Canberra to Goulburn

Yesterday, it was the beginning of 5 days of holidays in Australia. We have the Easter long weekend and an additional day for ANZAC Day. I had been planning this ride for a while and decided to give it a go even though I had a number of setbacks such as the loss of my wallet and the consequential cancellation of cards that involved. Basically the ride was a test run for possible touring rides including a shot at riding from Canberra to Sydney.  In preparation for the ride I drove to Lithgow with 4 days worth of stuff for the long weekend. I also took the bike rack. I left the car in Lithgow and took the train and the bus to Canberra.

The plan for the ride was to ride to Goulburn to use the City Rail train network from Goulburn to Lithgow. This would enable me to get to Lithgow with in a day and would eliminate the need to stay overnight in Goulburn or anywhere else. The fare from Goulburn to Lithgow is $7.80 for a single trip and that was markedly more attractive than the Countrylink fare from Canberra to Lithgow of $32 & a booking fee of $12.10 for the bike.  I used this as a challenge for how much money I could save as a result of the ride.

I rode to work at a new facility that is being opened in Mitchell and have clocked up some more kilometers on the single speed. This built up some leg strength for the coming ride. On Thursday after I finished work I rode home and did some cleaning and some preparation of the bike for the ride. I took the 2 Amy Gillett Foundation bidons – they are bigger than the normal bidons and there was going to be a need for water on this ride. I also used a frame bag that fits into the front of the frame. I bought this at Aldi to be used on rides such as this. I also fitted a new Nitepro light to the bike – this is a bright LED light that I picked up from Torpedo 7. In the frame bag I took 3 energy bars, the cable lock, my St John ID and rank slides (I will be on duty at ANZAC Day), AAA batteries for the rear lights and the USB modem for my netbook. I also packed the Stanmore Cycles mussette. In this I put the netbook, my raincoat, 3 chocolate chip hot crossed buns, my mp3 player & my copy of Smack Express by Clive Small (the latter 2 I was going to use on the train).

The bike I took was the Shogun Katana which has recently been fitted with 9 speed shifters. I chose it because it is a road bike and has a bike computer which shows the distance. I also chose it because it was going to be a light trip. I wasn’t going to be doing a multiday trip and had packed relatively lightly for the ride.

Before I left I conducted the usual last-minute kit check and made sure that I transferred things such as the pump & wedge pack from the single speed to the Katana. When all was good and ready I took the bike down stairs and noted the odometer reading on the bike computer which was 5467.3 befor starting off. I rode through Mawson and Philipp and on to Adelaide Avenue. I then went down state circle and up another street past the Chinese Embassy and the British High Commission on Commonwealth Avenue and then across Commonwealth Bridge. The day was warmish as I went up Northbourne Avenue – there was not much in the way of traffic so things were quite good.

When I got to the NSW/ACT border on the Federal Highway I noted that the odometer read 5492.5 and for some reason it was as if someone had started a race, for all of a sudden there was an increase in the cars heading out of Canberra. I clipped in and began the familiar ride north along the highway.

I found the going quite easy – there was a good tailwind which I took advantage of, it meant that much of the time I kept a pace at least 25 km an hour and in some places got to 30 km an hour. However I eventually came to the hills and the pace slowed. At one point I passed 3 four-wheel drives with a group of guys working on the first one which appeared to have over heated. I remember riding past the same point a couple of weeks ago with 3 cyclists discussing their ride.

Eventually I crested the hills that lead to the Lake George area and enjoyed a quick descent which was only slightly marred by a hard cross wind. It must have been close to lunch time because I began to get hungry as I passed the lookout. I decided that when I got to Lerida wines I would have lunch there. I would also use their facilities and freshen up for the next leg of the trip. I was relieved when the turn off to the Anderson VC rest area & Lerida winery came up.  I rode the extra 1.5 km to the winery only to find it was closed. I returned to the rest area and noted the odometer now stood at 5527.4. I had the hot crossed buns and some water. I decided that I would try the Daily Pie cafe in Collector for lunch.

I rode out on the highway and began the ride to Collector. There were grey clouds in the sky and the temperature began to drop slightly I began to wonder if there would be rain, fortunately there wasn’t. I enjoyed the flattish terrain on the way to Collector. I noticed that the countryside was beautiful even through the surface of the road was not the best. It was basically concrete which had corrugations in it which made the tyres vibrate. I eventually got to Collector – which is a small village. It’s old stone buildings standout among the new houses which can be seen from the highway. It is a commuting suburb of Canberra. When I got there I went to the Daily Pie, which is an old service station converted to a restaurant and found it was closed. I headed back to Bredalbane road which itself used to be the old Federal Highway and noted that the odometer was 5539.9.

I rode from Collector to Goulburn with a Pedal Power group. I was the slowest rider partially due to the fact that I had done a century the day before and partially due to the fitness of the other riders. This ride went along Bredalbane Road and followed back roads into Goulburn. I decided to use this road to bypass some pinch points further along the Federal Highway and avoid having to cross 2 lanes of fast-moving traffic to get onto the Hume Highway.

Breadalbane Road is not one of the best roads. It is narrow and not well maintained. It has potholes and is patched in some areas. It has a speed limit of 100km an hour but you would be suicidal to do over 80. Having left the highway the noise dropped. I kept my ears open for cars but noticed the birds and the sounds of cattle and sheep. There was a hazard reduction burn on one of the farms and there was the smell of smoke. As I went along I could see some wind turbines installed on some of the farms. Apparently there will be more and this has divided the community in Collector. I rode on counting down the kilometers to Breadalbane. I only saw about 3 cars at the most on this leg of th journey.

