Penrith Regatta Center

[toolonglegs]

Quick question....I have to do a job at the White Water Rafting Center at 1pm,so thought I would go early and have a look at the regatta center loop...is it in the same place?.
McCarthy's Lane, Cranebrook???

[mikesbytes]

The circuit goes around the Rowing and is 5k long. Sorry I don't know how close the White Water Rafting is.

[531db]

The Regatta Centre is next door to the Whitewater Centre, however you access the RC from Old Castlereagh Road (formerly Castlereagh Rd), whereas access for the WWC is McCarthys Lane which runs off (the new) Castlereagh Rd (formerly Cranebrook Rd).

The RC will be open to the public and you can just drive in. The cycling circut is the outer of the two paths which run around the rowing/canoeing course.

[toolonglegs]

Found it OK...Probably shouldn't of caned myself so hard before working thou...didn't stop sweating for the whole time I was at the White water center...terrible when you are next to all that running water and you cant jump in!.
66mins,36.5av,40km....great little circuit,must be fun racing on it!.

[nathg]

Thought I may as well add to this one instead of starting a new thread.

I am hoping someone who has ridden Old Castlereagh Road can tell me if it is a sealed road and suitable for a Tri/tt bike. I have ridden the loop at the Regatta Centre before, but want to extend out around Old Castlereagh Rd and McCarthys Lane to add a few kms each lap for a brick session.
I am by no means local, so don’t want to drive all the way out there and find it not suitable to ride with current bike.

Any locals ridden the area recently? Looking on google maps it looks like north-west section (where McCarthys Lane joins Old Castlereagh Rd) is a dirt road.

[Kumungi]

I'm local and ride the regatta centre loop quite often. You can only ride along Old Castlereagh Rd to just past the old church and graveyard as there is a gate that blocks any further access and you cannot get to McCarthys Lane from this end. The land on the other side of the gate is all part of the Penrith lakes area and not open to the public.

For a loop you can head from the Regatta Centre back up Old Castlereagh Rd to Leland Street then onto Borec Rd and do a few circuits of the industrial area, good on weekend mornings when it's pretty quiet.

Hope this helps.
K

[nathg]

Ok thanks, will check that out on maps and plan something!

[nathg]

I'm local and ride the regatta centre loop quite often. You can only ride along Old Castlereagh Rd to just past the old church and graveyard as there is a gate that blocks any further access and you cannot get to McCarthys Lane from this end. The land on the other side of the gate is all part of the Penrith lakes area and not open to the public.

For a loop you can head from the Regatta Centre back up Old Castlereagh Rd to Leland Street then onto Borec Rd and do a few circuits of the industrial area, good on weekend mornings when it's pretty quiet.

Hope this helps.
K

Thanks again Kumungi. Nice ride early this morning, looped through the industrial area aswell.

When I was leaving, I turned right to check out how far the road goes before cutting off, and then checked out the other end off McCarthys Lane, shame the loop can’t be completed, doesn’t look like that area is used for anything at all.

[Wollemi]

Below is a copy of a letter I sent, today, to the Sydney International Regatta Centre at Castlereagh/Penrith in far western Sydney.

They have finally responded and asked to ring me. Do you guys have anything to add?

Alternatively, you are welcome to say if I am being frivolous with my repeated complaints.
I have no experience dealing with management / authority / public speaking advocating for change.

I have written previously on 4 + 10 October about and inclusive of anecdotal stuff such as:

- full 5km circuit has not been available for months; it is an out-and-back course/J-shape.

- e-scooters being used there. They are illegal to use in NSW, other than any gov't trial sites.

- people learning to ride motorbikes there, riding through the parking area afterwards doing a mono/wheelie.

- extended family playing cricket using the edge of the shared pathway/cycleway as a wicket.

- I have challenged management further by stating that the speed limit of 15km/h anywhere is exceeded by weekly Saturday morning parkrun ('Penrith Lakes parkrun') front-runners exceed 15km/h, where several teenagers each week run the 5km course in 17m30 or so.

----

Letter sent 17 October, 2022 - they have finally responded 17/10 and asked to ring me. What to say?

Dear Sir,
My partner and myself visited your otherwise pleasant facility yesterday, Sunday 16 October to jog 15km around the lake perimeter. I remain grateful for the provision of this interesting and picturesque site.

If I, again may say so, no rangers were to be seen at all.
What was seen was a dog off-leash with the owner walking many metres behind. Also cyclists without helmets (inclusive of young children) - which is contrary to your own rules, as well as state law and national agreement to doing so.
Why is it that kayakers can barrack for their paddling friends while cycling alongside the lake - while wearing no helmet?

