This ~8.5km ride connects the eastern edge of Randwick Racecourse and the UNSW campus down to the southern suburb of Matraville. Passing through Prince of Wales Hospital, vibrant dining strips in Kensington, quiet car-free residential lanes, the famous Heffron Park Criterium Track, and secret suburban shortcuts, it links Randwick directly to the quiet coastal riding of Botany Bay. Let’s cycle! 🚲
Full East rides map is here cyclesydney.com/p/east
📍 Here are the maps and gps activities:
RideWithGPS: East Ride 31 – POW to Matraville (Download GPX here)
RideWithGPS Collection: Eastern Suburbs Series
Network View: On the CycleSydney Map
Randwick Racecourse to Prince of Wales Hospital
The ride begins at the eastern corner of Randwick Racecourse, right at the intersection of High Street and Wansey Road. Use the Ride 12 path that runs up Wansey Road from Centennial Park, making it a natural link if you are starting your journey further north or the city.
From the corner of High Street, roll into the eastern end of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) campus along Chancellor Walk. The campus provides wide, comfortable riding (you can ride around a lot of the campus) but soon you will turning onto a short shared path along Botany Street.
From Botany Street, the ride navigates directly through the grounds of Prince of Wales Hospital before crossing over to Young Street.
Young Street greets riders with a lively neighbourhood block packed with decent dining options. If you need to refuel early, you will find a top-notch ramen joint, a Japanese eatery, a famous local ice cream vendor, and a Ribs & Burgers spot. Yum!
Through Inglis Park & Across Anzac Parade via Byrd Avenue
Continuing south past Young Street, roll onto a dedicated cycleway that runs adjacent to Rainbow Street Public School and local sports fields.
Following the edge of the school grounds, hook over to a quiet, hidden gem of a laneway with zero car access: Byrd Avenue.
Byrd Avenue provides a smooth, peaceful stretch of car-free cycling all the way to Anzac Parade. Many local cyclists regularly ride along Anzac Parade without ever noticing this backstreet corridor parallel to the main traffic flow.
When you reach Anzac Parade, take your time crossing. A wide shared path leads across the arterial road, spanning a massive central median strip that is roughly 30 yards wide.
Maroubra Backstreets & Snape Park to Heffron Park
Once safely across Anzac Parade, enter the suburb of Maroubra via Irvine Street. Follow Irvine Street until you reach Snape Park. Here, a dedicated cycleway skirts around the western perimeter of the park, keeping you away from local traffic.
After bypassing Snape Park, transition onto local residential streets along Royal Street. Continue down Royal Street to Maroubra Road, cross carefully at the intersection, and head around down Paine Street to reach Fitzgerald Avenue. Fitzgerald Avenue brings you directly to the entrance of Heffron Park and its rather interesting cycleway network.
Intersection The north end of Heffron brings you to Ride 21 that will take you towards the coast or the airport. Read about that here 👇
Maroubra Beach to Pagewood via Heffron Park
Who doesn’t love a Sydney Beach? We kick this Ride off right at the coast, because starting by the water is just so much more spectacular. Ride 21 takes us through the Maroubra, starting at the north end of the beach and heading towards Pagewood, where you can connect up with trails that head towards the city and the airport.
The Legendary Heffron Park Criterium Track & Sporting Precinct
Rolling into Heffron Park brings you onto one of Sydney’s most famous cycling locations: the Heffron Park Criterium Track.
While the surface may look a bit bumpy at first glance, this circuit has been a cornerstone of Australian road racing since the late 1970s. It is widely popular among racers for its technical demands, featuring a rough, unforgiving concrete surface filled with cracks, manhole covers, and constant coastal breezes.
Often dubbed Australia’s most notorious circuit, its sharp turns and technical layout create a severe “rubber band effect” that penalizes poor positioning during group rides. Well thats what it says online - your scribe rides in tennis shoes with cotton shirts.
Side Note: Heffron Park hosts competitive grade racing and handicap races where A-grade riders chase down B-grade and C-grade fields over 15 heart-pounding laps. To compete in these official races, riders need a competitive racing license. Beyond cycling, Heffron Park has transformed into a premier sporting hub featuring modern gymnasiums, the elite training facilities for the South Sydney Rabbitohs (Go Rabbitohs! 🐰), synthetic and grass soccer pitches, and professional rugby grounds used by Marcellin College.
Racing at Heffron Park
Find other tracks around Sydney to test your cleats 👇
Places like Centennial Park in Sydney
There are so many people who head to Centennial Park every day just to do laps and meet with friends. But are there alternatives for this style of bike riding in Sydney ?
BIKEast Local Shortcut to Menin Road
After exploring Heffron Park, exit the park precinct and head south down Gainford Avenue. Here lies a clever local shortcut learned from the BIKEast group. Tucked through the quiet social housing estate and residential laneways is a network of small connecting footpaths that cut through the neighborhood blocks, bypassing busier road intersections.
These secret paths dump you out onto Menin Road.
Once on Menin Road, you will see traditional white cycling street signage guiding the way. Follow Menin Road across Franklin Street, continuing along Book Street all the way to Wassell Street, where Ride 31 officially concludes.
Arriving at Matraville & Connecting to the Malabar Loop
Reaching Wassell Street in Matraville brings you to the end of East Ride 31. While this final leg along suburban streets is straightforward, arriving at Wassell Street opens up an exciting continuation.
Wassell Street serves as the direct launchpad for East Ride 38: The Malabar Loop!
The Malabar Loop is a low key favourite of CycleSydney. Unlike high-traffic urban corridors suited to road bikes, it offers quiet, manageable roads with gentle coastal scenery and charming cafes and snack stops along the way.
Final Encouragement & Disclaimer
Final encouragement: Get out and explore Sydney’s South-Eastern green corridors! Pack your helmet and explore this ~8.5km journey on East Ride 31! From the university campus of UNSW to the historic race track at Heffron Park and the quiet laneways of Matraville, this ride showcases fantastic suburban links in Sydney. Enjoy the local parks, spot the Rabbitohs at practice, and grab a coffee along the way! 🚲
📍 Ride safe: These maps are just digital breadcrumbs from my personal rides. Infrastructure changes, so trust your eyes over the screen. Tested with the 🐝
External Inspiration for the CycleSydney guy
Randwick City Council – Bike Routes & Maps
BIKEast Official Site
Community ride schedules, local advocacy, and Eastern Suburbs cycling guides. BIKEast ride leaders helped establish and popularise the specific quiet-way shortcuts featured in East Ride 31—particularly the Byrd Avenue median crossing over Anzac Parade and the local paths threading behind Gainford Avenue onto Menon Road. https://www.bikeast.org.au
🚲 If it looks like a bike path east of the city of Sydney, it probably was planned at a BIKEast monthly meeting (or the Duke of Gloucester ) 🚲