Galston Gorge - Berowra Waters
- Group:
- B1
- Distance:
- 78km
- Route Description:
- On leaving Lane Cove, turn left onto Burns Bay road, follow the road and turn left onto Longueville Rd. Turn right onto Epping Road at the lights, and take the exit ramp to the Pacific Highway and turn left.
Follow the Pacific Highway through Chatswood, Lindfield, Killara, Gordon, Pymble, Turrarmurra and Wahroonga. At Pearce's Corner turn right and continue along the Pacific Highway. At the intersection of College Crescent, again turn right to continue along the Pacific Highway. In Hornsby, follow the road to the left to cross over the railway bridge, and then follow the road to the right.
At Galston Rd, turn left and then follow Galston Road through Galston Gorge, and out the western side. At the roundabout, turn right onto Arcadia Road.
Follow the twists and turns of Arcadia Rd as it passes through Arcadia. Arcadia Rd becomes Bay Rd and then passes through Berilee, descend down the hill into Berowra Waters. Cross on the Ferry.
Ascend the eastern side of Berowra Waters to Berowra Heights. At the top of the climb, turn right at the roundabout and continue along Berowra Waters Rd, at the second roundabout, turn left, then turn right at the lights onto the Pacific Highway.
Follow the Pacific Highway through Mount Kuring-Gai, Mount Colah to Hornsby. Cross the railway line and turn left into Edgeworth David Ave.
Follow Edgeworth David Ave follow it around to the right, go straight through the lights and the road becomes Myra St. Follow Myra St and at the lights turn left onto Alexandria Pde, follow this over the F3 and it becomes Millewa Ave. Watch out for the speed humps and potholes along here, and at the end turn right onto Illoura Ave. Once over the railway bridge, continue straight through the roundabout and follow Redleaf Ave back to the Pacific Highway.
Turn left onto the Pacific Hwy, and follow it back through Turrarmurra, Pymble, Gordon, Killara, Lindfield and Chatswood. At Epping Rd, turn right, and then left into Longueville Rd. Take the first right into Birdwood Ave and follow this back to Renegade and the Cafe.
- Ride Description:
- This is a challenging Ride, it is 78km with two major climbs and plenty of smaller hills. Despite the difficulty of this ride, it has some spectacular riding through some of the really pretty areas of Northern Sydney. This in itself makes it worthwhile.
The ride up the Pacific Hwy through Chatswood, Lindfield, Killara & Gordon is uneventful at this time of the morning. The first shock to the system is Pymble Hill, this is a short sharp climb that will spread the bunch out a little. The group does not stop here, but will slow down over the creat to ensure that all riders are able to rejoin the group.
After Honsby the route turns down Galston Rd, finally leaving behind the busier roads and starting to get towards the heartland of this ride. Soon the urban dwellings will be left behind as you descend into Galston Gorge.
This is one of the few places in Sydney where you can experience a descent with hairpin bends. There are 6 of them on the way down the hill. The first one can arrive a bit suddenly, it is about 30m past a sharp right hand corner. When you can see the sign Berowra Waters Regional Park you aren't far from this first hairpin. It is advisable to start slowing before this corner in preparation for this hairpin.
At the bottom, there is a classic timber planked bridge, it is a bit rough on a road bike, but as it was recently refurbished it is in good condition. It is only a single lane, and while you have right of way, there may be some impatient motorists coming the other way.
Once out of Galston Gorge, the ride takes in the urban rural fringe areas of Dural, Arcadia and Berilee. There are no traffic lights out here, and only light traffic. The road is a bit rough in a few places and there is the odd rolling hill, but for Sydney this is pretty much cycling nirvana. The road is only single file, so be courteous to the odd vehicle that catches up to the bunch and ride single file to let them pass.
The descent to Berowra Waters is speed limited to 40km/hr, but it is quite easy to go faster than this on the bike. There aren't any big surprises on this descent but the road isn't the smoothest. Take it at a pace that is comfortable to you. There is a Ferry crossing at the bottom and the group won't board until all riders have reached the bottom.
On reaching the bottom, make sure that your bike is in pretty much it's lowest gear as the climb on the other side starts straight away. After the climb out of Berowra Waters, the group will often stop just after the roundabout at the top before heading back towards the Pacific Hwy.
After leaving Berowra behind, there are several rolling hills along this section of the Pacific Highway, but they aren't particularly long or steep. Ride through Mount Kuring-Gai, Mount Colah to Hornsby, through the back streets before rejoining the Pacific Hwy for the return to Lane Cove and the Cafe.
