I was up early to try to beat another hot day. I took a wander around town to find a coffee and to see what might have changed. The post office looked the same...
It was good to see that the old ambulance station was finally being rebuilt. It was firebombed about fifteen years ago and has sat burnt out, an eyesore right here in the centre of town for all that time. To see what it looked like in the early 2000s have a watch of the movie "The Dish". All of the town sequences were shot in Forbes, not Parkes.
Next on the agenda was a visit to Mum and Dad. I was pleased to see that the little conifer that Steve and I had planted when Dad was buried was still hanging on despite its less than idea conditions. I'm no floral arranger but I did my best at replacing the flowers as well.
It was warming up already and I had about three hours riding ahead to meet the others at the O'connell pub for lunch. Heading east to Eugowra I stopped briefly as the jackaranda trees in the centre of town looked very pretty.
They also had a replica stage coach in the park.
What is the significance of this I hear you ask? Well, in 1862 it was the site of Australia's biggest gold robbery (and still is to this day) when the Frank Gardiner gang held up the stage coach carrying gold and cash from Forbes to Sydney.
From Eugowra it was across to Canowindra then a meandering back way through Mandurama, Neville, Barry, Newbridge and Perthville to O'Connell. I wasn't really sure where I was most of the time as I just plugged O'Connell into the gps and started to follow. I knew how to get to Mandurama but then the gps kept trying to take me through Bathurst - which I didn't want, it must have just been the quickest way - so I followed signs for Neville and let the gps keep recalculating. I seemed to be taking a lot of turns on some sketchy little back roads but apart from the heat and now strong winds, it was pleasant riding.
Because of the heat I didn't stop for many photos. I arrived at the O'Connell hotel to find what looked like a closed up pub.
I stood in the shade of a tree for fifteen minutes and decided to call Steve. He reckoned the pub should be open so I went and pushed on the front door.....and it opened! Wandering in I asked if they were open to which they said "yes"! "Ahh, you looked closed up, what with your sign board tucked away and not on display out front" I replied. They said because it was so windy they kept it in as it just kept blowing over.
So I moved my bike into the shade closer to the beer garden and grabbed a Tooheys Old while waiting for the others. Apart from the wind kicking up pollen and activating my hay fever it was very pleasant and shady here.
The others rolled in about thirty minutes later. They had been slowed by a looong section of road that was signposted at 80km/h between Boorowa and Crookwell and was very well patrolled apparently.
After a quick drink and bite to eat we said our goodbyes as Stu, Dave, Thomas and Karen were heading south to Batemans Bay to stay with Stu. Rick, Speedy and I were headed for Sydney. Geoffrey had already taken a shorter route to Sydney - no doubt to make sure there was cold beer for when Rick and I arrived at his place. ;)
There were to be no more photos from today as we were in get-it-done mode as it was very hot and windy ahead of the frontal change that was charging up behind us. It got to 38C as we crossed the Blue Mountains. We just went the main Mt Victoria way as it would be a heap quicker once we hit the M4 on the other side. If we went the Bells Line of road we would be stuck in stop start traffic for near fifty kilometres in stifling heat. No, getting it done after six days on the bikes was what it was all about now.
Arriving at Geoffrey's place at about 4pm we stripped out of our hot riding gear and grabbed a beer on the deck. Steve showed up shortly after and we spent the evening eating pizza, drinking beer and reliving the ride. Does it get any better than this?
A nothing much day but it was still 365 kilometres on the bike.
All up I covered 2 445 kilometres with a large chunk of that being new to me roads. It was an awesome trip and I must thank Stu, the ride leader for organising the accomodation and route itinerary. Thanks mate, I hope I can make it again in 2026!
Today started pretty much like yesterday - wet, only with a misty rain on top today though.
Bugger.
