Central West Cycle Trail. Day 1: Dubbo to Wellington
Day 1: Dubbo to Wellington 65kms
After a traffic free 9 hour drive, we dined at the “ very glamorous” (their words) Vietnamese House restaurant. It did have plush navy velvet chairs, but better still, the food was delicious and the service exceptional.
We weren’t so lucky for breakfast. I should have noticed that the reviews were 5 years out of date. No fruit, no muesli, no peppermint tea and crap coffee.
To add insult to injury, the place was infested with old people from some tennis club. However, we did manage to ingest enough nourishment for the day ahead.
Leaving Dubbo was easy, we didn’t get lost or even go in the wrong direction. The quiet bitumen road lasted for about 15 kms, with barely a hill in sight. Then it changed to gravel, which was fine and we hardly saw a truck or car all the way to Geurie, where we lunched.
Ray happened to mention that a long but not so steep climb was coming up. So was the temperature. It was 31 degrees, but certainly felt hotter going into a headwind. I started to cramp on the climb.
I think it was my body saying that I need an e-bike.However, what goes up must come down, and we enjoyed a fastish 50kph ride into Wellington.
I was planning on having a dip in the motel pool, but unfortunately it’s empty. We took a walk along the river to grab some essentials, eg chocolate and fruit for tomorrow’s breakfast.
We will be fuelling up tonight at the Cow and Calf (wonder what’s on the menu) for a long and hilly ride tomorrow.
Pics
Here is a rare look at the Dubbo Elk. Endemic to the Dubbo area, the elk has been hunted to near extinction, but it appears it may be making a come back when you can see one from the main road. You see they are very shy and are seldom seen during the day.
I think the word is bucolic
Geurie Bald Hill is part of a nature reserve on the outskirts of the Geurie metropolis. As I understand it, there has never been much vegetation on the hill, even before white settlement. Or did I just make that up?
Art is everywhere if you look
The question remains: is it the available equipment which determines the shape of hay bales or is it the type of hay which determines it. I was asking this same question when we were riding the Mawson Trail and I can't remember if we discovered the answer or not.
And I am too lazy and tired to find out using the interwebs.
Obviously not bald enough to be named bald hill.
Roman ruins apparently, although I was unaware that the Romans had come this far south. It's amazing what you learn on a bike ride.
Ride Notes
- A relatively comfortable day's ride with some gravel, most of which was reasonably good
- Just a couple of sandy and corrugated spots which did not last too long
- Food, water and toilets in Guerie, 35klms in.
- Make sure you take plenty of water on hot days
- Don't rely on CWC guide posts/signs. We saw only one the entire day (I would not discount the fact that I could be blind)