Camwest Bicycle User Group Inc

13/06/2026

Please note that the Parramatta Valley Cycleway will be closed to riders on Sunday June 21st 2026 west of Brodie Street Rydalmere between around 5.30am and 10.30am due to the running of the Parramatta Half Marathon. An alternative on-road and footpath route will be signposted - but it's not pretty. Some roads around Parramatta and Parramatta Park will be closed until around midday. It also appears that the shared path alongside the Carlingford Light Rail line south of Yallamundi stop (Victoria Rd) will be closed until around 10am.

13/06/2026

There are a couple of plans on exhibition at present:
1. Further development of the Kingswood-Werrington Structure Plan. See https://yoursaypenrith.com.au/kwcplan
2. Stages 2 and 3 of the Finlaysons Creek Trail around Wentworthville - see https://participate.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/finlaysons-creek-trail
Both of these look pretty good to me. The structure plan looks fairly comprehensive from an Active Transport perspective, and the Finlaysons Ck Trail will fill an important 'missing gap' in the shared path network when completed.
I've written draft feedback for the structure plan which I'm happy to share to anyone who's interested.
Are there any comments on either plan?

The Finlaysons Creek Trail is a regional walking and cycling project that will provide a continuous and accessible active transport link between Shannons Paddock and Lytton Street Park in Wentworthville. It will also complete a key missing link in the broader regional path network, connecting the M4...

01/06/2026

Not quite the normal use of a bike helmet (Hopefully an old one)! I'm guessing they are trying to stop people from walking into the towbar, rather than protecting the towbar itself.

28/04/2026

Cumberland Council currently have 3 'Strategic Cycling Corridors' open for comment. The corridors consist of a mix of on-road and shared path sections. Feedback for Corridors 2 & 3 are due in by Friday, with Corridor 12 a week later. Here is the feedback that I've pretty much finished for Corridors 2 & 3. It would be great if others could find time to submit some feedback as well.
Corridor 3 - Merrylands to Auburn :https://camwest.org.au/docs/CAMWEST-Cumberland-Strategic-Corridor-3-Merrylands-To-Auburn-Feedback.pdf
Corridor 2 - Clyde to Prospect Pipeline via Duck River :https://camwest.org.au/docs/CAMWEST-Clyde-To-Propect-Pipeline-Via-Duck-River-Feedback.pdf

16/04/2026

A fair amount of riding around Corridors 2 and 3 was done yesterday - firstly with Councillor Enver Yassar in the morning covering Corridor 2 and then with Charlene in mid afternoon covering Corridor 3 - and riding around by myself in between. I believe there are some improvements that can be made to both corridors, which I'm now starting to write up.

Out on the bike early this morning with Rob Kemp, President and Advocacy Lead of CAMWEST (Western Sydney's bicycle user group), riding the proposed Strategic Cycleway Corridor 2 from Clyde to Prospect via Duck River.

Best way to assess a proposed path is to actually ride it. You see where it works, where it doesn't, and where residents will need better crossings, connections, and safety treatments before work begins.

Rob and the CAMWEST team have been pushing for safer, better connected cycling infrastructure across Western Sydney for years.

Their advocacy is a big reason projects like these get traction at council level. Credit to them for turning up, every time, with practical feedback grounded in real riding experience.

Council has three cycleway corridors open for community consultation right now:

- Corridor 2: Clyde to Prospect Pipeline via Duck River
https://haveyoursay.cumberland.nsw.gov.au/strategic-cycleway-corridor-2-clyde-to-prospect-pipeline-via-duck-river
- Corridor 3: Merrylands to Auburn
https://haveyoursay.cumberland.nsw.gov.au/strategic-cycleway-corridor-3-merrylands-to-auburn
- Corridor 12: Parramatta to Toongabbie
https://haveyoursay.cumberland.nsw.gov.au/strategic-cycleway-corridor-12-parramatta-to-toongabbie

If you ride, walk, or live along any of these routes, get your feedback in. Council needs to hear from residents!

