The Sydney Harley tour experience was booked by Michelle for herself. She is a regular visitor to Sydney to see her kids. So this time, she decided to have some fun herself. Our Harley rider picked her up from her accommodation in Coogee.

Coogee

Firstly, they rode past Coogee Beach which is more chilled than its neighbour Bondi. It’s a beautiful beach and slightly more famous than most other beaches, due to a well know hotel in Coogee. The name Coogee is said to be taken from a local Aboriginal word koojah which means “smelly place”. Another version is koo-chai or koo-jah, both of which mean “the smell of the seaweed drying” in the Bidigal language, or “stinking seaweed”, a reference to the smell of decaying kelp washed up on the beach. Coogee was gazetted as a village in 1838. The first school was built in 1863, and the building was converted into the Coogee Bay Hotel in 1873 (Wikipedia).

Centennial Parklands

Secondly, they rode past Centennial Park. 120 fields and venues, and 35+ different sports played in the Centennial Parklands. It is the largest community sports precinct in Australia! The history is also interesting: “Originally a swamp and then set aside as land for the water source for Sydney. Centennial Park was reconstructed as a public park and opened in 1888. Sir Henry Parkes’ vision was to create a ‘People’s Park’ in which the citizens of Sydney could ‘take in the air’ away from the Sydney town centre.” – from their website.

Fun Fact

Freshwater eels live their adult lives (up to sixty years) in the ponds of Centennial Park. To breed, these eels go on an incredible journey through drains and over roads, down to Botany Bay, where they enter salt water and migrate towards New Caledonia where they lay their eggs deep in the ocean. From the Centennial Parklands website.

Moore Park

Next, they rode through Moore Park is home to Sydney (Alliance) Stadium. It’s where Rugby is played. This entertainment, dining and leisure hub spans 115 hectares and includes the serene Centennial Park, all only a stone’s throw from the city centre. From watching a major sporting match and browsing farmers’ markets to going horse riding, playing golf and enjoying a range of fun indoors activities, including wine tasting.

Eastern Distributor

Then it was onto the Eastern Distributor. This is a 4.7 km long motorway which links the Sydney central business district with the south-east and Sydney Airport.

Cahill Expressway

This led them onto the Cahill Expressway. It is a freeway and was the first freeway constructed in Australia, with the first section being opened to traffic in March 1958. It takes one over the top of Circular Quay.

Circular Quay

Often referred to as the “gateway to Sydney”, the precinct has views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House and is a common location for viewing Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks. It hosts a number of ferry wharves, bus stops, and a railway station.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Riding further, they rode over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We always tell our passengers to look up and enjoy the unique view. he more than 6,000,000 rivets are so interesting and the arch is so iconic. It’s nicknamed ‘The Coathanger’ because of its arch-based design. It is the largest steel arch bridge in the world. This bridge is the eighth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 m (440 ft) from top to water level. It was also the world’s widest long-span bridge, at 48.8 m (160 ft) wide, until a bridge in Canada was completed in 2012.

Blues Point Reserve

Continuing on, they rode on through Milsons Point, did a left hand turn and rode up a few streets. This lead to Blues Point Reserve. The views over Blues Bay towards the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the CBD are just stunning. All the more stunning because of the lovely weather. Another perfect place for photos, it’s where this photo was taken.

They continued riding on through North Sydney and Crows Nest before joining River Road. It is a fun road to ride on. River Road leads to Burns Bay Road which, in turn, leads to another bridge but not one of the main three. So far, the Sydney Harley tour experience on Harley Davidson, was already so much fun.

Fig Tree Bridge, Tarban Creek Bridge, Gladesville Bridge

The first bridge is an old but smallish bridge – the Fig Tree Bridge. It opened in 1963 and spans the Lane Cove River. After that bridge, they continued on and crossed the second of the bridges Tarban Creek Bridge. This spans Tarban Creek, likewise, it has nice views east to the Harbour Bridge. Then they got to bridge #2 of the main 3 Bridges, the Gladesville Bridge. It has wonderful views along Parramatta River towards the Harbour Bridge and the city.

Gladesville Bridge is a heritage-listed concrete arch road bridge that carries Victoria Road over the Parramatta River, from the western suburbs to the city (or vice versa). It was the first 305-metre (1,000 ft) span concrete bridge in the world and had a substantial number of engineering and technical elements that made it a world-leading bridge design and construction achievement. It was also the first bridge, if not one of the first bridges, to utilise computer programming in its construction.

This bridge is on the main arterial thoroughfare of Victoria Road – from the western suburbs to the city (or vice versa).

Bay Run

Then, they did a detour off the main arterial road through the inner west suburbs of Rozelle, Lilyfield, Haberfield, Five Dock and Drummoyne. They followed part of the Bay Run. It is a 7km long (4.3 mi) shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians that encircles much of Iron Cove. It never deviates more than 20m from the water so the views are pretty nice.

ANZAC Bridge

Riding over our favourite bridge, the ANZAC Bridge, is an experience. We think it is incredible, a work of art and design. It is main bridge #3. Similarly, it is also great to see without a roof over your head inhibiting the view.

Most noteworthy, the stay cable design concept development and final design for the new bridge were carried out by the Roads & Traffic Authority of NSW. Finally, the bridge was opened to traffic on 03 December 1995 as the Glebe Island Bridge.

The bridge was given its current name on Remembrance Day in 1998 to honour the memory of the soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (known as ANZACs) who served in World War I.

However, one hour was up so they had half an hour to get to drop off. They headed south east, through the city and back to Coogee. Michelle loved the Sydney Harley tour experience and wants to do another one, next time she is back in Australia.

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