I had a week long course for work, which I finished today. Fortunately the kids were at after school care, which aforded me some time to go for a ride.
Once again it was in the Mulligans flat area, but I ventured into a different area of the nature reserve.
This time I rode the Pipeline Track, the Border Track, the Dam Track, Mulligans Trail, and went inside the Woolshed for a look.

​Ride Map.

As part of my job, I’m fortunate to have time allocated for physical training, which helps me maintain my fitness. With clear blue skies overhead, it was the perfect opportunity to get outside and enjoy some exercise.

I'm also lucky to live close to Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve and Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary, which means I have easy access to dirt trails right on my doorstep. The route I took winds through both areas and happens to form part of the Canberra Centenary Trail—a loop that encircles the main residential areas, cultural precincts, and rural landscapes of the ACT.

I entered via the Wilay Gate (Wilay, In the Ngunawal language, it means "possum"), and followed the fenceline track running parallel to Horse Park Drive, leading me to the start of the Centenary Trail. Riding along this dirt track meant I could avoid traffic entirely—a definite bonus.

Once on the Centenary Trail, I continued through the nature reserve and into the woodland sanctuary. I was surprised by how many people were out and about—I passed numerous cyclists, runners, and walkers. It felt like Pitt Street in Sydney! I even encountered an ACT Parks worker heading the other way on a tractor.

Along the route, I took a few short breaks to soak in the scenery and snap some photos.

Eventually, I reached the gate of the predator-proof fence at Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary and passed through to continue along the Centenary Trail. Unlike my last ride, where I turned off onto Old Coach Road, this time I stayed the course. As I rode on, I passed more walkers and paused briefly at the Woolshed, only to find eight prams lined up outside—clearly not the best time to interrupt a mothers' group gathering.

A few hundred metres beyond the Woolshed lies the main gate of the predator-proof fence, which most people use to enter the sanctuary. From there, you can either duck into Forde or continue along the trail up and over the hill for about 500 metres to reach the sanctuary’s car park.

I chose the latter, climbing the hill and joining the shared path, where I passed some impressively large kangaroos lounging beside the trail. Once on the shared path, I followed it into the heart of Forde and continued all the way home. On the return leg, I passed Yerrabi Pond before heading east towards Harrison.

Eventually, I followed the shared path to Gungaderra Homestead, passing between the old farm shed and the main house. On the far side, I noticed something I’d never paid much attention to before—the shed has now been repurposed as "The Recyclery." It's run by volunteers who take in donated bicycles, restore them to a saleable condition, and give them a new lease on life.
From there, I continued along the old Well Station Road—a historic track dating back to the late 1800s that once linked the farms at Well Station and Gungaderra Homestead.
In total, the ride was 20 kilometres—a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend time outdoors, surrounded by nature.

Map of my ride.

Wow, it’s been just over three years since I last rode my mountain bike in anger!
In that time, I’ve had three surgeries, and now that I’m finally through the recovery phase, I’m working on shedding the weight I put on — largely from a lack of activity, especially mountain biking.

That said, I have been getting out on the eBike a bit, trying to rebuild some semblance of fitness.

Today, I decided it was time to get the Sentier out and hit some dirt. Lately, the only dirt I’ve ridden has been on my motorbike, so this felt long overdue. Luckily, Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve is only about two kilometres from home, so the pain of riding on the blacktop was mercifully short.

I only had an hour, so my usual longer loop was off the cards — partly due to time, partly due to my current fitness. After passing through the anti-vermin gate, I turned left and followed the fenceline, aiming for the ruins of the old Inglewood Homestead. Along the way, I stirred up a few mobs of kangaroos. My biggest fear is always driving them into fences — they never seem to bound into the wide open fields, but rather straight towards danger. Sure enough, they headed for the fences instead. Sigh.

Reaching the 'Back in Time Trail'* (I think that’s the name — I wasn’t paying too much attention to the sign), I followed it past a few sites of European heritage and onto the Inglewood ruins.

European Heritage:
Sheep grazing began in this area in the mid-1820s, with continuous stocking in large, fenced paddocks from the 1860s onwards. Between 1920 and 1925, old and dead trees were felled for firewood to supply the Canberra market. Some pasture improvements also took place from the mid-20th century.

After stopping to read the sign, take some photos, and have a bit of a wander, I continued on into the inner sanctum of Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary. Passing through another layer of defences (aimed at keeping out cats, foxes, dogs, and rabbits), you enter an area rich with endangered or reintroduced native animals. Interestingly, all the gates in Goorooyarroo and Mulligans are named after local flora and fauna.

