Beat the Bus no 7 came about as I was investigating the trails through Lane Cove National Park near my accountant in Epping. Something interesting had to come out of a trip to the accountant, so as I bounced and slid through the fire trails in Lane Cove, I came across a really solid concrete weir and trail called Browns Creek which is near Macquarie University. I checked with the group at Sydney Cycleways and a few confirmed this is legitimate path to use. I have since ridden up and down it a few times and I like it with one caveat. It is a complete no go if it rains.
So I start this beat the bus trail at the South Turramurra shops. You ride down Kissing Point Road till it turns into a shared path track for walkers and cyclists. Then it gets steeper to the river You cross the river on a weir that can flood so don’t cross it then. Then its a solid climb to the tunnel under the M2 and a ride into Macquarie Park shops and Uni. Pretty good really. Total time 18 minutes at 17km per hour. The great part about this path is the busses and cars have to go the long way round.
If it rains when you are across the creek, you can ride a really long way around via Yanko Rd. The footpath looks ok if you hate busy roads like me. Otherwise leave your bike and catch the bus.
The bus takes about 26 minutes. Driving the car will be a little quicker but free parking is a going to see you walking about 2km to work or the uni.
Summary – South Turramurra Shops to Macquarie Shops is 17 mins by bike at 17km per hour saves 10 minutes on the bus – There are hills in this trail but not for that long.
A great option could be to park on the north side of Lan Cove National Park, pull your bike out of the car and ride through Browns Creek.
The Strava trail is here and the easier to see Ride with GPS Trail here >>
Other Cycling Options to Macquarie Park and Uni
From the south there is a great flat 5 km trail from Top Ryde
From Epping there is a good enough 5km trail
From the East you can come in through Lane Cove National park on a really hilly route of 8kms
From the South East, Epping Rd Cycleway is a very good route with hills that extends off road to St Leonards
All are on the map of Sydney here >>
What happens when it rains ?
If you use the Browns Creek Path after rain, be careful as it could get slippery, worse still it may close or you may think you can cross it when it floods (well don’t). Anyway the obvious option is to ride down to the A3 and cross the bridge on the path on the west side and go up Yanko. This is OK for a bit and then it gets downright dangerous. Would be more so in wet weather. Maybe you lock up your bike and catch the bus.
In the following map snippet I show how you can ride to Lofberg Oval in West Pymple using shared paths. Not a bad ride. The roads in that area north of Yanko are generally all decent enough though they could be rat runs at peak time. See the map >>
Overview: I am writing a series of articles called Beat the Bus in Sydney. The purpose of these articles is to come up with popular ride where you can easily beat public transport whilst not riding too fast. To qualify, a ride needs to be going to a place with a decent sized working population, the roads need to be shared path or at least a decent enough well marked council road. Average speed must be under 20km per hour. And the whole journey needs to be under 45 minutes.
Anyone can do this in any city, just study your maps, do a few practice rides on Sunday morning, get fit and ride some or all the way to work if you can find decent enough roads. If you can’t find a way, can you ride to a station or take your bike part of the way in a car. Give it a go.