Sydney is probably less cycling-friendly than you expect.
I don't have the source but I remember reading that the trend over the years has been removing bike lanes instead of adding.
as a road bike cyclist and a driver, i tend to cycle wherever there's a road. so i do understand that i'm a bit biased, but usually it's quite safe riding a bike in a city (due to slow traffic), especially in a place like the CBD in Sydney.
Edit:typo