Great Ride, cool weather & perfect conditions. Canyonleigh Store again provided terrific food and wonderful coffee. (Not to mention a cool beer for some). I enjoyed a very good iced coffee, strong & cold with no cream – very refreshing.

The ride passes some beautiful properties in Bundanoon + has wonderful scenery with extensive views across the Southern Highlands. We will definately put this one on again!

65km, Moderate Pace, some traffic on road (some are good quality unsealed), moderate hills

Meet 9am Bundanoon Hotel, Erith St Bundanoon

This medium ride begins with a moderate climb and a short section of rough road with a shallow causeway ( OK for road bikes ), then undulating through quiet and scenic rural roads. Stop for lunch at the Canyonleigh General Store.Return to Bundanoon via Exeter

Call to confirm – Phil: 8795 0564 or email

Ride Leader – Phil Rylatt

80km, fast pace, some traffic, significant hills, experienced riders

We met at 8.15 m at Burrawang Hotel for 8.30am start

Challenging circuit on some very scenic roads. Ride takes in Fitzroy Falls, Moss Vale, Glenquarry and Robertson for lunch  before returning to the Burrawang Hotel.

Call to confirm Phil: 8795 0546 or email

Afterthoughts

Awesome scenery! . This  beautiful ride starts from the picturesque village of Burrawang. We rode  via Fitzroy Falls through beautiful lush ,  rural countryside to Moss Vale then on to Bowral.  A quick circuit of the velodrome,  before we returned via Glenquarry through forested bushland to East Kangaloon and then to Robertson for a very nice lunch at Pirouette Cafe.  There were a few ups and downs, but the ride was worth every pedal stroke.  A cold beer at Burrawang Pub, with views seemingly to Sydney, was a wonderful finish to a spectacular ride. This one will definitely go on the list to do again!

Phil Riding Bowral Velodrome

View from Macquarie Pass near Robertson

Ride leader: Sally Knyvett

Read the write up below

40 km, scenic ride (slow pace), some traffic, some (good quality) unsealed roads, moderate hills. Hybrid or mountain bikes recommended.

Meet on cnr of Old Hume Highway and Wombeyan Caves Road at 10am.

A roller-coaster ride of 3 or 4 steep, short hills gets the difficult part of this ride over early. It’s worth the effort to see the rolling countryside and vineyards of this district. To enjoy the view you may wish to walk .

Beautiful Views from Woodlands Rd

The rest of the ride is fairly easy, with spectacular scenery and bushland.

There will be a tasting and tour at picturesque Joadja winery ($3.00/head), before we ride about 10km to Bousaada Winery for lunch.  ($15 – $20 /head) Bousaada prides itself in using local produce. It is only a short ride (downhill) back to the cars from Bousaada.

We will provide a van at Joadja and Bousaada for those who wish to purchase wine or produce. (The Cuttaway Creek raspberry sauce from Bousaada is to die for!!)

The Ride

The day dawned overcast with misty rain, which put a few people off, however they needn’t have worried.  It was a lovely ride and the weather held.

A last minute change of plans because, unfortunately Bou-saada Winery is no longer open for cellar door sales.

Fortunately Blue Metal Winery stepped into the breach providing us with a wonderful wine tasting and lunch.

The ride started with a roller coaster of hills along Woodlands Rd. The rolling countryside and views over grazing properties, dairies  and vineyards made the effort more than worthwhile! We then headed towards Joadja and turned left along Greenhills Rd. Again, there are views to take your breath away with long vistas across the Southern Highlands.

Phil Gary and John on Greenhills Rd The view is spectacular!

Blue Metal Winery: www.bluemetalvineyard.com

Turning right into Compton Park Rd we headed up the hill to a wine tasting at Blue Metal Winery.  We tasted  a selection of delightful cool climate wines, all having the definitive taste of wines grown and produced in the Southern Highlands, then an early lunch of scrumptious pies (beef and guiness or lamb and rosemary) with salad and of course, a very nice bottle of red.

Great Lunch at Blue Metal Winery

After leaving Blue Metal, we rode down to Old Mandemah Rd . This is the part of the ride requiring mtn. bikes.  A few km of bush and track, in part lined with  silver eucalypts,  were a big contrast to the open vistas earlier in the ride. Alpine grasses indicated that we really were in the Southern Highlands.

Old Manemah Rd

Joadja Winery: www.joadjawinery.com.au

From Old Mandemah Rd we turned right into Joadja Rd and headed to Joadja winery for our next tasting. This beautiful winery is set in stunning grounds is always a delight. Kim Moginie, winemaker, was informative and entertaining as he described each wine to us. Among others I bought a bottle of Joadja’s famous Brambelini.

A flavoursome fruit liqueur made from grape spirit, grape juice and brambleberries. It is best served chilled with champagne, on the rocks, over fruit or with ice cream. This luscious 21% alcohol liqueur tastes of raspberries and is an absolute treat for those with a sweet tooth!

Joadja Tasting

The weather was beginning to look a bit rainy, so we quickly rode the 9km back to our cars.

I think the day went very well, the wines were wonderful and the route offered a wide variety of terrain and interest.  I look forward to riding it again. hic……

We met at Victoria Park Bowral ,near the swimming pool, and headed via the bike paths, towards East Bowral.
The path follows a small creek which is home to many families of Wood Ducks. One male was very protective of his large brood and chased the bikes away!

Large families of Wood Ducks live by the creek

After winding our way (getting only a little lost) through back roads and paths, John ended up making a friend!

John and Wombat Friend

From here we headed down, passing magnificent gardens, to the cycle path that runs between Bowral and Moss Vale. We rode almost to Moss Vale before returning to Bowral

Cyclepath between Moss Vale and Bowral

On returning to Bowral, we enjoyed the gardens of Burradoo before heading back toward the centre of Bowral, the Bradman Museum coffee and cake (yum). A game of cricket was in progress and people were taking in the old-world charm.

Going back in time – A carriage ride and a Pedersen bike

Tulips were still looking fantastic in Corbett gardens in the centre of Bowral.

Matt, with his Pedersen, looked the part in Corbett Gardens