Brindies Circ: Day 2

Day 2: 135km / ?vm

Mt Bimberi didn't want to get out of bed in the morning

After a mild night the day dawned with a low cover of cloud, and after breakfasting and packing up we were off along Lone Pine FT by 7am. 

Lone Pine FT

The condition of this trail wasn't the best, and I think we were all fearing a similar slog to yesterday, so it was heads down while we ticked off the next 10 or so kms.

Lone Pine FT

Topping out on Lone Pine we could see our future far, far below us - the Yaouk Valley. A huge, broad, flat valley, which would take us to familiar ground and the road home. The descent was steep and fast, and that was with both brakes fully on.

The end of the descent down Lone Pine FT in to the valley

Flat roads! Kennedys Rd

Arriving down in the valley we were blessed with a light tail wind to help us tick over the kms just that little bit faster. It was amazing riding through here with the Scabby Range on our left, Yaouk Peak on our right, and flat grassy plains and the odd squiggly river stretched out around us.

Turning on to Yaouk Rd

Yaouk Valley

Soon enough we'd made it to Shannons Flat, turned left and ridden back in to the ACT. We left the Bogan Hwy on to the quieter Old Boboyan Rd and had lunch at a ruin. The remainder of the ride was pretty cruisy: we got rained/hailed on briefly before making it to Yankee Hat car park, and ticked off the kms on the tar back to Namadgi Visitors Centre in a swirling wind. Monty and Steve were getting a lift from Tharwa so I jumped back on the road and tapped it out back home to Lyneham.

The end of Old Boboyan Rd at Yankee Hat carpark

Brindies Circ: Day 1

Day 1: 123km / 3390vm

I was lucky to find participants for this ride as most were either on the 3Fidi ride or otherwise previously engaged, however Monty and Steve were keen. The plan was for the Brindabella Circuit Beth suggested (and Martin recently soloed in a day), however in reverse and overnighting at Oldfields Hut.

7am Saturday I left home riding with Po, and then Pat out toward Piccadilly Circus. Monty and Steve were getting dropped off there at 9, however as luck would have it I was running late, and they were running early, so they caught me at Uriarra Homestead and treated me with a lift the rest of the way. All together now, we started the ride with the descent down in to the Brindabella Valley.

The descent from Piccadilly Circus in to Brindabella Valley

After crossing the Goodradigbee River it was only 11kms further along Brindabella Road until we turned off on to Boundary Road and left the good roads behind. The climbs along Boundary, Powerline and Bramina Roads were steep and rocky, and so were the descents, so it was pretty slow going.

Powerline Road

Turning on to Broken Cart Fire Trail things began to improve with slightly smoother roads, beautiful little valleys and our first pack of Brumbies.

Refilling at a creek on Broken Cart FT

Brumbies on Broken Cart FT

Gradually though, the valleys became broader, and it wasn't long before we rode down Long Plain Rd on to the vast Cooleman Plains. A few quick km's later and we were pulled in to the Blue Waterholes campground for a breather.

Long Plain Rd

The trail between Blue Waterholes and Pockets Hut was pretty overgrown and grassy, but easy to follow and surprisingly comfortable after all the rocky stuff we'd dealt with earlier in the day.

Monty crossing a creek near Blue Waterholes

The best sites for overnighting along this ride are concentrated within about a 10km stretch. Starting with 2 great options at Blue Waterholes, there's Pockets Hut and then finally Oldfields Hut. We pressed on to the latter so it meant one last hill to climb.

Brumbies on Blue Waterholes FT

Luckily, we had Oldfields all to ourselves. With its fireplace, watertank, pit toilet, lush grass and magic view, it was an awesome spot to stay.

Oldfields Hut

Totals for the day:
Jarrad 123km / 3390vm (141km if I hadn't taken the lift)
Monty & Steve 85km(?)

