The Sydney to Surfers Robbos’ Ride is a 7 day challenge along the northern NSW coastline

The Sydney to Surfers Robbo’s Ride is a challenging 7 day ride that travels from Sydney, north along the coast, all the way through to Surfers Paradise, finishing at SeaWorld. This is a multi-day event over 7 days, travelling approximately 900 km with the intention of raising funds for the Father Chris Riley’s charity, Youth Off The Street. 

Day 1 Sydney to Swansea (126km) The day starts in the Northern suburbs town of Hornsby and travels through to Swansea.  The ride today is 120 km with a couple of major descents and climbs, notably when crossing the Hawkesbury River and the climb up towards Mount White. The evening is spent in Swansea, listening to the sounds of water all around you with Lake Macquarie to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east.

Day 2 Swansea to Bulahdelah (117km) The day starts off with a nice ride around Lake Macquarie and then through the suburbs of Newcastle. You’ll then head towards Hexham before swinging a little bit further to the east around the coastline, through to Bulahdelah with a few undulations. This is a day for fast riding.

Day 3 Bulahdelah to North Haven (128km) The day starts with a nice climb out of Bulahdelah and then you’ll be escorted along the dual-carriageway of the Pacfic Highway. After the ‘heart starter’ of a climb in the morning, the rest of the day is made up of rolling countryside all the way through to the end of the day.

Day 4 North Haven to Nambucca Heads (143km) This day is ‘hump day’ which means you are halfway there. You can expect a nice long ride with some good rolling country to get you there. You’ll spend the day following the coastline, as you head north skirting around the western side of Port Macquarie. You may not see the sea as you’re about 10 to 15 km inland for most of the day, before coming out at Marrickville and then turning east back out to Nambucca Heads.

Day 5 Nambucca Heads to Grafton (146km) This is another long day in the saddle but it also has some of the best scenery for the tour. You’ll ride along the Pacific Highway and head towards Coffs Harbour. Once you reach the Big Banana, you’ll turn off to take on the climbs at the hinterland behind the Coffs Coast, before rolling into Grafton.

Day 6 Grafton to Ballina (163km) This day is another big day with another challenging climb. Staying inland, you’ll be travelling north up through Casino and then turn east to Lismore. You’ll now reach that challenging climb, with a short, sharp climb up Bruxner Pass at Goonellabah,  before descending down into the seaside town of Ballina.

Day 7 Ballina to Surfers Paradise (129km) This is the final day of riding. You’ll start the day by heading inland for a few final hills, before heading back towards the Brunswick Heads. The remainder the day is fairly flat, with some undulations along the coastline as you head north into Tweed Heads. You’ll then keep continuing north along the coastline, riding through Palm Beach, Mermaid Beach and Broad beach all the way up to Southport, finishing at Seaworld. 

This looks like a fantastic week of riding, with a few challenging climbs to pass the time! 😉

At this time of year, you can expect the weather to be consistent. As it is towards the end of autumn/ coming into the start of winter, you can expect the conditions to be cool to mild. You can expect the odd cool morning(5-10 degrees), with days around the range of 20 to 25 degrees. If you do get any rain, it is likely to be light, so make sure you pack a gilet or a light jacket with you.

The start location for the Sydney to Surfers Robbo’s Ride is at Hornsby, which is about 30 km north of Sydney or 40 km north of the airport. You can get there by car, by train or by public transport. The finish location is about a 30 km ride to the Coolangatta Airport from Main Beach It is possible to grab a bus all the way through or use a combination of bus and train. Alternatively, if you catch the bus and train from Surfers Paradise, you can connect all the way through to the Brisbane Airport, which is well worth considering as an option.

Don’t forget, your ride entry fee includes the final celebration dinner and accommodation (on a shared room basis) at the Voco Gold Coast hotel for Friday night. The organisers will arrange transport for you from the ride finish at Sea World to the hotel.

You’ll find other cycling events, like the Sydney to Surfers Robbo’s Ride, in our online Cycling Event Calendar.

Enjoy!