I headed off to Mosman to explore the eastern side of the horendous A3 Spit Rd. I spent a lot of time researching the best trails before I left and low and behold I still went down many very hilly dead ends. But all is not lost, its a great place to ride and busy roads can be avoided, Unfortunately roads are pretty well the only choice for your bike rubber. And lucky for your legs, you will only have to ride each hill once because I have edited the trails for you.
Here is the Recreational Trail around Mosman and Balmoral Beach in black >>
So lets sum up the things that are great in this area. The area near the Georges Head Lookout is good and there is a cafe or two in that area. Heading down to Balmoral Beach is a must but the hill is “youch” steep. Balmoral Beach is a treat and may be your stop and swim venue. Chinamans beach is accessible by bike, there is a tiny path at the southern end and a road at the northern end. You will need a bike lock to use the beach. Secluded. The final run to The Spit is a steep climb but not as steep as Georges Head roads.
Places worth visiting but not on my trail are Bradleys Head, Chowder Bay and Clifton Gardens which is not connected to Chowder Bay unless you walk along the sand at low tide.
Here are some photos of this terrific area >>
The Bail-Out Commuter Trail to the City
Getting from The Spit Bridge to the city requires riding through a snake pit of busy roads, even the cars have trouble working it out. There is another way, just bail out and catch a ferry from Mosman or the Zoo. I tried this the other way one day. I caught the 7:18 ferry to Mosman from Circular Quay and then rode to the Spit Bridge up the commuter trails. The ferry itself took 15 minutes and going in that direction was almost empty. The people getting on a 7:30 did not suggest it was going to be a full house. I would highly recommend this as a way to commute to the city. If you start doing this, you need to understand which way the ferry goes. It seemed to take nearly 10 minutes for the ferry to travel to the zoo.
Here is the commuter trail thru Mosman to the Zoo with gpx >> and Here are both trails on our maps in Black >>
Here are photos from the Ferry, if that doesn’t get you doing a hybrid commute, nothing will.
Richards post on the same area
Richard from eBikerDiary spent a few hours exploring the Mosman area on his Merida eOne Sixty eBike eBike. This area is famous for the Taronga Park Zoo but it also has the attractions of Georges Heights, Middle Head, and Chowder Bay. Not only do these places have historical significance, they also have some of the most spectacular views in Australia.
The whole ride took about two hours and covered around 20kms, including several diversions to explore side-tracks. It certainly gets the “Safe and Scenic” tick of approval, but I suggest you do it on a weekday when there is very little traffic and hardly any people.
Very hilly, suited to eBike exploring.
Distance 20km
Mostly not busy roads and best mid week or Sunday morning
Read the post on eBikerDiary here >>
See also this article on the western side of Mosman….