Sunset over Mt Bimberi

Two Sticks / Franklin circuit

The excitement from the last 2-day ride had hung in the air like a wet fog so it wasn’t too long before a date was set for another tour. The crew would be largely the same this time round, but the gear would not. Monty had recently bought a Salsa Vaya expressly for this kind of ride, and Waz (subbing in for the O/S Regina) was bringing his B.O.B trailer.

The route chosen was the Franklin - Cotter Hut circuit, overnighting at Pryors Hut, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. On paper it’s a pretty straight forward loop of approximately 200km, but it has a fair bit of up and down. While not offering any route variations for the middle (‘illegal’) bit between Pryors Hut and Orroral Valley, there are quite a few options both before and after that section so we could wing it a bit if need be.

Day 1: 106km / 2165vm

After riding to Narrabundah to collect Steve, Monty and Rob (morning escort #1), we rode out to Stromlo to meet the others: Knobs, Waz and Marty (morning escort #2). The variety of setups was pretty evident. I was at the lightweight end of the scale with my CX bike, 2 frame bags and a 10L backpack (which I eventually want to whittle down to a Hydrapack). Waz was at the other end of the scale, the kitchen sink end. He had his hardtail 29er towing a B.O.B trailer absolutely brimming with gear. He has a huge motor though, so after marvelling/laughing at the trailer for a while, we headed off. Perhaps in hindsight, we should have taken in to account the quantity of gear being carried and played it safe, taking the shortest, easiest route. Instead we stuck with the plan and struck off down to the Cotter, headed for Two Sticks Road.

Two Sticks Rd, from its start at Mountain Creek Rd to its end at Piccadilly Circus, gains about 650vm over it’s 30km length at a pretty steady grade. The road was scenic and quiet, and was a mix of smooth dirt and rough & rocky fire trail. Monty had already offloaded 2 of his panniers to the machine that was the B.O.B-toting Waz, but he was still struggling with the climbing. We arrived at the picnic area at the base of Coree for a late lunch at 2pm, and it was here that we realised that at the pace we were riding we’d struggle to get to Pryors Hut before dark. There were no shortcuts from here though - only the last bit of Two Sticks to Piccadilly Circus, and then the long grind up the ridgeline on Brindabella Road.

Knobs and I pulled in to Mt Franklin Shelter on sunset for water; Steve went ahead to get the fire going in the hut; Monty kept rolling through to maintain his momentum up the hill; and Waz pulled in momentarily for some dinner water. The hut ended up being a few km’s further than we all were expecting – 5 km’s past the locked gate at Mt Ginini on a rocky track – so we got there a while after dark. Soup was fired up and the eat-fest began in front of the warm fire. The hut has an annex and two rooms, and as we had it all to ourselves, we could close off the back room as our bike store and roll out our mats in front of the fire in the front room.

Day 2: 76km /860vm

There were a few weary bodies come morning. Monty had developed a sore knee from the previous day and a few of the others voiced interest in cutting the short. We decided to try Stockyard Spur: a direct route from the hut down to the dam wall at Corin Dam. I know Jono had ridden (well, walked) up the spur many years previous. Knobs had walked it also, but entries in the Pryors Hut log book confirming it’s condition really sealed the deal.

Although not on our map, Knobs led us to the start of the spur’s fire trail and we took off down it. After a quick chat with some walkers half way down we soon ran out of fire trail and got on to the steeper walking track section, which is currently pretty overgrown. We had to hike a few sections, but being down hill (my Garmin claims up to 40% down!) it was pretty easy hiking. Popping out of the scrub at the bottom we’d made the dam:  we were on the tar and home and hosed (mentally, at least).

We had a nice lazy lunch in the sun at the top of Corin. It was here that Monty had earlier arranged a rescue from Lauren, so his and Steve’s ride ended here (well, at the bottom of the hill in the end). Waz also managed to fit his B.O.B trailer in the car, so after lunch he, Knobs and started the ride back to town. We waved off Knobs just after Point Hut Xing and then the two of us TT’d it back Northside, swapping turns along the Parkway (not the best way to end the ride, but it sure was the quickest).

