Hiking or biking Australia's Bicentennial National Trail (BNT), which follows the Great Dividing Range along the east coast, has always been of interest to me as a possible adventure. In late 2004, I put my toe in the water by riding my new mountain bike from my home on the NSW Central Coast to Melbourne following the BNT as much as realistically possible on a bike.

Sydney to Melbourne BNT by MTB - Day 004 - Crookwell to Canberra

Day:  004
Date:  Thursday, 11 November 2004
Start:  Crookwell
Finish:  Canberra
Daily Kilometres:  140
Total Kilometres:  580
Accommodation:  Stayed with relatives
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  Muesli
  Lunch:  Toasted sandwich
  Dinner:  Roast dinner
Animals Seen:

Journal:
During the night the barmaid poked a note under my door to sday they moved my bike into the dining room from the back room so that I could get it more easily in the morning.  Very helpful.  I got up at 6:20am and managed to leave by 7:20am on a cool partly cloudy morning.  It was lovely bike riding south on minor roads with virtually no traffic through pastoral country.  Lots of country smells and some good views when the route climbed on to the Great Divide.  As the morning wore on I encountered some tougher hills and gravel roads but continued to make good time.  I crossed the Hume Highway without incident and had a snack by the side of a really back country road.  However it had clouded over and began to spit with rain.

I decided to keep going to Gundaroo for lunch although the gravel road and some big hills (with great views) slowed me a bit.  I met a couple of women on horseback with pack horses who were also doing the Bicentennial National Trail.  I probably should have stopped for a chat, but wanted to get to Canberra in good time.  I arrived in Gundaroo (140km) and had lunch at the very old and quaint Post Office/cafe with a friendly proprietor.  Whilst there it began raining harder and I set out for Canberra in my wet weather gear.  It got heavier and I arrived in the northern suburbs soaked through on a very dreary day.

I stopped at the Visitors Centre to dry out a bit and call Pauline to confirm I wouldn't see them in the Snowy Mountains (they are going to be in Mackay).  I called Jocey to confirm I would be there around 6:00pm and then set out for the last few kilometres.  It was now raining very hard, but cleared up a bit as I circled Parliament House.  I stopped at the Red Hill store for some Coke and chocolates to take to dinner and bumped into relatives, Bob and Heather, there.  I then rode the very short distance to Jocey and Chris's house, and after a much needed shower, had a very pleasant dinner with their family.  I did some washing and went to bed at 11:00pm.
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