Nowra, on the Shoalhaven River on New South Wales’s south coast, is the destination for Bike North’s late Spring cycling weekend each year.
In 2024, the Nowra weekend will be Thursday 7th to Sunday 10th November.
The Nowra weekend has been on the Bike North calendar since 2018, each year offering different routes, enabling riders to explore the many beautiful and interesting surrounds of the Nowra and Shoalhaven area. This year is no different! See below for the itinerary.
What to expect: Touring style
The rides on the Nowra Weekend will be similar to Sydney rides, with a Ride Leader and a sweep. Whilst you can follow the route on Ride with GPS on your device, you can also just sit back and relax, follow the leader and enjoy the scenery!
Registration
If you would like to come along, please check the Calendar. The confirmed rides will be published nearer the date.
On your bike!
The Nowra weekend can be enjoyed on any roadworthy bike – your favourite tourer, road bike, gravel bike, recumbent or e-bike. All routes are on-road.
It is a good idea to have your bike serviced before the trip and ensure that you bring along your bike tools and repair kit and spares. Oh, and this is country riding so safest to bring your front and rear headlights too!
And whilst we will be stopping for coffee, you can always pack some of your favourite on-ride goodies to sustain you in between. Muesli bars, bananas and jelly beans offer some of the best options for your ride.
Accommodation
You are responsible for organising your own accommodation for the weekend.
We recommend the Pleasant Way River Lodge (http://pleasantway.com.au) as it provides comfortable accommodation, on-site small café and is close to the commencement of most rides. You are, however, free to stay anywhere in Nowra and make your way to the start of the rides. (Be careful of possible roadworks due to bridge construction causing access issues.).
Dining
We invite you to join the group for some meals, if you wish. This year, our suggested options are:
Questions?
Email the organiser – David Vasey davidrvasey@gmail.com or phone 0412 105 518.
2024 Tentative Program of rides
Routes may change following the completion of the Nowra bridge project (see below) and following liaison with the Shoalhaven Bicycle User Group (SBUG) who have added a number of additional rides that we will be reviewing in the coming months.
But right now these are the likely routes:
Thursday 7 November
Berry, Agars Lane, Gerroa Road, Beach Road, Berry
Route, distance
elevation, cues: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38249625
Starting time: 12 noon
Starting point: Nick Eh Park,151 North Street, Berry (Public Toilets in the Park)
Coffee stop: In 2024 we would like to try the Family Tree Cafe & Restaurant, 4/58 Albert St. in Berry
There are no cafes on the bike route so the plan is: if you require sustenance on the ride then you should consider buying a bite to eat in Berry. We stop at Seven Mile Beach and have a picnic in the park at Beach Road Picnic Area where there are public toilets.
This has proved a very popular ride from when it was run in 2022. It was designed for people coming to Nowra for the weekend, allowing us all time to drive down from Sydney and break our journey with a ride starting at Berry. It is a short route through pleasant countryside.
After the ride, we should have time for a coffee and cake before the cafes in Berry shut at 3pm. Then we can complete the drive to Nowra ready for the rest of the cycling weekend.
Friday 8 November
Option 1 - Nowra North to Cambewarra Village
Route, distance
elevation, cues: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38117653
Starting time: 12 noon
Starting point: Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, Bridge Street, Nowra.
Coffee Stop: Cambewarra Village General Store
Note the following potential issues which may impact this ride. We will make a call closer to the time. If the weather is good, and the Nowra bridge project is finished, then for the first time, we will go to Cambewarra Village safely along the beautiful Hockeys Lane, over the Tapitallee Creek.
Cambewarra Village – potential issue 1 – Flooding
In 2022 and 2023 we had planned to go to Cambewarra Village but the road that makes the route interesting was flooded and the road is closed, so we took a flatter ride, where there was no flooding.
