The following blog was written by Simon Kleyn, aka Biking the Bland, of our cycling trip in the central west of New South Wales over the Easter / Anzac day holiday in 2025 which was 1,175km with 9,925m elevation gain, averaged 147km each day over 8 days of riding
You can watch the video of our trip on YouTube here
Thursday 17th April
I am sitting in the recliner, waiting for Josh to arrive. While I am gently rocking, I am reflecting on my preparation. Sram battery charger, check. Wet weather gear, check. I hope I haven’t forgotten anything! That would suck! I have agonised for weeks on which bike to take. Should I take the comfortable Polygon R9X with racks, bags galore, Brooke’s saddle and over size drop bars. Geez, I love that bike. So much fun to ride, and we have had many good times together. Or should it be the new kid on the block. The lighter, faster, gravel racer. There are many good reasons why the Giant Revolt Advanced Pro 0 is a popular choice. In fact, I saw quite a few at Beechworth Granite Classic. One was a standout. The same as mine but rocking 29 x 2.1 mountain bike tyres. Yeah, I am going to try that setup, for sure. So, can you empathise with my conundrum? Which bike? I am going with the lighter, faster set-up. More a bike packing setup, rather than a touring one. Josh is a few years younger than me and I need as much advantage as I can find. After all, we are staying in motel and hotels and not carrying camping gear. This arrangement is much better for my ageing body, I’m sure, many of you would agree and do the same. The seat bag holds all the clothing. The frame bags are for snacks and things I will need while riding. I am carrying extra water bottles on the forks. If I need the extra capacity, I have it. I always need to remind myself. Stay hydrated Simon, it’s important. I am comfortable with my decision and confident that I haven’t forgotten anything. If I have, you will soon hear about it.
Ride Central West – day 1
Friday 18th April
Barmedman to Cowra
There are not many days that businesses stop trading, but Good Friday is one of them. Our only option for food and water on route today was Greenethorpe. There you can find a pub and a post office with a Cafe. I did not expect either of them to be open, but just in case I thought I should message the Cafe. Their response was hilarious. “Not a chance. It’s the anniversary of my best friend’s murder. Jesus” 🤣
We got away at 7am stacked with goodies. Homemade oat cakes plus we each had a giant sausage roll. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst is a good approach.
It wasn’t long before the long sleeve top was discarded. A cracking day of full sunshine. We made good time and stopped in Bimbi for a short break around the 60km mark. Scoffed an oat cake.
About 11.30 the sausage roll started calling my name. I made it wait until we rolled into Greenethorpe at midday at 110km down. We had our lunch in the park, refilled water bottles and took in the sights. Pub was dead. Church was empty. Nobody to be found anywhere. We weren’t going to make any new friends here today, so we moved on.
Only 35km to Cowra with half of it downhill. What a hoot coming down the range. The award for top speed went to Josh at 67kph with me a close second. As we rolled into town at 2.30pm we discovered that the Rose Garden Cafe was open. You bloody beauty, real food instead of that McDonald’s crap.
Tonight, we are staying at the Civic Motor Inn. Today was challenging enough without being over the top.
Ride Central West – Day 2
Saturday 19th April
Cowra to Molong
Coffee. Who doesn’t like coffee! Cycling and coffee go hand in hand, like Vegemite and cheese, or peanut butter and honey. If you ride in a group, you usually all get coffee afterwards, right? It turns out that Josh didn’t get the memo, he doesn’t drink coffee. That’s fine, we can still be friends, just as long as he doesn’t interfere with my pursuit of finding a good coffee each day. Today, that coffee was found in Canowindra where we stopped for breakfast at Melissa Barber Galleries.
We rolled out of Cowra before 7am. The morning was fresh, but not cold. Unlike yesterday, today was mostly gravel and it wasn’t long before the whirring of bitumen changed to the crunching of rocks and dirt.
There was a lot of elevation today and strong wind in the afternoon. Also, there were quite a few sections with heavy corrugations to contend with. The distances between each town were ideal for breaks and we stopped in each place to rest and refuel. Breakfast in Canowindra, lunch in Cargo, a snack in Cudal.
There was quite a marked change in the terrain between Cudal and Molong as it transitioned from open farmland towards more forest areas and rocky outcrops.
Josh mentioned a couple of times he was a little off pace today. It could be because this is his first big ride since his nasty accident a little while ago. Or it could be because he doesn’t drink coffee! Just saying, lol. How fast you ride on a trip doesn’t matter. What does matter is making it to your stop and getting food before everything shuts. Today we made it to the supermarket in Molong just before closing. Thank goodness.
