Cycle Gerringong

Lesson learned. Before you get too carried away with how green the grass is, think a little about what made it green and how close it might be! As you can see by the stormy sky, my bike ride around Gerringong, Shoalhaven Heads and Berry on the weekend wasn't all blue skies and sunshine. Just mostly. The 60km ride varied from undulating hills to long flat sections through Seven Mile Beach National Park. The worst part of the ride is 8-10km of road with no shoulder and regular traffic, but this is far outweighed by a stop at Shoalhaven Heads to take a walk on Seven Mile Beach, sampling wine at Coolangatta Estate Winery and Two Figs Winery, and cafes and shops full of interior decorations in Berry. You may not get the most out of this ride if you're the type focused on riding from point A to point B. There are enough hills to keep the heart pumping and the muscles working, but I like my rides to be scenic as well, and the area between Seven Mile Beach and Berry has that in spades. After a quality breakfast and coffee at the Gerringong Cafe and Deli, two friends and I started the ride in sunshine. It suddenly became humid while we were tasting wine at Coolangatta Estate, and then the big drops started falling. We thought the rain was going around us, but no such luck. We took a ten minute break under a tree to sit out a heavy downpour and then we were back on the road. No more rain, and stunning skies for photos. A late lunch at the Hedgehog Cafe in Berry, a spot of window shopping, and then the prettiest part of the ride following Toolijoa Road. Great ride. Free tip - you can really feel a bottle of wine in your pannier when you hit the hills.