My wife threw me a lifeline today, so I gladly took the opportunity for a ride out to the Wee Jasper area.
I set off early to avoid the summer heat, but the real adventure didn’t begin until I hit Dog Trap Rd and got onto the dirt. From there, I followed the road up to Long Rail Gully Rd, then onto Gums Ln, and eventually rode into Yass for a fuel top-up. Backtracking to the turn-off at Gums Ln, I continued straight along Wee Jasper Rd, crossing the Murrumbidgee River at the base of Lake Burrinjuck.
After crossing, I continued down to Sawyers Creek Rd and then onto Mountain Creek Rd.
On Mountain Creek Rd, I spotted an echidna right in the middle of the road. I stopped, turned around, and waited to make sure it made it safely off the road before continuing on. 
The ride took me over Uriarra Crossing before finishing at the Ampol in Weston. A perfect ride to make the most of the day!
Ride Map

I went for a ride today with the goal of picking up a roll-top duffel and tank bag from a seller in Royalla. But before heading there, I decided to use the opportunity for a bit of exploration.
The dirt riding began on Burra Rd, which I followed until the turn-off onto Tinderry Rd. I rode up and over Tinderry Rd to Boolbooma Crossing, where I crossed the Queanbeyan River. After that, I looped back down to Michelago for a fuel stop, then continued to Royalla via the Monaro Highway to pick up the bags.
From there, it was just the final, uneventful stretch on the Monaro Highway to get back home. A good day with a mix of riding and gear hunting!

Ride Map

Today, I rode up to Goulburn to get a custom comfort seat made at MJM Custom Motor Bike Seats. My plan was to take as many dirt roads as possible to avoid traffic, so with my second seat strapped onto my bike, I set off from home.
The morning was foggy as I started up Marked Tree Rd, and as I passed through the wind turbines on Lerida Rd South, I could see their blades slicing through the mist as it began to lift. Crossing the Hume Highway, I continued along Lerida Rd North towards Cullerin.
I then turned onto Old South Rd, making a stop at St Brigid's Catholic Church and Cemetery in Breadalbane, built in 1865. This was the first of five historic churches I visited today. Just two kilometres away, I visited St. Silas Anglican Church, which dates back to 1956. Following Breadalbane Rd, I arrived at Parkesbourne Uniting Church, a tiny structure that likely holds only 20-30 parishioners, originally erected in 1866 as a Primitive Methodist Church. A few kilometres later, I passed Kippilaw Station and then stopped at St. James Anglican Church in Pomeroy, which was funded by a descendant of the family that lived at Kippilaw. Opened on 15 November 1860, it has a beautiful, historic setting.
From there, I continued into Goulburn, dropped off my spare seat at MJM’s, rearranged my gear, refuelled the bike, and grabbed a bite to eat.

Ride Map

After a short rest, I set off back to Canberra on another mostly-dirt route. My first stop was the Rocky Hill War Memorial and Museum. Despite driving through Goulburn many times, I’d never visited before, and I’m glad I finally did. It’s a well-maintained memorial with fantastic views over Goulburn.
Back on the bike, I headed out of town via Windellama Rd, where I made a detour down a small dirt lane to see the little-known St. Mark's Anglican Church, opened in 1871. After retracing my path, I continued down Lumley Rd, passing “The Morass” wetlands, and soon arrived in Tarago.
From Tarago, I took Mount Fairy Rd and crossed the railway line. Following what I thought was a through track to Bungendore Rd, I soon ran into a farmer who confirmed it wasn’t a public road. He directed me to the correct crossing, explaining that the private road had sustained flash flood damage. After a quick chat, I thanked him, backtracked to Mount Fairy Rd, and took the proper railway crossing.
Once back on paved roads, it was a straightforward ride through Bungendore and then home via Wamboin.
Unfortunately, I thought I’d recorded my ride but hadn’t. Here’s the map for the route taken.

Today, I went for a ride in the Brindabellas with David Hawkins. This was my first time riding with someone else, and we covered quite a bit of ground, exploring trails like:

• Two Sticks Rd
• Mount Franklin Rd
• Bulls Head
• Bendora Dam
• Warks Rd
• Blundells Creek Rd

Since this was my first motorbike ride into the Brindabellas and on most of these trails, I made a few navigational errors along the way. At one point, I mistakenly rode into someone’s property, thinking it was Two Sticks Rd, only to realise the road continued further along. I also assumed Bendora Break was open for riding, but we encountered a locked gate at the start. And lastly, I thought Warks Rd would go all the way through, but we ended up having to reroute. Despite these detours, we still had a fantastic ride.
One highlight of the trip was Bendora Dam, where we found a great viewpoint overlooking the spillway. Unfortunately, you can’t ride all the way down to the dam, so we had to park further up and walk down.
Being relatively inexperienced riders, we did face a few challenges on some of the trails, but we managed to make it back to our starting point in Weston. All in all, it was a great day of riding and learning.

Ride Map

I pushed the boundaries a bit more on my ride today. With the recent rain, the track was drying out, which kept the dust down, though there were still puddles in the low spots and plenty of potholes. This ride was mostly about exploring new roads and trying to figure out how to reach Dog Trap Rd from Murrumbateman.

Some maps showed a dirt route from Jiparu Drv via Scrubby Lane, but I completely missed it, so I’m still not sure if there’s an accessible route out to Isabel Dr. More exploring to come!
Below is the rough list of roads I took in my ride:
Back Creek Rd
Dicks Creek Rd
Boutchers Drive
Yass River Rd
Elms Rd
Lade Vale Rd
Hume Hwy
Yass Valley Way
Old Gap Rd
Manton Rd
Yass River Rd
Greenwood Rd
Hillview Drv
A ride around Murrumbateman area including the turn-off to Dog Trap Rd.
Euroka Ave
Patemans Lane
Murrumbateman Rd
Tallagandra Rd and back home via Mulligans Flat.

Ride Map