Day One
Blue Mountain Ride, Megalong Valley
Day 01 Blue Mountains Ride (Megalong Valley)
Location: Blue Mountains Megalong Valley
Distance: 292 km
Duration: 5 hrs 34 mins
Day one of the trip is finally underway, and it couldn’t have been a better test for both rider and bike.
The Ride
The ride out of Sydney was surprisingly good for city traffic, heading west over the Iron Cove Bridge and climbing steadily toward the Blue Mountains.
Once in the mountains, conditions changed dramatically. The landscape became dense with heavy fog and wet mist, with around two hours of riding in persistent wet conditions. Temperatures dropped quickly from 25°C down to 12°C making it a proper cold, damp mountain ride.
Deep in the Megalong Valley, the weather finally opened up, revealing a beautiful clear pocket in the valley. I stopped here to take photos and launch the drone, capturing the contrast between the dense forest and the valley floor.
Highlight
My favourite photo of the day is the bike parked in front of the small timber church in Blackheath, Megalong Valley a simple but iconic moment that really captured the spirit of the ride.
Overall, it was a fantastic day out and an excellent realworld test of the bike, handling everything from dry city roads to cold, wet mountain conditions without missing a beat.