Day 16 Corrimal to Mascot Sydney - 70km

A little rain overnight, but tents were pretty dry by the time we got up in the morning.  Forgot to mention that they are all very patriotic up here, but some of them seem to carry things a bit too far.

Tony tried to get a bit of early morning action, surfing action that is, with a few of the locals.

Showed them how to handle the waves.

Had breakfast in the BBQ area and then made a start along a bike path that runs along the beach.  A great bike path, good surface and wide.  Great riding in the cool of the morning and we were able to look at the beaches and houses next to the beach as we rode.

At the end of the bike path we got onto Lawrence Hargreaves Drive which is part of the Great Pacific Drive (a bit like the Great Ocean Road).  Again great riding.  A few steep sections but not too bad for a couple of superbly fit, sleek bodied athletes like us.  Interesting looking at the architecture of all the different houses along the way.  Strange seeing some ultra modern beach place beside a 60s suburban house.

Thought we saw a snake at one of our stops, but it turned out to be a worm.

Eventually made our way around to Clifton where the spectacular Sea Cliff Bridge is.  It was great riding down it and was so interesting we went back to have a better look.

We were fascinated by the hundreds of padlocks that were locked around the bottom of the bridge railing, each engraved with a message for a loved one living or dead.

This is an example of one.

I think we found Andrew Demetriou's younger brother going by the name of Paul McLeay.

Kept riding and climbed Bald Hill, a long steep hill.  Tough going with no shoulder and all the  cars and trucks coming up.   Joe got a flat tyre on the trailer and had to push the bike up the hill until we found a place we could do repairs.

Finished repairs by the railway track and got going again.

Reached the top of Bald Hill, Stanwell Park and for some reason Joe thought it was a spiritual place.

Bald Hill is a launching point for hang gliders and para sailors.  We spent a fair bit of time there watching them jump off  and soar above the houses below.

It was fantastic.  Joe offered Tony $50 to do a tandem jump.  Tony declined gracefully.

After spending a fair bit of time watching the gliders we moved on to the Royal National Park.  Beautiful riding through the bush and quiet roads.  Great down hills and up hills were not too taxing.

Stopped at Allambie Flat for a short break by the river and headed of again.  A fellow cyclist going in the opposite direction told us the next stage was very hilly and would take us about an hour as he had taken 20 minutes to ride down hill.  not sure what drugs he was on, because it only took us about 20 minutes up hill.





Made our way down Princes Highway to Kirawee where we caught the train to Mascot.  We always intended taking the train through Sydney rather than ride because there are very few bike paths and the traffic is chaotic.  Getting the bike and trailer onto the platforms down lifts and into trains was a bit of a challenge at times.

At Mascot we navigated our way to Michael and Robyn's using the HTC Legend (a far superior phone than the old fashioned iPhone that some technical experts??? prefer).

Great to see Michael and Robyn, both of whom are looking well.

Went out for dinner at Zoi's, a Spanish tapas bar and had some great food at a great price.  Highly recommended.  Tony tried to demonstrate the finer points of a squirrel grip to Joe who all of a sudden got very shy.  This is the picture Joe didn't want included.

Here is the picture Joe wanted included.