surprise 70th birthday trike – Chrissy + Ron 23.09.26

The surprise 70th birthday trike ride was for Ron’s birthday. His daughter bought it for him and his wife came along as well. They caught a train down from the Central Coast and our trike rider picked them up from the heritage listed Waverton Station. As everyone was early, our rider paid for a coffee for each of them, a birthday present :).

The rider took them on the 4 Bridges tour, a variation of our popular 3 Bridges tour.

Waverton

Waverton is a harbour-side suburb on the lower North Shore, 4km north of Sydney CBD. The suburb was named in 1929 after the Waverton Estate of an early resident, Richard Old. The land once belonged to William Carr, who named it after an English village connected to his family. There are some lovely recreational areas, right next to Sydney Harbour.

Kirribilli

Firstly, the rider took them through the back streets and into Kirribilli, to the Prime Minister‘s residence and Admiralty House. Kirribilli House is the secondary official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia.

Next door is Admiralty House. It is the Sydney residence of the Governor-General and one of the most historic and important residences on Sydney Harbour. The house – originally called ‘Wotonga’ – was built in the mid 1800’s.

After that, they rode around the corner to Jeffrey Street Wharf. From here, the views across Sydney Harbour towards the Sydney Opera House and the CBD are magnificent. In addition, it also has an up-close view of the side and underneath of the bridge. What a great view of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge!

The Kirribilli Loop – Harbour Bridge north side

From there, they rode under the north side of the bridge and continued on their tour. The underside of the northern end of the SHB – Sydney Harbour Bridge – is very interesting. The Kirribilli Loop was finished by riding past Luna Park and the North Sydney Olympic Pool.

McMahons Point / Blues Point Reserve

Thirdly, they rode on through Milsons Point, did a left hand turn and rode up a few streets. This leads to Blues Point Reserve. The views over Blues Bay towards the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the CBD are just stunning. Already, the surprise 70th birthday trike tour in Sydney, has shown our passengers some major Sydney city sights. It’s where this photo was taken.

Fig Tree Bridge, Tarban Creek Bridge, Gladesville Bridge

The next 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

Next, the 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).

Iron Cove Bridge

Further along Victoria Road, the Iron Cove Bridge is an interesting bridge. One of a couple of heritage-listed road bridges in Sydney. This one carries Victoria Road (A40) across Iron Cove, linking the suburbs of Drummoyne to Rozelle and the rest of the Sydney city. ‘A decision to replace the original bridge was made in 1939 just prior to the outbreak of World War II. Design work began in 1942 and construction commenced in 1947. The bridge was officially opened by the Hon. J.J. Cahill, MLA, Premier and Colonial Treasurer of NSW on 30 July 1955.’ Wikipedia. One of the “freeways” (not free 😉 ) over the Sydney Harbour Bridge is named after him.

ANZAC Bridge

After a couple of turns, they rode over our favourite bridge, the ANZAC Bridge. We think it is incredible, a work of art and design. It is main bridge #1 of this tour. 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.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Lastly, they rode over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We always tell our passengers to look up and enjoy the unique view. The 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.

The hour was up, so the rider dropped them back at Waverton Station so they could catch the train home.

In conclusion, the surprise 70th birthday trike tour in Sydney, was a fun, memorable and unique. The best birthday present EVER! Don did some reminiscing about his early (under age) riding days.

Feel the Freedom!

Check out a description of the tour here. Don’t forget every tour is unique so may not be exactly as stated but you will always see the icons mentioned.

or just email trevor@trolltours.com.au and tell us what you would like to do.