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Riding The Putty Road and Bell's Line of Road

Australia Home

From Burning Mountain, we settled in for some great riding. We had 2 days to get to Katoomba, and we wanted to see the Zig Zag Railway, so we thought Lithgow would make a great stopover point. It also allowed us to detour over the 'Tourist Routes'. We learned that if we saw one of those signs, turn in and enjoy. It was over 100F and everything was dry. Quite a change from 2 days earlier when we were bundling up from the cold! We started to see signs of the fire that started the day before when we were still in the Hunter Valley, and we were lucky to get through as they closed both Putty and Bells roads after we passed through. We discovered a neat family owned place to stay, the 'Zig Zag Motel' where Jane got another spa tub to relax in

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After our ride to Burning Mountain we rode South to Lithgow
 
We first rode The Putty Road
 
Our first thoughts were how dry it was.
 
The Putty Road winds thru Wollemi National Park for about 200K
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This was our 'riding day'. We put on over 600k or about 375 miles on some nice twisty roads...
 
...all on the wrong side of the road
 
Floorboard dragging time!
 
Riding up Mt. Kindarun
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Uh-oh, what's next?
 
Coming down the Mountain into Colo Heights
 
 
Jane & her Self-Portrait
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The only gas on the entire stretch. Old fashioned pumps that you still crank to turn on
 
Actually, it's the only establishment at all on the road
 
 
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I really wasn't having any fun at all that day
 
Turning off to Bell's Line of Road for some more mountain riding
 
They closed both the Putty and Bells the day after we rode thru it because of the fire.
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After we got thru the first pass the first road to Katoomba was closed.
 
Mount Wilson just west of Berrambing
 
Mount Bell
 
Our first glimpse of the fire, just south of the Bells Line in the Blue Mountain area
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Some of the roads we toured
 
Lithgow was Birth of the Iron and Steel Industry in Australia, here we are at Blast Furnace Park
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All that is left of the blast furnace and foundry. The Zig Zag railway was built to haul the coal in and the steel out
 
Early morning in Lithgow, just before we go for a train ride


 

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