I got off the plane Thursday night in Tamworth, NSW after 36 hours of travel, had dinner with my mother-in-law and was on a bus heading to Rylstone, NSW the next morning. On Saturday morning we set out on our 8 day ride over dirt, gravel, some technical single-track, a little tar and a bunch of hills.
My borrowed bike and me on the first day of riding in Rylstone, NSW
Views of a typical dirt road near Rylstone
Stopped for a rest on a section of fireroad
Dunn's Swamp where we had lunch on Day 1
An Echidna.
Saw this little guy crossing the road and had to stop for a crappy cell phone picture.
Lunch stop on the way from Rylstone to Mudgee
Cath and Scott
Steve "Deadrock" Livingstone and Andy Dowe
Barry "Baz","Bazzaaaa" Walton, our fearless leader.
Deadrock cools off
Starting out on our wine-tasting tour of Mudgee
Pieter van Gent Winery & Vinyard
A toast to Brian. "To Birchy!"
Bush vine Zinfandel at Lowe Wines
Lowe Wines
USA vs. Australia
More wine tasting
Yet another vinyard
Lawson Park Hotel in Mudgee
Between Mudgee and Gulgong.
Deadrock's dinner in Gulgong
Gulgong
Rest stop between Gulgong and Dunedoo (I am NOT making up the names)
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| A few more riders |
Dunedoo
Bikes!
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| Between Dunedoo and Coolah |
Coolah, and yeat another Pub/Hotel
Exchanging of the jerseys ceremony
Day 7 Between Coolah and Quirindi (our 128km day)
Start of Pandora's Pass
Coming up near the top of Pandora's Pass
Me at the top with my new jersey
Breakfast at the other side of Pandora's Pass
A causeway. Notice the stick on the left indicating water depth.
It's what passes for a bridge in most of Australia
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| Morning tea stop in Werris Creek on the last day between Quirindi and Tamworth |
The stock route on the way to Tamworth
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| An iconic Aussie windmill |
After 8 days of riding it's best not to ask
Sadly, I don't have any pictures from the awards ceremony held on Saturday night in Tamworth.
