Tinderry Range

If the Cotter circuit is the favourite ride of the road warriors then the Tinderry Range ride would be one of the favourites of the local adventure/dirt bike crowd.  The Tinderry Nature Reserve is located 60km south of Canberra. 
 

Tinderry Range from east of Michelago

The village of Michelago is at the foot of the Tinderry Range and was the destination for lunch on this ride.  The General Store provides the usual range of take-away. 

Michelago General Store

If you have a bit of time it is worth a quick look around the village.  The train station is still in reasonable repair and the main station building is used for functions.  The remaining rail infrastructure suggests that Michelago was once a reasonably important station.

Michelago Train Station

Just to the east of Michelago you get a fine view of the Tinderry Range.

East of Michelago

A couple of kilometres to the east of Michelago is the turnoff to Captains Flat/Tinderry Road and the dirt road starts here. 

Start of the dirt section  

Initially the dirt road is in good condition and should not present any challenges.  

Rolling through the foothills of the Tinderry Ranges

Road conditions change once you start ascending.  The surface is hard and the suspension takes a bit of a beating.  Standing on the footpegs makes life easier for the rider and fortunately these conditions abate once the highpoint of the ride is reached.

The surface on the ascent is harsh on the bike 

but nothing to be concerned about

Typical conditions, once the highpoint is reached

Eventually Tinderry Road intersects with Captains Flat Road.  A turn to the right will take you to Bredbo and to the left, Captains Flat.  A regular ride is the Captain Flat-Bredbo run and return to Canberra via the Cooma Road.

On this occasion I turned for Captains Flat and then Canberra.  The turn-around was four and a half hours.  So a nice afternoon out. 

Captain's Flat

After foray's to the north, south and west it was time for a ride to the east of Canberra.    A regular ride destination is Captain's Flat, especially for adventure and dirt riders.  The Tallaganda State forest is to the east of Captain's Flat and its host of fire trails is popular with dirt riders and the one horsepower variety (ie horse riders!).  Also dirt roads venture in all directions.

Depart Queanbeyan heading east on Kings Highway.  The first major intersection is the junction with Captains Flat Road, so turn right here.  The Molonglo River and the old railway line parallel your line of travel to Captains Flat.  The railway line being an artefact from Captains Flat mining days.

One of the rail bridges over the Molonglo River 

A very fine structure from days gone by is the church of Saint Thomas The Apostle at Carwoola.  It is faring better than the rail line and is still in operation, although you wonder how long it can hold on in this post-Christian age.  

  Saint Thomas The Apostle, Carwoola

  As I continued towards Captains Flat a willy willy took off - right of picture.

Willy Willy - aka Dust Devil

The road meanders south flanked by dry yellow fields and finally gives way to bushland typical of the area.  As the road starts to climb and become twisty this indicates you are nearing the outskirts of Captains Flat.   By this time the rail line will be on your right.  Keep an eye out for Miners Road which will be on the right and almost central in a 45 kmh left hand bend, so it can be awkward.  

A kilometer or so you will see the tailings of the old mine on the right.   A short walk up the stairs will reward you with a view of the mine entrance and a view over the town.

The mine entrance

The oranges and yellows are in start contrast to the usual bush palette.

  
Follow Miners Road down into the town, perhaps have a refreshment at the local.  A friendly place where the children are happy to wave to a passing biker as time slowly passes on a hot summer day.

  

Cheapo Adventure Camera

I purchased a cheapo Chinese Adventure Camera.  Mounted it on top of my right pannier, set it to camera mode, 30 sec repeat.  Below is a couple of the images from the ride.  Bit contrasty but okay for the price.

South on Cooma Road; Ryrie Street, Michelago; Burra Road; Old Cooma Road; Queanbeyan.

A visit to the Gunning Golf Club

With improved roads and infrastructure, and the high mobility of young members of country communities, many of the old social structures have collapsed due to lack of membership and the competition from better financed competitors in nearby towns.   

  The Gunning Golf Club

Although GGC looks rather run down at the moment there is a community of believers who are trying to refurbish the course and the clubhouse.  The Gunning community assists with working bees, fund raising via sausage sizzles at Bunnings and calls for donations to assist in the operation of their plant and equipment. 

Good luck to the committee and keep an eye on their Facebook page if you are in the area. 

Canberra Tourist Photos

In case anyone from out of town bumps into this page I thought I would throw in a few tourist snaps from a recent visit to the parliamentary triangle.

 High Court of Australia
 

The right corner of the facade of the High Court.
 

 The National Carillon - located on the northern 

bank of Lake Burley Griffen.
 

 Australian National Gallery

(the second photo of the High Court was
taken from the walkway) 
  

Governer General residence - Yarramundi Reach
(right corner of panorama) 


 

The District - Sutton and Gundaroo

Sutton and Gundaroo were mentioned in the ride to Gunning post (Feb 2017).   Some random photos of these localities follows.

Sutton - Saint Peter's Anglican Church (1925)

Although Saint Peter's is a more recent build, it's austere design is reflective of the early Australian churches struggle, best described in Ian Breward's "A History of Australian Churches" as:
 

Australian churches are an example of growth from below, often using slender resources gathered at considerable cost from people with little to spare.

The Gundaroo Soldier's Memorial Hall (1890)

Lake George, the east side

In a previous post I mentioned a ride to Tarago (Feb 2017).  Now that I have a bike with a bit more dirt road potential I thought I would have a look at the eastern side of Lake George (Feb 2017).    Get yourself onto Bungendore Road heading for Tarago.  Turn left onto Taylor Creek Road.  

Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, access to the wind turbines dotting the eastern shore of Lake George is limited to viewing from the public roads.  Never-the-less the size of these things is surprising.

The new Calvary for our carbon sins

The only turn to the left on Taylor Creek Road will take you to the entrance of the wind farm but permission is required to progress further.  The above image was taken near this spot.

Retrace your steps back to Taylor Creek Road and continue until you reach Collector Road and turn left.   Follow this to the next junction, Collector Road continues to the left.  A short time later turn left onto Lake George Road.   If you follow this road to its conclusion you will get a glimpse of the water currently in Lake George. 

 A view of the water in the southern basin of Lake George.

Lake George was the original location of the Canberra Yacht Club and as recently as the 1990s the water lapped the shore in the foreground of this picture and almost to the Federal Highway on the western shore.

A Waterways sign near where the above photo was taken.

Lake George has witnessed a number of tragic boating accidents over the years; in 1956 five cadets from the Royal Military College, Duntroon perished as did the Lynch family in 1958.   Perhaps one of the more unusual happenings at Lake George was the RAAF placing a shipping target in the lake for bombing practice during World War 2.

Memorial to the Lynch Family

Return to Collector Road and turn left until you reach the Federal Highway.  If you have the time turn right at the Lake George lookout onto Hadlow Drive, this is the previous route of the Federal Highway.  This rejoins the Federal Highway near the Tulip Farm but is a nice ride and has some nice sections.

Looking south from the western bank near Collector

Alternately, follow Collector Road and turn left onto Marked Tree Road for a view of the lake from the western shore.  Continue onto Gundaroo.

Of course, a compulsory photo of the bike!

   

The dirt roads are generally in good condition and even the most timid should be able to negotiate them.

Bird strike at wind-farms is a controversial topic, with some saying it is an avian slaughterhouse and others claiming it is statistically insignificant.    With the Wind Industry being a politically correct species I suggest the bird death figures are dramatically under-reported. 

If you are interested in this question have a look at https://stopthesethings.com/2014/09/22/bird-carcass-count-proves-agls-macarthur-wind-farm-is-an-avian-slaughterhouse/