My company is relocating me Down Under to Sydney (for at least 4 years, if not more.)
I’m an avid time trialer and love cycling. My wife has done a ton of triathlons.
We are considering the Manly area and northern beaches. Can anybody comment on
the local tri and cycling scene in Sydney - and the best place to live for tri’s and cycling?
I’ll be commuting to the central business district for work.
Thanks,
Dave Linenberg
This is probably a bit dated, but came over from the US and spent eight months working in Sydney back in Sept. to April 1997/1998. We rented a small apartment in Mosman and I bike commuted to Crows Nest for work.
We hung around with the local triathletes (Balmoral tri club?) and it was a great experience - ended up doing IM in Forster Tuncurry before we went back stateside. Remember eating fish and chips/drinking wine to Shakespeare being done at Balmoral Park by the water.
I think you have the right idea being near the beach on the north side of Sydney.
I have nothing to add regarding living or cycling/triathlon, but I lived in Sydney for a year for work back in 1998 into 99. You are going to love it. Just a phenomenal city.
You sir are a lucky bastard. I heard cycling in Sydney kinda sucked though…
Just returned from Sydney on Saturday (my hometown, but elect to live in Hawaii at present) after a 2 week trip. Great city. Cannot go wrong with Manly, great beaches, outdoor lifestyle, some tri clubs http://www.nstc.org.au/ and cycling clubs http://www.manlywarringahcc.org.au/
Or, could go south to the “shire” (some call it gods-country) to Cronulla http://www.cronullatriclub.com.au/default.asp?PageID=3075 home to some Aussie tri legends.
Too bad the US/AU dollar is 1:1 at present as far as bringing funds to AU. I remember in the mid-90’s I used to get 1.5AU for 1US!
Enjoy.
Whereever you live in Sydney try to be close to a rail line to commute on. Traffic in Sydney blows. Everything else is awesome, loved my time there.
Used to live in Paddington and Bondi Beach area, easy commute to downtown where I worked 1982-84, Looked at Manly but the hydro ride was not that great for late night connections may have changed now.
You will love it and enjoy the area
Lucky!
Visited for a couple of weeks last year and have had wet dreams about moving there ever since.
Manly to CBD is a bit of a commute, but it all depends what you are used to. Best way Manly-CBD is by ferry (slow and fast services run, fast service obviously costing more), trying to make the commute by bus will take a long time. I personally wouldn’t take my chances trying to ride to work from there as the traffic is horrendous and you will spend a large part of your ride either stopped in traffic or trying to avoid being killed by buses or aggravated motorists.
My observation from my time there (2002-03) was that Sydney motorists generally don’t care much for cyclists. I never had an accident but rode very defensively and avoided main roads, especially during peak hour. If you do land in Manly, I would suggest locating yourself within walking distance of the ferry wharf (which may not be easy given how popular and expensive the area is). Not sure what it’s like from the beaches further north of Manly.
In terms of cycling, best riding I did was to head north-west from Manly to Kuringai National Park which has plenty of quiet, scenic (and hilly) roads. From Manly the best way was to get accross to Wakehurst Parkway, north to Pittwater Road, north and left on to Mona Vale Rd, right into McCarrs Creek Rd and then into the park.
I think the consensis is that the Sutherland Shire (south of Sydney) is better for triathlon and cycling. Guys like Chris McCormack grew up in that area and apparently quite popular with pro cyclists who frequent the area. Few tri clubs around there too (Cronulla is one I am aware of). Haven’t lived south of Sydney so can’t comment further.
Just be aware that Sydney traffic can be bad at the best of times and the road system is generally unfavourable for cyclists. I found I had to get out of the suburbs and north over the Spit Bridge in Seaforth before I could get enough open road to get in a decent ride.
Dude, dead easy …just follow these directions…
land at sydney airporthire cardrive approx 1000km north up coastsee big sign 'WELCOME TO QUEENSLAND"start looking anywhere north of herecheers 
Thanks everybody for the responses!
I won’t be riding to work, but will trying to hook up with a cycling team. Anyway, I’ve only visited Sydney a couple times (business & pleasure) - so I don’t know much about the city from a living perspective. (I’ve been in Melbourne a dozen times for up to 3 months, and totally know that city). As of now, my intention is to take the Manly fast ferry to the CBD for a quick commute - and do rides like the one Nickag suggested before work. Hopefully, I can get in some good workouts and continue time trialling. Probably not on the national or state level as I’ve done so here in the past, but we’ll see. My specialized Shiv isn’t UCI legal, so I may just be riding for pleasure… I also know there is the Manly Warringah Cycling club around there. Really, all I need or want is a good, traffic light-free 3 mile stretch of road, and I’m happy to do repeats for 20 or 30 miles… 
As of now, with only internet research available, I was looking at Manly as well as about 1 mile north & 1 mile west (e.g. up to Curl Curl, and over thru Seaforth). I was hoping that maybe after a ride on my TT or road bike (or an easy swim or run on my “off” days, etc) - I could hop on my commuter bike and get down to the ferries at Manly wharf… (The family is taking a lot of bikes!)
That seems like a better option than trying to find a place near Cronulla, and deal with a seemingly much longer train commute to the CBD from the shires…
Of course, having not explored Sydney from a living point of view…I don’t really know. I’ve also considered Mosman/Balmoral as there is a tri club out of Balmoral, and commuting seems short by ferry from Mosman - but that seems more socked in traffic wise than Manly.