As the afternoon got later the hills were getting laborious. When we saw the Molong sign coming into town, relief washed over us knowing we had finished. Then there is one last hill you must get over. It’s never over until it’s over.
Ride Central West – Day 3
Sunday 20th April
Molong to Dubbo
Expect the unexpected. Sometimes things go wrong, and you don’t see it coming. We tried to get rolling a bit earlier this morning, but it ended up being later. 15 minutes of stuffing around with Sram shifters that would not wake up. Lots of cursing, button pushing and somehow it sorted itself out. Electronic shifting is great, if it works.
Not much chat today. Heads down and grinding away in the wind. Some very bad sections of corrugated road. Everywhere is so dry, we need rain to come soon.
As we expected, McDonald’s was the only option we could find in Wellington for lunch. And from there, nothing available until Dubbo. We came across a lone cyclist at Wongarbon who had come from Dunedoo. We chatted for a bit and handed over a few muesli bars. He had been caught out without enough food.
I was impressed with the wide roads and cycle lanes coming into Dubbo. We had a dream run through town to get to our motel. These long days don’t allow for a lot of down time. You arrive, unpack, shower, then search for food and supplies. Once that’s sorted then it’s charging devices, social media, etc and finally, relax.
Three days in and so far, I am holding up well. The legs are good; however, the backside is getting sore. There was a lot of extra standing today to get up and off the seat. I ditched the padded shorts today, which I find helps in the heat. There were a few twinges of regret for not having the Brookes Saddle.
Tomorrow will be a big day to get to Dunedoo and we are not sure that we can make Mendooran in time for lunch. The kitchen closes at 2pm. We are thinking that when we are at Ballimore, we will decide if we can make it or not. If not, we are going to ring and ask if we can order something and get them to hold it for us. Hopefully they will.
We will most likely get to Dunedoo in the dark.
Ride Central West – Day 4
Monday 21st April
Dubbo to Dunedoo
We cheated. Not much, just a little bit. Where the track intersects with Forest Road, we skipped about 4km of track and pegged it down the black top to make the Mendooran pub before the kitchen closed. Long sweeping downhill descents were a hoot and it helped bump up our average speed. We had a good lunch, decent break and a good chat with three guys from the Blue Mountains. They had come from Dunedoo and were staying the night at the pub. They told us an interesting tale about their first night sleeping in a shearing shed at Cobbora.
We also met a few other cyclists today. We came across a large group of lads from Sydney not far from Ballimore. They had camped there the night and were headed to Wellington. Also, a couple in the Goonoo Forest heading to Ballimore to camp.
Today’s 162km covered lots of different terrain. Some of the roads were outstanding and some were horrible. Washboard corrugations with deep sandy sections to boot. Goonoo State Forrest was terrific, and I also loved the section from Mendooran to Dunedoo once you got off the main road.
We are getting weary after four long days on the bike. It hits you hard once you get off the bike and start to relax. Let the mental games begin.
We got into Dunedoo just after 5pm with a little light to spare.
Ride Central West – Day 5
Tuesday 22nd April
Dunedoo to Wellington
Woof, woof. We met the CWCT dogs on tour at the Dunedoo bakery this morning. What better way to start the day than with a bakery treat, a good coffee and woofers. With 58km to Gulgong, we set off in good spirits. Surprisingly, we were both feeling good today. I can’t explain why, but it seems that we have settled into our aches and pains and our bodies have got with the program. At this point, we are on track to complete the tour in eight days.
We were both in a chatty mood today and the ride to Gulgong passed quickly. We came across a few other riders on this leg, and we enthusiastically stopped them to chat, swap trail info, and get a picture.
Gulgong has a great main street. Plenty of options for food and supplies. We enjoyed bacon and egg rolls, and of course, I had coffee. On the next leg, Josh had another puncture that needed a plug. Second one this trip. We came across a young lady riding solo. She had done most of the CWCT and loved it. “Next trip I’ll pack less stuff”, she said. We all make this mistake. You must get out and do it a few times to refine your set-up. I also think I packed too much. You really can get by with very little. We also bumped into the group of lads again. They too had been having a ball. It’s great seeing other cyclists doing the same thing as us.
I thoroughly enjoyed both sections today but the Gulgong to Wellington part was particularly good. I could tell you why, but if you haven’t done it yet, you should.
