Sydney to Budgewoi – 55 miles

In some ways Sydney was a pit stop after Wellington with a day built into my schedule in case I needed to sort out the bike. With no problems I loaded up the bike and headed for the Metro. Paul had volunteered that maybe I could escape Sydney’s traffic and cycle paths by getting to the north of the city. I’d cycled out of the city twice before and they were slow and frustrating, so why not Plan B? Taking the bike on the Metro was straight forward and I was off.

Using the lifts I was soon on the platform and heading for Central where I changed. For a train heading north.

I alighted at St Leonard’s and discovered the lift was out of order. Moving my luggage and bike up three flights of stairs was disappointing but I was soon on the pavement facing early morning workers all looking at their phones rather than me! It was busy and my route to the planned original cycle route was difficult. I muddled along.

Like a lot of Councils Sydney’s solution is to put white paint on existing pavements and roads and leave the cyclists to hope for the best.

Eventually I got free of the city and I have to be honest that I didn’t recognise any of the route I took in 2020. The climbing was NZ’esque and I eventually rolled into Palm Beach and found the ferry. In fact it was about to leave as I embarked.

The ride was tough. I was still tired after my revelry in Wellington and the 16,000 steps I took in Sydney. The campsite I was aiming for I’d stayed at before in 2020 and memorably lost my passport overnight. You never forget that. I did struggle in and remembered from 2020 that there were some restaurants near the campsite. I fancied a pizza and found Domino. I was in bed at around 7.30pm. I am usually spark out in minutes and this proved no exception.