Cambewarra Village – potential issue 2 – Road Works
They have been working on the bridge across the Shoalhaven River just north of Nowra, which over the years, has impacted our ability to provide rides that go north from Nowra. It is a big project, costing $342 million project, started in 2020 and is expected to be complete by mid-2024. When completed it will include a new 3.5m shared path on the new bridge, which should be a delight to experience. See https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/nowra-bridge-project-princes-highway-upgrade. In previous years the disruption to cycling across the bridge has proven too much and we have chosen routes that have gone East and South.
November 2023 – Major work comes to an end
Work to place the final layer of asphalt and permanent line marking is now complete which marks the end of major work on the Nowra Bridge project. Minor work will continue across the project in 2024 as we complete landscaping, small pavement and footpath work, and restore the project compounds and ancillary sites. This means that we hope be able to use the new bridge and the new shared path to cross the river in November. We will be checking this out nearer the time.
Option 2 - Nowra Shoalhaven Memorial Gardens
Route, distance
elevation, cues: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41069363
Starting time: 12 noon
Starting point: Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, Bridge Street, Nowra
Coffee Stop: This year we will be going the tried and trusted cafe The Deli on Kinghorne in Nowra. In 2022 we tried the Worrigee Bakehouse on Isa Road, Worrigee which we thought was average at best.
Note: The Iroquois Helicopter at the corner Pleasant Way and Princes Hwy has been removed in 2023 - a shame - it was such a good landmark and made a wonderful starting point for many of our rides.
This is a mostly flat ride on quiet roads to a place most people will never have been – Shoalhaven Memorial Gardens. We looped around the gardens and returned to Nowra through a new suburb, Worrigee and to a coffee stop that I am sure no-one has stopped at before.
Saturday 9 November
Nowra to HMAS Albatross and Beyond
Route, distance
elevation, cues:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29843959
Starting time: 9.00am
Starting point: Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, Bridge Street, Nowra
Coffee stop: South Nowra at either Earnest Arthur cafe or Café Rene.
This ride has become, possible, the favourite Nowra ride. It is lovely country ride up to the HMAS Albatross and Fleet Air Arm Museum which opens at 10.00am. We usually see helicopters and maybe light aeroplanes taking off and landing as we circumnavigate the aerodrome.
The Fleet Air Arm Museum has been closed for some time due to COVID restrictions and now it has re-opened we were able to stop and have a look around. Read more at www.navy.gov.au/heritage/museums/fleet-air-arm-museum.
A good ride for people who are comfortable with some country traffic (and like aeroplanes!) But be aware that there is 1.4 km unpaved road at the back of the aerodrome. The ride also goes along the Pacific Hwy for about 6km but there is a very wide shoulder for the first 3km and a cycle-path for the next 3km and a coffee stop to look forward to at the end of it!
Sunday 10 November 2024
Huskisson, Vincentia, Sanctuary Point, Basin View & Tomerong Loop
Route, distance
elevation, cues: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38409649
Starting time: 9.00am
Starting point: The park between The Huskisson Hotel and the sea in Huskisson
Coffee Stop: There are a number of potential coffee stops on the way, but if we can hang out for the best stop then we went to Schutz Landscape and Gardening Supplies for a little surprise coffee venue.
Lunch: Location to be confirmed nearer the time. In 2022 we tried The Huskisson Hotel, which has been renovated and extended and is a great location to end the ride and end the weekend of cycling. But it was very busy and very noisy on a Sunday afternoon.
This was a new Nowra ride in 2022. It is a nice ride looking out to sea, firstly looking at Jervis Bay, then at St. Georges Basin. It is amazing how much of this ride is on shared cycle-paths, firstly going south from Huskisson to Vincentia then on a lovely long cycle-path to Sanctuary Point. Then the route took us on quiet back roads through Basin View and north on quiet country roads to Tomerong before returning to Huskisson in time for lunch at The Huskisson Hotel or in time to head off back home.
Our first Nowra weekend
Read about our inaugural Nowra weekend in 2018.