Richmond is one of the old Macquarie towns, laid out in 1810 on the flat, fertile floodplain of the Hawkesbury River, northwest of Sydney. Governor Lachlan Macquarie picked high ground for five settlements, Windsor, Richmond, Wilberforce, Pitt Town and Castlereagh, to keep farmers safe from the floods that regularly drowned the lowlands. The town still has a village feel, with a green square, a few sandstone buildings and a handful of cafés, and it sits a short distance from the RAAF base that bears its name. With about five and a half thousand people, it has plenty of fuel and food.
The Bells Line of Road begins here, and it is an old crossing. It was built in the 1820s by Archibald Bell, who pushed a route over the Blue Mountains as an alternative to the Great Western route, and it has been the quieter cousin ever since. The first stretch runs through orchards and market gardens toward the hills, and at Kurrajong Heights the road starts climbing in earnest, with bends and some great views back across the plains.
On the way up, a number of places are worth a stop. The Mount Tomah Botanic Garden, part of the Royal Botanic Garden, sits high on the ridge and grows cool-climate plants in a setting of sandstone and mist. Bilpin has apple stalls and pies, the sort of rural treat that tastes best after an hour of bends. Mount Wilson, a side trip, has grand old gardens and tall tree ferns. The forest on this plateau is Sydney sandstone country, all grey cliffs, eucalypt and banksia, and the air gets noticeably cooler as you climb.
Practical points are simple. Fill the tank in Richmond, because the climb is long and fuel is sparse once you are in the national park. Weekends can be busy with Sydney day-trippers and with other riders, and the highway is patrolled, so watch your speed. In winter the ridge can be foggy and cold, with frost on the shaded bends, so dress for it. In spring the flannel flowers bloom, and the light through the trees is soft and green.