BMBEN’s Adventure Rides 14/8/2010 Parkes Loop

[BMBEN]

BMBEN’s Adventure Ride
By: Franz G (BMBEN) 0427 830 712

Saturday 14th August 2010

Destination:
Parks, The Dish and Manildra NSW

Wow, What a week of weather. It even added floods this week.



Mandagery Creek with an extra 3 meters of water.

Saturdays forecast –1 to 11°C. So it would be a short ride. Wow, what a surprise when I woke to find clear sky and no wind. Quick, put the washing out on the line and did 2 hours of painting then decided, I will go for a ride. Looking at the map, I though some ware around Parks and back through Cookamidgera.

It’s 11.30am and the dam cold WIND is blowing hard from the north. So off I go along the Parks/Eugowra Rd. About half way along, I remembered that I had not packed my map, which is going to make it interesting with unfamiliar roads. When I got to Parks there was a detour around the flooded creek crossing. In parks I picked up some bread roll and some other shopping and then when to the Tourist Information to see if I could get a free map of the area that I wanted to ride, but no luck, so I left with another destination in mind. There is always interesting things to look at in parks around these places



That funny. Things in parks around these places. O ha ha ha. Well the steam engine 3075 ‘S’ Class. It is at the Tourist Information Centre on the Dubbo side of Parks.

With one place in mind I decided to go about 30km North out along the Newell Hwy, in the direction of Dubbo to the Parkes Radio Telescope and get a photo in front of the dish.



When I was looking at the map in the morning, I though I would go around the other side of the dish (to take photos that you don’t often see) and join up with the road to Wellington, then return to Parkes, but on the way in to the dish I noticed that the road was closed (only a dry weather road), so back along the Newell Hwy to Parkes, with a tail wind for a change. On the way back to Parks the reserve light came on, wow 280km on a tank of fuel, that head wind plays up with the fuel consumption.

I filled with fuel and then headed out along the Orange road to Manildra. About half way along I went past Reedy Creek Road which I recognised from the map and going along the Escort Way between Eugowra and Orange. I turned around and went along it for 6km until there was a ‘T’ intersection. Not knowing which was the best way to go, I went back to the Orange Road and continued to Manildra. A butifull detour at any rate.



Manildra is a small town built into the side of the flourmill. Well the road comes in through a couple of shops then you drive under the flourmill works, over a bridge and then onto Orange or Molong. I took this photo from a viewing platform next to the rail yards. The flourmill is on the left of the railway line (left of photo in the background)

After looking at Manildra, I then went back about 1/2km along the Parkes Road and turned left onto the Cudal Road. About ½ way to Cudal, there is another turn off that I took. 12km of bute dirt road through buteifull countryside, which comes out near Toogong on the Escort Way.



Along this road the letterbox thieves must be bad if the owners have to chain a dog to them.

Back on the Escort Way, I headed for home. Really nice ride, except for the WIND. Back home at 3.30pm and travelled 220km.

Regards Franz

Map Link
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&s...,1.234589&z=10