victoria road sydney

"M2cycler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

anybody commute to the city on victoria road starting from burns bay road at hunters hill. if so,
do u stay on the road from the ramp at hh all the way up and over the gladesville bridge. i saw
one crazy do it the other day. i reckon you'ld need a fair amount of speed to get to the crest
fast enough and be able to change left where burns bay merges with victoria road. once i can
maintain 60 km/h on the flat then i will try it.

maybe if a juicy bus comes at an opportune moment i will seize it.

I've done it quite a number of times, although I wouldn't call it communting. Mostly on a Sunday
after coming back from up north, but I've occasionally done it during the week. Coming over the
bridge isn't too bad, provided you keep a fair way (but not all the way) to the left. It may even be
a bus lane sometimes. Speed is not *that* important, but don't be weaving from side to side ;-) Then
you get the nice big dipper going down the other side, which is a real pain if there's traffic
banked up and/or a red light at the bottom.

I guess I'd probably avoid it during the weekdays, especially in peak hours. But your options
crossing the Parramatta River are rather limited: I think you've got the Harbour Bridge on one side
and Ryde Bridge on the other. There's a footpath on one side of Gladesville Bridge but I've only
been up it once I think.

Jeff

"Jeff Jones" <jeff@cyclingnews-punt-com> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"M2cycler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

anybody commute to the city on victoria road starting from burns bay road at hunters hill. if
so, do u stay on the road from the ramp at hh all the way up and over the gladesville bridge. i
saw one crazy do it the other day. i reckon you'ld need a fair amount of speed to get to the
crest fast enough and be able to change left where burns bay merges with victoria road. once i
can maintain 60 km/h on the flat then i will try it.

maybe if a juicy bus comes at an opportune moment i will seize it.

I've done it quite a number of times, although I wouldn't call it communting. Mostly on a Sunday
after coming back from up north, but I've occasionally done it during the week. Coming over the
bridge isn't too bad, provided you keep a fair way (but not all the way) to the left. It may even
be a bus lane sometimes. Speed is not *that* important, but don't be weaving from side to side ;-)
Then you get the nice big dipper going down the other side, which is a real pain if there's
traffic banked up and/or a red light at the bottom.

I guess I'd probably avoid it during the weekdays, especially in peak hours. But your options
crossing the Parramatta River are rather limited: I think you've got the Harbour Bridge on one
side and Ryde Bridge on the other. There's a footpath on one side of Gladesville Bridge but I've
only been up it once I think.

Jeff

I have just moved away from Gladesville and rode along Victoria Rd. Cutting across the traffic at
the merge would be quite tricky, although there are breaks in the traffic at peak hour. As long as
the traffic is not too congested, the traffic lights upstream (on Vic Road) can give you a window to
cross safely.

Ritch

PS. Just moved to Concord West... much nicer ride to the city.

My first (and LAST) ride in Sydney included a ride from Pennant Hills to Marsfield along Beecroft Rd and Epping Rd....after seeing my life flash before my eyes several times, I've decided that while in Sydney, I'll take a cab.

Hi Ritch
I lived in Concord West for about twenty years a great place. Moved to Canberra in 1995
Tony
Ritch

PS. Just moved to Concord West... much nicer ride to the city. [/B][/QUOTE]😄

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by M2cycler
anybody commute to the city on victoria road starting from burns bay road at hunters hill.
<snip>
maybe if a juicy bus comes at an opportune moment i will seize it.

If only Sydney Road, Melbourne could be so much fun as well.
Juicy tram? Think not, they're all way too slow, but either early morning & late night trams could prove interesting.

Don't trams run on tram TRACKS??? I get a shiver up my spine just thinking about the possibilities there....

On 28 Oct 2003 10:10:17 +1050, Paul_MCMLIX <[email hidden]> Wrote :

Quoted message said:

Don't trams run on tram TRACKS??? I get a shiver up my spine just thinking about the possibilities
there....