The large group of riders from the Aussie Bike Or Hike crew were assembled outside our room in the carpark for their pre departure brief. I had been hoping to say g'day to Vern last night but the group disappeared into some other room for a group dinner. This morning I just missed him as he set off before the group to most likely set up for some shots of the group. Once they had left I brought my bike up from the undercover car park so I could load it.
I really wasn't looking forward to wet roads again today. Yesterday was a major drag with massive levels of concentration required to achieve very mediocre progress. While the road out of Jindabyne was not anywhere near as twisty as the Mitta road, there were still plenty of corners to negotiate on that "finest mahogany rubber" front tyre as Stu called it.
Lots of light where rubber should be touching the tarmac.
Doug decided to peel off and head back to Victoria this morning and Bruce had sore legs from ill fitting riding pants and probably didn't want to sit in the rain, so also headed for home. This left nine of us.
Steve had alerted me to another YouTuber's recent ride in this area, specifically the Tantangara Reservoir road across to Long Plain road and Broken Cart Fire Trail. So, I would be leaving the others for today as I also planned to overnight in Forbes instead of Boorowa with the others. I figured the distance was about the same and Forbes/Boorowa were much of a muchness in terms of staying overnight. I wanted to visit Mum and Dad as well, so Forbes would win out today.
The good new was that the misty rain stopped just a few kilometres out of Jindabyne and the road was dry just a few kilometres after that. That made me very happy!
From Berridale we turned left into Middlingbank road. Buzzing along here for a while we came around a bend and there were boulder strewn paddocks covered in bright green grass either side of the road. I wanted to get a photo and decided that as I was doing my own thing for most of the day anyway, I would start NOW! I waved the guys past that were behind me, did a U-turn and went back for a photo.
Getting underway again I caught the group just as they were entering Adaminaby. I followed for the next eighteen kilometres until the turn off for Tantangara reservoir.
The dirt road was very wide and very well used along here. I passed some wild brumbies right by the side of the road. They didn't spook as they must be used to all of the traffic on this road.
It turns out the dam is part of the Snowy Hydro 2.0 expansion and there were major works going on. There was a massive workers camp that the road went right by and I could see a large structure being constructed over near the dam.
Having never been along here before I was fascinated by this new discovery and the new to me roads. This is exactly why I bought an ADV bike.
I followed the trail, Pocket Saddle road, along as it passed the dam wall.
It then crossed a small stream and began to climb the hill opposite.
The trail up the hill was quite steep with very tight switchback turns at the end of each straight. They were also covered in thick, coarse gravel to help make it more fun. I passed the only vehicle I would see for a few hours along here - luckily on the straight, not at a switchback.
The trail was in very good condition and I made good time along here. Turning left into Port Phillip Trail I wasn't sure what to expect.
Looking back at the intersection.
It turned out to be slightly twistier trail but still in very good condition. It was actually quite good fun.
I soon came to a well manicured and tree lined section of road with a collection of buildings off to the right. This turned out to be an old homestead, Currango. Apparently it is a camping/accomodation setting. It looked interesting but I decided to investigate on another day.
The trees soon thinned out from here as I approached Long Plain. An interesting rocky outcrop needed investigating.
So I investigated.
Port Phillip Trail intersected with Long Plain road. Here I turned right and headed North. The last time I had been on this trail was for my Tour Divide training ride back in April 2015. It had felt so lonely and isolated back them on my mountain bike....and I have to admit, it was pretty lonely out here today as well. I hadn't seen another soul since I passed that car back near Tantangara dam.
I continued along Long Plain road with some big hill climbs and descents that I didn't recall. No wonder I was so knackered last time on the mtb! After a while I turned into Broken Cart track. There was an immediate change to the track conditions. Whereas Long Plain road was wide and well surfaced, Broken cart track was narrower, winding and had a red clay surface. I wouldn't want to ride it in the wet.
Soon after turning into Broken cart track I passed four mountain bikes coming the other way. They weren't loaded up so they must have been on a point to point day ride. Way out here!
