A bridge not far
Sometimes you forget how good you’ve really got it.
What prompted this reflection? Well, when I found out the destination for the Big Ride in Cyclist Magazine’s 50th issue would be right on Sydney’s doorstep, on some very familiar roads, I can’t exactly say I was jumping out of my skin with anticipation of the unknown. As a Sydney cyclist, I know the Royal National Park (RNP) like the back of my hand, and after a lot of time spent at home in 2020, I must admit I was hoping for somewhere a bit more unfamiliar and exotic. Still, duty called, and with a commission to return to the location of the Big Ride that appeared on these very pages way back in issue #1, I was hardly going to say no.
Once we got rolling on our Big Ride, bright and early on a fine February morning, it didn’t take long for me to eat my words. As the sun rose over the Pacific Ocean, illuminating the serpentine curves of the Sea Cliff Bridge, I had the strange feeling of seeing something with new eyes. The rugged coastline of the RNP and Dharawal Country stretched off into the distance, and the high cliffs to my left were basking in a pre-dawn glow. On a day like today, I thought to myself, there was no better place on the planet to be riding my bike.
Our plan for the day was to hit the main highlights of the Coal Coast (the picturesque seaside suburbs that stretch from Wollongong’s north to Stanwell Park, so named for their mining history) as well as the RNP, and accumulate as much vert as we could in around 100km, hitting some of the best and hardest climbs in the area. Our route was slightly different than the one that appeared in issue 1, which took riders on a one-way trip from Bundeena to the Gong, but I’d devised a loop that would take in the big hits of the area: all killer, no filler. The three of us — Grace, Esjay and I — had driven down from Sydney the night before, and after waking groggily to the harsh tone of a 5am alarm, we rolled out of the caravan park right before dawn to catch golden hour at the Sea Cliff Bridge.
Like I said, it can be easy to get complacent about where you live. All it took was a beautiful sunrise to jolt me back to reality: this is an amazing place to