While cooling down back at our car in the carpark on the southern side, just prior to midday, two motorcyclists cruised past at perhaps 20km/h, but then came back towards the motorcycle training facility at a speed estimated to be in excess of 50km/h - this contravenes your own rules as to speed limits.

I remain disappointed at the closure of the pathway as a complete circle due to the comparatively modest failure of the wall of minor height in the SE quadrant of the shared pathway.
Again; the prolonged closure of the pathway, making it a J-shape pathway would not be tolerated by the community in the more popular Parramatta Park nor Centennial Park. The low wall is set back from the sealed path, if I recall correctly.

As a positive, to see the colour and movement of colourful sprint kayaks upon the water was good motivation to run briskly, adding to my personal enjoyment of the morning. It is certain that this alone will encourage me to promote the pathway use amongst my friends and colleagues.

Thank you, again, for reading.

[SteveTheTiger]

I think you are doing a good thing, as when no one says anything, nothing changes. It also tells them how people feel about the place, as feedback from one person probably represents the thoughts of 10 or more.

Just remember that pedestrians have right of way on shared paths, so even though a family playing cricket on the path is inconvenient for you, just slow down, ring your bell and be friendly as you pass.

Perhaps the centre is down on funding at the moment, but they will always prioritise water sports over secondary uses like cycling/running.

But dont give up, be persistent but friendly and they are more likely to consider you a reasonable person and give you reasonable answers. Perhaps ask if there is anything else you can do, like writing to the Minister responsible. Might also be worth sharing with Bicycle NSW, who can use their contacts to advocate on your behalf, especially if you are a member.

[g-boaf]

I think you are doing a good thing, as when no one says anything, nothing changes. It also tells them how people feel about the place, as feedback from one person probably represents the thoughts of 10 or more.

Just remember that pedestrians have right of way on shared paths, so even though a family playing cricket on the path is inconvenient for you, just slow down, ring your bell and be friendly as you pass.

Perhaps the centre is down on funding at the moment, but they will always prioritise water sports over secondary uses like cycling/running.

But dont give up, be persistent but friendly and they are more likely to consider you a reasonable person and give you reasonable answers. Perhaps ask if there is anything else you can do, like writing to the Minister responsible. Might also be worth sharing with Bicycle NSW, who can use their contacts to advocate on your behalf, especially if you are a member.

So if I want to have a picnic on the shared path with tables and chairs set up, that would be okay too?

Blocking an entire shared path for your own use is a bit disrespectful to other people walking who also have to use the path.

What of people who may be unsteady or cannot walk very well, you are forcing them to walk off onto uneven ground just so someone can have their cricket match on the shared path.

I don’t (and cannot) ride bicycles so I’m looking at this from a pedestrian point of view (for those who can’t walk very well). It’s so simple when you are able bodied.

[SteveTheTiger]

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I agree that no one has exclusive use of a shared path.
But I can also imagine that it would be quite tempting to use the path for quick hit of cricket, especially if its a quiet day and you haven't seen anyone else using the path the entire time you have been there. Not all shared paths have heavy usage.
I was also encouraging the poster to not go ranting and raving at the people using the path, but to gently encourage them to be aware of other path users by giving them a smile and a ring of his bell.
I suspect the shared path is not as heavily used as, say, the shared path beside Parramatta River, especially if part of the path is closed, hence why i was also encouraging his advocacy for improvements.
Sorry if it didn't come across that way.

[trailgumby]

@Wollemi

I think you should leave the helmet compliance alone. This obsession with helmets is a curiously Australian pastime. Personally, I think if they feel it's a safe enough environment that helmets are unnecessary, we should not be discouraging them. They are not imposing risk on anyone else and are gaining some healthy low-impact exercise.

Same with the family cricket players, unless it is a regular occurrence. If it is, that would seem to indicate demand for a hard-surface cricket pitch somewhere away from the path.

The other users are quite different, in particular the e-scooter riders and motorbikes. Their excess speed is certainly a risk for others.

If you don't want to come across as a jobsworth I would suggest a better approach is to pick your fights and confine your complaints to the issues you have identified that impose risk on other park users, for which you have my full support.

[robbo mcs]

Worth noting that at the Regatta centre it is not really a shared path. For 90% of the circumference there are adjacent separated paths.

However, that does change when you can't you the full circuit, they then make one of the paths the return route