The trail twisted and turned through eucalypt forest so the going was quite slow. Many small puddles and sticks were on the track from the wild weather the day before but it didn't cause me any concern. Days like today are the reason I run the tyres that I do.
I was soon at the Boundary road crossing. Here I could have gone right and it would take me toward Canberra. Today I wanted to continue along Broken Cart trail to Dubbo Flats camp ground and see what was beyond that.
Dubbo Flat was only another 5.5 kilometres up the track. I was soon there and confronted with a creek crossing. It was only narrow and shallow. I could see the sandy bottom clearly so just powered through.
The trail changed instantly I was the other side of that creek. It began to climb a steep hill with many water bars. On the uphill side of each water bar were two large puddles that couldn't be seen until cresting the bar. I soon learned to stay in the centre and keep the throttle open as I climbed. I was so glad the rain was yesterday up here. Doing this in the wet on a big bike would have been very difficult.
What went up soon went down. I was crawling down the hill using mainly engine braking. It was getting hot now and I was working hard so needed to zip a few vents open.
I was beginning to get a bit concerned where this trail was actually going and what it's condition might be like. Passing huge eucalypt trees down across the track like this one had me concerned about the potential for having to turn back. Also, the long downhill had me dreading a potential creek crossing at the bottom.
A few hundred metres further on I came to the intersection with Barnetts road.
Whew!
I jumped off the bike, got my jacket and helmet off then dropped my pants as far as they would go.
I was cooking!
It felt sooooo good to cool off...(no photos of that special moment)
This was the crotch cooling corner.
Steve and I had constructed this route while sitting at his computer a few days prior to the ride. Being out here, on ones lonesome in the middle of nowhere is very different to sitting in a comfy chair at home, envisioning it.
I now had a very close look at the route on my phone to 1. see if it got much more difficult and 2. to see if there was an easy way out.
The answer to both of these questions seemed to be "no". It didn't get any more difficult and there wasn't an easy option out. The route was the best way.
So once I had cooled off, had a bite and a drink I turned right into Barnetts road and got going. It was a big wide road but it was a bit rutted up on the climbs and descents. This didn't slow me up much as the DX eats up that type of trail. It was so nice to be clipping along at a good pace as the cooling effect was much more noticeable.
Eight kilometres along Barnetts road I turned onto Bramina/Barnetts road which was a huge forestry super highway. 100km/h gravel! Woo Hoo!
That then joined onto Brindabella road and I was in heaven again! Super wide, new, pothole free tarmac!
After starting to feel a bit overwhelmed because I still had a long way to go today only thirty or so minutes ago, I was now loving it. The joys of motorcycling....this is why we do it!
It was getting pretty warm now as I dropped out of the high country but I did stop along Billapaloola road to get some shots as the scenery was just so epic. Unfortunately the photos don't do it justice but I post them here as inspiration for you to go ride this road.
As it was getting very hot I didn't stop at all along Hopewell road. I sort of wish I had as it was a nice easy dirt road that ran through a number of farms. Right by their houses and through their tractor yards in one instance. I did pass another Desert X coming the other way and we exchanged waves.
I did stop briefly on top of Roben lookout. It wasn't marked but I could see the wheel track going off to the side of the road to a small knoll. The view from here was superb in all directions but man, was it hot!
Murrumbidgee river in the background. Summer in country NSW everywhere else...
It would be hot hot hot all the rest of the way to Forbes. I stopped in Jugiong for fuel then rode the Jugiong road to Murrumburrah where I turned left for Young.
I had noted on Facebook that the Wombat pub had been re-opened with new owners mid 2025 so I planned to drop in for a cold beer. When I pulled up a bloke was carrying boxes in the side door and the place looked closed. I asked if it was open and he said "sorry, closed Monday and Tuesday".
Fcuk!
The main reason I came this way was to support the pub. I jumped off the bike to take a photo. The owner asked if I would like him to take one for me. I replied "not unless I am holding a beer in said photo". So, I took it myself and pressed on.
