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| Riding on Sydney Harbour Bridge |
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| Sunday markets |
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| Cadman's Cottage |
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| Sailor's Home |
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| Nurses walk |
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| Luna Park on the right, view from Sydney Harbour Bridge |
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| View from Sydney Harbour Bridge |
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| Milson Points street view |
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| Milson Points street view |
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| Close to St Leonard's Park |
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| Close to St Leonard's Park |
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| Memorial |
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| Anzac Day Memorial |
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| Cammeray |
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| Follow the bridge at Cammeray to avoid the busy interchange |
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| Coming towards the bridge @The Spit, favourite cycling route |
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| Coming towards the bridge @The Spit, favourite cycling route |
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| The Spit |
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| Manly, near the Wharf |
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| Manly |
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| Manly |
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| Manly |
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| Manly Beach |
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| Got bike, will surf! |
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| North end of Manly Beach |
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| The rockier south end of Manly Beach |
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| The rockier south end of Manly Beach |
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| The rockier south end of Manly Beach |
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| View of another ferry |
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| Fort Denison, view from the ferry |
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| Sydney, view from the ferry |
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| Front view of Sydney Opera House from the ferry |
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| Evening ride on Sydney Harbour Bridge |
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| Trains travel on the bridge... |
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| ...besides cars... |
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| ...and pedestrians |
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| Evening view from the bridge |
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| Darling Harbour |
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| Darling Harbour |
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| Darling Harbour |
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| Darling Harbour |
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| Darling Harbour |
The gloomy weather from yesterday was gone by the time we stepped out onto Kings Cross Rd. Instead, we were rewarded with beautiful sunny weather and blue skies. Our spirits lifted, we made our way to Bayswater Rd, which was just behind our hotel, lined with a handful of nice eateries.
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| View from our public bench |
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| View from our public bench |
Plataiea, the Greek restaurant from last night, was closed and so was the Italian, Mexican, Japanese and fried chicken joint. Picking up a cappuccino from Fresca, the 24 hour food joint and pies from Kings Cross Bakery, we suddenly realized it was impossible to ride with a coffee in hand! Too embarrassed to go back into Fresca to use their diner chairs, we found ourselves a public bench to sit on a few meters away. It was strange, but the bench was turned inwards, so eating sloppily was fine but looking at the people go about their day on a lazy Sunday morning was a wee bit difficult!
After breakfast, we got back onto Kings Cross Rd. Across the busy intersection to Victoria St was the Fire Department! We finally understood the few faint sirens we have been subjected to the night before.
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| William St bike lane |
Back on William St again, we soon arrived at the CBD. Wanting to turn onto George St, we were horrified it was closed for road works. Detouring to the next parallel street, we found Giant Bike Shop which was already opened for business at 8.30 am!
Scouring the streets, we found nurses walk tucked away behind some row of shops. A narrow alleyway from George St's busy roadworks leads right into the lane where the first batch of nurses were housed.
As this was adjacent to The Rocks, we were soon lured into the busy Sunday Market. The Royal Carribean's Voyager of the Seas was docked by the harbour and right opposite this collosal, luxury cruise liner was the humble Cadmans Cottage. Built in 1816, this second oldest surviving residential building in Sydney was once very close to the shore until Circular Quay's land reclamation took place!
Eventually, we found our way to Sydney Harbour Bridge....the tough way! Using the old stone stairs by Cadmans Cottage, we returned to George St. Making our way to the end, we found out the narrow alleys by a row of equally narrow shop lots leads to a set of stairs. These stairs led to Gloucester Walk.
Walking along, we were puzzled by the strange, basic foundations of houses that had since crumbled. Due to the tough topography, the houses back then were poorly built and wasted away over the years.
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| Cumberland St |
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| Close to the entrance to Sydney Harbour Bridge |
At the end of The Walk, another flight of stairs connects to Cumberland St. On foot, the stairs are a breeze. On bicycles, it is best to find your way to Essex Street then turn right into Cumberland St where Shangri La Hotel is located.
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| Lane dedicated to bikes only |
Pedestrians and cyclists enjoy separate access on Sydney Harbour Bridge. Rams were built in the center of the stairs for cyclists to push their bikes up. The high vantage point gave us a spectacular view of the Harbour, Milsons Point, Luna Park and its surrounding geography.
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| Bridge Stairs near Milsons Point Station |
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| Milsons Point Station |
Getting off on Milsons Point, the journey ahead was filled with climbs. At St Leonard's Park, flowers were laid to commemorate Anzac Day, a day in remembrance of those who served and died.
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| After this bridge, killer climbs awaits! |
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| View of the bridge after some nasty climbs |
At The Spit, we cruised down a spectacular hill that overlooks a marina. Huge, hillside villas with sea views decked the slopes. Crossing the bridge down below, our fun ends at that point. Killer climbs await us all the way to Manly Beach!!!
Arriving first at the Esplanade Park where the wharf was, we made our way through The Corso. We bought fruits from Coles, were handed out free yoghurt on the streets and finally decided on a fish and chips lunch. Another Sunday Market was taking place to which we browsed through briefly before making our way to the beach.
It was fun riding from one end to another end of the beach. Where the road ends, we followed a footpath through more delis and cafes. Some young teens were seen climbing onto the roof of a beach house while a natural pool siphoning water from sea was at another corner.
Pushing our bikes on foot right up to the end of the Cape, we got off the beach area, circled the public car park and started riding again. We passed beach front homes and homes built on hill slopes. Following Bower Street until a dead end, we went through the driveway of someone's home!
Returning to the wharf, we took the ferry back to Circular Quay. At AUD8.70, it offered a close up view of Fort Denison, a different angle of Sydney Opera House and of course, saved us some leg power!
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| Observatory Hill Park |
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| Observatory Hill Park |
Back on land again, we could not resist one return journey on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Finishing our run, we took a quick peek of Observatory Hill Park before proceeding to Darling Harbour. Another marina with al fresco dining, we were more attracted to Pyrmont Bridge, opened in 1902 to replace the old wooden one. A swing bridge that allowed passage of ships along Cockle Bay, it is now only accessible to pedestrians and bicycles only.
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| Pyrmont Bridge |
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| Pyrmont Bridge |
We were getting familiar with Sydney's CBD. Getting back was a breeze. A creature of habit, we returned to Plateia for another round of their yummy Souvlaki!
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