A four-day mini tour, camping at Yarrowyck crossing, Bendemeer and Walcha. The route is hilly with substantial unsealed sections but generally very light traffic apart from the section from Woolbrook to Walcha on the Oxley highway. Day 1 was a half day ride of about 40 km, net downhill from Armidale to the very basic campsite at Yarrowyck crossing on the Gwydir river. This is sealed apart from the bumpy corrugated ~ 5km from Thunderbolts way to the campsite. On day 2 we started by wading across the creek. There is a short rough track to a driveway up to the road which was shorter and easier going than returning the way we came in. The ride from Yarrowyck to Kingstown (~27km) is exceedingly pleasant, sealed, gently undulating and almost no traffic. The seal runs out just past Kingstown. However, the surface up to the border between Uralla and Tamworth councils was good even though it included the biggest climb of the day. The road surface took a turn for the worse in the Tamworth council section with a thick later of course gravel. The was quite unpleasant to ride. We also had to jump a barded wire fence and ignore no trespassing signs to reach what surely is a road reserve under the bridge across the MacDonald river at Retreat. This put us on edge for what would otherwise have been a lovely picnic lunch. We were very pleased when the gravel ended and the final section of ride for the day following the MacDonald river up to Bendemeer was generally pleasant, though we were disappointed about the lack of access to the river. Day 3 started with a major adventure. We had decided to attempt the climb up Bendemeer Station Rd rather than follow the Oxley highway the whole way to Walcha. Bendemeer Station Rd leaves just south of Bendemeer after a few 100 m of shoulder on the NE highway. After a couple of creek crossings it heads steeply up hill. There was a lot of pushing done and the road is more of just a rough track across the top However we were rewarded with fantastic views across the edge of the tablelands. Anyone attempting this route needs to be at least as fit and as crazy as us. Fortunately, the ride down from the ridge towards Woolbrook was a much better surface and much easier gradients so that we reached the picnic area in Woolbrook for a lateish lunch. From Woolbrook there is also a major climb but as the road is sealed and the gradient quite modest it feels quite easy after the mornings adventure. The Oxley Highway has some fast traffic and the shoulder is narrow, but we have ridden this many times without feeling threatened as the visibility is generally good and the traffic gave us plenty of space. For the final day our route takes the backroads to Armidale via Gostwyck. Blue Mountain Rd and Hillview Rds are unsealed for ~37 km but the ride is reasonably straightforward with pleasant views and very little traffic.
