone else said above in the thread.
I live in Canberra, and riding is quite good around here (for Australia, but quite poor if I compare to where I spent most of my life in Switzerland). Can get really hot in January/February though.