As the bikes were already loaded onto the car, we made a quick getaway just after 7am and had minimal traffic to Blackheath where we stopped for coffee.  Eugene headed straight to his preferred café, Altitude Delicatessen which had been his favourite stopping place when travelling over the mountains for school sport games....

After a leisurely breakfast we drove to Eugowra, the starting point of our four-day ride.  We parked next to the police station, and a kindly resident in the adjacent house said he would keep an eye on the car.

Eugowra is renowned for its murals with over 36 murals as part of its mural trail including paintings of local businesses and wildlife. Other notable artwork included a dragonfly and fish....

We enjoyed some excellent croissants and coffee for breakfast at the Perennialle Plants Nursery café before Marissa and I set off to buy some additional lunch supplies and explore the town.  We stopped off at the David Isbester Gallery with his impressive works capturing rural and outback Australia.  We encouraged Eugene and Simon to have a look whilst I took over bike watching....

We relished the extra hour as the clocks adjusted for the end of daylight savings.  Inevitably there were a few hills leaving Cowra and we passed more trees with plaques along the road. These serve as living memorials, honoring both military history and international friendship with Japan. We made quick time on the sealed roads before turning off to take a slightly different route back to Billimari where we stopped again for morning tea....

We woke to rain which was not a good sign.  However, we knew It was a relatively short and flat ride to Eugowra. We departed under glowering skies and fortunately the rain held off. The route had more sealed than gravel roads and we made good time.
We found a rock for morning tea though our arrival encouraged the ants to visit so we had to relocate.  Soon we were recrossing the Lachlan River into Eugowra where the car awaited....