Grab your bike: a new scavenger hunt is encouraging Sydneysiders to explore the city on two wheels.
We’ve seen this city welcome every fitness trend, from run clubs and HYROX to swimming and outdoor yoga. Sydney-based YouTuber Josh Kwan, who has over 30,000 subscribers, wants Sydneysiders and visitors to embrace cycling the same way, creating the Sydney Cycling Scavenger Hunt to encourage people to start riding.
The Sydney Cycling Scavenger Hunt aims to send riders across Sydney, exploring three different categories: Destinations, Parks and Cycleways.
The Destinations category features La Perouse, North Head, Bobbin Head, Bundeena and Razorback. Cycleways include the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Gateway, Greenway, M7 Cycleway and M12 Cycleway, while Parks highlights Centennial Park, Lane Cove National Park, Sydney Olympic Park, Parramatta Park and Western Sydney Parklands.
Josh, who has been cycling around Sydney for the past six years, shared on his YouTube channel that exploring on his bike has allowed him to see the city in a whole new light.
He said, “I’ve gone to places I never would have contemplated. I’ve had so many incredible experiences, and I’ve also made so many friends. Just everything about it, I’ve just loved. And I really, really wanted to share that with everyone else.”
“One of the big issues that I see is people kind of get stuck in their own bubble. They don’t go out and try new things. They don’t leave the familiar. And I really want to encourage people and give some people a reason to go out there and explore.”
The map showing each location, as well as a completed, stamped passport. (Image: Josh Kwan).
How does it work?
The aim of the Sydney Cycling Scavenger Hunt is to collect as many stamps as possible across the 15 locations.
Josh teamed up with the artist Wind Rays to design the location stamps. He said, “I sent him my mood board, and it wasn’t too long before he came back with 15 really, really cool stamps”. These include a wandering echidna for North Head, a majestic Sphinx for Bobbin Head and the cauldron from the 2000 Olympics at Sydney Olympic Park.
He also collaborated with the artist to create a passport, which is available to purchase for $20 here. Inside, you’ll find a message from Josh, the location categories and full list, a Sydney map marking each spot, and pages ready to be stamped.
Although purchasing the passport is a great way to support Josh’s self-funded efforts to give back to the cycling community, he also wants this to be accessible for everyone. He’s created a downloadable file, so that if the passport is out of your budget, you can print off the pages and still get the joy of stamping them.
If you need a bit more incentive to get on two wheels, Josh has teamed up with Cuckoo, which is giving away a $500 rice cooker to one lucky winner. To enter, you must complete the Scavenger Hunt in the first month and share the evidence with Josh at [email protected]. You’ll then be entered into the raffle with a chance to win.
He’s also going to have a “Hall of Fame” at the end of each of his YouTube videos, with a running list of all of the people who have completed the hunt.
“This is it, my love letter to the cycling community,” Josh said. “An enormous cycling scavenger hunt that spans the entire city. Anyone can participate; no road bikes required. Just the spirit of adventure… Go out there and find them all!”
You can find out more about the Sydney Cycling Scavenger Hunt by watching Josh’s YouTube video here.
