Murrumbidgee Cycling
I've just finished up a 14 day cycle/camping trip along the banks of a segment of the Murrumbidgee river, say about 600 kilometers in all. Not particularly long for a cycle tour, but longer than anything I've done before. It was good fun, too. I camped at eight spots, did a bit of fishing (not very good at the fishing...), saw some sights and got some exercise. Made a lot of mistakes and hope to make less next time. It was an experience.
This is what I set out with. Packed in there is my tent, sleeping bag, clothes, cooking stove, food and supplies, fishing rod, water bottles, various odds and ends.
I started here, Lake Bethungra,
and from there made the northern bank of the river, making my way west. It wasn't long before I had my first double-flat. Here are some horses watching me patch my tubes.
This would be a recurring problem, thanks to the dreaded cats-eye bindi, something I should have remembered from my childhood. The delays probably added up to a full day of extra riding. I'd gone over half way before I had a chance to change my road tubes for thorn-resistant tubes.
I tried to stay as close to the river as I could, avoiding the major highways when possible, so that meant I cycled roads like this
and this
and this
Some of those roads were rough as guts, but they gave me a chance to pitch my tent at places like this
and cross country like this,
and this
I was lucky in the weather department, too. For 13 days and 12 nights the weather was fantastic - not hot, not cold, perfect autumn conditions. It was only on the last day that I woke up with numb, stiff hands and peeked outside my tent to see this
Not snow, no, but frost and fog and that's about cold enough for me, especially when I didn't pack any cold-weather gear. No complaints, though, all in good fun.
This is what I set out with. Packed in there is my tent, sleeping bag, clothes, cooking stove, food and supplies, fishing rod, water bottles, various odds and ends.
I started here, Lake Bethungra,
and from there made the northern bank of the river, making my way west. It wasn't long before I had my first double-flat. Here are some horses watching me patch my tubes.
This would be a recurring problem, thanks to the dreaded cats-eye bindi, something I should have remembered from my childhood. The delays probably added up to a full day of extra riding. I'd gone over half way before I had a chance to change my road tubes for thorn-resistant tubes.
I tried to stay as close to the river as I could, avoiding the major highways when possible, so that meant I cycled roads like this
and this
and this
Some of those roads were rough as guts, but they gave me a chance to pitch my tent at places like this
and cross country like this,
and this
I was lucky in the weather department, too. For 13 days and 12 nights the weather was fantastic - not hot, not cold, perfect autumn conditions. It was only on the last day that I woke up with numb, stiff hands and peeked outside my tent to see this
Not snow, no, but frost and fog and that's about cold enough for me, especially when I didn't pack any cold-weather gear. No complaints, though, all in good fun.