Where can one do 2x20 in Sydney?

sogood

Just wondering if people have more suggestions as to where can one do 2x20 intervals here in Sydney? Up to this point Centennial Park seemed to be excellent until this morning when park rangers were out in force and limiting cyclists to 30kph or below. So I wondered if there's another place where one can do steady interval work without restriction?

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Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

DamianM

Olympic park is pretty good. We should do it through the week, I'll send you an email.
Were the rangers booking people ? Or just forcing them to slow ?
Were you there early ? I didn't see any when I was there at 12ish.

matagi

Just wondering ..... the posted speed limit for vehicles in Centennial Park is 30 km/hr. A bicycle is a vehicle, therefore the rider is obliged to keep to the posted speed limit (and no, the fact that cars regularly break the speed limit is not an excuse to do so). So why do the people who ride there think they should somehow be exempt because they are on a bicycle?

Now I realise Centennial Park represents a wonderful surface for riding, so a way forward might be to negotiate with the trustees to allow a higher limit for cyclists at certain set times - this would have to be at a time when use of the park by others is minimal. Maybe get one of the cycling advocacy groups in on the act?

Unfortunately we have nothing in Sydney like Beach Rd, except maybe the extension of General Holmes Dr down past Brighton-le-Sands (although then you have to put up with the doof-doof machines and their cerebrally challenged drivers). Or you could try the industrial area around Taren Point which is very quiet on weekends.

DamianM

Yeah, there's no valid excuse. But it's tolerated at certain times of the day. The bunches that gather there are usually late afternoons on weekdays when there aren't many other people there, they tend to get faster as they go, and I find they can get too fast for my comfort when there are lots of commuters riding around.

I usually use the park for easy steady rides, where I'm on about 30 anyway unless it's on one of the downhill bits where it's hard to help breaking the limit. I also do some 1 minute intervals there when it's quiet, on those days I break the limit.... but only for short amounts of time

I've never had any troubles from rangers, but I have seen them getting involved with cyclist and car / dog owner altercations.

That said, if I want to sustain a > 30kmh pace, I go to olympic park.

sogood

Definitely interested but weekdays may be difficult for me to get over there. Yet again, school holidays offers some flexibility. But Olympic Park's circuit is also interrupted by traffic lights isn't it?

Over at Centennial, they had their car on one side of the road while another ranger was standing right by the bike lane. I didn't see them pulling anyone over, but I would have thought that's their purpose.

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Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

DamianM

Well he has raced, which is more than I can say about some

classic1

I went to the Novotel at Homebush for a conference last year. There were bunches of riders training there.

sogood

The issue isn't about some exemption but a practical issue of finding somewhere to do interval training. For 2x20 SST, 30kph is just too low.

I also thought about some form of representation might be productive. Most dedicated cyclist trainers use early am or late afternoon when there's no family present. I regularly ride these on Sat am around 7-8am. It's simply not a time when you see families. Up to this point, I have not come across any other location where one can safely ride 20mins at a time without stopping at a relatively high exertional level.

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Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

sogood

Wow, sharp tongue! Which decade in the 19th century did you come from? Interval training are not just for the elites. If you wander over to the training section on this forum, maybe you can learn something.

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Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

sogood

Yes, that's the same suggestion as DamianM, Olympic Park.

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Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

classic1

Yep. It was mid-week when I was there and bugger all traffic around.