Bathurst (tourism website, Wikipedia entry, community website with tourist information) is a major regional centre with a population of 37,000. It has an airport (flights with Regional Express), train station (daily trains with Countrylink) and is also accessible by a CityRail bus service from Lithgow and by Countrylink Coach. It has a good shopping centre with three camping stores (ph: 6331 0041, 6331 4188, 6331 3862) and two bicycle shops (ph: 6334 4365, 6332 4025). Bathurst has many accommodation outlets, including a caravan park. On the October long weekend each year, thousands of Sydneysiders flock to Bathurst for the Bathurst 1000 motor race, held on the Mount Panorama Circuit. On non-race days the 6km circuit is open to the public and may be cycled. Although not covered in this guide, the quiet roads north of Bathurst to Peel, Sofala and Hill End would also make excellent touring options.

Bathurst to Orange (via Ophir Road)    56.7km - 919m climb - 714m descent - 9km unsealed - map
This is the harder of the two off-highway routes between Orange and Bathurst covered in this guide. Compared with the other route (via Perthville, Newbridge, Blayney and Millthorpe), this one cuts against the grain of the country, has a long climb along an unsealed road and has no services or rest areas along the way. The unsealed stretch runs from Rock Forest (photo) to Lewis Ponds Creek. I camped just off the road at this creek in 2001. At the time it had reasonable flow, though with another eight years of drought since then water is probably not reliable. I found the countryside more interesting between Lewis Ponds Creek and Orange. A number of wineries (see, for example, this pdf brochure and the Mayfield Vineyard website) are scattered along the way and Suma Park Dam (photo) adds some colour.

Bathurst to Perthville    8.7km - 41m climb - 25m descent - sealed - map
This is a flat cycle connecting the towns of Bathurst and Perthville. Views of the Mount Panorama racing circuit can be seen from Vale Road.

Tarana to Bathurst    40.1km - 411m climb - 540m descent - 4km unsealed (avoidable) - map
This is the flattest route from Tarana to Bathurst. It begins by following the main western railway along a quiet rural road. Look out for the old stone railway masonry about 4km from Tarana. The unsealed section (about 4 to 8kms from Tarana) runs along side the Fish River and is, in my opinion, the most interesting part of the trip. However, if you want to avoid this unsealed stretch, from Tarana cycle along Mutton Falls Road, turn right onto Kinghorn Falls Road and pick up the route from the railway crossing. The road passes through Wambool (no facilities, but from here you could cycle to O'Connell along a quiet unsealed road if desired) and Brewongle (no facilities) and emerges from the hills onto the Bathurst Plains. The route now follows the busier O'Connell Road (shoulder and some trucks!) into Bathurst. The final section, along the Great Western Highway, has a good shoulder.