Braidwood is a charming town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, with plenty of scope for day rides or longer trips in just about every direction.
Braidwood
This rustic old building has provided accommodation for several of my Braidwood-based events over the years.
I've also camped at the Braidwood showground, but The Mill is a much more comfortable option.
The kitchen is built around the framework that used to hold the grindstones.
There are three upstairs sleeping quarters, and some bunk beds on the ground
floor
Farringdon Road loop 🔗
This is an easy 35km day ride to the south-west of Braidwood. The terrain is slightly undulating, about half the ride is is on unsealed roads, and at the time I rode it (April 2006) they were in good condition. Head out of Braidwood on Bombay Road, then turn left onto Farringdon Road. Just before the return leg on Cooma Road there is a ford over the Shoalhaven River. If there's been a lot of rain in the area this might be impassable, but when the river is flowing normally it doesn't present much of a problem for bicycles. As I recall we all made it across without getting our feet wet, but be warned that if you do this ride in winter the water could be quite cold if you do need to stop for any reason.
A brief rest stop on Farringdon Road before heading down to the river crossing.
This scene is on Farringdon Road where it crosses the Shoalhaven River
south-west of Braidwood.
Tarago - Braidwood loop 🔗
This ride started at Tarago, headed east to the first campsite at Oallen Ford on the Shoalhaven River, then continued on to meet the Braidwood-Nerriga Road. From there we headed south into Braidwood, camped at the showground, and spent the next day entertaining ourselves with various day rides. The last day saw us complete the loop back to Tarago via Charleyong.
Most people camp in the huge camping areas on the eastern side of the river, but they're really crowded during Easter so we found a little spot on the western side.
For that genuine rural experience, you can camp at the showground for a minimal fee.
Approaching the outskirts of Braidwood after a day ride to Mount Budawang.
Heading north on the Braidwood-Nerriga road on the last day.
This is the next crossing south of Oallen Ford.
Just after the crossing. All ready for the final leg back to Tarago.
Braidwood - Araluen loop 🔗
This is a great day ride I did with some friends in April 2002. We rode out from Braidwood to Mongarlowe, headed south, crossed the highway, headed along Tudor Valley Road for a while, zoomed down the escarpment to Araluen, slogged our way back up the dirt road to Majors Creek and headed back to Braidwood. A really great ride, but was completely zonked by the end of the day.
Tudor Valley Road branches south off the Kings Highway about 10km east of Braidwood. Here we see Geoff and Tash admiring the view from a rise near the start of the road.
A great spot for lunch a bit further along Tudor Valley Road.