I didn't stop again until I reached Forbes, another 130 kilometres up the road. Mainly because it was HOT.
37 degrees Celcius hot.
Arriving in Forbes I checked into my pre booked motel. They had the foresight to have the airconditioning running so it was lovely and cool. I quickly unloaded the bike and had a cold shower. My Klim gear was perfect for most of this ride but on days like this it is too hot. Had the whole ride been hot like today (and last years Snowy ride) I was going to wear moto x gear.
Anyway, I went for a walk around town and was going to grab some iconic Aussie country town food for dinner - Chinese - only they were all closed. I ended up at the Forbes Inn for a nice steak and red wine. Forbes seems a different place to what I grew up in. It has changed even in the last three years since Dad left us.
A walk around the quiet streets of the town centre was nice after dinner but it was still mighty warm
All in all, it was another great day on the bike. I did my thing today while the others hit more of the high country blacktop. They were in Boorowa tonight and the thoughtful dicks rang me while having dinner to sing me happy birthday - yep, it was another lap around the sun day for me today.
Very kind of them, but as an introvert, I was fine with being here, alone.
Another 488 kilometres today.....and I was "home".
Cheers.
P.S. As an aside, we had a massive hailstorm go through home in Brisbane this afternoon. Luckily all of our cars were elsewhere but the Colourbond roof and our solar panels didn't fare too well! Basically cricket ball sized hail. The scalloped edges were amazing and don't really show well in the photo.
I woke a couple of times during the night as I could hear thunder rumbling overhead. Hmmm, it was going to be a wet one and the first road we would be doing today was the Omeo Highway across to Mitta Mitta. Now this road would have to be one of the, if not THE twistiest roads in Australia with a length of 107 kilometres. That is 107 kilometres of bend after bend after bend. This road is awesome in the dry but on a knobby tyre shod ADV bike it was going to be touchy, slow going.
I did discuss with Rick taking the Knocker Track that the local guy had mentioned yesterday. It would knock 40-odd kilometres of wet bends off this mornings ride. When I checked it on Ride With GPS the gradient was up to 13% in places. Fine in the dry but after a wet night we weren't sure how it would be on a big, loaded bike.
The Knocker Track marked in yellow.
So, I stuck with plan "A". And right out of the gate I could feel the twitchiness of the front end so I took it ridiculously slowly. I waved all of the others past and they past me like I was standing still - because I almost was!
It took me well over two hours to cover that 107 kilometres. At least the scenery was stunning and while I had plenty of time to think I vowed to come back on a sports bike with my Will and show him how good these Victorian high country roads are. Hopefully in the dry though.
When I eventually got to Mitta Mitta the others were all standing around with coffees in hand, that is how long they had been there. FFS!
Mitta Mitta sure is a pretty little town though.
But no wonder.....that hard compound, knobby front tyre had exactly this much purchase on the wet tarmac.....I had brought nail scissors to a gun fight.....
From Mitta the road dried up and I was able to keep with the group, which pleased me no end! We bashed along with a quick fuel stop in Tallangatta. There was much discussion about fuel everywhere we went and I couldn't understand why it was such a big deal. Fill up when you have a known quantity ie at a town with a fuel station, not speculate what might be down the road in the Victoria back country. A bird in the hand, after all.
Out of Tallangatta we headed east along the Murray Valley highway before turning left into Granya Gap rd. Just as we were turning some random dude on a loud Harley cut into our group then pushed past all of us.
WTF?!!
Dave immediately blasted back past him on his big KTM as he didn't want to be stuck behind this tool for the twisty section that we were about to hit. While the guy is probably a local hero and he punted the Harley along pretty quickly, Doug and Bruce were all over him trying to get by. Not easy on a narrow, twisting mountain climb. They did get past several corners later then it was Rick and myself lining up on our ADV bikes - mahogany rubber knobby front tyre and all.....
