… or a long way to get a schooner of Coke at the George Harcourt Inn


Cbr100 Training for Beryl Womens Shelter

Saturday 30 January: Cbr100 Training for Beryl Womens Shelter. Contact me if you want some exercise on the Canberra Centenary Trail. For quick walkers. Around 40km. Maps: Canberra and Hall. Leader: John Evans 0417 436 877 john@johnevans.id.au . Transport: Drive yourself.

I drove to the Lindsay Pryor Arboretum/National Rock Collection car park. Lots of runners readying to set off somewhere.

Summary

Distance: 46.6km laid out on digital map/47.9km on GPSr | Climb: 860m via Google Earth/818m on GPSr | Time: 6.40am-3.30pm (8hrs 50mins), including 27 mins of breaks | Grading: L/E; M(11+)

Photographs

Photographs are available, where you can start a large sized slideshow.

Waypoint and Track Files

Download the .gpx file. (Right click, Save Link As…, Save – if you want to use it.)
To use in Google Earth, do File, Open… and select Gps or All files as the File Type.

Track Notes

We did from the start of the Cbr100Challenge at Campbell High to the National Rock Collection on 2 Jan 16. So to pick up where I left off, it was from the National Rock Collection.

The track files show the relevant portion of the Cbr100Challenge 100km route (from a few weeks ago on their website) in purple. My track is in blue. So you can see I missed a turn in the Arboretum, going up Forest Rd rather than lower. And there was a construction site sign over the back, so I detoured around that. Great zig-zag track through the Himalayan Cedars since I was there last and clear posts on the lower slopes of Lakeside Hill.

Always love the Cork Oaks.

Through GlenLoch Interchange Mark B whizzed past me on his bike. I think the entrance into the Black Mountain Nature Reserve is not quite right – I followed their track but there was no entrance, so I doubled back a bit. No doubt the organisers will make little adjustments to the track and republish the gpx file closer to 5 March.

I seemed to be around Black Mountain for yonks, lots of twists and turns. The Cbr100Challenge exit track near the top is not right – you go back down the concrete path to join the contour track.

No problems once off Black Mountain, round the electricity substation and along the cut-off drain to MacArthur Ave-Dryandra St roundabout. Then the hard-on-the-feet bike path between the O’Connor Ridge and Bruce Ridge Nature Reserves and out to cross Haydon Drive.

Little softer dirt trails through Gossan Hill.

Back on the hard track through the University of Canberra and John Knight Memorial Park, across the Ginninderra Drive bridge over the inlet arm of Ginninderra Creek. Found a seat for a 10 minutes of morning tea and a call home.

Hard surfaces continued paralleling William Slim Drive, through the Barton Highway and up past Deasland and into Gold Creek Village and the George Harcourt Inn. Only post mix, so a schooner of Coke and a 5 minute stop. Turnaround was at around 30km in 5hrs 40mins at 12.15pm.

Storms began to brew to chase me home, so I thought a more direct route to the car might be wise. Followed the same track back and over the Ginninderra Drive bridge.

Being an old codger living in a retirement village, I’d heard that the Kangara Waters Village had a public cafe. Indeedy doody, a ‘breakfast and lunch served’ banner inviting me. $2 for a can of cold Coke is very reasonable. 2 minutes to buy and pay, then off again, swigging it on the way.

The direct route seemed to be Eastern Valley Way and Bindubi St. The storm arrived near the College St intersection and it was coat on. Plenty of loud thunder and bright lightening, with heavy rain for a while.

Long, hard-on-the-feet, boring and wet continued until rounding the Aranda Frost Hollow. Into the Cork Oaks and at the seat it was 10 minutes of lunch and coat off.

Direct exit of the Arboretum, then a lap of the Lindsay Pryor Arboretum to try to add a bit more distance, but my heart and feet weren’t in it.

Please donate in honour of my sore feet – and to show women and children suffering family violence that they are respected and supported.

Track Maps

Track overview

Track 1

Track 2

Track 3

Track 4

Track 5

Party

Just moi.