anyone here ridden between sydney and cowra??? how difficult is the bit between penrith and lithgow?
basically, would i die a horrible death if i did it on a single speed?
any tips will be much appreciated.
I used to live in Bathurst (bogan heaven this weekend) and have relo’s in Cowra. I’ve ridden from Cowra to Bathurst, Bathurst to Lithgow (different events) and raced the Blayney-Bathurst twice.
That section is tough enough, Penrith to Lithgow would be a tad more hairy! Some people here did ride from somewhere in the mountains to Oberon recently if i recall, they may be able to chime in…? Anyone? Bob?
What’s the occasion ?
Haven’t ridden it but once you get over the ‘blue mountains’ it should be pretty flat. Probably wouldn’t want to do it in a day.
False flats Lorday, trust me!
Penrith to Lithgow is the worse part - maily up with 1 big down (mt victoria), lots of roadwork, and about even between nice shouldered smooth roads and twisty narrow no shoulder roads. The bottom of Mt Victoria to Lithgow is reasonably stright & flat but pretty narrow.
Between Glenbrook & Faulconbridge you can ride parralel to the highway on the back streets, but it is more up-and-down short pinches, but so much safer than riding on the highway.
Do-able but not fun.
*I’ve done, on separate occasions, Penrith to winmalee, glenbrook to woodford, winmallee to Leura. Springwood to Katoomba (maybe blackheath), all on singlespeed mt bikes.
Hasn’t the highway improved greatly in the last year or so? My memory is a little fuzzy, but the stretch up to katoomba seemed to be pretty okay these days.
There’s always the option of jumping on a train to miss the worst sections of highway…
I’m sure I’ve seen a route showing the back-roads avoiding the highway where possible between Penrith and Katoomba. Maybe on Sydney cyclist?
[Edit]Something like this:
Also, there is an alternate road down to Lithgow after Mt Vic that I know of by reputation only. Hartly Vale Road. Steep and gravelly. Maybe good for the next Sydney gravel ride actually…