The city of Sydney now has a population of well over 4 million people. Spread over a geographical area that extends from the Hawkesbury River in the north, the foothills of the Blue Mountains in the west and the Royal National Park in the south, it is crowded and is becoming increasingly so. Median house prices are VERY close to the $1m and the outer areas of the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra/Shoalhaven are being increasingly seen as the only areas where people who wish to work in Sydney but can’t afford to live there can buy.
It is now estimated that there are over 1 million motorcycles in Australia. Of these, the majority are bought in the two major population centres, Sydney and Melbourne. Exact figures are hard to ascertain since authorities vacillate between seeming to know a lot about bikes to seeming to not even know that they exist. However, it would be fair to say that there are probably 250000 motorcycles in Sydney and, since the stats always seem to just concentrate on registerable bikes (ones from which the government can make money) it would seem likely that the vast majority of that quarter of a million bikes will be road bikes.
NOW, if there ARE that many bikes, where are they being ridden? Well, again we run up against the problem that accurate data is very hard to find. Certainly many are being used in a commuter role as owners struggle with getting to and from work in a vastly over-crowded city. Numerous experiments over the years have proven, beyond any doubt, that motorcycles are the quickest and most efficient form of urban transport.
Motorcycles, even if bought originally as a commuter weapon, have a way of inveigling you into finding other uses for them. And when the weekend rolls around, what better thing is there to do than to take the bike out and go for a ride? “But,” as Jeremy Clarkson, used to say, “There is a problem.” Anyone who has ridden a bike in Sydney (and the same applies to all of the major cities) will attest to the fact that the traffic conditions, even on weekends, are totally unsuitable for recreational riding. In Sydney there is no such thing as the “rush hour”, it’s rush hour ALL the time, even on weekends and even at night. So, what do you do when the road is calling? Answer: You head out of town.
The trouble is that, if you’re mired in the suburbs, it’s just as likely to take you and hour, or maybe even two, of grinding through the traffic just to GET to some open roads. And, when you DO, the choices are not as inviting as you’d have hoped.
So, let’s look at that “map” again. West is the least suitable option as the Blue Mountain roads are usually clogged with weekend tourists. The Bells Line of Road, from Richmond through to Lithgow, used to be a favourite but increasingly savage policing and dropping of the posted speed limits means that it isn’t the attraction that it used to be.
North is the favoured route for a huge number of riders, if you can just escape the terror that is Pennant Hills Road! Once clear of Hornsby you can divert left and join up with the Old Pacific Highway, that USED to be the main route to Newcastle before the F3 was built in the early 60’s. Carved out of the cliffs that bound the Hawkesbury River, the road is riding heaven. It swoops up and down and has a bewitching mixture of fast and slow corners that continue on until you reach “The Slab”, a concrete patch on the roadside just out of Gosford. It should be fabulous, but it’s not and it’s not because of us. Yes, we motorcyclists have ruined the Old Road. Every weekend the MAMIL’s (middle aged men in leathers) descend on the Old Road and attempt to live out their Valentino Rossi fantasies. And every weekend the news tells of motorcycle accidents on the Old Road, ranging from minor “offs” to fatalities. Over the years, the speed limit has been progressively lowered from 100km/h to 60km/h (which is largely ignored) and it seems to make very little difference. Riders with their Go-Pro’s proliferate and, as we know, bring out a camera and it’s an invitation for people to be stupid. The Old Road is now so heavily policed that it has lost its allure completely unless one is prepared to stick to the speed limit and just bimble along.
If you want to go further afield there is the run up to Wollombi Pub and that also provides some wonderful roads and a less restrictive speed limit.
South also means navigating the gridlock that is the suburbs but at least there is some reward. First up there is the wonderful Royal National Park. Starting just on the outskirts of Sutherland and ending at Bald Hill overlooking Wollongong, the RNP is also a glorious road. However, like others we know, its is cluttered with slow-moving tourists in boring cars on the weekends and, since the road is almost all marked with double unbroken lines, overtaking opportunities are minimal. The main danger of the RNP is, unfortunately, other motorcyclists who, like those on the Old Road, specialise in using it as their own private race track and fall victim to the changeable road conditions, the vagaries of motorists and their own ambitions, lack of patience and lack of talent. The road is rigorously policed and justly so. Again, an enjoyable road but best done in mid-week and at the speed limit or close to it.
Come further south and there are the wonderful mountain roads to the south west of the city. And it is here that a large percentage of Sydney riders call home on the weekend. There are kilometres after kilometres of hills and valleys to explore and a myriad of opportunities to explore your own personal limits. The best-known of these roads is, of course, Macquarie Pass a road with which I have a love/hate relationship. Built in the late 1800’s and upgraded dramatically during WWII, the Pass is only 10 kms long but has a grin factor that most roads struggle to match. Despite it being also hampered by a blanket 60km/h speed limit and double unbroken lines along almost its complete length, it is still a great ride and even if one sticks “fairly” closely to the speed limit, the fun that can be had is huge. The huge crowds of motorcycles that can be seen at the Pie Shop every weekend are a testament to the road’s popularity. Allow that it can be a starting out point for numerous other adventures and it’s no wonder that the Pass is so popular.
There are a few caveats, however. The speed limit IS enforced, though it is a great deal harder for police to do so owing to the tight and twisty nature of the road. It is good to be aware that they have been caught out over the last year or so with a very unprincipled exercise of entrapment which is the reason for the title of my article today. Back before about 2007, before the double unbroken lines went in, there were numerous stretches where a bike could overtake, but none of them provided the same opportunity for cars unless they were of the high performance variety. No doubt bowing to the vocal car lobby the answer was to double unbroken the whole Pass and that would stop ANY overtaking. Of course it doesn’t, so, if you decide to do so, be it on your own head.
Now, if you ride the Pass, it is likely that you will encounter a slow-moving car heading up the hill who will pull over a little and indicate you can go by. They do not, however, leave enough room for you to do so without crossing the double unbroken lines in the process. Once you are past, the driver of the overtaken car will radio ahead and a Highway Patrol officer will be waiting at the railway bridge and a hefty fine will result. Cries of entrapment will not wash in court as the fact that you have crossed the lines will be the only one in which the magistrate will be interested. Mitigating circumstances are ignored.
Despite this, the Pass is still great. It provides great riding practice both going up AND going down. If you arrive at the bottom and there is traffic ahead, pull over and let them go. Wait as long as you dare so that they get up the mountain as far as they can, then pull back onto the road and enjoy. Beware of diesel spills as they are common and that goes double if the road is damp. Watch out for vehicles crossing onto your side of the road while negotiating the turns (cars and trucks) and ride with some margin left for emergencies.
Despite all the pain that the Pass has dealt me over the years, I still love it and still ride it regularly. So, don’t pass on the Pass, it’s reputation isn’t as fierce as many think and you can still have a hell of a lot of fun there.