Before the ride

Riverina Tour 2020

Today it was announced that G&B 2020 will not be going ahead. A pity since I was really looking forward to it as usual. Instead I will be providing my own small cash injection into the Riverina economy via a solo cycling trip next week.

The Plan

Friday 17th July - drive to Wagga and stay at the Centralpoint Motel.

Saturday 18th July - ride to Naranderra via the old road and the Canola Way

Sunday 19th July - ride to Ardlethan via some back roads

Monday 20th July - ride to Coolamon, maybe via The Gap

Tuesday 21st July - ride to Wagga and then drive home.

Purpose of the ride

• The ride for its own sake, nice scenery, pretty small towns. Wait for the photos.
• The Coolamon Cheese Shop. Enuf said.
• The country pubs along the way. More enuf said.
• Test the concept of touring with the new ebike. It takes careful choice of routes to make ebike touring successful and fun. Here is a trial run.
• Test the use of inReach as a safety and comms tool. I don't know whether this is because I am nervous or because I am sensitive to the concerns of others...
• Test gear load in preparation for some other rides in the Spring - my thinking is that four days of winter riding will need about as much gear as a much longer ride in warmer weather.
• Anyway it is warmer than Canberra.

Proposed Route

• https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/36837901
• https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/36838366
• https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/36840430
• https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/36840574

Route Strategy

The general idea is to ride secondary or tertiary roads, a mix of tarmac and gravel. Day one from Wagga to Naranderra is about 110km but the journey is broken to refuel rider and bike along the way. Maybe twice. Other days are around 60km or less, easily do-able on one battery charge.

I will be staying in pubs and motels along the route and eating in local pubs.

The rest of this blog

When it starts, expect to see daily updates, mostly photos!