Bathurst 1400 – Central West Tour
At 6 am on Saturday, 12 September 2026, the LRM 1400 got underway from Bathurst (New South Wales, 250 km north of Canberra and 200 km west of Sydney). The event was the brainchild of Simon Gill (who was seriously injured in a hit-and-run cycling accident a few months ago and is still recovering), and was organised on the ground by David Riddel.
Three cyclists took on the 1,400 km course (Francis, Pete and me), a few more were riding the 600 km course, and just one person was doing the 400 km. So, rendezvous at 6 am at the Bathurst Visitor Centre. Francis had actually set off at 3 am, but Pete and a few of the 600 km riders were there.
It started with the climb up Mount Panorama, the famous motor racing circuit: a beautiful, slightly misty sunrise. I rode for a while with Warren, who organised Sydney–Melbourne last year (not for long — he was going too fast!), as well as Bre and Chad. We would bump into each other several times before the 1,400 and 600 km routes eventually split.
First stop was Orange, where I caught up with Pete and his recumbent bike: coffee and banana bread.
I skipped Molong and stopped in Yeoval instead, at km 156, at around 2 pm. There was a very aggressive magpie, and not much choice when it came to food (a ham-and-cheese toastie and a Coke would do the trick).
Narromine (km 246) at around 6 pm: a service station that didn’t have much in the way of food (I learned later that Francis bought all the remaining stock one hour earlier!), so it was a few chips and another Coke.
Then on to Gilgandra, another 120 km away, which I reached around midnight. Spotless public toilets and drinking water made it a good place for a quick nap of about half an hour.
After that, things got pretty deserted. I reached km 430 at Tooraweenah at around 5 am on Sunday morning, heading towards Warrumbungle National Park. Dawn was slowly breaking, making it slightly easier to keep my eyes open.
I reached a campsite populated by kangaroos (and a few campers) at around 7 am. By then, I was starting to lose my enthusiasm for cereal bars.
A beautiful climb of about 15 km and 600 m of elevation gain was waiting for me. I reached the top of Mount Woorut — home to SSO, the Siding Spring Observatory of the Australian National University — at around 9:15 am.
The observatory café opened at 9:30, so I didn’t hesitate: coffee and a bacon-and-egg roll were very welcome!
Next destination: Coonabarabran (km 514), a lovely little town. A short break before tackling the hundred-odd kilometres separating me from Coolah, where a hotel room was waiting for me.
I arrived in Coolah at around 4–5 pm. I was pleasantly surprised to meet David, who had come out to meet me at Mount Hope — the second climb, which I partly did on foot, along with the climb to the SSO.
The hotel was great. I was able to do some washing (which was definitely needed!) and went to the pub for dinner with David: steak sandwich, chips and ginger beer. It was OK, but by that stage I would have eaten pretty much anything!
Early to bed, with a 3 am wake-up planned for the next morning.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to choose from food-wise: I’d picked up a kids’ meal from the pub to take away for the next evening, and it wasn’t exactly anything to write home about!
So, Monday morning, I set off from Coolah at 4 am.
I already had 620 km in my legs, and there was still a very long way to go.
The first opportunity to refuel came in Ulan at around 8 am, a mining town. David overtook me in his car and we stopped for a five-minute chat on the side of the road.
The local pub was open (the coffee machine wasn’t working — it must have been a while since anyone had asked for a coffee!). It was full of miners with a beer in hand, probably the night-shift crew… or at least, I hope so!
For me, it was Coke and another bacon-and-egg roll. No point changing a winning formula!
A quick stop in Gulgong at 9:30 am, km 715, followed by lunch in Wellington at around 1 pm.
I reached Molong (yes, again, for those keeping track!) at sunset, km 870. I stopped at a Chinese restaurant before heading into the night. The service was painfully slow, which at least gave me time to put my extra layers on properly — the night was shaping up to be a cold one.
Canowindra (km 950) at midnight. I stopped for a proper two-hour break, partly to recharge my front light, which had died 2 km before the town. I finished that last bit using my phone’s light!
It was bloody cold, though, and the down jacket and bivy were definitely not overkill.
Following the messages on the WhatsApp group, I saw that Francis had reached his accommodation in Canowindra at 2:30 am on Tuesday morning. By then, I had already left again. Pete had stopped in Wellington for the night.
The next section was tough: cold, eyes closing, and my backside starting to dream of a nice comfy armchair!
I reached Parkes just before 7 am on Tuesday morning. The bakery was open (they open at 5:30 am), so breakfast was a meat pie and a Coke.
The 1,000 km mark was behind me — the finish was finally starting to come into view.
I was well behind my original estimate (I had expected to reach Parkes around 2 am), and getting to Blayney before nightfall was going to be a challenge.
Then came Forbes and the long road towards Cowra. There was a lot of truck traffic on a fairly narrow road, so I had to stay alert every second.
The further I went, the more I realised that reaching Blayney on Tuesday night was probably out of reach.
I decided to cut this stage short and stop in Cowra. I found a motel — it was 4 pm, so I had time for a shower and to do some shopping for dinner and breakfast the following morning.
No washing, though: the motel’s washing machine was broken and the town’s laundromat was closed.
I cancelled the hotel in Blayney and was asleep by 7 pm!
Wednesday morning, I had 230 km left to ride. I set off just before 4 am.
Sleeping in Cowra had definitely been the right decision. The road to Blayney was an absolute shocker, with endless climbs. There were descents too, of course, but they don’t come for free!
A stop in Mandurama at around 9:15 am: excellent coffee and a bacon, egg and cheese roll.
Eventually, I reached Blayney just before midday — eight hours on the road for 120 km. I had definitely made the right call by not pushing on the previous evening!
Potato-bacon meat pie (and Coke) before setting off again for the final 110 km.
What had been described as an easy final section wasn’t really that easy. But there were more stunning landscapes, climbs with double-digit gradients, and finally the last 20 km towards Bathurst — downhill at last!
I reached the end of my journey at 6:30 pm on Wednesday.
There was no way it would have been sensible to drive back to Canberra after that epic adventure, so I looked for a hotel for the night. The Family Hotel would do nicely: they also have a pub and restaurant, which was ideal.
The final numbers
1,406 km in 108 hours and 32 minutes, including 69 hours and 40 minutes of actual riding, giving an average speed of just over 20 km/h.
The time limit was 117 hours, so I had a fair bit of time in hand!
Pete finished at around 8 am, and Francis just before 11 am.
Everything went well — no injuries!
A quick look at the finances
Around AUD 670 for the car (rental and fuel), around AUD 680 for hotels (including the cancellation), and around AUD 480 for food.
That includes Friday night’s dinner, Wednesday night’s dinner and Thursday morning’s breakfast — a very good breakfast at The Hub in Bathurst.
So, roughly €1,100 in total.
Not exactly pocket change!