All in all: an awesome ride. The hut was a standout. It meant we could sleep warm, travel light and overnight in a truly beautiful area. I’ll be back soon.

First Look: Revelate Bags

At Mikey's request I thought I'd pen a few first impressions of my Revelate bags and gear list from my first trip (which, bare in mind wasn't really my first run - that's coming up in afew weeks - it was more of a pre-first run).

The bags

I bought 2 bags from Revelate Designs a Tangle frame bag and a Pika seat bag. The Tangle bag is the medium size and fits near-on perfectly within my 56cm Spot Mod frame. I wanted the straps to fit under the cables (as they'd then aid in protecting the frame from cable scratch, and not impede on braking/shifting etc), so to do this I had to modify the largest Velcro strap slightly to accommodate a cable guide. I found that loosening the cables/housing also meant I could snug the Velcro in nice and tight. The bag has 2 YKK zippered full-length compartments - a thin one on the left hand side and a thicker one on the right hand side. The divider between these 2 pockets is a bright yellow fabric which certainly helped locating the right gear on the move. My primary fear with this bag was that when loaded it would bulge too much for my liking (or for my knobby knees). To my relief it held everything comfortably and only had a very slight bulge to it. Granted, it wasn't as loaded as i'll have it on future rides, but I'm pretty sure that the extra gear it will eventually hold on bigger trips won't mean it'll grow a muffin top. The extra gear should even help to hold everything in place as at times it was a little 'rattly'. Last weekend it held my camera, my tools, first aid kit and my riding food.

The Pika is Revelate's smaller seat bag, with a stated capacity of 6-12L. It attaches to the seat rails with a thick PVC(?) strap with dual buckles, and a hefty velcro strap around the seat post. The roll-top closure (at the moment I'm unsure about the waterproofness of the material) secures with a further 2 buckles and snugs back in on itself to create a tight and secure bag against the underside of the saddle. I had all my compressible stuff in here - boardies, tshirt, Arc'teryx Atom LT hoody and thongs - plus on the first day, 1kg of cheese and 2 extra tubes. This was about the least I could carry as the roll-top straps were cinched in as much as they could be. Riding with both of these bags really illustrated their main advantages over traditional panniers - they barely changed the handling of the bike and they were so secure over rough (corrugated) roads (although there's no doubt some of this is due to the fact that you're forced to carry much less gear!).

The gear

This pre-first run helped me to mentally compile a comprehensive gear list for the real first run, a mid-autumn 2-3 day ride. It's about as minimal as I can imagine it at the moment, whilst still allowing for contingency. I've tried to get everything to work together to work as a system, eg sleeping in my Atom+bag+pad+bivy will get me through a cold night. Plus there's obviously some scope for refining it according to the trip (eg add iPhone charger & cable for Lezyne if I'll be riding past a plug; leave out the bivy bag if I'll be staying in huts). Here's how I think it'll go:

Tangle bag:
tools (pump, multitool, tube, patches+glue, 2x brake shoes, 2x tyre boots, Stein Mini Cassette tool, 2x spare bolts, 2x quicklinks, lube, gear/brake cable), first aid kit (pills, tweezers, mediswabs, bandaids, bandage, Iodine tabs), camera, iPhone/cash/ID/VISA, lighter, bogroll, ride food (2x GU's, 2x oat slices per day, 2x muesli bars per day, 2x mineral tabs per day), head/neck warmer, suncream, headphones, knee warmers;
Pika bag:
boardies, tshirt, Atom hoody, 100-weight sleeping bag, pad, bivy bag, Jetboil+spoon (I might have to get a little creative packing this bag;)
HydraPak:
daily consumables (lunch/dinner and water bladder), rain jacket
On bike:
1 large bidon, 1 small bidon, front light (Lezyne MiniDrive), rear flasher
Wearing:
helmet, glasses, jersey, arm warmers, gloves, bib knicks, socks, MTB shoes


I'll add some pics in a bit...

