GOING local

When Greg Yager invited me to join a RideADV two-dayer from Braidwood to Moruya my first thought was that I’d know exactly where we were going. I was wrong, very wrong.

Greg put together a route that surprised me even when we were travelling on tracks I was familiar with, as he and his team had found ways to join some tracks that I thought were completely separate. We also travelled on a lot of stuff I’ve never seen before. So much for my local knowledge.

What I did know is Braidwood’s claim to fame is that the notorious Clarke Brothers gang operated in the area in the late 1860s (before being hanged in Darlinghurst Gaol) and that Ben Hall tried unsuccessfully to hold up the Araluen Gold Escort at nearby Majors Creek in 1865.

With its many well-preserved buildings, Braidwood was also the location for the 1970 movie Ned Kelly, starring Mick Jagger. We would be riding through bushranger history all weekend.

The riders and crew all met at Braidwood’s Royal Mail pub (where else?) on the Friday night for some bench racing, schooner sailing and