Hall and Tharwa stand out in the ACT as they were there before everything else. It is difficult to ride to Hall with the lack of a bike path and only one access road. Mountain bikers know it as the starting point of the 17 km long, ACT northern border Canberra Centenary Trail.
The Canberra Centenary Trail between Belconnen and Hall is, however, patchy. From Belconnen to the roundabout on Gundaroo Drive the path is excellent but stops on the Barton Highway.
At the other end of Gold Creek, the Canberra Centenary Trail continues along a slow, washed-out cows track until Clarrie Hermes Drive. Another short section is adjacent to the Barton Highway before the turnoff to Hall. The directional signage is poor, so the Canberra Centenary Trail is easily missed. We missed it at one point and ended up riding the Barton Highway bike lane in the wrong direction.
Victoria Street to Hall is a very pretty country road with no shoulders or bike lanes. It is the only way in and out of Hall from the east side. There are farms all around it, and no infrastructure for bikes except for a narrow corridor to the north for the Canberra Centenary Trail.
We returned the same way but cut out Gold Creek and raced along the Barton Highway bike lane. This bike lane stops at the turnoff to Gold Creek and just as mysteriously starts again on the other side. This sort of thing is not uncommon in Canberra.
We will be riding to Hall again, for the next farmers market.
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