Majors Ck - Tinderry tour

After my 2 new Revelate bike bags arrived the other week I was keen to take them out for a spin. The stars aligned this past Easter long-long-weekend and I hooked up with Steve, Monty, Knobs and Reg for the first day of their 2-day ride from Canberra down to Broulee, overnighting in Majors Creek. My plan was to then ride back to Canberra via Captains Flat and the Tinderry's.

Day 1: Lyneham - Majors Ck, 97km

Getting organised at Steve's place

We all met at Steve's place on Friday morning and after divvying up some group food got away rolling by 9. The bogan-factor on Captains Flat Rd was high, but soon enough we turned off on to the quieter roads heading for Tallaganda State Forest. The saddle at the top of the Lowden Forest Rd was a fitting spot for lunch - water nearby, just over half way and the highest point for the day (~1100m) - and also a great spot to view the local wildlife. Rumswillinus Motoboganus I think is their scientific name.

On the road between Hoskinstown & Rossi

Steve on the undulations at Harold Cross

The last leg to Majors Creek features some awesome descents and only a couple of pinchy climbs. Never-the-less there were a few weary bodies as we rolled in to our accommodation for the night, the pub. Going beer for beer probably isn't the best way to recover from a day's riding, but the good thing is that after a few hours of it you tend to forget about silly things like recovery or rehydration. The wine at dinner broke up the rhythm of the beers anyway. In short - Majors Creek: great pub; young pool sharks; when you lose your dog, drink beer.

Majors Creek pub

Day 2: Majors Ck - Tinderry - Lyneham, 146km..ish

The next day it was time to part ways with my crew. I pointed them in the right direction (to Araluen) and then started back-tracking the previous day's riding. Instead of turning on to Harolds Cross Rd I stuck on the road south toward Captains Flat Rd. This bit was pretty crap to be honest. Corrugations and undulations were apparently in fashion when this road was put in, and I've since discovered neither mix too well with hangovers.

I stopped at the top of the Tallaganda to munch on my group food ration - salami and sweaty cheese. As luck would have it there was a map there which told me I could knock off 15km by by-passing Captains Flat on Wild Cattle Flat Rd. The dilemma was though that I was almost out of water (damn hangover) and Captains Flat presented, I assumed, the only reliable source of it. 15-less-km though. Bugger it, Wild Cattle Flat Rd it was.

Wild Cattle Flat Rd

This road certainly felt remote. It had copped a bit of abuse after the heavy rains, but subsequently, it was more interesting to ride. Sure-enough it spat me out on Jerangle Rd and after a quick few km's south I was at the turn off to Tinderry Rd. Licking my last bidon for it's remaining moisture I added 'Iodine Tablets' to my mental list of things to pack for next time.

I stopped for lunch at an abandoned little shack just after the Queanbeyan River and subsequently almost shat my pants by startling a young black snake while straddling a barbed wire fence. With renewed vigour I set about getting to the top of the Tinderry.

Lunch spot near Queanbo River

At Veda's property east of the Tinderry

I would meet God that day, or the Easter Bunny, and she would be called Veda and own a homestead on Tinderry Rd and damn would she love a chat! I filled up my bidons and after a good hour of chin wagging rode the last few km to top out on Tinderry Rd at about 1250m.

The view west toward Michelago from the Tinderry Rd descent

At the bottom, looking back up Tinderry Rd

Canberra was all down hill from here and after the wicked descent (20% in places) down to Burra Rd, I was on to familiar roads. The stretch between Michelago and Burra is a beautiful road and one that I haven't been on in a while, so I loved this part. Soon enough I was in Queanbo dropping in on my folks for a cuppa and a catchup before hitting the bike paths in the fading light for the final stretch home.

Moonrise over Lake Burley Griffin