Canberra - Murrumbateman Return

Had a lovely ride out to Murrumbateman this morning. The ride itself was a little more exciting, and not as hilly as the ride out to 'Lake' George. And it had a lovely little cafe! Exciting!

Waiting for the obligatory coffee is the worst part

Murrumbateman itself is a quaint little town, with lots of nice looking wineries in the surrounding countryside. It would probably make a nice little winter retreat. The ride was on predominantly on Barton Hwy, which had decent shoulders most of the way, with a few hairy spots. My favourite part was planning 'dodge the road construction stuff' - it kept me ammused for a little while.

It took me ages to find a 'Murrumbateman' sign. This was the main park in town, resplendent with gaffitied wheelie bins.

 I ran into Murrumbateman cycle club, or part thereof, at the cafe. Had a good chat with one of the guys. Apparently there's lots of nice back roads around the place for tranquil riding away from the bustling highway. A little local knowledge would go a long way it seems. Might have to catch up with those guys for a ride one day. Now for the stats:

I didn't really climb 500m in 1 km at the start... Or maybe I did...

Distance: 76km
Time: 2h 35min
Average Speed: 29.4km/h
Climbing: 410m

Next up on the list: Bungedore. Speaking of the list:

- Lake George, 68km round trip
- Murrumbateman, 75km round trip
- Bungendore, 76km round trip
- Collector, 110km round trip
- Yass, 105km round trip
- Corin Dam, 125km round trip
- Cooma, 122km one way
- Braidwood, 173km round trip (road might be dodgy though)
- Batemans Bay, 146km one way (dodgy road?)
- Goulburn, 178km round trip (the giant ram lives here!)
- Canberra-Collector-Yass-Canberra, 195km 
- Cooma, 244km round trip
- Sydney???, 286km one way

Slowly getting there :)