Perfect weather, an early morning departure, ample food stops and good company while riding today enabled a surprisingly long distance ... 127 km... for Day 1 of a cycle tour on heavily laden bikes.
A few friends, Cora, Frank, Alex and my nephew Kiel joined us for the ride start at 7am. It was lovely to have extra company to send us off on this long ride. They cycled with Ian, Joel and me for about the first 25 km.
From the outskirts of Canberra we pedalled steadily to Jugiong with long rest breaks at Murrumbateman, Yass and Bookham before rolling into beautiful, riverside Jugiong at day’s end. Ian set up camp at the Jugiong Showgrounds which have free camping and showers, whereas Joel and I opted for the extra comfort of the Jugiong Motor Inn for $45 each.
‘The George’ is a grand, restored pub in Jugiong so we had an evening meal there, and met a friend Freddie Marnie, who lives at nearby Gundagai. It was great to catch-up with Freddie.
Only 4000 km to go. The loaded Thorn Sherpa at dawn on our front path.
Ian, Joel and me at the first state border. Note Ian dons a red tie to mark significant milestones such as borders and summits. Thanks to nephew Kiel for this photo.
In Yass we crossed paths with Doug Whitehead,, a long distance cycle tourer from Queensland. Doug’s bike was a very impressive British made (Enigma) titanium tourer. He had some very interesting stories about his early family heritage and their connections with the Canberra district.
