Sydney to Canberra
Sydney to Canberra can be done in four hours on the motorway. I have zero desire to do it that way. Three days trailing down the hills and the coast then tracking inland is how to stir your soul - which sounds like fancy waffle, but when I'm out there I find myself in places that truly stir my soul and that provide 'moments'. I love moments and the flow.
After working in the morning and a visit in the afternoon that brought smiles and happiness, I rode out to Wollongong on the M1 (I know, I know) to get out of Sydney before nightfall, stopping on the way for ice-cream at a spot that overlooks the lights and cove of Wollongong.
A beautiful chicken-schnitzel meal, a slow relaxing evening and a long sleep-in had me refreshed and grounded after a busy few days of travel and working, and I tracked in to ride up Macquarie Pass which looked like a beautiful clear run until a van and a car towing a boat appeared in front of me out of nowhere, slowing the enjoyable run.
From here, I rode through Kangaroo Valley retracing some roads I've done previously in the other direction - but I really found it beautiful in this direction and the roads I'd chosen. There seems to be a lot of different ways to explore around here.
Along the way, I saw a fairly inconspicuous sign I had seen previously showing "9km to Bellmore Falls", so I turned and rode only to find the road changing to a dirt road after a couple of kilometers - my mind does get set once the seed of a decision is made in my mind, so I continued on regardless and the road was fine.. leading to this stunning double-waterfall..
..and this beautiful view..
..and this table where I worked for a few hours.
After working quietly for about ten minutes, small birds came out of the trees and hopped and flitted around me snacking on small bugs. There were three different types of small birds, really beautiful.
I rode out finding the dirt road really special and enjoyable..
..which eventually turned to tarmac after some kilometers twisting delightedly between lush green farms (part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV0rz8Qsw-w and part 3:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJt_qSJtM5k). Definitely a ride I must do again.
Finding refuge down the coast, I had a beautiful lasagna and echo bringing me back to base and taking the time.
The next day I saw a pod of whales for the first time in the cove, as well as a pod of dolphins and some sea mammal flopping up an embankment in an undignified attempt of evolution to.. somewhere..
Never seen whales before, pretty lucky - and with the video above managed to catch the tail end of them.. pardon the pun heheh!
Rode to Bateman's Bay then the lovely easy roads inland at an easy pace finally arriving back at Canberra where I'll dismount from the bike for a couple of weeks while I travel by train and plane for a slab of work here and there.
There's a good chance that I'll be riding down towards Melbourne after that.. we'll see how the work pans out.
Beautiful days, thanks for reading!
