The Barrington Coast 500

18/08/2023

The region has it all.

With snow on the menu for the today I’m dreaming or the more temperate rainforests towards the coast.

again capturing all the feels of the ride this year.

Will you ride with us next year?

11/08/2023

captured all the feels on the BarringtonCoast Adventure.

Reminiscing on past adventures and planning future ones on a Friday.

Stay tuned as we settle on a date for next year.

26/05/2023

Hey Gang,

Pack the winter woolies, we are taking it on in the depths of winter.

The cycling calendar and events calendar is full on this year and it's been difficult to find a date that doesn't conflict with anything else.
As such, the plan is to get it done in the winter. Who know's might even get a bit of snow.

The last weekend of July, 29th-30th.

I'll be leaving on Saturday 29th at 6.00am from The Common to get it done over two days finishing with a beer as always at the pub.

The route shared earlier isn't likely to change but I'll post an update a couple weeks out so everyone is on the same page.

Excited to have a date and ready to roll.

09/05/2023

Hey Gang,

Been putting a bit of thought into the BarringtonCoast as a ride.
The ride has sort of evolved a fair bit from that first ride during Covid. It was much closer to a race back then but now is more of an adventure ride or a social bike packing event.

With that in mind it's probably worth dropping the "500" part and just going with Barrington Coast Adventure Ride.

This makes it so we aren't constrained to a certain distance or time. Ideally we want it as a challenging ride that can be completed self supported over the weekend so those of us whom are still working can get it done without missing work.

As such, this is a preliminary route idea, it might change dependant on if Waukivory Rd is fixed or not when we ride.
It's a good mix of gravel, back country stitch-ups, some tar and bits in-between. I

t has a regularly constant access to services so you don't need to pack 10ltrs of water but remote enough to give off the beaten track vibes.

Let us know what you think on this sort of direction and we can tweek as needed.

BarringtonCoast2023 is a 319.3 km Cycling Route. Discover this route and more at Strava. Visit today!

14/06/2022

Good Day Friends,

Here are the routes that we will be riding to do the BC500 or BC300.

Some parts of these routes have not been fully ridden by us as last minute changes due to unforeseen road/ferry closures.

As always, this is a social bike packing adventure, if the route doesn't tickle your fancy, feel free to modify to suit your needs.

I'll be out and about riding the BC300 course on the Thursday and Friday (weather pending 😅) and driving around the back half of the BC500 route on the Sunday morning.

There will be some BarringtonCoast embroidered patches available at The Roundabout Inn on Sunday and possibly The Common Cafe for Monday if needed.

Keep an eye on the weather too, long range is looking a bit chilly ❄️

BC500 --> https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39809101

BC300 --> https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38647572

287.5 km, +3976 m. Bike ride in Gloucester, NSW

27/02/2022

Hello Friends,

Pack your winter woolies, we are going for bike ride through the heart of winter ❄️

This year, with the help of Timmy Doman we have two routes to choose from. A tour of The Barrington's and Highlands along with a smaller attack on The Coast.

These routes are still preliminary and we need to check a few things, especially after this rain.

Barrington Route --> https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38647153?privacy_code=wDOxNbv1CafQBhKK

Coast Route --> https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38647572

So the date, instead of a grand depart this year, due to the wildly different routes, we are going for a grand finish.

Start when you want, but aim to be at The Roundabout Inn for a beer and burger on Sunday afternoon at ~1pm on the 26th June 2022.

Stay tuned for more information but as always this is simply a ride I'm going on. There is no support. There is no help.

Image Courtesy of Sam Thompson Fritz from The Barrington Tops on the 4th July 2020.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCN2h9HlM7G

23/04/2021

The final routes!

Today James Saunders rode the route on a petrol powered bike due to some last minute changes. The terrain of the course is mixed, some spots you'll wish for a hardtail and others for a road bike.

As you are all aware the region was ravaged by floods a month back and many of the secondary and gravel roads in the region copped a hammering.

Nearly all National Parks in the region remain closed and some roads won't be operational for months, maybe years!

As such we have had to make some last minute modifications. The heart of the route remains the same but unfortunately there will be a minor amount of back tracking over areas already ridden which is a pain. As always the route you choose and the time to ride it is up to you. Feel free to skip out the back tracking if you want.

The routes are as follows and are available on RideWithGPS

BarringtonCoast500 --> https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35793792

BarringtonCoast350 --> https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35793692

It has been noted that there is an extensive period at the start of the BC500 that goes without resupply options. There is however several bail out options on that route that will put you in to Dungog much quicker if you require.

Finally, for those of us that like to have people/loved ones watch us there is a MaProgress page setup. You will have to pay to add yourself to it and use your own tracker.

The link is here --> https://barringtoncoast500-2021.maprogress.com/

See you on Friday morning for a sunrise depart (6:23am) 🚵🏻🚵🏻

04/04/2021

Hey Gang,

As your all no doubt aware, the Barrington Coast region has recently experienced a 1 in 100 year flood event. This has had tremendous impacts on not only the local businesses but also the local infrastructure.

Many of the roads, bridges and tracks this years BC500 take have been impacted.

James and I have made the decision that we are still going to ride it, leaving town at sunrise on April 30.

If you decide to join us, you need to be aware that this will be going through some pretty remote and rugged country. If you get in a pickle, it’s highly likely that in some instances a motor vehicle won’t be able to reach you.

I’ll be setting up a MAProgress page and I highly recommend you use some form of tracking so those near and dear know where you are, or in a worst case scenario, so emergency services know where you are.

Having said all that, the tracks can’t be any worse than what people rode doing The Cloudride Prologue, so we hope someone comes and rides it with us. We think it will be fun.

Tim and James

08/03/2021

Hey Barrington Coast 500ers,

This years ride, commencing on the 30th April at 6:23 (sunrise) will be broken into two. A ~500km with ~8000vm ride and a shorter ride of~350km ride with ~4500vm.

Both these rides go through some remote area so it is up to you to decide if that's what you would like to do. There is no support, you will be on your own, or with mates, just don't expect anyone to pick you up.

This year we take the route through the hilly side first before moving through to the coast. It's a mix of sealed country roads, gravel roads, farm roads, fire trails and the occasional bit of tarmac. Some bits you'll wish you had a hard tail and others a road bike.

These routes are subject to minor changes and we will release a route on RideWithGPS titled BarringtonCoast500_2021_OFFICIAL at the start of April but these are 95% locked in and will allow you to start preparing.

If you have any questions the best place to ask is in the Barrington Coast 500 FB Group --> https://www.facebook.com/groups/429340457952491

With that being said here is the routes:

BarringtonCoast500 --> https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35348331

BarringtonCoast350 --> https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35348505

Hope to see you at the start and then again at The Roundabout Inn on the Sunday afternoon.

Drawing by my cousin. See her stuff here --> https://erinobrienart.bigcartel.com/

07/03/2021

A sneak peak at some of the new sections of The Barrington Coast 500.

James Saunders has been out making sure it’s got a bit of everything for your riding pleasure.

11/02/2021

The Barrington Coast 500 date is set!

Grand Depart on Friday the 30th of April from Gloucester at sunrise 🚵🏻 🚵‍♀️ 🚵🏻

Route to be released soon but expect some changes 🧭