Being our final long ride together for the next three months, my riding buddy Paul and I headed out to the Old Great North Road once more. The weather was threatening – actually, raining – as we loaded the bikes for the thirty minute drive to the Dubbo Gully starting point.

Finches Line Junction, just above Devine’s Hill

The Old Great North Road was built by convict labour in the 1830s and today remains as a poignant reminder of how difficult it was to carve roads out of our rugged Australian bushland nearly two centuries ago. On some sections of this fabulously remote and varied bike ride you’re riding rock gardens that remain on the very same track the convicts hewed out by hand all those years ago. There are culverts that speak of the harsh conditions under which they lived, and no doubt died. You’ll also come across Claire’s Bridge, a sandstone block bridge that is the second oldest in the state.

Trail in the background morphs into the 10kms of rock garden and single track. Many thanks to our convict forefathers

There are various routes you can ride which means you can go back and go back to the Old Great North Road and never grow tired of soaking up its atmosphere, hooning along it’s weaving single track and open fire trail, stopping to listen to it’s past or taking up the challenges of negotiating it’s more technical rock gardens. This is the route we took on this occasion:

*Locked gate to bottom of Simpson Track — 8 k, flat to undulation fire trail
*Bottom of Simpson Track to bike cleaning station — 3k, steady uphill lush fire trail, great flowing downhill on the way back (11k progressive)
*Bike cleaning station to Old Great North Road —6k, 2k of Simpson Track, 4k dirt road predominately steady up hill. (16k progressive)
*Old Great North Road\Western Commission Track junction to top of Devine’s Hill — just under 10k pure single track, some rock gardens with technical sections, some flowing fast single track (26k progressive)
*Finches Line to Wiseman’s Ferry Road —6k leaf and debris strewn charming fire trail, the last kilometre or so very steep rocky walking track that can be ridden with plenty of brake, balance and caution. Great views down to wireman’s ferry (32k progressive)
*Wiseman’s Ferry Road to start of Devine’s Hill —2k bitumen (34k Progressive)
*Devine’s Hill, the start of the Old Great North Road —2.3k steady uphill, fine gravel road (36.3k progressive)
*Now back the way we came —
*10k single track, gradually up hill so more work in it this direction (46.3 progressive)
*Old Great North Road\Western Commission Track junction to start of Simpson Track– 4 km dirt road fast downhill (50.3 progressive)
*Simpson Track – great flowing downhill fire trail and then fire trail back to the locked gate, the last 2.3 km a tough slog uphill to keep you honest to the end! (Total 61 km)

The route we took this time round gives you a double dose of rock garden\single track, some 20kms in total!

Paul loves the Old Great North Road trail almost as much as he loves the climbs of Kincumber Mountain Reserve

One of the views from Finches Line if you can force yourself to stop and take a look. Couple of great lunch stop spots here

Obviously, it wasn’t all blue skies and sunshine on this occasion but that didn’t detract from the pleasure of the ride. (I’m wondering whether Paul has adopted some of the Lance Armstrong performance secrets, for he powered up Devine Hill on this occasion and I had to puff and pant to sort of keep him in my sights. Thankfully, he was kind on the last climb out, slowing down only to be polite to the two riders he ran down on that hill. If not for them, he would have been in the car and on the way home before I reached the locked gate. Just as well I’m not competitive or I might be inclined to increase my training levels and start taking iron tablets!)