Tram tracks, a prime source of fear and loathing. Needlessly I might add...:-)

Contrary to what seems to be a popular belief not every street or road in Melbourne has 'em. In lots
of places where there are tracks you'd only be anywhere near 'em with a damn good reason - turning
right from St. Kilda Rd. for example. Mostly where there are tracks thay're not a worry. There are
some black spots - and some REALLY dark black spots though.

Two rules of thumb. The wider the tyre the less the chance of it falling into the track. Decent
width knobbies and you can ride along a track no problems AND turn out of it when required. A
20mm tyre is gonna go down given half a chance and will need to be sort of bunny hopped sideways
to get it out.

Ride STRAIGHT across 'em. Not perpendicular just have the bike going straight with you weight
directly over it. If you keep the front wheel pointed where you want to go you'll just cross the
track no problems. With even narrow tyres you can cross at what seem to be stupidly narrow angles.

If it's dry you can just about ignore 'em. If it's wet and you ain't carefull you'll quickly find
yourself bouncing down the road on your hip and elbow and that hurts...:-)

Quoted message said:

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Quoted message said:

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BAH Humbug

"BAH" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Contrary to what seems to be a popular belief not every street or road in Melbourne has 'em. In
lots of places

I get near tram tracks on Whitehorse Rd/Maroondah Hwy, especially on those freakin' SuperStops! I
cross them at Burke Rd too. On longer rides, if I venture into the city, I might cross them on
Bridge Rd (I got sideways hitting one going outbound just after the bridge..fun! :-)). In the city
itself there are quite a few but I rarely get close enough to them to care. St. Kilda road has them
but I ride along it not across it and at the intersections you hit them perpendicular anyway.

Quoted message said:

The wider the tyre the less the chance of it falling into the track. Decent width knobbies and you
can ride along

I wouldn't fit wide tyres to a bike just for fear of hitting a tram track though.. my 23mm road
tyres have done me fine for a long time. It was my 1.3" S-Licks that went into the tracks on Bridge
Rd. and that was only because I was unfamiliar with the corner. I didn't come off the bike, btw.

Quoted message said:

Ride STRAIGHT across 'em. Not perpendicular just have the

You mean "ride straight at them, not parallel" right? :-)

When turning across them it is often hard to get 90deg to the tracks but it is quite easy to cross
most of them at a much sharper angle, especially with a little hop.

Just remember.. trams are better than cars... no matter how much superstops suck :-)

hippy

hippy said:

Quoted message said:

Contrary to what seems to be a popular belief not every street or road in Melbourne has 'em. In
lots of places

I get near tram tracks on Whitehorse Rd/Maroondah Hwy, especially on those freakin' SuperStops! I
cross them at Burke Rd too.

Why on earth would super stops cause problems? Super Stops are nothing more than islands in a
reservation in the middle of the road, you shouldn't be riding anywhere near em.. There are three of
these in Box Hill in the wide section of Whitehorse Road, two at Victoria Gardens shopping centre,
one at St Vincents/Eastern Hill, two along Collins Street, and one on Swanston Street outside
Flinders Street Station..

It's Kerb Access stops (a totally different concept) that you should be concerned about, of which
there are two between Mont Albert and Box Hill in the narrow section of the road. You shouldn't need
to worry about em at all if you just use the provided bypass lane around the back of them..

PC

"PC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Why on earth would super stops cause problems? Super Stops are nothing more than islands in a
reservation in the middle of the road,

<snip>

Quoted message said:

It's Kerb Access stops (a totally different concept) that you should be concerned about, of which
there are two between Mont Albert and Box Hill in the narrow section of the road.

Okay, my mistake with the names. I wrongly believed that these "kerb access stops" were called
"Super Stops".

Quoted message said:

You shouldn't need to worry about em at all if you just use the provided bypass lane around the
back of them..

