We do this trike tour for disability passenger a couple of times per year. Hugh loves it so much his carers organise it with us.

These rides are great for people with a disability. For instance, feeling the breeze, hearing the motor and just feeling the whole experiencing is wonderful for them. David picked Hugh and his carer up from their home in the southern suburbs of Sydney.

Tom Uglys Bridge

Firstly they rode over Tom Uglys Bridge. This spans the Georges River and gives a great view of the waterway. Tom Uglys Bridge is composed of two bridges, completed in 1929 and 1987. It is a truss bridge, 500m in length.

Cronulla Beach

In addition, they rode to Cronulla Beach. It’s a lovely ride along the coastline. Cronulla has numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the CBD. The trike tour for disability passenger was going very well at this point.

They stopped at a cafe for a stretch and a coffee. However, the hour was up way too quickly so David rode them back through the southern suburbs, over Tom Uglys Bridge and back to their home.

In conclusion, Hugh loved the trike tour for disability passenger just as much as he loved his first ride and all rides in between. Each ride took them on a different loop of the south eastern suburbs. Half the time it is just as much the fun of the experience than what the sights actually are. Above all, it is safe and our riders are all professional and experienced.
https://www.trolltours.com.au/product/design-your-own-ride/

Tom Uglys Bridge – history of the name

I was wondering how a bridge could end up with such a strange name. Apparently, Tom Uglys Bridge took its name from the geographical feature at the northern end of the bridge, known as Tom Uglys Point. The point was known as Tom Uglys Point over 80 years prior to the construction of the bridge. At various times the bridge is incorrectly transcribed as Tom Ugly’s Bridge – no apostrophe needed.

However, there are several theories about the origin of the name of the point.

• One is that it was named after a local resident Tom Huxley and the name was a mispronunciation by local Aboriginal people. Descendants of Thomas Huxley have concluded that he lived and owned land in the area but official records do not exist to verify this.
• Another theory is that it was derived from the name of a local Aboriginal man, Tow-weiry, who lived in the area and died about 1846.
• A third theory is that there was a local fisherman resident in the area by the name of Tom Illigley.
• Yet another is that there was a one-legged man, possibly an army deserter or a boat operator, called either “Tom Woggleg” or “Wogul Leg Tom”, either because of a mispronunciation of wooden leg, or from the local Aboriginal dialect word for “one”.

The name was officially adopted to distinguish between the various subsequent bridges across Georges River, after the opening of the Captain Cook Bridge in 1965 and the Alfords Point Bridge in 1973. Tom Uglys Bridge are actually two road bridges, completed in 1929 and 1987.

The Blue Mountains birthday Harley tour was organised for Frances. What better way is there to celebrate a birthday!

The Three Sisters

Our two Harley riders picked our passengers up from their hotel in Leura. After that, it was a 2 hour ride around the Blue Mountains. There are so many beautiful places to visit, so many lookouts to see. The Three Sisters is the Blue Mountains’ most spectacular landmark and are located at Echo Point in Katoomba. Our riders stopped at Eagle Hawk Lookout for photos and so all could have a stretch.

Jamison Valley

After riding around the scenic sights of the Blue Mountains for a while, they also stopped at the Wentworth Falls tracks Lookout. This gives a totally different view of the Jamison Valley. The Blue Mountains birthday Harley tour was showing them many of the famous sights.

Govetts Leap Lookout

Discovering so many sights is fun. Not in any particular order – The Three Sisters – Echo Point affords views of the Three Sisters sandstone rock formation. Wentworth Falls, the old gaol, Hartley Valley, Govetts Leap Lookout, in the Blackheath area. Leura, Katoomba and past Hydro Majestic. Just to name a few of the places. However, the 2 hours was p so our Harley riders dropped them back at their hotel. In conclusion, the Mountains birthday Harley tour was a huge success – Happy Birthday!

https://www.trolltours.com.au/product/design-your-own-ride/

World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park – information

The world heritage listed Blue Mountains National Park is a protected national park. It is located in the Blue Mountains region of NSW. The 267,954-hectare (662,130-acre) national park is situated approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Sydney. Interestingly, the park boundary is quite irregular as it is broken up by roads, urban areas and inholdings. Despite the name ‘mountains’, the area is an uplifted plateau, dissected by a number of larger rivers. Mount Werong is the highest point in the park at 1,215 metres (3,986 ft) above sea level; while the low point is on the Nepean River at 20 metres (66 ft) above sea level as it leaves the park.

UNESCO World Heritage–listed Greater Blue Mountains Area

In 2000, the national park was inscribed to form part of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Greater Blue Mountains Area. On 21 May 2007, the Greater Blue Mountains was one of 15 World Heritage places included in the National Heritage List. The Blue Mountains National Park is the most central of the eight protected areas within the World Heritage Site and it forms part of the Great Dividing Range. The park is also listed on the Australian Heritage Register. Also, the overall complex of Blue Mountains regional walking tracks is listed on the State Heritage Register. https://www.bluemts.com.au/

The organiser for Trusted Travel contacted us to organise another trike tour for disability passengers. We have plenty of experience with passengers who have a disability of some degree. Trusted Travel provides supported holidays which are a great way to meet new friends and share your experiences. They are also a service of The Disability Trust. There were 8 passengers so we organised four trikes with riders.