31/03/2026

Easter Monday 40km one-way ride from Penrith to Windsor if anyone is keen! Please let me know if you're coming along as group numbers are limited to 8. See https://bicyclensw.buncheur.com/camwest-penrith-to-windsor-via-richmond-lowlands-one-way for details.

This is quite a varied ride, with sections of shared path, gravel (with potential to be a bit muddy), quiet rural roads and riding along gravel and bitumen shoulders of roads carrying traffic at 80 kmph. Part of the route is through a nature reserve with National Park pedestrian entry gates at eithe...

23/03/2026

I'm thinking of putting on a ride on either Good Friday, Easter Saturday or Easter Monday from Penrith to Windsor via Richmond Lowlands - see https://ridewithgps.com/routes/54333405. The ride uses a recently re-opened section of Cornwallis Rd which was closed for nearly 5 years due to damage from multiple flooding events. I'm suggesting to start the ride on the north side of Penrith Station at around 9am on whichever day we decide (weather permitting). The one-way total distance is around 40km, with the possibility of a cafe stop at either Londonderry (16km mark) or Richmond (25km mark). There is also the option of pulling out of the ride at Richmond and catching a train back from there. There's a variety of road surfaces (including gravel and maybe a short section of muddy track). Several kms of the route is on gravel/bitumen shoulders along moderately busy roads. Please let me know if interested, and if so, which day. Group size limited to 8 riders. - Rob.

13/03/2026

Another great piece of cycling infrastructure about to open.....

03/03/2026

For a couple of years I’d been thinking of checking out Wianamatta Nature Reserve in Cranebrook as part of a cycling route between Penrith and Richmond/Windsor. The site was originally the ‘Cranebrook Receiving Station’, operated by Airservices Australia. In 2009 it was acquired by NSW National Parks and opened to the public as Wianamatta Nature Reserve in 2011. The names of all the fire trails in the reserve are radio related. The reserve is separated from Wianamatta Regional Park (which is also good for cycling).
I’d ridden Nutt Rd (extension of Taylor Rd) to the north of the reserve a number of times, and Grays Lane to the south, but wondered if the two could be connected through the reserve. I did the ride from Penrith to Richmond on Saturday, and explored two potential tracks through the reserve between the Vincent Rd gate (opposite Grays Lane intersection) and the main access gate off Cranebrook Rd (near Taylor Rd). Both tracks led to Receiving Station Fire trail, which was the main entrance into the site and a bitumen road which has seen better days. One of them, High Frequency Fire Trail, was mostly reasonable – even after all the rain 48 hours before. The section just before turning onto the bitumen Receiving Station Fire Trail had shallow water across most of it, with a narrow dirt ‘bridge’ to one side. Interference Fire Trail had more water-filled puddles and was boggier.
Both entrances have very tight pedestrian entrances, which weren’t wide enough for bike handlebars. At the Vincent Rd gate I pulled my bike under the gate. The Cranebrook Rd gate is a different design and not as easy to get the bike through. I wheeled the bike through on the back wheel. (I had one pannier bag half-full on the bike and just managed to squeeze the bike through without taking the bag off). There are also wire ropes around the perimeter of the reserve which a bike could presumably be lifted over if the rider(s) could manage.
I’m contemplating using this route for a group ride in the future. My question is: Would the challenges at either end be a barrier to riders coming on the ride? Do riders (particularly those using e-bikes) find it challenging to walk their bikes on the back wheel for several metres through a tight space? What about trikes, tandems or cargo-type bikes? At least on a group ride there are others around to assist – either through the narrow gaps or lifting bikes over the wire ropes! Have you had issues accessing National Parks or other reserves through similar pedestrian-only gates? (Photos taken from Google Streetview).

03/03/2026

A first for me over the weekend. I was swooped by a Magpie in February in Sydney !!??!! (Cranebrook, near Penrith actually). The seasonal clock of that poor bird must be totally out of whack! I'm the 4th entry in Magpie Alert for the year (not visible at the time of writing as it's still to be approved).