I don't use the bypass lanes. I have used them a few times but most of the time I travel past those
stops I am moving too fast (downhill) to safely use them - it is easier to squeeze along the kerb
stop than turn off, hit some sand or bumpy curb edges and then suddenly appear back onto the road.
The risk with this is hitting the tracks.

I use them more often going up the hill, if there is a tram behind me. I try to avoid holding up
the trams.

Maybe I need to look again at the bypass lane option..

BV has some issues with this tram line: bv.com.aucontent.cfmOpen ↗

hippy

"Paul_MCMLIX" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Don't trams run on tram TRACKS??? I get a shiver up my spine just thinking about the possibilities
there....

Try riding in Gent! You've got cobbled streets with tram tracks running up them. My MTB is immune,
but my road bike is peril on two (thin) wheels.

cheers, Jeff

In article said:

On 28 Oct 2003 10:10:17 +1050, Paul_MCMLIX <[email hidden]> Wrote :

Quoted message said:

Don't trams run on tram TRACKS??? I get a shiver up my spine just thinking about the possibilities
there....

Tram tracks, a prime source of fear and loathing. Needlessly I might add...:-)

<snip>

Quoted message said:

If it's dry you can just about ignore 'em. If it's wet and you ain't carefull you'll quickly find
yourself bouncing down the road on your hip and elbow and that hurts...:-)

Don't know about this, I had a close encounter of the tram track kind on St. Georges Rd. last
Wednesday got my rear wheel stuck in the tracks as they bend around the round about (broke 2 spokes
and dis-aligned the wheel) I think friction reduction of the water on my wheels and on the tracks is
the only thing that let me pop out of tracks with out coming off the bike.

--
| Joel Mayes | Come and see me play! Accordionist | 2traverse Musician | Sept 25 - Oct 12 @ the
| Store Room Music Teacher | cos` co tworzy jakby mapy na mojej sko`rze

Joel Mayes <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article said:

On 28 Oct 2003 10:10:17 +1050, Paul_MCMLIX

<[email hidden]> Wrote :

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Don't trams run on tram TRACKS??? I get a shiver up my spine just thinking about the
possibilities there....

Tram tracks, a prime source of fear and loathing. Needlessly I might add...:-)

<snip>

Quoted message said:

If it's dry you can just about ignore 'em. If it's wet and you ain't carefull you'll quickly
find yourself bouncing down the road on your hip and elbow and that hurts...:-)

Don't know about this, I had a close encounter of the tram track kind on St. Georges Rd. last
Wednesday got my rear wheel stuck in the tracks as they bend around the round about

Is that the one near Merri Creek? Oooh, that's nasty.

A mate of mine got cleaned up on that roundabout a few weeks back, destroying the tandem he had just
built. A confusing 4 way roundabout with trams going through the middle. Urrgh!!!

I rode a racer around the other day, and realised just how dangerous the tracks can be with cheese
cutter tires. I guess that's a good reason why mountain bikes are popular in the city. I still have
scars on my arm from a crash about 4 years ago from hitting a tram track in the pissing rain...
---
DFM

On 28 Oct 2003 23:59:22 GMT, Joel Mayes <[email hidden]> Wrote :

Quoted message said:

In article said:

On 28 Oct 2003 10:10:17 +1050, Paul_MCMLIX <[email hidden]> Wrote :

Quoted message said:

Don't trams run on tram TRACKS??? I get a shiver up my spine just thinking about the
possibilities there....

Tram tracks, a prime source of fear and loathing. Needlessly I might add...:-)

<snip>

Quoted message said:

If it's dry you can just about ignore 'em. If it's wet and you ain't carefull you'll quickly find
yourself bouncing down the road on your hip and elbow and that hurts...:-)

Don't know about this, I had a close encounter of the tram track kind on St. Georges Rd. last
Wednesday got my rear wheel stuck in the tracks as

That's one of the REALLY dark black spots I mentioned. Another is turning left from Mathews Ave.
into Keilor Rd. in Niddrie. Chapel St. on a Friday night is another place where you can get a fair
bit of practice at getting out of the tracks without falling off. People dodging out between cars,
car doors being FLUNG open, shopping trolleys jumping out from behind cars, etc. All the sorts of
things that cause you to flinch away - straight down the tram track which was only a metre or less
away anyway...:-) Much more "fun" if it's a wet, dark Fri. night...:-(

Quoted message said:

they bend around the round about (broke 2 spokes and dis-aligned the wheel) I think friction
reduction of the water on my wheels and on the tracks is the only thing that let me pop out of
tracks with out coming off the bike.

