Gouldburn

March 15, 2024

We had a very comfortable night in the Marulan Stayz guesthouse last night. There were no other guests so we had the place to ourselves. Leigh has been struggling with a cold for the past few days so it was a nice break for her.

Compared to the past few days, it was a chilly thirteen degrees at sunrise this morning and was still cool by the time we hit the road at eight o'clock. First stop was at the IGA to pick up some food for the road and then we headed out using the route suggested by Komoot. Forty minutes and seven unnecessary kilometers later we were cycling passed last night's digs after our route had ended at a quarry. An added indignity was having to listen to smart-arse comments from the guy at the point at which we turned back.

Marulan, and the Hume Highway adjacent to it, has a number of roadworks on the go which meant it was only after twelve kilometers before we managed to get on the normal route to Bungonia. What followed was a very pleasant ride without any ridiculously steep gradients. There was a long climb from Bungonia to fifteen kilometers out of Gouldburn but the cool weather and easier gradients of never more than about six or seven percent made it one of our most enjoyable rides so far.

Most rural post boxes are rather utilitarian but this one had a bit of a buzz to it.

A large collection of post boxes along with a sign opposing resource extraction. Clearly a case of NIMBY. Unfortunately, Australian resource companies have a rather dodgy image with regards to their activities in South Africa.

Approaching the top of the climb. A nice downhill followed.

We spotted some Glossy Black-Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami) near the top of the climb.

Once in Gouldburn we headed to the first camping store to look for a new inflatable mattress for me. What they had was expensive and not quite what I wanted so we headed to the campground a few kilometers away and checked out the camping store on that side of town. Unfortunately they also didn't have what I needed so I headed back into town to the first shop we went to. In the end, I ended up with a new mattress a bit bigger than I wanted and a bigger dent in my bank account than what I thought was necessary.

The campground in Gouldburn is rather uninspiring but it has a very kitchen area in which we are sheltering from the cold and windy conditions this evening. Current plans for tomorrow are to head to Gunning and then to make it to Canberra via Gunderoo by Monday.

Today's ride: 67 km (42 miles)
Total: 361 km (224 miles)

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Graham SmithHi Jean-Marc
You are making excellent progress considering the recent weather. Hopefully I’ll be able to see you in Canberra. Apologies we are unable to host you but I can show you around Canberra.
Perhaps I’ll be able to ride out to meet you on Monday if that suits you.

Note we are expecting some wet weather next week.
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1 month ago

Brianna DallYesterday I had the same experience getting into Marulan from Goulburn, Komoot taking me into a quarry that wasn't a road.
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6 days ago

Jean-Marc StrydomIt's a constant battle as to whether a data source can be trusted or not. Recently Google has kept on showing us alternative secondary roads we could take when the main roads were closed due to flooding while we knew that the alternatives offered were also closed. Nonetheless, Komoot is my first choice, largely because it gives a reasonably good picture of road conditions eg accurate elevation
charts and tarred vs gravel. Google helps with finding quieter roads. Maps.me almost always suggests the toughest route possible but we use it in a pinch when we don't have internet access.
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6 days ago