We have seen a lot of cows over the last few days. Mick Cooper gave a rider safety presentation at the 2025 Region West Bike Forum at Parkes earlier this month. He said that cows will look at you and track your movements with their head. It’s true, they do. His point being that unlike most motorists, cows take in much more when scanning their immediate environment. He said lots of other stuff too, but I had stopped listening, my mind had drifted off on a cow tangent 🤣
Ride Central West – Day 6
Wednesday 23rd April
Wellington to Blayney
Type 2 fun today. Hills, trucks, wind. More hills, trucks wind. That was the first 100km from Wellington to Orange, mostly bitumen all the way apart from one gravel interlude. Apparently, there was a bad accident somewhere that had caused traffic to be diverted onto our route. That’s what the guy at Stuart Town Cafe told us. Very good coffee and bacon & egg roll, by the way.
We stopped briefly at Mullion Creek, nice rest area. Josh took us on a track that was supposed to link up with the main road. Nope. It was a goat track to nowhere and included a hike a bike section to boot. We lost about 30 minutes on that jaunt. Thanks Josh. Great view at the top though.
Orange to Blayney is a fantastic ride, all gravel. However, it did include hills, more hills, bloody big hills. And wind, more wind and bloody strong wind. But thankfully, no more trucks. The last 10km, or so, we had a terrific decent into Blayney. The sun had gone down, and the light was fading, it was a magical moment.
Tonight, we ate more food than any person should eat! The local Chinese Restaurant was very good. Mind you, pretty much anything tastes good after these types of activities. Strava tells me I burnt over 4,800 calories. Does anyone believe Strava stats? Regardless, I do know from my experience that I need to eat a lot more than normal, or I won’t be able to maintain my desired output. When I get home my eating will be back to normal.
Tomorrow will be an easier day.
Ride Central West – Day 7
Thursday 24th April
Blayney to Cowra
Today we were totally engrossed in our surroundings. Sucking all the goodness we could from the scenery. The sound of the wind through the treetops and the long grass. Sweeping valley views, forest vistas, dried gnarly trees reaching for the sky. There was much to take in. Reaching the highest point of the trip on Mount Macquarie, there was more steep climbing. As we came down the other side there was fast descents. What goes up, must come down. Down is fun.
The first section today over the range from Blayney to Mandurama was sensational.
We stopped at the Post Office/Cafe and met Philip. An avid mountain biker from Canberra, Philip was also heading to Cowra. Phillip was on a mission to retrieve his parked car and get back to Orange to collect his poor wife. She had pulled the pin on their tour due to saddle sores. Ouch, I feel for her. We enjoyed chatting with Phillip over lunch and enjoyed a short ride together until we turned off onto gravel.
We had a break in Woodstock. No food at the pub so we ate our back up bars. Josh got another puncture; this time the back tyre needed a plug.
A shorter day today, we came into Cowra around 3.30. I had my suspicions that Josh is a type of cyclist sadist, now I have proof! After all the pain of climbing hills for the last two days, Josh wanted to climb to the top of Cowra to take a photo at the Japanese Gardens. He likes to finish a ride with an extra kick. That’s the way he rolls.
Today I felt good. Very good in fact. I’m surprised at how well I’ve managed continuous days of long riding. As Tadej Pogacar often says, “I had good legs”. Even the saddle soreness has eased off the last couple of days.
Tomorrow is the last leg home. Good thing too, as rain is forecast for Saturday. We have been blessed with perfect weather for this trip. Nothing foodwise available tomorrow, so we have our food already packed.
Ride Central West – Day 8
Friday 25th April
Cowra to Barmedman
It’s over. Done and dusted. We have finished on a high. Another beautiful day of sunshine for the final leg home. Today we had the wind behind us, which made for much easier riding. We took a different way back that had more gravel than day 1. Today’s route is the best way from Cowra to Barmedman. Nice quiet roads, great views.
Not much elevation, back to the flatness of the Bland.
We stopped at Greenethorpe again and the pub at Bribbaree. The pub was shut when we got there around 1pm, however after we finished our snacks the publican turned up and opened the bar. Our lucky day.
We did a total of almost 1200km with almost 10,000 meters of elevation. We averaged just under 150km per day. Not bad for an old fart, and his younger sidekick.
This was a great trip, and I enjoyed it immensely. I am grateful to have benefited from all of Josh’s experience bikepacking solo and enjoyed his company too.
As we rolled into Barmedman, we went straight to the bowling club for our one and only beer the entire trip to celebrate our achievements.
I have the bug. I am in love with the Australian Landscape. I will be doing more of these trips.