Brooklyn
- Group:
- A
- Distance:
- 83km
- Route Description:
- The route for this ride is pretty much as simple as they come, especially on the way to Brooklyn.
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.
Continue on the Pacific Highway as it passes through Asquith, Mt Colah, Mt Kuring-Gai and Berowra. At the Cowan turnoff, veer left onto the Old Pacific Highway. Pass through Cowan and then descend down to the Hawksbury. Once at the bottom cross the bridge and regroup on the east side of the road at the 60km/hr sign.
Ascend back to the top, regroup and Pie in the Sky before the return to Renegade. Leaving Pie in the Sky, head South down the Old Pacific Highway and return back through Cowan. The Old Pacific Highway joins the Pacific Highway at Berowra, follow this back through Mt Kuring-Gai, Mt Colah and Asquith.
Once past Asquith Train Station, take the left hand turning onto Jersey Street North. At the T intersection, turn left onto Bridge Rd and then right into George St. At the Service Station, turn left into Burdett St, proceed along here to the Roundabout and turn Right into Muriel St. Follow Murial until it meets Edgeworth David Ave at the T intersection, and turn left.
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 good ride for the B Group Riders who want to try their legs with the A Group. It only contains the one major hill, and as it is a down and out, it is possible to wait at Pie in the Sky, or to only do a section of the climb. Often when the A Group do this ride, the B Group do Pie in the Sky, so it is very easy to drop back to the slower group if you find the pace to be too fast. This isn't an option on the return leg as the B Group is often ahead of the A Group when heading South.
After leaving Renegade, the ride follows the Pacific Hwy, there are no real surprises except for the infamous Pymble Hill just after the Mona Vale Rd intersection. Expect the enthusiastic riders to challenge each other to the top of here. The group will ease up after reaching the apex, so don't stress if you loose contact with the group.
After leaving Asquith behind, there are several rolling hills along the route, they aren't particular long or steep but the group may string out slightly on the ascents. If you are riding on the front take this into consideration to keep the group as closely knit as possible. While riding through these, there is some amazing scenary to the West overlooking Berowra Valley and other Reserves. Often in Winter these are filled with fog which makes them an beautiful sight.
After turning on the Old Pacific Hwy, the road becomes a single lane each way. There is the odd motorcyclists or vehicle along here, so the back markers in the group should keep and ear and eye open for these. Just before Pie in the Sky, there are two small hills, the climbers in the bunch will challenge these and will just continue on to the descent to Brooklyn afterwards.
The descent to the Hawksbury is one of the favourites of the A Group, good quality road surface, nice gentle corners and generally quite fast. The group will reform on the North side of the bridge before starting the climb back up.
Once back to Pie in the Sky, the group will reform and then head back down the Highway. The route back to Renegade is slightly downhill all the way, there are the rolling hills that you will need to contend with until Asquith, but once past these and the back way to Hornsby, expect the group to push the pace a little.
Once back at the Cafe enjoy your coffee and relax.
