Wollongong District Court Judge Paul Conlon said there was nothing to stop motorcyclist Richard Fitzgerald, 40, of St Helens Park, from safely avoiding a collision had he braked carefully and moved to the right-hand side of the road.

Instead, Fitzgerald saw the women riding side by side some 50m ahead and panicked, Judge Conlon told the court.

"I have no doubt he is normally a careful and prudent driver (but) for some reason on this day it was not the case," he said.

The court heard Fitzgerald had been riding north along the Old Princes Hwy at Bulli Tops on March 21, 2009, when he came over a crest and saw the women.

Fitzgerald immediately braked heavily, causing his bike to lock up.

There was no indication he was exceeding the 100km/h speed limit.

In an attempt to avoid a collision with the cyclists, Fitzgerald tried to steer his bike through a gap between them, but failed and clipped them both. His own bike dropped to the ground as a result and slid quite a distance along the road.

One cyclist suffered serious lacerations to her shoulder, a fractured elbow and abrasions to her knee and ankle and was taken to Wollongong Hospital.

Yesterday he appeared in Wollongong District Court to appeal his conviction for negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.

Earlier this year Fitzgerald was fined $1200 and given an 18-month suspension in Wollongong Local Court.

Weighing up the evidence, Judge Conlon said it was lucky Fitzgerald had not been slapped with the more serious charge of dangerous driving.

Nevertheless Judge Conlon accepted he was an otherwise cautious driver and reduced the suspension period to 12 months.