easygroove

We are moving out to Sydney next week and have been looking closely at living in the Manly area (Queenscliffe, Freshwater, Curl Curl etc). We'd like to be close to the beach and within easy cycling distance of Manly Dam. We've heard lots of good things about rental properties but lots of bad things about transport into the CBD. We'll both be working in the CBD.

I'm totally up for cycling in to the CBD from Manly, is this feasible? Whats the route like? How long does it take? I'm an experienced cycling commuter in Bristol at the moment.

Without the bike, whats the commute like by bus/ferry? How long will it take?

Thanks for the help

dan

racheybabe

Just thought I'd tell you I was born in Manly! I like Curl Cult but much prefer Narrabean.

Oh well sorry I cant be more help!!

igual

hello mate

it all depends where in the city you are working. You can take bikes on the ferry without to much problem and cycle from there. However military road (the main road from manly to the city) is pretty nasty. It is narrow, busy and polluted with no cycle lanes. I can't think of any similar roads in bristol! It is probably my least favourite road in sydney and I have a car.

Manly is a great place to live. You can probably be at the dam in around 10 minutes from pretty much anywhere in that area. the only other mountain biking that I can think of in the general area is at oxford falls - half an hours cycle. Apparently there are some really big drop offs there. The other thing is they are pretty good with bikes on trains here so you can get out to the blue mountains for some more routes in two hours.

The most similar routes to the uk in this neck of the woods, (forest trails) are as far away as canberra. The routes round here tend to be a good deal more painful to fall on!!

gis a shout when you get here, theres a good crowd in the manly area.

nick

djdutts

We'll be there soon!

May!

Can't wait!

Private Message me with email addresses and we'll sort out a meet-up.

gedge

It is possible to cycle this route, I know of someone who does it.
You need to be quite road savvy to come out unscathed. The worst part would be the spit bridge. You've got 6 lanes of traffic leading in and out down quite a steep and narrow pass. There's not much room for the traffic, then when you get on the bridge it is reduced to 4 lanes. Everyone is vying for position, including the big bendy buses.
Once you get to Mosman, you can leave Military Road behind and cut through the burbs to the bridge. You'll notice a few people take this rat run to avoid the snarl ups approaching the bridge/tunnel. Head to Kirribilli and then you can join the cycle path across the bridge in to the city.

I'm not particularly fast on my rusty horse but I manage about 15mph in the rush hour traffic. I would reckon on 45mins to an hour for the CBD - thankfully I'm not going that way!
As mentioned previously you could take bike on the ferry - that would be my preferred option.
Bike parking is not usually thought about by city companies. One guy I know would prop his bike against his desk rather than risk locking it up on the street.

manlymonkeys

Hi,

I live in Manly and work in the CBD and I normally take my bike on the ferry or jet cat each morning. That's fine, and preferable to cycling along Military Road from Manly. There's lots of space to stash your bike on the ferry

Good biking is to be found on the Circuit Trail in Manly Dam and Oxford Falls. You can buy a good magazine of biking trails from Favourite Cycles on Darley Road in Manly. They are a good bike shop, friendly and knowledgeable.

Give us a shout when you get to Manly, always up for a few beers!

Cheers

Owen