Our trike riders arrived at the hotel before the start time. They kitted the passengers with helmets and jackets before helping them onto the trikes. Firstly, 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.

Kirribilli

Next, after riding across the Harbour Bridge they rode past Kirribilli House. Kirribilli House is the secondary official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia. 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. A perfect place to stop for photos.

The Kirribilli Loop

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. So far, the trike tour for disability passengers was a huge success.

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.

Fig Tree Bridge, Tarban Creek Bridge, Gladesville Bridge

The Fig Tree Bridge 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.

This bridge is on the main arterial thoroughfare of Victoria Road. They travelled along for a short while before turning off into the inner west suburb of Drummoyne. Following the shoreline of Iron Cove, which is part of the Parramatta River, they saw some lovely water views. It is part of the 7 km long Bay Run.

ANZAC Bridge

Our favourite bridge is the ANZAC Bridge. 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, time was nearly up so our riders dropped our passengers back at their hotel, a great way to see parts of the city only the locals know about. The trike tour for disability passengers was such a fun experience. The passengers could relax and just enjoy the feeling of freedom.
https://www.trolltours.com.au/product/three-bridges-trike-tour/

Shane contacted us long ago. She wanted to organise a surprise 85th birthday transfer for her mum. We love surprises so it was fun to organise, thinking about Helen’s reaction.

Newport

Our trike rider Craig, picked the passengers up at Newport. Newport is part of the Northern Beaches region of Sydney. Firstly, they rode around the local back streets. Even though they know these back streets very well, it still looks different from the back of a trike.

Pittwater

Next, it was the back roads along the water of Pittwater. Through the suburbs of Bilgola, Clareville and Avalon. So far, the surprise 85th birthday transfer was a fabulous experience.

Whale Beach to Palm Beach

From here, the road winds through Whale Beach to Palm Beach. So they drove up to Palm Beach for a look before finishing the loop. The loop rides past Pittwater (Bay) on the west and along the South Pacific Ocean on the east. However, time was nearly up so Craig dropped Helen + Shane off at Jonah’s Restaurant. They were going to continue the 85th birthday celebration with a family party.

In conclusion, the surprise 85th birthday transfer was a huge success. Helen received a great surprise and you can see the smiles on everyone’s faces. Even if they weren’t going for a ride on the trike, they knew it would be fun.
https://www.trolltours.com.au/product/design-your-own-ride/

Palm Beach – There’s a reason that Palm Beach doubles up as the setting for Summer Bay, the fictional beach in TV show Home & Away, the golden sand and sparkling blue sea make it look too good to be true. What makes Palm Beach, a narrow peninsular, so spectacular is its unbeatable location. It won nature’s lottery and is surrounded by water on three sides: Pittwater to the west, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and Broken Bay to the north at the mouth of the Hawkesbury River, which meanders inland to historic Windsor.

The 70thBirthday Skimmer trike tour was for Phyllis, Shona’s mum. Shona wrote, “My mum mentioned she had always wanted to do a Harley trike ride. I just put in Google search Harley ride Sydney and browsed a few sites. Realised it was called a trike so put that in Google and then browsed yours. Looked at a few other sites but I liked yours the best.”

A lot of work goes on behind the scene with our website so we are happy other people like it also. Anyway, Shona organised her mum’s 70th birthday trike tour with us. Phyllis has a bad knee so can’t walk far. We found a place in the Rocks where Shona could park and they didn’t have to walk too far to the trike.

Our trike rider Craig picked them up near the Overseas Passenger Terminal, the Rocks.

Firstly, they rode around The Rocks, Sydney’s oldest historical area, located directly under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, in the centre of the city.

Next, they rode across the iconic 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. This lead to Jeffrey Street Wharf in Kirribilli. From here, the views across Sydney Harbour towards the Sydney Opera House and the CBD are magnificent.

The Kirribilli Loop

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.

lower North Shore suburbs

Continuing north east, they rode through Cremorne, Mosman and down past the Taronga Zoo to Bradleys Head. Make sure you look for the koalas eating and sleeping in the gum trees. So far, the 70thbirthday Skimmer trike tour was a huge success.

Bradleys Head and Balmoral Beach

Similarly, Bradleys Head has wonderful views across Sydney Harbour to the Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge and the CBD. Riding on, they rode past the lovely posh Balmoral Beach. Everyone who comes here loves it!

The Northern Beaches

Next, they rode through the back streets before crossing the Spit Bridge, this is always fun. The lovely views of Middle Harbour and hundreds of yachts are hard to forget. Riding further up the hill they rode into the northern beach suburbs of Seaforth and Clontarf. They turned off the main road, Manly Road, to have a look at Sandy Bay. It is such a beautiful (and upper class) area. Riding into the famous Manly, Craig dropped Phyllis + Shona off. Celebrations were to continue, our passengers were going to eat lunch at one of the many nice restaurants in Manly. After that, they were going to catch the ferry back into Sydney’s Circular Quay. Then it was a short walk to their car.

In conclusion, the 70thbirthday Skimmer trike tour was the best present possible. A tick on the bucket list. ✔︎
https://www.trolltours.com.au/product/the-north-shore-skimmer-trike-tour/