Rather than following the Centenary Trail as signposted, I turned off towards the Old Coach Road — a more scenic, quieter route through the area. In fact, I didn’t pass another soul. After enjoying the most picturesque section, I diverted over to the Centenary Trail where it skirts Mulligans Woolshed. The historic woolshed is a must-visit whenever I ride out this way, and as usual, I stopped for a photo.

From there, I followed a singletrack behind the woolshed, cutting back across the Old Coach Road and heading towards Echidna Flats. I then turned right, passed through another gate, and continued along the trail towards the wetlands. After stopping to take in the view and snap another photo, I headed towards Wildbark via the Orchid Gate and the raised walkway.

From Wildbark, it was a shared path pretty much all the way home.

It felt amazing to be back on the Sentier, and my love for mountain biking has been reignited. Expect more rides as my fitness improves! 🚲

Map of ride.

Today we went for a ride out to the inlet breakwall at St. Kilda (SA). The conditions were so calm, that the reflections were sublime. I have never before seen it so calm out on the water at St. Kilda.

Map of ride.

I thought that I would do a sneaky reconnoitre of the new Port River Bikeway before it officially opened and what I found was some flooding due to bad design.

Map of Ride.

We lost our first rider in the first 12kms of the ride (Vanessa), then Stuart destroyed his rear derailleur about 19 kms from the finish.

There were lots of muddy trails to ride and a visit to a Historic Methodist church.

Map of ride.

An awesome ride up to the base of the Adelaide foothills.

Map of ride.

My new bike has arrived and I am keen to get it out and built.

Features:
Frame: Sentier 27.5" hardtail, 6061 Alloy, Boost spacing
Forks: Marzocchi Bomber Z2, 27.5", 140mm, Boost, 15x110mm, Kabolt axle, 44mm offset, RAIL damper, tapered
Speed: 12 speed
Rear Shock: N/A
Brakes: Shimano MT501, resin pads without fin, SM-MA-F180P-P2 adaptor, 180mm 6-bolt SM-RT56 rotors
Shifter: SRAM SX Eagle
Front Derailleur: N/A
Rear Derailleur: SRAM SX Eagle
Cassette: SRAM SX Eagle, 11-50T
Chainset: SRAM SX Eagle, 32T, 170mm, GXP 73mm, 53mm Boost chainline, Powerspline
Chain: SRAM SX Eagle
Rims: WTB ST i30, TCS 2.0, 27.5", 30mm inner rim width, 32H, pinned joint
Front Hub: Vitus DHF112, 32H, Boost, 110x15mm, double sealed bearings, 6-bolt
Rear Hub: Vitus M5ER, 32H, Boost, 148x12mm, double sealed bearings, 6-bolt
Tyres: Front: Schwalbe Magic Mary Evo, 27.5x2.6", SnakeSkin, TLE, ADDIX Soft; Rear: Schwalbe Hans Dampf Evo, 27.5x2.6", SnakeSkin, TLE, ADDIX, SpeedGrip
Saddle: Nukeproof Neutron
Seatpost: Brand X Ascend, 31.6mm, left hand remote lever
Seat Clamp: Vitus, 34.9mm diameter, quick-release lever
Stem: Vitus, 50mm, 31.8mm diameter, 3° rise, 45mm stack height
Bars: Nukeproof Neutron, 25mm rise, 31.8mm diameter
Headset: Acros, zero stack 44/56mm
Weight: 13.70kg

Socially dislocated
Today I found out from work that I am considered essential personnel. So whilst others are at home or helping out with the COVID-19 response, I still go to work.
At least I am still free to explore on my bike, as long as I ride alone. This does not bother me in the slightest, as I tend to ride alone a lot!

Map of ride.

It was time to head back to South Australia. The smoke was present nearly all the way to Narrandera. It was good to be in fresh air again. I stopped overnight at Mildura and the next morning I went for a ride at.....

Coomealla. Mountainless MTB park
What a cracking good fun course. What they lack in climbing/descending, they make up with fun stuff. Especially the A lines. I didn't do two A lines, due to riding by myself and if I fell, I could be in a spot of bother, but the rest were fun.
This course is suited to a hard tail. I had no issues riding this on fully rigid, but hard tail, would make it a bit more fun.

Unfortunately my GPS shut down before I finished one lap, about 1.5Km short. There is a truncated loop that you can do as well, so all up about 16kms, If I had more time, I would've done this as well.
Map of ride.

Post ride, it was back on the road to South Australia, and home.