It could also be the reason the wheel went down the track in the first place.

Quoted message said:

--
| Joel Mayes | Come and see me play! Accordionist | 2traverse Musician | Sept 25 - Oct 12 @ the
| Store Room Music Teacher | cos` co tworzy jakby mapy na mojej sko`rze

--

BAH Humbug

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Deep Freud Moor
A mate of mine got cleaned up on that roundabout a few weeks back, destroying the tandem he had just
built. A confusing 4 way roundabout with trams going through the middle. Urrgh!!!
DFM

Yeah, heard about this last week. Hope Th*r*n & stoker gets well (or is) well soon. Very crappy news, a excellent tandem with double Brookes saddles. Apparentely the other party (read:P-plater from what I heard) involved was very apologetic.

"cfsmtb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Gee, is that a REAL email address? :-P (It probably bloody is, isn't it?!
:-S)

Quoted message said:

Yeah, heard about this last week. Hope Th*r*n & stoker gets well (or is) well soon. Very crappy
news, a excellent tandem with double Brookes saddles.

Out of curiosity.. Well, actually no, I own one and I want to sell it :-)

How much are Brookes saddles?

hippy

On Tue, 28 Oct 2003 02:05:12 GMT, hippy <[email hidden]> Wrote :

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Ride STRAIGHT across 'em. Not perpendicular just have the

You mean "ride straight at them, not parallel" right? :-)

No, I mean that you can cross tracks at vary narrow angles provided that you have the bike going
straight. If you're turning or braking the differences in traction between the road surface and
track could well add some "interest" to the ride...:-)

Quoted message said:

When turning across them it is often hard to get 90deg to the tracks but it is quite easy to cross
most of them at a much sharper angle, especially with a little hop.

Just remember.. trams are better than cars... no matter how much superstops suck :-)

Definately...

Quoted message said:

hippy

--

BAH Humbug

In article said:

Joel Mayes <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article said:

On 28 Oct 2003 10:10:17 +1050, Paul_MCMLIX

<[email hidden]> Wrote :

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>Don't trams run on tram TRACKS??? I get a shiver up my spine just thinking about the
>possibilities there....

Tram tracks, a prime source of fear and loathing. Needlessly I might add...:-)

<snip>

Quoted message said:

If it's dry you can just about ignore 'em. If it's wet and you ain't carefull you'll quickly
find yourself bouncing down the road on your hip and elbow and that hurts...:-)

Don't know about this, I had a close encounter of the tram track kind on St. Georges Rd. last
Wednesday got my rear wheel stuck in the tracks as they bend around the round about

Is that the one near Merri Creek? Oooh, that's nasty.

A mate of mine got cleaned up on that roundabout a few weeks back, destroying the tandem he had
just built. A confusing 4 way roundabout with trams going through the middle. Urrgh!!!

Yep. It's on my daily commute I come on to St Georges Rd. off Miller St. just before the round-about
and head off down Merri Pde. which is the final street to come off and round-about 9 time out of 10
I'll back track and cross at the pedestrian lights 100m back from Miller St. even with out the tram
tracks this is a dangerous bit of road.

Quoted message said:

DFM

Joel

--
| Joel Mayes | Come and see me play! Accordionist | 2traverse Musician | Sept 25 - Oct 12 @ the
| Store Room Music Teacher | cos` co tworzy jakby mapy na mojej sko`rze