There are a lot of great ways to head out of Canberra by bicycle, and not all of them involve gravel – sealed country roads can also be a bundle of fun and provide an excellent escape from the city. Some of CyclingGravel’s favourites can be ridden before work (see these shorter out of town rides), but others require more time (see this page).
When I have half a day and feel like an on-road 100km spin, heading to Bungendore and then Sutton is one of my ‘go-tos’ – offering some nice climbs, brilliant flats and descents, as well as two of my favourite Canberra region coffee stops. So in the spirit of sharing, here are the details!
Heading out of town
Being able to head out of Canberra without a main road is the first trick. While one way to exit Canberra is via Queanbeyan, cycling through town on the main streets is not that much fun. Thankfully there is an excellent shared path that takes you right around the city, following first the railway and then the Queanbeyan River. Getting there is easy via the Canberra Avenue shared path, with the Queanbeyan path starting immediately to the left after crossing the railway and entering NSW.
On this path (which is shown as a continuation of the C2 cycleway on Canberra’s walking and cycling map) after passing the Queanbeyan Railway Station is one of the more interesting sights: the Riverside Cemetery. No longer accepting burials, many of the graves are quite old, and apparently the site has suffered from flooding over the years leading to some graves disappearing entirely. From here the path continues across the river, behind McDonalds, and then it is possible to get onto the climb out of Queanbeyan on the Kings Highway.
Queanbeyan to Bungendore
At the eastern end of Queanbeyan the climb beside the Kings Highway is a bit of a grind, but thankfully there is a generous verge. Yes it is a main road but I’ve cycled it quite a bit and don’t hesitate to use it.
Shortly after the Kings Highway climb is a quick descent and then roundabout right-hand turn into Captains Flat road, where the climb continues for a while before the road starts its undulating course eastward. At times the road has verge, at others none. There is regular traffic on this part of the trip, but the initial 80km/h speed limit (followed by 90km/h half way through) makes a real difference to safe passing in my opinion. Eventually you pass an errant Canberra bus shelter, and then after another 3km comes the turn into Briars Sharrow Road.
At this point you have reached 18km of back road goodness that takes you all the way through to Bungendore. After a low Molonglo River crossing (which can flood after a lot of rain), Briars Sharrow Road passes the flood plains and a number of rural properties through to Hoskinstown Road, which then offers some fantastic rural scenery. The traffic along these roads is quite limited – the least of the route.
Bungendore to Sutton
After a refuel in Bungendore, it is time to head to the super fun** Smiths Gap climb. Regrettably Bungendore Road can be a little busy and doesn’t have much verge until you get to the climb. Once at the climb and then through to the turn-offs to Norton and Macs Reef Roads the road has better verge, and after these roads most of the traffic thins out. From here the route continues with lovely undulating country cycling.
** Super fun depends on how much you like pinchy 2km climbs.
Bungandore Road ends up at the Federal Highway, and after a quick right then left you can connect to Shingle Hill Road. At times this crossing can take a little while due to frequency and speed of traffic.
Shingle Hill Road provides a super fun gentle 11km descent to Sutton Road. This road is a main route for traffic connecting onwards from Bungendore to Yass (via Murrumbateman) so you do get the occasional caravan. But, I just love this road – it is quick, scenic and whilst not far from Canberra, it feels a long way away.
After Shingle Hill Road, the final 11km stretch to Sutton is back on a busier road. While a verge is not guaranteed, good visibility is and I’ve cycled along this road a lot. Again, great views and most of the time you’ll benefit from the local area’s prevailing tail wind. After an obligatory refuel in Sutton you are on a popular cycling route back to the ACT, via a quick stretch out of Sutton to the Federal Highway service road, and then options as to how to enter Canberra – typically for me this is the C9 cycleway along the Majura Parkway. An alternative is to head back from Sutton via East Tallagandra Lane and Mulligans Flat Road to Gungahlin.
Making it a ride
As mentioned earlier, the great thing about this ride is the coffee stops that are available. A coffee and a morning bun at The Gathering is my favourite, followed by a pie or sausage roll while sitting on the outside deck at Little Sutton Bakehouse. Highly recommended.
CyclingGravel 