There are many blogs and websites that describe rides, but most are by and for younger cyclists brave enough to ride on roads. This blog is different in two ways: it is for road-averse riders who place high priority on safety, and it tries to show what the ride looks like rather than worry about maps and riding data. This means all posted routes avoid riding on roads and there are lots of photos of what to expect.
I was inspired into eBiking after riding the 152km Otago Rail Trail in New Zealand. Since then I have had three ebikes which has been a learning experience as my riding preferences developed. My current ebike is a Merida eOne Sixty 800 Full Suspension bought from Sydney Electric Bikes. It’s a go-anywhere machine and I love it.
Sydney has a patchy bike path network and it’s not always easy to find safe and scenic rides. So hopefully this blog will inspire others to try these tours and maybe share their riding experiences.
Each tour is described in terms of start and finish points, scenic highlights, overall length, approximate time taken, plus a map. With 20 years of professional photography behind me, there are also lots of photos.
In addition to Sydney-based routes, there are fabulous rides further afield, including Melbourne, Albury, Wollongong, Newcastle, Thredbo, Jindabyne, Uluru. There are also two posts with practical suggestions for Transporting eBikes and Tips for a Softer Ride. I hope you find these useful.
Feel free to comment on anything that attracts your interest and share your own favourite rides.
Cheers
Richard
ebikerdiary@gmail.com
PS: if you would like more detailed route information and you have a Strava account, please feel free to connect with me via my account name: Richard Alaba
PSS: if there are any ebikers out there who are also keen movie goers, please visit my film review site at https://cinemusefilms.com
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eBiker Diary 
For anyone wanting to earn some regular money riding their ebikes think about delivering local business flyers in your local area. I am 71 years old and currently putting out 1000 flyers ( junk mail! ) a week at .9cents each. That’s $90 a week for casually riding my bike when I like, exercising, and smelling the local roses. WOW! There is plenty of this type of work about in your local area. if you are interested. I can put you in touch with one local real estate agent in the Penrith area to start immediately if interested. You can put as many out as you like in a given area. When you finish the area, you start all over again, AND you ride on the footpath! Think of it as forced riding or exercise. If interested please contact me, Bill Griffith 02-9623-8406 or 0413 855-060. P.S. It takes this 71 year old about 9 (casual, non pressure ) hours over two / three days to put out 1000 flyers. That’s NINE paid hours of cycling a week. WOW!
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Top marks for entrepreneurial ebiking Bill. Being paid to ride sounds heavenly; hope you inspire others.
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Hey Richard, I love all the great posts of adventures that you’ve explored and now shared here. I’d love to easily be able to explore all of the individual routes, roads, paths, and turns (as I’m sure others would as well), and it looks like you’ve recorded them all your rides on Strava. For the posts you’ve done, would you consider making the relevant rides public for everyone and then linking to them from your given post or at least converting them to Strava routes that other people can easily load up and utilise for keeping on-track when out there? I don’t know if you’ve seen it before, but it’s a really handy Strava feature! https://labs.strava.com/gpx-to-route/ I’ve used it a number of times for my own local routes and new places that I’m exploring.
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Hi Christopher; thanks for your interest but I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Each ride I post has a Strava map, and many readers have linked up to my Strava account so they have access to the nitty gritty of the ride. How can I make my rides more public? cheers, Richard
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Thanks for replying Richard. One of your rides I was interested for example was the Lake Tuggerah Loop, which took me a little while to find after following you on Strava, so it would be helpful to have this link directly on the post, although you still have to be connected to view it unless you were to edit the permissions to allow anyone to view: https://www.strava.com/activities/1838031351
Alternatively, you could also take that link and input it into the route maker I linked above and create a collection of all the routes that you want to highlight, which anyone can then view and use. Here’s an example route I made up from your activity above, which makes it easy to explore the whole route on the computer in more detail, and when using Strava on the phone app you can load these up to follow when recording a ride. https://www.strava.com/routes/19630818 Routes that you create are publicly available (by default), and then anyone who follows you I think can easily check out all your public routes as well on the Strava app.
See what you think, and if you also think they’d be handy complements to your posts!
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Sorry its taken a while, but I now see what you mean and am progressively adding a Strava link to all my posts. Just for fun, I’ve recently acquired a GoPro and will add links to YouTube clips for the popular cycle routes. cheers.
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That’s great Richard! Thanks for taking the feedback onboard, that’ll be a super handy reference I reckon. The GoPro is a great idea – maybe something like sped-up/hyperlapse videos so people can get a feel for what the routes are like before giving them a go!
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My learning curve is almost vertical right now. Have uploaded a batch of unedited GoPro files for the recent Parramatta Cycleway post. Need to find out about lapse shooting but am trying.
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Hi Richard, it’s great to see your blog on eBiking. I really enjoy how my eBike extends the distances I can comfortably travel. However, I do find the alloy frame quite rigid in comparison to my push-bikes that have chrome-moly frames. I think your suggestion of the Thudbuster seat suspension might be the solution for that. Thanks for the tip! And good riding! Gail.
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Lovely to see you here Gail and thanks for visiting. I can indeed recommend the Thudbuster and have used them on several bikes. My bottom has never been happier.
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G’day Richard, I love what you’ve started, have an under-utilised Ezee Torq e-bike, and would be delighted to join you, and preferably a few more, in repeating the trips you listed and/or new ones. Best wishes, Neil
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Nice to hear from you Neil. What area are you in? I was hoping to maybe form or find a group for a few tours in the warmer months. Will keep you posted. Do you have any favourite long rides?
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I guess, in the first instance, rides that start within about 30 minutes from my home in Willoughby, NSW. My riding is a bit rusty but once I get my mojo back I’d be up for many rides outside of Sydney and elsewhere in Australia. Having company when riding is important for me to overcome the lazy voice sometimes in my head. I’d also prefer fellow riders that are happy to go at a pace where we can enjoy where we’re going and not make ‘getting there’ as fast as possible the object of our travels. I’m 70 with the fitness of a 50yo.
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Watch this space Neil. There is a NSW Bike Week coming up in the second week of September and there may be an organised bike tour on offer. I expect to have an article in the NSW Seniors Newsletter about ebiking and Bike Week.
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