Day 4: Mudgee to Merriwa
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Well I woke up to a beautiful sunrise this morning. This made it easy to pack everything away and be on the road by 6.30am. Whilst I was getting ready, 3 or 4 people came over and asked me the exact same questions. These were "where am I going today ?" and "how many kms do I travel each day?". It was very funny.
Leaving Mudgee I went past more vineyards until I took the turnoff to Bylong. The roads were so quiet. For the first 30kms I think I saw about 5 cars. I stopped at Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve for breakfast. It is such a peaceful spot, all I could hear were the sound of birds singing.
I continued my ride, having a nice downhill for the next 15kms. The road then turned to gravel. Which was fine for the first few kms. As I was climbing up towards Lee's Pinch, the road turned more to sand. The gradient up wasn't too bad (about 5%), but with the bike slipping on the sand I had to walk a couple of sections.
When I got to Lee's Pinch, which is part of Goulburn River National Park, I had really good views of where I had just come from. Whilst I was enjoying the view, some vintage cars pulled in. They were driving the other way towards Bylong. Besides these cars, traffic remained really light.
About 15kms from Merriwa, I started to get a slight headwind. Thankfully most of these last kms were going downhill. The campsite at Merriwa is on the western edge of town. When I rode in, I noticed there was a horse show/sale on across the road. Merriwa is in a region where they breed horses.
After I set up the tent, I went for a walk around the town. The town itself is quite small and most places were closed, being a Sunday afternoon. But I did find a couple of cafes, a pub and the tattoo parlor open. I decided on the cafe.
Today's ride was really scenic and I was pleased I got away early. As the last few kms it was getting very warm. Happy I wasn't pushing the bike up the hill when it was hot. Tomorrow I will be heading for Scone. The roads are all sealed, but there are a few hills to go over to get there.
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| A nice spot to stop for breakfast |
I continued my ride, having a nice downhill for the next 15kms. The road then turned to gravel. Which was fine for the first few kms. As I was climbing up towards Lee's Pinch, the road turned more to sand. The gradient up wasn't too bad (about 5%), but with the bike slipping on the sand I had to walk a couple of sections.
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| Plenty of dirt to ride today |
When I got to Lee's Pinch, which is part of Goulburn River National Park, I had really good views of where I had just come from. Whilst I was enjoying the view, some vintage cars pulled in. They were driving the other way towards Bylong. Besides these cars, traffic remained really light.
About 15kms from Merriwa, I started to get a slight headwind. Thankfully most of these last kms were going downhill. The campsite at Merriwa is on the western edge of town. When I rode in, I noticed there was a horse show/sale on across the road. Merriwa is in a region where they breed horses.
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| One of the farms I saw towards the end of my ride |
After I set up the tent, I went for a walk around the town. The town itself is quite small and most places were closed, being a Sunday afternoon. But I did find a couple of cafes, a pub and the tattoo parlor open. I decided on the cafe.
Today's ride was really scenic and I was pleased I got away early. As the last few kms it was getting very warm. Happy I wasn't pushing the bike up the hill when it was hot. Tomorrow I will be heading for Scone. The roads are all sealed, but there are a few hills to go over to get there.