Dude, dead easy …just follow these directions…
x2
.
Hi - I live in Manly and although biased can vouch for the fact that is an amazing place to live. Swim training is done mostly in the marine park between Shelley and Manly beaches. About 1500m return and more aquatic life than you could ever imagine to enjoy along the way. If your not comfortable swimming solo in the ocean there is a group of 50+ people that complete this swim every single morning at 7am. Riding is mostly up to the Kuringai NP as mentioned previously. Plenty of hills and great smooth roads out to the west head lookout. The local manly cycle club have races out there regularly for a b and c graders. A ride out and back from manly including akuna bay loop is about 70km. Add on other nearby national parks like bobbin head if wanting to go longer. My regular runs are up around north head and down along the coastline thru freshwater curl curl dee why and collaroy. Local tri club races are up at north head with the warringah club monthly as mentioned previously as well. As for the commute you have the ferry 30mins or faster varieties which take about 15min. Personally i ride to the office in the cbd each day taking 45min door to door. Taking the back way thru mosman cremorne and neutral bay then under the bridge at kirribilli, up the steps and over the harbour bridge into town. Generally pretty quiet and safe trip (did say generally!). Hope some of that helps!
Lucky boy. Say goodbye to everyone, and tell them you won’t be back.
I know about 6 or 7 people who were transferred to godzone for anything from 2 months to 3 years and they all stayed for good. A few of them left their jobs rather than be transferred out again.
I’ve lived in France for 1 year, Vienna for 6 months and Sydney for 49 years. Last time I moved I was already retired, had a fistful of (pre-GFC) $$ and we realised we could go anywhere in the world. Monaco, Tahiti, anywhere. We thought about it long and hard, and moved to…Balmoral in Sydney. For me, nowhere else could really compete. (Except maybe Vancouver, eh?)
Where in Sydney? You’ve probably realised that Sydney is geographically huge - more than 80 km north to south or east to west. Most parts of it have their advocates. Objectively, the nicest parts are close to what’s good about Sydney (beaches, rivers, massive glorious national parks) and avoid what’s worst (traveling distances, traffic).
Manly and the northern beaches is a GREAT place to start looking from what you describe about yourself, if its reasonably close to where you’ll be working. It’s a great starting point for the best riding on the north side. For my preferences, it’s a bit far from the city for a daily commute. You’re crossing 2 bridges - check the Spit Bridge on Google Maps - it’s a real traffic choke point, and several km either side are peak hour hell.
The local tri club would be Wahringah (http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-4649-0-0-0). Great club - I can make some intros if you like, or join us at Balmoral tri (http://www.balmoraltriclub.org.au/Balmoral-Triathlon-Club-Home.aspx) at the friendliest club on the planet (really).
Sydney now proudly(?) boasts the world’s most expensive real estate. Being transferred here, there are tax advantages in getting housing assistance in your remuneration package. Try to negotiate for that, and be ready for some sticker shock.
PM me with any questions. I’d be happy to help in any way.
On the right track with Mosman/ Balmoral/ Manly, and u can certainly commute to the CBD from any of them. There will be a bit of traffic but there are back roads and a few good hills.
I think the reason the Cronulla/ Sutherland shire has a reputation for triathlon is that there are great swimming pools, as well as beaches, but also because of the proximity to the Royal National Park and Kurnell, which have light traffic at worst. Northern beaches you have Kuringai National Park which is equally good
come live at my house in the UK and ill go to Sydney instead! lived there for a year and loved every minute! I think its the best place I have ever lived and I have lived in many! I lived on the north shore near where I was working in Norrth Sydney - 1k to olylmpic our door pool! great roads, great weather…just great!
sooo soo green with envy!
enjoy
remember - the life swap offer is still open
First of all you lucky thing! Sydney is awesome but the traffic can be average!
Without a doubt Manly is the place to be for lifestyle. Ferry to CBD is perfect way to and from work. Fast ferry (18 mins) is less than $2 more than the “slow ferry” (35-40mins).
Warringah Tri Club is very sociable and excellent athletes as well. They are the home club of the guy that will probably be the next champ at Kona for Australia, Pete Jacobs. He lives in the area and coaches swim and run squads as well. He does his coaching and training with a business called BPM Sport (Beats per Minute???). I went on a training camp with them with Pete and Macca a while ago and it was INCREDIBLE!
Swimming is great with public pools and the ocean or harbour. 7am every morning of the year at Manly Surf Life Saving Club you’ll find the “Bold and the Beautiful” swim group (free) who swim the stunning Manly - Shelley - Manly swim (1500m) plus occasional longer swims.
Riding is amazing - just head north to Ku Ring Gai National Park. You’ll see loads of birds, Gum Trees, ocean, rivers, smooth quiet roads and on some mornings Kangaroos! For pure cycling there is also the Manly Cycho’s who are very good.
Running - Paths everywhere along the beaches and there is a great run around the harbour called the Manly - Spit foreshore walk (many runners). North Head is also a great run if you want more hills and mind blowing views of the harbour. There’s a bunch of good run groups and the best one we ran with was Northside Runners which go from the shop in Manly of the same name.
Oh and learn to surf on Manly, eat some seafood and an Aussie Meat Pie!
Good luck and have fun…plenty of us on here are jealous of you!
All I can say, you will kill`em!
Good luck and have a good time there.