Day 44 - It's all downhill from Blackheath

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Katoomba - Lithgow (via Brown's Gap Road)

A few days ago, an elderly man in the car park at Springwood tried to say something positive about our road ahead. He said "ah well, at least it's all downhill from Blackheath". Ha! That is only true if you don't go further than Hartley, which sits at the bottom of a jaw-dropping descent out of the Blue Mountains into the Central Tablelands region. But if one continues to Lithgow, then there's another climb awaiting you, one that will leave you breathless. 

Not funny.

The day starts early and in a hurry. After a more sleepless than sleepy night due to heavy winds giving our new tent a good test, we fear the BOM's weather predictions for thunderstorm, flash flooding and possibly hail may spoil the pleasure of leaving the Blue Mountains. Precautionary, we book a motel room in Lithgow because the weather doesn't look promising there either. 

I had forgotten how beautiful and spectacular the Blue Mountains are. But getting to this magnificent site and the many viewing points by bike is a bit of a downer (literally). First you climb up to get there and then you descend through the town centre to the cliffs edge. Then you climb back up again and repeat a bit further along. Given the campground was right opposite Katoomba Falls, the day begins with a juicy uphill. 

A nice surprise comes in the form of a shared trail, off the Great Western Highway, from Katoomba all the way to Blackheath, but also including every bit of hill between. 

Unexpected but welcomed 

My 'good luck' is renewed while I wait for Louise to take a tricky corner: a bird relieves itself on to my left shoulder. If that's what it takes to get to the bakery in Blackheath, so be it. Liz has indicated that the pies are worth a try and I hardly ever miss an opportunity for a promising baked goods item. When the sauce runs down between my fingers, Louise says "gee, I think we enjoy a pretty good lifestyle when we can eat a pie for morning tea". She's right, of course. 

A life of pie(s).

At some point during my descent out of Mount Victoria, I was worried that I would have to overtake a B-Double. Their speed limit is restricted to 40km/h. But I think the better of it and squeeze the brake levers a little harder. I am sure those safety ramps are not meant to be used by cyclists. 

For the final 13km into Lithgow, monster hill still ahead, we turn into the charming Brown's Gap Road, which brings back the 'feeling good' vibe while pedalling through the countryside. We are heading towards.... I pay you an icecream if you can tell me how to pronounce this town:


Once we reach the foot of the hill, we are speechless. It's not looking good (see start of this post). We tune into every bit of humour and comedy we can find and cheer ourselves up for two gruelling kms, pushing the bikes, of course.

It's 5pm now, in Lithgow, and the weather has been just fine, all day. But the luxury of a very basic motel room is most welcome after the squeezing every bit of energy out of our legs. But we laugh when the room key indicated that fluffy towels, a warm shower and a bed await us on the first floor. There is no way we are leaving the bikes at the busy main street. 

They deserve a good night sleep as much as we do, even if that means we have to schlep them up that last bit of elevation.





Location: Lithgow NSW 2790, Australia

Comments

  1. FrancieMarch 25, 2022 at 6:25 PM

    Pronounced clue-id or Kloo-id I think. I loved listening to anyone speak Welsh when I was briefly in Wales.

    ReplyDelete

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