I was hoping Rick could gun it past the bloke as he was slowing us up quite a lot but the tool was using all of the right lane to tip into left hand corners. The only way past would be to dive up the inside of him and that would surely punt him into the embankment. So Rick and I had to frustratingly sit behind this plonker for the rest of the good stuff. Just reaffirms my view on Harley riders.
From here we didn't stop until Khancoban, which was quite a ways along. 127 kilometres further along actually. But the road was interesting enough for the most part. In Khancoban we stopped at the local "shopping centre". Khancoban is a funny little place as it was established as a Snowy Hydro Scheme workers town back in 1956, so it has a very different layout to most Aussie country towns (it feels like Twizel in New Zealand).
The cafe' was about to close when we arrived so we had to make to with things from their refrigerated cabinet. Still, it was the perfect late lunch.
It wasn't too far to our overnight accomodation in Jindabyne so everyone was pretty relaxed. I decided that I'd like to take some photos and video of various sections along the Alpine Way and didn't want to hold them up, so headed off alone.
Heading out the Alpine Way toward Thredbo.
I pulled into the camping area at Gheehi Flats for a look around. I have camped here in the past when on a mountainbiking trip, so know it to be a pretty special place. Located on the western side of the Main Range pretty much in the shadow of Mt Kosuiszko, it is a very beautiful spot - especially so today as it was so lush and green.
I rode over to Gheehi Hut for a look and had it all to myself. It was very quiet here today.
So, it was back to the little airstrip on Gheehi Flats to get a photo of the Main Range rearing it's head into the cloud....not very imposing in the photo but very impressive in person.
Back onto the road and my next stop was at the entrance to Tom Groggin Station. The views across to the Victorian side and the greenery were amazing. That is the Murray River (and the NSW/Victoria border) down in that tree lined gully.
I was looking for the crossing point to the Tom Groggin Track so took a couple of off road excursions here. Looking back toward the Alpine Way from one of them I could see a large herd of brumbies up on the hillside, grazing peacefully.
There were sooo many kangaroos enjoying the lush, green grass here too!
The others had said they would stop at Dead Horse Gap so I slowed as I approached but with all of my faffing around they had clearly gone. No problem, the road only goes to one place from here and that is Jindabyne....right after it goes past Thredbo though!
There was still quite a bit of ice on the upper slopes despite it being late November. The ski runs looked like green velvet today.
Got to stop for the Thredbo sign.
From Thredbo I beetled along down to Jindabyne. I stopped at the new BP servo for fuel and found Bruce having a stretch. He said the others were at the hotel, so I headed down there to join them.
We used to stay in Jindabyne regularly when the kids were little and it had been a few years since we had last visited. I was surprised to see quite a bit of new development. The hotel we were staying in was the Banjo Patterson Inn and it was FLASH! It was also very busy with an organised tour group staying here, as well as a few motley crews like ours. Motorcycle central it was!
The large group with the support vehicle was Damien Cudlin's Aussie Bike or Hike crew on a multi day ride into Victoria. What a coincidence as I had just booked one of their tours from Sydney to the Gold Coast for next February. You can find quite a few of their rides documented on the MotoRides YouTube channel (click the link to view). Vern does a great job with both the filming and narration of his videos.
So, afetr a quick shower we found some happy hour beers and a table out the front, overlooking Lake Jindabyne and settled in. It was pleasantly cool out here. Again, nice for late November.
Doug had dinner booked for 7pm. We headed downstairs to the restaurant and had a great evening bench racing todays ride over delicious food. Yes, there was plenty of wine and desert made an appearance tonight. Affogato again Steve - you missed out big time!
I was sharing a room with Geoffry tonight. The snorers room.....but I didn't hear a thing once my head hit the pillow. I.Was.Stuffed.
Another awesome day on awesome roads. In fact, some of the best in Oz, even if they were wet. Another 443 kilometres for me.
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