Gloucester to Dungog

Monday 9th April 2012

There was a terrific storm during the previous evening, with torrential rain and spectacular lightning. How fortunate that it happened overnight, because by the morning everything had dried out and it was another fine day.

We managed to leave at 8.30 and continued south on the Bucketts Way along gently rolling countryside:

It was a fairly busy road, and not all of it had a shoulder, however the other vehicles gave us plenty of room as they passed.

At 42 km we stopped off for an icecream at Stroud Rd:

The route then turned off onto a minor and much quieter road, which had a steep long ascent with a good view from the top:



At 66kms we reached the final destination, Dungog:

We met with Harry's mum who had driven up from Sydney to collect him:

...and posed for a final photograph.

We weren't quite finished though, because our car was still in Gloucester so someone had to collect it! I volunteered, as it was such a nice day and riding conditions were excellent. The journey back was a lot quicker as it was mainly downhill with a tailwind. I made the 66kms back to Gloucester in just over 3 hours. Another hour to drive back to Dungog, and collect the others, and we were on our way back to Sydney, about another 2hrs 30mins.

My total distance covered over the 4 days was 412kms.

It was a very good trip, we saw some beautiful countryside, enjoyed some great food, the accommodation was good, everyone rode well and safely, apart from my spoke breakages there were no problems with the bikes, and most important of all, the weather could not have been better.

We all had a great time and are already looking forward to doing more cycle touring together soon!

Nowendoc to Gloucester

Sunday 8th April:

I decided it would be sensible to make an early start, as I wasn't sure that my bike would make it to the next destination with 2 broken spokes. So I set off at 0720, the others following about an hour and a half later.

To stop the buckled rear wheel from rubbing against the brakepads I left the rear veebrakes disengaged for most of the way, only reengaging them for the big descents.

The first few kms were through a dense forest:

After about 28kms there was a massive long steep descent which was really exhilarating, it would have been even more enjoyable had I not been worrying about my weakened rear wheel collapsing over the bumpy surface:

There were almost no flat sections throughout the day, it was very hilly, but the scenery was terrific:

The wheel held up okay, and after 5 hours battling the hills, I reached Gloucester, a pleasant little town, around 12.20pm. Carole arrived around the same time, having driven most of the way. Well someone had to bring the car along!
When it had cooled down around 3.45pm, Rob, Carole and I went off for another 20km ride around Gloucester:

It was nice to cool down a bit going through this ford:

The mountains in the background are the Barrington Tops:

Total distance today 100kms.

Walcha to Nowendoc

Saturday 7th April

Despite waking up early, we spent a long time over breakfast and getting ready, and it was 10am before we we set off from Walcha. It was a beautiful day, warmer than the previous day.

About 1km out of Walcha we paused at this memorial to John Oxley, one of the region's first explorers:

View crossing the Cobrabauld river:

After about 40kms we stopped for lunch by the roadside with sandwiches that Carole and Rob had prepared earlier. There were no shops or restaurants or anywhere to buy food along the route.


After lunch I discovered that 2 spokes in my back wheel had broken! The wheel had gone out of true and was binding on the brakepads somewhat, making the going rather more difficult than it should have been!

The route continued through wide, rolling New England countryside:



At 73kms we reached Nowendoc, today's destination. This is just a crossroads with a general store (currently closed) and a motel where we stayed:

On arrival at the motel I spent some time tightening the remaining rear wheel spokes in order to get the wheel running a bit more true. It was a beautiful warm afternoon and it was good to relax afterwards outside the motel room:

The evening was spent playing our favourite card game, 500:

Total distance today 73kms.

Armidale to Walcha

Good Friday, 6th April 2012

Starting another trip! This is another route from the Lonely Planet Cycling Australia guide, a 4 day trip through the high country of New South Wales, from Armidale down to Dungog. I brought my bike from Adelaide to Sydney by plane and met up with my very good friends Carole and Rob McLean and their son William, we loaded the bikes on the back of their car and drove up to Armidale yesterday, a trip of about 6 hours.

Staying at the comfortable Cedar Lodge Motel, and enjoying an excellent Thai meal for dinner last night, we were up early and on the road by 8am:


We had a quick look around Armidale town centre and admired a number of nice heritage buildings:



...before hitting the New England highway southbound towards Uralla. The road wasn't too busy and had a decent shoulder most of the way. The weather was perfect, warm and bright.

At 22km we reached Uralla, a very pretty little town, where we met up with Harry, William's friend, who is joining us on the trip having driven up this morning from Sydney with his father (setting off at 4am):

Leaving Uralla we stopped at this monument to Thunderbolt, a famous local bushranger:

The route continued along a gently undulating road until we reached today's destination, Walcha, shortly after midday, having covered 68kms.

Approach into Walcha:

After lunch Rob and Carole went off shopping, William and Harry settled down in the motel room to watch football, and I, needing a bit more exercise, took a ride out to the Oxley Rivers National Park, to see the spectacular Apsley falls and gorge:





Besides the falls, the side trip afforded some beautiful scenic views:


Coming back into Walcha:Arriving back at the Walcha Motel around 5pm we went for a drink and a game of pool in the New England Hotel, followed by pizza at the only cafe open on Good Friday in this small town.

Then back to the motel for card games and a well-earned early night's sleep.

Total distance cycled today 108kms.