I got to Breadalbane which seemed to consist of a Rural Fire Service Shed, St Silas Anglican Church and some houses. I later found there was a pub (the Bredalbane Hotel) which I am unsure if it is still a functioning business and some fine houses including a former service station on the Old Hume Highway. When I stopped outside St Silas Church the odometer reading was 5556.7 km. I had an energy bar and some of the water. I noticed a sign indicating that Goulburn was 24 km away, which was better than the 42 km I had planned for. I took a right onto the old Hume Highway and rode through Bredalbane.

It turned out the old Hume Highway lead to the current Hume Highway – one of the most heavily used roads in Australia. I reluctantly took to this road for the ride into Goulburn. It turned to be a reasonable road. I have driven on this road many times going back to Lithgow and on to Sydney. It’s shoulder was good enough although there were bits of dead tyre where some people had a blow out and on some parts some blobs of black goup which I assume was sump oil from trucks or something used to keep the cateyes in the road. I avoided these in case they caused trouble with the bike. I was buzzed by a truck at one stage but other than that there was not much trouble. I was passed by many cars including some with bikes on bike racks. I decided to go to the French VC rest station to use the loo and rest for while before riding in to Goulburn. I still had the benefit of the tail wind and things were going quite well.

I eventually got to the French VC rest area where the odometer read 5572.6, I noticed that Both Anderson and French lost their lives in the actions that earned them their VC’s. Given that ANZAC Day was coming up this gave me food for thought on the ride. After using the facilities I headed out onto the road. The traffic was steady although there were more trucks. I found myself riding through some countryside which looked different from the bike to what it did in the car, but I did pick out some landmarks such as the houses in Parkesbourne and the old sandstone mansion which is now behind a wall which I assume was constructed by the RTA to block traffic noise. This old mansion is quite beautiful but only part of the top story can be seen above the wall.

I eventually began the climb into Goulburn and found to my surprise the ride into South Goulburn was a lot easier than anticipated. I went past the big Marino and the McDonald’s and fast food outlets servicing the highway traffic and into Goulburn. I went through an RBT station and said hello to the local police. I rode down Hume Street – which I gather used to be the highway  and into Goulburn I went through some residential streets and onto Sloane Street. I then rode onto the war memorial which overlooks Goulburn from a hill. It is similar to one in Lithgow which was set up after World War 2 and has a light which can be seen from the highway. This memorial was built-in 1925 and includes a museum which was closed. It has stunning views of Goulburn and the surrounding area and was well worth visiting.  The odometer read 5583.

After visiting the memorial I went into town and enquired about the next city rail train. As it left at 9 pm I had about 5 hours worth of time to look around and get fed. So I went out to the Kenmore Psychiatric Hospital which is now a museum. It has been sold and was closed so I had to settle for looking from the road and reading the blurb on a sign about its history. It was one of the states first mental hospitals and used its early inmates for labour building the buildings and orchards and establishing the grounds. It would have been a Dickensian hospital and those who were kept there would have gone through hell.

I then went on to see Goulburn Goal which I saw from the road – it still has its old Victorian buildings as well as the new ” Super Max” wing. I gather it was established in the 1880’s. It now houses some of the states worst criminals. The odometer read 5597.2 km. I decided to head back into town as the light was fading. I still hadn’t found the Police Academy but wanted to get fed. I road to the main street – Auburn Street and walked the bike along until I found a restaurant with sign pole (basic bike parking) close by. I went in and had Thai fish cakes for entre & then a beef curry with rice, with a Coke Zero this all came to$25.80.

As darkness fell I went for a ride around Goulburn, where the Nitepro proved it’s worth. I eventually found the Police Academy and rode up it’s entrance and had a brief look at the buildings I could see before riding back into Goulburn. I then went to the McDonald’s on Hume Street and had a soft serve cone before heading back to the railway station. When I got to the railway station I got a ticket, which I thought would get me all the way to Lithgow. I also got a soft drink sold by the Countrylink staff drinks club. I sat in the waiting room and waited till the train came in at 8:30. While I was there an elderly woman who seemed quite a toff and either her daughter or granddaughter brought a small dog in – they were waiting to pick someone up. It turned out the dog was a long-haired Jack Russell and was quite spoiled. It had been hit by a sand truck but had recovered and had a dislike for heavy vehicles. When the train rolled in they went and greeted their relative and there was a huge crowd who had evidently been at the Easter Show in Sydney.  The guy from Countrylink showed me where the area for bikes was located on the train. I hung the bike up and took a seat near by.

The train went as far as Campbelltown, where I changed trains for a train to Granville, where I caught the Blue Mountains train to Lithgow. On my way to Granville I found the ticket was for Goulburn to the City, fortunately the Transit Officers were not checking tickets that night so I got home to Lithgow as planned at 3.00 am. I rode home and went streight to bed. The odometer reads 5612.3km. Effectively a cycling trip of 145 km.

I am looking forward to getting a bike bag by Carradice which I bought from the UK on Ebay. It will enable the Katana to do some minor 2 or 3 day tours. I enjoyed the ride although the late train trip home with the need to make connections was a bit of a concern. I would like to do something similar on the June Long weekend but this time only to Ruth’s place.