Reader’s Ride: Sofala, NSW

This entry is part 4 of 21 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #13

Having his mates bail didn’t stop Bob Wozga from riding anyway. He shares some great route possibilities and some experiences of a solo loop in the central west of NSW. Grab yourself a map and follow his thoughts.

A long time ago came a man on a track Walking thirty miles with a sack on his back And he put down his load where he thought it was the best.

He made a home in the wilderness.

What a brilliant way to start one of the best songs ever written – Telegraph Road. Sitting by a fire next to the Turon River at Sofala, listening to Dire Straits, I could imagine the first settler coming past this way, liking what he saw and settling in. That would’ve been before the gold was found.

Sofala is still a great adventure-riding destination.

A few choices

There are a number of ways to get to Sofala. The easiest, and still a good ride, is from Bathurst along the Sofala Road. Even though it’s all bitumen these days it still has some good twisty bits.

Then there’s the Duramana Road to Turondale, which concludes at a T-intersection. Turn left at the intersection to find Hill End and right to Sofala. This route has some nice twisty bits and the road has been upgraded, widened and is now bitumen, too.

A nice stretch from Bathurst via Limekilns gives a mix of bitumen and gravel and is, for me personally, the best.

From the Mudgee side there’s the Peel Road at Ilford and the Hill End Road that starts north-west of Mudgee, and most people will take these two. However, there are two other roads worth a look: Razorback Road at Running Stream and the Crudine Road just before Aarons Pass.

Fishin’

The Razorback Road was built by Chinese miners as a shortcut from the top of Running Stream during the Sofala gold rush to save having to go all the way to Ilford. The Crudine Road is farmers’ road, mostly gravel, that starts at the Castlereagh Highway and ends at Turondale.

A good weekend ride from Sydney is the loop from Bathurst to Sofala, up Razorback Road to Running Stream, returning along Crudine Road through Sofala, and then returning to Bathurst via Limekins. There’s a reasonable campground along the Turon River about five kilometres from town along the Upper Turon Road.

Camping is free, there’s a public loo on site and garbage bins. That’s all the amenities provided.

The river still provides specks of gold for those wanting to try their hand at panning and there are trout for those who want to throw in a line.

Sofala Road leaving Bathurst

James takes in the sites.

Tempest

After the ride from Sydney, it’s good to kick back and have coffee and biscuits – or a couple of beers and bag of chicken chips – while watching the river for any movement on the surface that gives away a trout lurking beneath.

That’s what I was doing as the afternoon wore on. Then grey clouds began to appear on the horizon and the evening grew darker as the grey clouds became more threatening. Lightning flashed over the hilltops while dinner was cooked over the fire to only slight rumblings of thunder.

The lightning show entertained me for a while before, finally, a downpour extinguished the fire and the tent was pummeled by the driving rain. Thunder cracked straight after the lightning bolts lit up the inside of the tent.

Thunderstorms in this part of the hills are something to experience. Usually after lightning there’s a silence and a thunderclap comes a few seconds later. On this occasion the thunder rolled up through the hills and lasted for an eternity. I counted 25 seconds before the rolling crescendo faded away. The tent was battered for most of the night, but thanks to improvements in camping gear, I was still comfortable in the adverse weather.

Camp by the Turon River at Sofala.

Make a stand

With the rising sun, kangaroos fed on the side of the road and didn’t take much notice of me. Others forgot what they were and stood up, looking from side to side pretending to be meerkats.

Having packed up camp and loaded the bike, the Razorback Road was waiting to be explored.

It started just past the ford at the campground with a sign that cautioned against passing on the road for the first few kilometres as it climbed the hill, and it was hard to concentrate on the road while still taking in the scenery in the morning light. Surprisingly, after the previous night’s storm, the road was still in quite good condition. There were a couple of muddy spots, but it was mostly wet gravel, and as it wound up the hill it felt like climbing to the top of the world.

Have you driven a ford lately?
Kangaroos who think they’re meerkats.
Crudine Road is a great stretch that has a small section of bitumen but is largely gravel.

We may not have real mountains in Australia, but the views are still breathtaking. I found a stretch of road safe enough to pull over to take a couple of photos, and the sound of a distant motor echoed in the valley below. A lone rider crawled up the road and stopped for a chat. It turned out he’d had the same idea as myself: when it comes to exploring, if people pull out of doing a ride at the last moment, it shouldn’t stop you from going anyway. James Irwin, the rider, had travelled from Newcastle to ride these roads. Having spent most of his time on the Central Coast around Newcastle, he wanted to see what the central west had to offer. His riding buddies pulled out at the last moment and,undeterred, he drove down to Mudgee with the bike on a trailer and set out on the ride anyway.

James had his route written on a pad and had a GPS to help him navigate, and I pulled out a couple of maps so we could compare notes. I still like to use maps. They give a broader picture of where you are and what’s around.

While we talked a few more groups of riders breezed past. It seemed to be a popular stretch of road. Maybe it’d be worth setting up a coffee-and-doughnut stand along there.

Razorback Road is as great to see as it is to ride.

Crudine Road

It was a fantastic road to travel, changing from cleared hillsides to heavily wooded forests nearer to Running Steam, and the road conditions were sound. There were a couple of soft spots but, on the whole, the riding was pretty good with very few potholes to look out for.

About 17km or so on the Sydney side of Running Stream is Capertee. It’s the nearest fuel stop, so I raced down there to fill up and get a coffee at the servo before heading west again to take the Crudine Road back to Bathurst.

This is a great stretch of road that has a small section of bitumen but is largely gravel. The turnoff is 10km past Ilford and is well worth the ride. The bridge at Warrangunia Creek has seen better days, so the council has ploughed a bypass beside it. Ruins of farmhouses dot paddocks along the road and old gold diggings can be spotted beside creek banks. The road rolls with the hills and a rider just needs to dodge the odd roadkill before meeting the Hill End Road at Turondale and being offered the choice of the return trip to Bathurst via either Sofala or Duramana Road.

It’s a brilliant stretch to ride along.

The Razorback Road was built by Chinese miners as a shortcut from the top of Running Stream.

Don’t miss it

Overall, it’s a relaxing weekend ride from Sydney to explore the Greater West and Autumn is the perfect time. The days are warm enough to be comfortable, while at night it’s still cool enough for a fire but warm enough to camp.

It’s worth the trip at that time just to see the Autumn colours of the poplar trees heading into Lithgow and Bathurst.

And to just sit beside a river.

Upper Turon Road.