There’s nothing like a route description to fill you with confidence… right up until you actually start riding it. Attack of the Buns cops a casual “3/10” rating, but after three days pedalling from Bungendore to Bundanoon, we’re calling nonsense, it’s at least a 6, maybe a 7 if your legs are honest. Scenic, punchy, and full of the kind of surprises you pretend to enjoy, it turned out to be the perfect playground to put the new Sundance range through its paces.
We knocked over the 323km route in three days, because why ease into anything? Day one and two both clocked in at 120-plus kilometres with over 2,000m of climbing each, which is a polite way of saying our legs were cooked by lunch. Day three eased off slightly at 70km and 1,500m of vertical, but by then we were basically negotiating with our quads.
All up: 5,500m of climbing, topping out at 1,055m, and about 63% of the route on unpaved, mostly quiet gravel backroads. The remaining paved bits? Just enough to remind you that smooth surfaces exist. You just won’t see many of them on this ride.
We kicked off with a 130km opener, leaving Bungendore grinning like kids on the first day of school… if that school involved hills that felt like small mountains. Both Harj and I had been scheming over this route for ages, so finally rolling onto it felt like a long-awaited reunion with a slightly sadistic friend.
This was my first multi-day bikepacking adventure, and I was equal parts excited and “what have I signed up for?” Harj, on the other hand, was in his element. He is no stranger to routes like The Hunt 1000, he was basically my tour guide, motivator, and occasional reality check all in one.
Over the next eight hours, we rode through some stunning country, enjoyed sections of gravel so smooth and fast it practically deserved a toast, and dodged a few classic magpie swoops, because spring isn’t complete without them.
After a long day on the bike, we set up camp and cracked open our freeze-dried spaghetti bolognese, courtesy of Sam Montgomery, Mont's in-house chef-slash-sorcerer. Honestly, this meal could probably win awards. Rich, comforting, and so good it made us briefly forget we’d spent the day wrangling hills. If freeze-dried meals were judged like fine wine, this one would come with a standing ovation. Just ask for the 'Cowboy Camp Cuisine' next time you're at Mont.
The day also handed out a healthy dose of humility: a tyre blowout on Nerriga Road, followed by what felt like forever wrestling with the repair… only to realise we’d been using the hand pump completely wrong. Twenty minutes of pumping air into thin air — literally. Character-building? Sure. Hilarious in hindsight? Absolutely. We’ll spare you the video…
Day two was all about grit and the kind of heat that makes you question your life choices. Temperatures hit 36°C, and our legs staged a full protest during the climb out of Yalwal. We rolled into Nowra dreaming of a pub feed… only to discover the pubs were off duty. Plan B? A local Zambies became our sanctuary before we saddled up again around 5pm, fueled by whatever passes for morale-boosting snacks in a pinch.
Determined to make Kangaroo Valley for a campsite and a proper dinner, we crawled out of Nowra. Uphill, of course, because why would it be easy? The heat was brutal, I was wrestling my inner demons, and Harj was basically carrying us both at this point.
We were probably twenty electrolyte tablets deep each, feeling more like science experiments than cyclists. Add in sketchy tarmac with trucks roaring past, hogging the whole shoulder, and you had a section that demanded laser-sharp focus…
As the sun finally set, things started looking up — literally. Cooler temps, headlamps flicking on, and one last climb up Mt Scanzi stood between us and a magical downhill into Kangaroo Valley. Riding in the dark, with only our lights cutting through the night, felt like something out of a low-budget action movie. Night riding? Absolutely a hoot. At one point, we flirted with the idea of powering straight through to Bundanoon… but a pub Parma won the day, and honestly, we have zero regrets.
After two epic days, we finally allowed ourselves a proper sleep-in and a leisurely breakfast in town. A rare moment of civilized life before the final push. We braced for some hike-a-bike, but luck (and maybe stubbornness) let us ride everything except a 200m stretch, which felt like a personal victory parade.
Day three’s main event was arguably the biggest climb of the trip. It kicked off after a series of downhill bombings and a cheeky creek crossing to top up our water bottles. The perfect mix of fun and reminder that the mountains don’t care how tired you are.
The climb out of Kangaroo Valley was a proper test. Long, relentless, and steep enough to make you seriously question your life choices. But hitting the plateau at the top, with over 1,000m of vertical conquered, made every pedal stroke worth it. A few more sketchy tarmac stretches later, and we finally rolled into Bundanoon, tired but buzzing with accomplishment. Total ascent for the trip? 5,500m over 323km. Not bad for a route that supposedly earns a casual “3/10.” Yeah, we’d call that an understatement.
Attack of the Buns delivered it all: endless hills, scorching sun, sketchy roads, nighttime thrills, and a few unforgettable meals (Sam’s cowboy camp cuisine deserves its own medal). Doing it all in the new Sundance shirts made the ride not just survivable, but genuinely enjoyable. Lightweight, breathable, and with sun protection that actually works, they kept us cool when the sun was relentless and comfortable when the climbs were merciless. Plus, the fit and durability meant we could tackle gravel, tarmac, and creek crossings without worrying about rips, chafing, or overheating.
In short: the Sundance shirts made the adventure better, safer, and stylish enough that we half-expected to see them featured in a cycling magazine. If this trip was a movie, the shirts would deserve a starring role.
Three days, two mates, 323km, thousands of meters of climbing, and gear that actually kept up with us. Dust-covered, sunproof, and absolutely stoked, the Sundance shirts proved they’re built for the long haul. Comfortable, tough, and ready for whatever the trail throws at you, they didn’t just survive Attack of the Buns… they thrived.
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Summer in Tasmania’s mountains presents the walker with a multitude of flowers, ranging from the prickly Richea Scoparia to the diminutive flowers of the remarkable Tasmanian Cushion Plant.
The pines were extensively studied some time ago and the conclusion was that they are up to 1,600 years old and quite possibly far older as the original pines may be long gone and the descendants may even date back to the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago.
Nestled below the huge cliffs of Eliza Bluff, over 700 metres above, lies a beautiful body of water in South West Tasmania called Lake Judd.
