John Hawkins, a Bicycle NSW Board Member since 2021, was inspired by our recent series of #BicycleNSWCommutes social posts to share his own bike commute story.
May 2026 marked twenty years since John first clipped in and rode to work. From the scenic trip through the Lower North Shore that bookends most workdays, to tackling mountain bike trails all over NSW with his son, cycling has provided John with precious memories.
It has also saved his life.
Read on for John’s reflections on two decades in the saddle, and some important advice for anyone keen to try a bike commute.
Bicycle NSW Board Member John Hawkins loves the new northern access ramp to the Sydney Harbour Bridge Cycleway – after many years of carrying his bike up the 55 steps! (Image: John Hawkins)
It began with a mountain bike
I didn't start out as a serious cyclist. I bought a mountain bike because my ten-year-old son wanted to ride around Manly Dam.
John became very involved with the mountain biking scene and has taken part in events all over NSW (Image: Outer Image Collective)
A colleague had just started commuting by bike, and I thought ‘what a great idea!’ Fit in some exercise, save some wear on the car, beat the traffic. What’s not to like?
I had no idea what I was starting.
The early days
The first commute was 14km return to North Sydney. It nearly killed me. Not literally — but my legs had a few things to say about it the following days. Still, I kept at it, and fitness came faster than I expected.
When I moved to a new role in the CBD, the route grew to 18–20km depending on which way I went. The same pattern: a couple of weeks of suffering, then suddenly it clicked and became something I actually looked forward to.
That shift — from chore to highlight — is the thing nobody warns you about. One day you're grinding up a hill thinking ‘why am I doing this?’ and a few weeks later you're annoyed when something stops you riding.
The usual route
These days I ride from Frenchs Forest East, down Allambie Road, along Condamine Street, and onto the Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation bike path. From there it's down to the Spit Bridge, up Parriwi Road through Mosman, then back streets into North Sydney and from there across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The climb up from Parriwi Road in the morning is my favourite part of the whole ride. The sunrise over Middle Harbour, the water sitting glassy and flat below. It never gets old, no matter how many times I've seen it.
A rest stop to soak up the view towards the Heads from Parriwi Road in Mosman (Image: John Hawkins)
On days when I'm doing hill repeats past Taronga Zoo to get ready for a mountain bike race, I catch filtered glimpses of the harbour through the trees and think: I live here. Lucky me.
The brush turkeys near Taronga's main gate deserve a special mention. They are magnificent idiots. Every single time, one of them will be standing in the middle of the road staring me down, apparently unable to decide which direction leads to safety. They keep the heart rate up, I'll give them that!
The return trip is more flexible. If I've gone hard in the morning, I keep it flat — instead of weaving through Kirribilli it’s back streets parallel to Military Road, up Battle Boulevard and through Seaforth, then either the bus lane down Burnt Bridge Creek if there's still light, or through the back of Balgowlah, followed by a short scoot along Condamine Street and up Allambie Road home.
Getting out in all weather
I'm a fan of Billy Connolly's quip that ‘there's no such thing as bad weather — just the wrong clothes’. A cheap second-hand bike fitted with mudguards can handle the wet stuff without complaint and keep the spray off my glasses. Running bright flashing lights and paying a little extra attention to staying off painted road markings and keeps things safe and uneventful. A breathable rain jacket keeps the chill off. Dry work clothes in the locker take care of the rest.
I arrive at my desk buzzing from the endorphins. My colleague is adamant she can tell when I’ve ridden in. Apparently, I’m noticeably funnier in the morning banter, but I reckon she’s marking from a low bar. I'm an ex-accountant who was so boring his parents ran away from home and retired up the coast three months after he got his first job!
The commute home is pretty special too – particularly when the sun is setting over the Parramatta River. This is the view to the west from the Sydney Harbour Bridge Cycleway (Image: John Hawkins)
The bigger picture
Here's the thing I didn't expect when I bought that mountain bike twenty years ago.
Regular cycling saved my life.
A few years back I had a serious medical event. The emergency doctors told me the only reason I made it was because I was so fit from years of cycling. For a while I thought they were exaggerating. Then I came across the research. Consistent endurance exercise — with a couple of hard efforts each week — expands your blood vessel diameter, keeps the vessel walls flexible, improves your heart's stroke volume, lowers your resting heart rate, and increases mitochondrial density in your cells. The combined effect is to cut your all-cause mortality rate by more than five times.
I used up a few of those extra lives that year. Fortunately, not all of them.
The fitness from commuting also meant I could keep up with my son through his teenage years — or at least keep him in sight. We raced together in father-and-son teams at the Mont 24 Hour mountain bike race in Canberra. Everyone you'd ever met on the trails would turn up. The camaraderie and connection were well worth the sleep deprivation.
Those events are a treasured memory.
The mountain bike, prepped and ready for the Quad Crown MTB Series on the beautiful Sapphire Coast in September 2025 (Image: John Hawkins)
What I've seen change
The new northern access ramp to the Sydney Harbour Bridge Cycleway has been a genuine game-changer. It's been brilliant watching the number of riders grow — more women, more variety of bikes, more people discovering that leaving the car at home is fun. Every time I see someone new on the path, looking slightly nervous, I remember exactly how that felt.
Every ride up the new ramp is a pleasure, made sweeter because I know how hard the Bicycle NSW team and our colleagues at Bicycle User Group Bike North worked to bring the project to fruition (Image: John Hawkins)
End-of-trip facilities have improved enormously too. They're now a requirement for me when I consider any new role. Showers, lockers, and bike storage aren't perks anymore — they're basics.
Thinking of giving it a go?
Do what I did. Start small.
If you've got train access, ride part of the journey and take the train for the rest. Gradually extend the riding until you can do the full distance. Or drive part of the way, park up, and ride from there. Build it up at whatever pace suits you.
Check out the Bicycle NSW Cycling in Sydney page for tips on route planning, links to maps and resources, and blog articles about Members’ commutes.
The hardest part is just making a start. After that, the bike does most of the talking.
Twenty years in, it's still one of the best decisions I ever made — and that's including the mountain bike I bought because my ten-year-old wanted to ride around a dam.
Before I roll out…
If you value safer riding in NSW, there’s one organisation doing the hard yards on your behalf: Bicycle NSW.
For 50 years, Bicycle NSW has had a seat at the table with government, working directly with decision-makers to deliver safer roads, better infrastructure, and stronger protections for riders. No other state group is active on the ground in NSW.
When you join, you help make change happen. You also join a strong community of riders who care about safer cycling. In return, you get excellent personal accident and public liability cover for peace of mind.
If you’ve been meaning to support cycling advocacy, joining Bicycle NSW is a simple, tangible step you can take today.
Not ready to become a full Member? Then please consider a donation to the Australian Bicycle Advocacy Fund to help support another 50 years of work to improve infrastructure for bikes.
Safer roads don’t happen by chance. They happen because riders like you back the organisations that make them a priority.